Wednesday, May 20, 2015

The month that passed by


April-May seems to be a tough time for mothers. Those 60 days that were our childhood desires throughout the year turned out to be dreadful dreams. I had to agree on a few honest attempts made to spend quality time with the girl initially. She too was excited. Interest waned for the two of us as time passed. Nevertheless, we lazied around and now are waiting for the academic schedule to keep us on our feet in the coming months. To the more serious segment of the post, here goes my 'points to ponder' from these days.


  • I was browsing through the Internet on April 25th as usual when I saw a birthday doodle. Least interested, I continued. Minutes before exiting, my pointer indicated to the doodle and guess what?! It read 'happy birthday Vaishnavi'. I was more perplexed than pleased as Google was the last person (?) I expected to wish me on my birthday. When I returned from my visit to Madurai, home town, Google+  mailed, " Vaishnavi, you have a story to share". The entire journey pictures were chronologically arranged and displayed in slides.  Now, I am not a very public person wanting to tell the world all I do. My Facebook account deletion 2 years ago justifies this (not considering the occasional logins through spouse account :). Are we becoming way too visible even without wanting to? Today's article in The Hindu titled 'The big data conundrum' throws more light on the topic. Right from the government's policies such as Aadhar card to internet requirements of personal details for every single transaction, validates the fact that  'you are being watched'. Beware folks, it's not just your dubsmash video that you upload in Fb that is seen, but also the secret birthday bash you celebrated in the pub with your chosen few.

  • "Whatsappening ?" I yelled of late.  Yes, too much of whatsapping left me laughing over a few funny things. Too many groups and you lose account of the conversation loop. 'Congrats SI, You have lost weight' messaged AA. ' Thanks dear' came the reply. I was wondering why SI didnot look so to me when I met her yesterday. Later did I realize that it was SI from college group who had lost weight and AAs were numerous to rememember. The prompt commentor no matter what is posted ( I wonder if she ever reads , for the emoticons appear nanoseconds after the post), the benign wellwisher ( happy bday to A's cousin's daughter who is my Fb friend), the reposter ( copy paste copy paste, oops that was not meant for this group), the who-knows-who non-participant ( dude, who the hell added me here), the gracious greeter (today is the day, gm; if not today tomorrow, gn), the list goes on. 
Not happy: Paula Cochrane has been hit with a staggering £1,200 phone bill after texting hundreds of smiley face emoticon symbols that weren't included in her 'unlimited' £31-a-month contract. Read full message from website.
Picture message from dailymail.co.uk

    • The power of advertising was seen again at home. An exclusive tamil message for those who understand.
            ஐந்து வயது மகள் இரண்டு ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு நேச்சர் பவர் சோப்பு விளம்பரம் பார்த்து வாங்க சொன்னாள்; சிரித்தேன். ஒரு வருடம் முன்பு டேபிள் மேட் விளம்பரம் பார்த்து வாங்க சொன்னாள்; சிந்தித்தேன். இந்த வருடம் சென்னை அமிர்தா காலேஜ் ஆப் ஹோட்டல் மேனேஜ்மென்ட் விளம்பரம் பார்த்துக் கொண்டிருக்கிறாள். ஷாக் ஆயிட்டேன் அவ்வ்வ்வ்வ்....

    Happy digital living, readers!