Reading Discoveries Of The Year

One of the things I intend to do more of in 2014 is reading books, especially of the non-IT & non-business variety. This quest has already led me on to a few discoveries. 

1. Having finished reading a book mid-week, I found myself without a book to read at bed time. Remembering an Amazon feature, I Googled (this word is still highlighted as a grammatical error) to learn that I can indeed borrow a digital book from another amazon user. A few whatsapp messages later, I was gleefully experiencing the lend or borrow Kindle books feature of Amazon. Coincidentally, the first book that my sister lent me was Start Something.

2. It was mid-way through yet another week that I finished Start Something & found myself with the prospects of not having anything for bed time reading again. This time I chanced upon the free eBooks collection of Amazon. Autobiographies, thrillers, classics, etc., this is surprisingly very well stocked & I wanted to get started on many titles all at once. Do note that one doesn’t even need to own a Kindle to indulge in this collection.

3. I resorted to an online recommendation to decide which book to start with. The Thirty-Nine Steps was 1915 novel, described as racy & just 100 pages (minimizing risk exposure). The clincher for me was that this book was a prelude to the now common man-on-the-run genre of Hollywood movies. I couldn’t stop smiling the first few pages – I had completely forgotten such writing existed. This book was read soon & thoroughly enjoyed!

Wishing for many more such serendipitous discoveries during the course of 2014 .. thanks to the years goals & resolutions. 

You Didn’t Work. You Just Talked.

I prefer working at the workplace rather than at home. A few days ago though, I had to do a work from home (WFH) since my 3rd grade son woke up with a cold & fever. The day was packed with back-to-back calls – conferences & one-on-ones. The day seemed even more hectic than it was, thanks to some infrastructural frustrations as well (power cuts & clogged bandwidth). Lunch time came & breakfast leftovers was re-hashed as lunch. Not paying much attention to my son’s disapproving looks, I rushed into yet another call. Little time was spent with the sick son who shuffled across reading, TV, games & attempts to get me to spend time with him.

It was 5:30 in the evening when I finally caught up with my lunch. Guilt ridden, I chatted up with the son & mentioned about the hectic work day I was going through. He was taken aback. Smiling incredulously & shaking his head, he says “You didn’t work. You were just talking to people all day long.”
Note To Self: It’s just enough that I talk to the kids about their days at school. Spend more time over the dining table talking about my workday as well. 

Travel For Life

Shub_TravelQuote
Searching for some inspirational themes for 2014, I came across this wonderful travel related quote. It stuck a chord & I wanted to share it with you. An old picture captured at dusk at the Taj came in handy in sharing this message.

List of Uttarakhand Relief Donations

While most of our media has moved on from covering the disaster at Uttarakhand, the job of rebuilding the devastated areas & the lives of those affected is far from over. The looming winter season only makes the effort required urgent to avoid the calamity becoming worse than what it has already been.

It is not the time to think about the portion of your contribution that might not reach those it is intended for. Instead make a contribution with the faith that every paisa that reaches the ground is absolutely essential in making life a little bit better for those who are living through a hellish situation. Make a contribution because generosity is its own reward.

If you are thinking of make a monetary donation to the Uttarakhand relief work, use the below list of organizations working for the cause. This is neither a recommended list nor an exhaustive one. If you can add to the list, please leave a comment with the details so that some other reader can use the same. 

Action Aid
ActionAid International
Art Of Living
Association For India’s Development (AID)
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CRY India
CRY - Non-Profit Organization
Goonj
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GroupOn India
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HelpAge India
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Indian Red Cross
Mountain Children’s Foundation
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NDTV
Oxfam India
Home
People’s Science Institute
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Pragya India
Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, (PMNRF)
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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
Save The Children
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Seeds India
The Indian Express
Uday Foundation
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Uttarakhand Chief Ministers Relief Fund
Uttarakhand Logo
World Vision India
World vision India