Liebster Award

Finally!! Time to address my long due award nominations!

Thank you Respectable Married Woman for my first ever blog award! Her soulful writing on harsh realities of the society and glimpses of her art work are a treat to the readers. Do check out her blog and thank me later.  🙂

Like everybody else on Blogosphere, I’m copy pasting (something that I’m really good at, being a developer) the rules for this award, which are as follows:

 1. Thank the blogger who nominated you

2. Display the award on your blog

3. Answer a set of 11 questions provided from the blogger that you were nominated by

4. Nominate 11 bloggers, each with under 200 followers

5. Create your own set of questions for your nominations to answer

Here are my answers to Respectable Married Woman’s questions. Please be aware that my responses are no way going to be entertaining by any means. Proceed further only if you wish to know a bit more about the mind behind this blog  🙂

1.What would you do if you had ten million dollars/pounds/rupees etc?

That’s a lot of money!! But yes, I have some crazy start up ideas but lack funds or investment. So, may be I’ll invest in setting up a start up business and create employment on a large scale. I would use the remaining to build good schools with accommodation for QUALITY living and education for the underprivileged in India or any place across the world.

2. Rate the following qualities/attributes , that you look for in a relationship or a partner(ascending order): Mental/intellectual stimulation and understanding, emotional understanding, physical compatibility or attractiveness

This is easy! (Highest- Lowest Priority):

1. Emotional Understanding- This is of utmost priority to me, because no matter how intelligent/ attractive your partner is, lack of emotional connection will result in emptiness in a relationship.
2. Mental/ Intellectual Stimulation
3. Physical Compatibility or Attractiveness- Least bothered about this

3. Top 5 places to visit or vacation

These are a mix of places that I would be glad to revisit along with the ones I would love to go on a vacation at least once. Not necessarily in this order:

• Kashmir, India (visited)
• New York, U.S (visited)
• Santorini, Greece (would love to be here some day!)
• Paris (yet to visit)
• Maldives (yet to visit)

4. What is religion(not god) according to you?

Religion to me is Humanity.

5. Would you call yourself  more analytical or creative, give reasons?

Well, due to my educational background and career, I have to admit that my brain is more inclined towards being analytical. But I would love to call myself creative too, as I always feel I have a creative streak due to my interest in art and writing. One such attempt to hone my long lost love for creativity, was the advent of this blog. 🙂

6. If you could change one aspect of your life overnight, but have to give up ten years of your life, would you do it and if, yes, then what would it be?

Without any second thoughts, I would give up any number of years of my adult life to have my childhood  back and remain a kid forever!! I wish something like this existed in real. Sigh!

7. Do you believe in the supernatural, magic, or however, you want to call it?

Supernatural: I can think of this in two ways. I do believe in positive supernatural power, as the reason behind this very existence of the universe. As I never understood how matter can exist all by itself! While the other supernatural, say spirits/paranormal is a complicated area for me. As of now, I can say I do not believe in it.

8. Three random facts about you, that we don’t know already

1. I have a master’s in Management Information Systems
2. I do not understand coffee/ tea addiction, even though every other person I know is addicted to at least one. I don’t drink either!
3. I have a habit of reading the ingredients, nutrition facts, or any other random stuff that is printed on the back of chips/chocolate packs. In fact any pack. I also make sure I read the piece of paper that is used to wrap a road side samosa/ other delicacies, before I throw it away.

9. How would you like to be perceived by others?

People usually perceive me as a reserved and down to earth person. I’m happy with this tag. I hope people are reminded of the quote, “Actions speak louder than words”, when they think of me 🙂

10. Tell us the funniest thing you ever heard or read about

It’s hard to pick one, as there might be too many. But when I first heard/ read about the World ending in 2012, I felt it was the funniest. Though I later started freaking out when I read few Nostradamus theories!

11.Do you like, doing these award nomination Q/A, why?

I like doing these as I am an amateur in the blogging world, they are a source of encouragement. Award nominations help explore new blogs and throw a platform to know a little more about the writer behind the scenes.

Now, my nominations are:

Gary

bloggeray

inkyfire

serenasinclair

menmystiquesnmysticism

pluviolover

hiddenminds

itsallaboutus978

B’s love

I know they are less than 11, but I was unsure of how many have less than 200 followers. Any budding blogger who comes across this can feel free to answer the questions.

My questions:

1. Describe yourself in three words.
2. If there is something you would like to change about yourself, what would it be?
3. Three random facts about you, that we don’t know already.
4. Your top 3 favorite holiday destinations
5. Your inspiration to write/ blog
6. If you had the power to change one aspect in the world today, what would it be and why?
7. Your favorite season
8. When you are not writing/blogging, what is the most likely thing we can find you doing?
9. A book you would read over and over again
10. A favorite quote you believe in
11. If you were to be stranded on an island and had a chance to take just one thing with you, what would it be?

Hope I’ll get some answers to read! 🙂

Reflections- #AtoZChallenge

How does it feel when you attempt an examination which you have no clue about, but eventually come out with flying colors? That’s exactly how I feel regarding my attempt of this year’s #AtoZChallenge! It has been an AMAZING experience filled with wonder, anxiety, excitement and a sense of contentment.

Little Background: I started blogging (on a serious note) in mid February, 2016. My initial months of blogging majorly included exploring WordPress and it’s wonderful bloggers, besides writing once in a while. But I wanted to develop a habit of writing meaningful, thoughtful content and not just for the heck of it! For a newbie, it is definitely a challenge to write and post regularly, without pondering 101 times before clicking the publish button. I wanted to get over this nerve wracking moment before posting, broaden my thought process and develop a habit of writing regularly irrespective of life’s challenges. This made me take up the AtoZChallenge, which I first came across in mid March. The very first time I came to know about it, I was pretty sure it wasn’t my cup of tea. Why? Because I knew, I can never write daily nor come up continuously with meaningful content for 26 days. Hence, I ignored the challenge.

A week before April 1st, my reader was full of posts featuring themes for the #AtoZChallenge. Having a theme, sounds so cool, I thought. It narrows down your thought process and makes it easier to focus on topics within the theme. The excitement going around in the blogging community before the challenge, enticed me and made me sign up on 31st March, without second thoughts. I was towards the end of the list and had no idea if I’ll ever survive through the challenge at least midway. But Voila! Who knew?! And I did complete my very first blogging and #AtoZ challenge!

These are a few takeaways from my first writing challenge, ever!

Increased Readership:

Ever since I started participating in this challenge, the number of views, comments, hits increased tremendously! Not only did bloggers from WordPress take time to read and comment, but also did bloggers from other blogging platforms. I would owe the instant hike of my followers, likes or hits to this challenge. Numbers may not matter much, but they definitely boost an amateur’s confidence and do encourage bloggers to keep the momentum going.

Thinking out of ‘your’ box:

This challenge has made me think beyond my capability and comfort zone. Since I had no theme, I was open to a vast ocean of subjects. But this did not help me much as I ended up getting too confused on what to write about.

What I loved about the challenge was, I was forced to think each day, to come up with meaningful content. While, writing every day was part of the hurdle, knowing what to write about was another. I realized my potential of pondering and writing beyond what I ever imagined. This definitely helped me improve my writing skills and thought process.

Instilled Belief:

When I signed up for the challenge in the last minute, I had no idea what I would be writing about, every day. Nor was I sure that I would survive through this challenge. But as I started, I thought throughout the day, during my work on what to write. I took time to actually write, during the nights. It was definitely challenging when life came in between, with strict deadlines and accusations from loved ones about not spending quality time with them! Because, I was stressed about hitting the publish button before the clock strikes 12 and spent more time with my phone, typing!

Amidst all this, this challenge has instilled a strong belief in me, that no matter what comes in the way, I can definitely concentrate on one thing I love and succeed in the end! Part of my reason for blogging was to do what I love, to pursue my interest for writing and art. I realized I can, in spite of all the ways life can make you give up! This challenge made me determined and reminded me of what I was capable of, even during odd times!

What I could do better:

I wish I made time to read and comment on more blogs than I actually did. Due to the lack of time for coming up with my posts, I hardly had the chance to dig into more blogs, apart from the weekends. I wish I could explore more! But it was wonderful exchanging comments with fellow #AtoZ challengers.

I wish I signed up much ahead, so that I could come up with a theme, or at least prepare on what I would be writing for each alphabet. This would have saved time and would have been less stressful during busy days. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this ‘last-minute’, nervousness to think and write by the end of the day. Made me realize that I can work just fine under pressure too.

The encouragement:

The organizers of the challenge did a great job by keeping the bloggers updated. The Facebook page with comments for each alphabet, has allowed me to explore blogs and read posts with similar topics, but different takes. It was very kind of the organizers to take time to drop in their thoughts on few of the posts, once in a while. My first challenge has been a wonderful learning experience and I have no complains with the #AToZChallenge whatsoever.

I met few amazing bloggers and made wonderful friends during this stint of mine. I received great encouragement from many bloggers, that stopped me from giving up! Special mention to Gary and bloggeray, who have followed me through out and never felt tired of taking time to comment on each and every post of mine! You have no idea how much this means to me! Thank you!! 🙂

I would highly encourage every blogger to take up this challenge, just to make them remind themselves of what they are capable of. If you haven’t participated, please do consider signing up next year. Congratulations to all the survivors!! 🙂

The complete list of entries through the challenge-> AtoZChallenge- 2016

 

Zootopia- #AtoZChallenge

If there is one alphabet that I was sure of what to write about during the AtoZChallenge, it has to be Z. Ever since I watched the movie Zootopia two months ago, I wanted to put down my thoughts about it. It’s been a while since I felt like writing about any movie, especially animated. For some reason, I get more influenced by animated movies with animals in them. May be because I feel more stimulated with emotions, when portrayed through animals. One such movie that moved me after The Lion King, was Disney’s Zootopia! This is not a generalizing review on the movie, but about why I liked it.

Image Source: Google

“Anyone can be anything” in Zootopia.

This being the theme of the movie, Zootopia is a big city where every creature, from the biggest elephant to the tiniest rodent live in harmony. The city is presented more or less like New York, with high skyscrapers and busy lives.

There is this bunny, Judy Hopps living in the countryside who dreams of becoming a police officer, inspite of the society threatening her that it’s no good for bunnies. Judy moves to Zootopia for her first job posting and is the only tiny animal and the first rabbit cop in a class full of bulls, tigers and muscular carnivores who fit the bill of belonging to the Police Department. Given her size, she is underestimated and is assigned with parking duty, even though she graduates as a topper at the Policy Academy.

With unfavorable events turning up, Judy encounters a case and is challenged by her boss to take up the case. In order to be considered seriously at the Policy Department, Judy agrees to solve the mystery. Now, she is forced to work with a witty street smart Fox, named Nick Wilde. He helps her with the case and an ample number of twists turn up as the case is solved, eventually leading to a bigger mystery than expected. How Judy solves the case and emerges a hero with Nick’s help is an old wine in a new bottle. But there were certain aspects that I loved in the movie:

Busting the stereotypes:

The movie was all about showcasing beyond the typical. First, a female protagonist, next a bunny. A female rabbit who wants to become a police officer, something very unsual. The societal pressure of discouragement when an underdog wants to achieve something beyond their clan’s imagination was aptly captured!

Why should a Fox be always considered a cunning animal? Breaking this stereotype, the movie depicts how a fox suffers all it’s life due to lack of trust and just with the fear of being labelled as cunning by all the other animals. Something synonymous with the real world. Humans are pretty good at labelling or judging, specially based on established standards and perceptions. This movie tries to bust that notion.

Attention to detail:

Zootopia is no way less than New York! They have the busiest transportation system feasible to every shape and size of the animal world. There are special areas for special breeds. The malls, streets sound similar to those of real big cities. For instance, little mouses shop at Mousy’s just like our Macy’s. The Police Department very well imitated the NYPD. While our world went crazy with the evolution of Apple and it’s half eaten apple logo, Judy Hopps skypes her family once in a while from Zootopia in her iPhone with a half eaten carrot logo! May be they too had an evolution of a Carrot company that has been a pioneer with innovation! I felt giving importance to such tiny details that just pass over in a jiffy and usually go unnoticed, was impressive.

I would do no justice while talking about this movie and not mention the ‘Sloth’ episode at DMV. This was the most hilarious scenes I have watched in recent times! Genuinely entertaining, without pretentious humor. I bet no one would watch this scene without bursting out into laughter!

Motivational theme:

Anyone can do anything! How cool is that! The movie wonderfully showcases how an underdog emerges a hero against all odds, with mere determination and positive outlook. The society never stops reminding us about who we are and where we come from, but our ability to think and achieve beyond what society labels, leads us to real victory!

If you haven’t watched this movie, please do watch it! It’s fun and enlightening.