A.Picture.A.Day: a daily digest of a 1000 stories

13 time zones, 6 days: Is that even possible?

Yes, I am getting ready to head to CA tomorrow for a field trip with my Entrepreneurship class. That’s from EST to PST. And I return to VA on Saturday, from PST to EST. And leave for Mumbai on Sunday. That’s EST to IST.

But..on the way I cover 13 time zones in less than 2 days actually. By the time Tuesday comes around next, I will have covered more than half the globe I think!

Because I fly:

Richmond>Atlanta>San Francisco
San Francisco>Atlanta>Richmond
Newport News> Philadelphia> Frankfurt> Bahrain> Mumbai

All I want is to be alive when I reach my mommy’s arms on Tuesday next week.

#Day 5:
Pack Pack Pack | The mess called my ‘room’ (judge me all you want :P)

Missing in Action because I’ve been Sailing Away!

So, I am on the lookout for foreign lands to sail to. Any suggestions where to steer my superb 17th century ship towards?

While I plan her onward voyages, at present The Susan Constant is ready to sail to India, as my land beckons…

India= t minus 5 days!

#Day 6
Sailing Away | To Foreign Lands

Little turkeys, colored paper & fun!

It’s that time of the year again! This week marks the American tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving Day, something I wrote about last year on my now-inactive blog Happyzine.

I love the idea of saying thanks, sharing food with strangers and celebrating abundance in one’s life. I think it is a holiday that should be celebrated in spirit everywhere, every day, and by everyone all over the world.

There have been many generous folks here at school, my new friends, who have shared their food, their joys and their abundance with me. Last year I celebrated this holiday with a traditional meal with my friend Katie’s family, and it was a grateful moment of my life. At another time, I enjoyed some delicious food prepared by a kind professor, who opened her home and heart to international students who are away from our families and loved ones.

This year, an executive partner from our MBA program, Rick Spatz, has invited me to join his family for their big Thanksgiving meal. I am really looking forward to enjoying the conversations and the delicious food tomorrow. And as a token of my sincere appreciation for Rick and his family, I made a cutesy Thanksgiving box for his little granddaughter, Kayla. I also made a similar one for my little American boyfriend, Dash- the adorable son of my friends, JD and Erica Waterman.

And with all of the other greeting cards too, I hope to show my gratitude and sincere appreciation for my friends and their families. Because guess what? At times, I swear I can feel my heart grow double in size as I think of the many generous souls and loving relationships I have found here in the United States, in my new life.

To old friends and new, to old acquaintance and new, to old things and new, to my old life and new, a big Thank You!

Day #21:
Grace, Peace & Food | Happy Thanksgiving Day

boxboard, bubble wrap and my treasures

You can always tell what kind of a person a man really thinks you are by the earrings he gives you.
~Audrey Hepburn

I <heart> earrings. If you know me, you already know this.

I also <heart> boxboard. For some weird reason.

And I <heart> bubble wrap. As a kid, I thought they were fun-tastic.

I am big on jewelry. If you know me, you already know this too. And I like to keep my earrings handy, because not many things frustrate me as much as not finding just that ‘right’ pair of earrings to team up with an outfit before I set out for the day. But when you have over 50 pairs to choose from and they are a hot mess, I am telling you I am one unhappy person.

So what do I do? I take a sheet of scrap boxboard (saved from some odd box), slap on a piece of scrap bubble wrap (saved from some electronics packaging), and VOILA! Now I have a ready to use, cheap yet effective resolution for my hot mess.

And it looks pretty too.

Day #22:

Fancy Schmancy | Best out of waste

 

With Love, From Guatemala

Since childhood, I have always been amused by the rich body of Indian folklore, which is a gift of our ancient civilization, agrarian economy and multicultural diversity. Believe me when I say people from my land love to tell stories, and that a lot of importance is attached to oral narration. Not surprisingly enough, I love to tell stories (as I am doing here); but at the same time, I also enjoy listening to tales from various regions, cultures, people hitherto unknown to me. Fortunately enough, being outside my homeland has given me plenty of chances to listen to many such new stories from far and wide. I’ve been entertained by not just American folklore, but Jordanian, Georgian, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Nigerian, Kazakhi, Colombian, Iraqi, Korean stories, all in the span of the last 471 days (no, I’ve not been counting).

Well, one of my favorite stories is from Guatemala and I’d like to share it with you. Last year around this time of the year, a few of us headed to Richmond to explore Carytown, where I spotted this cutesy little store AlterNatives. Stepping inside the store was like walking into a dream, as I immediately transformed into a bright-eyed little girl wandering about, admiring the beautiful handicrafts from around the world. My tryst with Guatemalan folklore began when I reached for the Worry Dolls and fell in love with them almost instantaneously. Once I came home, I did some more research into the legend of these Mayan Trouble Dolls and found a number of websites that tell the simple story of Guatemalan children who put their faith in these little dolls. I even found this awesome video on WorryDoll’s website that shows how to make these adorable Mayan figures. 

I was obviously fascinated by all of it and am now a proud owner of a little set of Worry Dolls, which sit on a little Scrabble bench in my room. They not only make me smile as I think of the pure-heartedness of little children, but also remind me from time to time to hand over my problems to another entity, someone who is better equipped to deal with them than I am.

With time, I have learned that being consumed by our own worries makes us blind to the sufferings of others. We fail to see the wories of others because we cannot worry about ourselves enough. But once we hand over our troubles to these little dolls, or to the Almighty, or to the Supreme Force, whoever you may choose to believe in, we enable ourselves to help and care for others because we have now taken the blinders off, we have now expanded our pie, we have now chosen to see the bigger picture, a world beyond our own little being, alphabets beyond the ‘I’, a possiblity bigger than just me, mine and myself.

I find it amazing how much there is to learn from others, even from little Guatemalan children I have never met. Would you agree?

Day #23
Tales from Guatemala | Moving beyond the self

The Many Moods of a Major

I must follow them. I am their leader.
~ Andrew Bonar Law, 1858-1923 

Major John Turner is my first friend from the U.S. Military. And the first Major I have ever known.  And one of the most humble persons I have ever met. And one of the funniest persons I have ever come across. And one of the more large-hearted human beings I have ever been in the company of.

So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that when I witnessed the ceremony tonight wherein he was promoted from the rank of Captain to Major in the U.S. Army, I was deeply humbled. And uniquely inspired. And left in awe. And moved to tears.

To be in our MBA class with John is like going to a party and still having an educational experience. It’s fun, it’s lively, it’s exciting, it’s adventurous. But it’s also listening to heroic tales I have never heard before, being part of a life I have never known before, seeing that which I have never seen before. It’s a highly educational journey for me, a first-hand sharing of experiential knowledge by a man who can tie his military training with the business education we are receiving. I think this ability to synthesize two seemingly different worlds into one is a unique trait in itself, one that has all the hallmarks of a great leader, a visionary. 

I find it an amazing stroke of my good fortune that despite being offered admission to competitive MBA programs more well-known than ours, John chose to attend William & Mary in the same cohort as I (did). Because I take it as my good luck that I have known this amazingly humble yet distinguished leader, who never fails to entertain a group with his humor, or fondly remember all his men still fighting at the battle lines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I salute you, Major John Turner. It is my deep honor to be your friend.

May you continue to serve the Constitution of the United States and its people as the much-loved, much-admired and much-respected leader that you already are.

 

Day #24:

Of Valor and Honor | W&M MBAs creating a buzz

 

 

 

Breathing, Living & The MBA Oath

“What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit.”
~John Updike

I am always scheming how to bring life to the spaces around me, adding a touch of color, a dash of eccentricity, a little madness here and there, something that can express my personality. So today I have two mixed stories, one of creating a breathing space for my spirit, and the other of living The MBA Oath.

The other day I found these two large drawers by the dumpster outside our apartment and I wondered, “Hmm..How would these look in my living room?” Of course, to find the answer, I brought them in and added a sheet of colored poster paper to each. I started to liven them up with empty wine bottles I had been saving for some artwork and placed some books by the side, adding some pretty white chrysanthemums. I also found an exquisite vintage box with gold embossing and a beautiful picture of medieval era. My roomie brought out some of her little knick-knacks, and lo! We had a living, breathing space of art to kindle our spirits!

As I was sitting in my favorite spot at home today, I noticed the little buttons I had pinned to my handbag and remembered The MBA Oath. At the Net Impact Conference a few weeks ago, my friend Angela and I met Debra Wheat from The Oath Project. She had a little table and was asking if MBA students would like to sign up for the oath and take a little button for qualities they believed in. She had a button for each: Accountability, Ethics, Synergy, Impact, Duty, Fair Play, Dignity, Sustainability, Thoughtfulness, Mentorship. Of course we were interested!! Being a firm believer of the principle of ”Doing Well by Doing Good,” I am certain that it is the only way forward for any business entity or leader desirous of being at the forefront of today’s globalized society. I am convinced that when we are the ‘bosses’ who run organizations, we ought to step back and think more like visionaries than mere managers. That when we have to lead teams, we must do so by example and not just offer lip service.

And so I signed up for The MBA Oath & urge all my colleagues to do the same. It is going to be my doctrine for the rest of my life, & it should be yours too.

To hold ourselves accountable-

for all that we do & will do,
to all those we impact & will impact,
in all ways we conduct ourselves & will conduct ourselves.

Sign The MBA Oath (but please read the entire draft before signing).

#Day 25
Color, Spirit, Rejuvenation | The MBA Oath

A Tale of Two Coffees

Truth be told, I cheated. I didn’t tell any stories for two days this week. No, I don’t want to fail at this challenge, not yet. So here’s the deal- I am going to post the stories I originally intended to put up (but obviously failed in that intent).

This first has nothing to do with Charles Dickens’ novel “A Tale of Two Cities.” But it has everything to do with how I have spent the last five days. To give you some perspective, our business school building (Miller Hall) closes at 2:00 am every night and Mr. J is responsible for locking the place up. And let me just begin by saying that I’ve been ‘helping’ Mr. J lock up the building for five nights in a row. As I sit and type this post, I am thinking that he is going to be (a) disappointed to not find me holed up in some corner room tonight, but (b) relieved that he doesn’t have to politely ask me to get the hell out of that building! Also disappointed will be the polite Williamsburg cabbies who brought me home safe after-hours. But also relieved is my roommate KatieMo, because she feels that the cabbies have seen more of me than she has in the last few days! Because tonight I am home. Because tonight I am going to get my seven hours of bedtime. Because tonight I am not having any coffee to keep going.

That brings me to the two coffees. On Sunday morning, I decide that I it’s going to be a ‘rough day’ with all the class work I have to accomplish and the 3 hours of sleep that I clocked the night before. So I wake up, hop across the street to the 7-11 store and promptly return armed with two Extra Large cups of coffee. This was enough to shock KatieMo who can attest to the fact that my coffee consumption is in the range of 1-3 coffees per month. But having recently been to 7-11 with Greg, I discovered the magic called “Pumpkin Spice.” He even shared his secret recipe:

And that’s all I needed to get past these last five days- to not feel like crap and get the job done.  And that’s why I became a follower of the 7-11 Coffee Cult for the last few days. So much so that I drank 7 cups in less than 5 days. So much so that I made a 7-11 logo artwork, thanks to Greg’s awesome idea for this picture with my two coffees. 

Oh well, “To caffeine and more!”

#Day 26
Bliss and Work | 7 - 11

MBA: When your BS just isn’t enough!

As I write this post, two things came to my mind: two things unique to W&M MBA program as far as BS is concerned.

One, the MBA beer mugs from last year. It’s unfortunate that this year we did not get to take our BS seriously, since the mugs do not sport this cool quote. And it is also unfortunate that not too many people have these cool mugs from last year, because (a) at some Mug Night last year, they ‘lost’ their mug, or (b) at some Mug Night last year, they ‘lost’ their mug. :)

I admit I lost mine too and I’m looking for a classmate who will generously give me an extra mug if they have one from last year. Because for me, this mug is more than a mug- it’s a souvenir, something that will remind me of “when my BS just wasn’t enough.”

The second unique thing about our MBA program is the yellow flag. Not just an ordinary flag, this is the American football’s answer to soccer’s penalty cards (yeah, they use this flag instead of penalty cards). Anyways, one such yellow flag finds its way to a student’s face in Prof. Dick Ash’s Entrepreneurship CAM class, especially when that student is trying to BS his/her way out of a question :) And yesterday, we had the privilege to witness the flag’s first flight across the classroom when it hit Musab, a classmate who was skillfully displaying his BS skills!

As I end this post, two things come to my mind: first, I think W&M MBAs really, like really, know their BS well. Second, we also know how to not take ourselves too seriously. I know the first one is true and hope the second one is not too far from the truth. And both are good things because they both go on to show important leadership traits- to be aware of what you are doing when you are doing it, and to have the ability to laugh at oneself (as Prof. Ash said in his “Lessons Learned” class today).

And with that, I think I will end my BS.

P.S.: Oh c’mon, you know what BS is, right? Bachelor of Science ;)

#27

MBA | A tale of BS

Teensy, Tiny, Twirled &…Tea

tea leaves
tea loves
loves tea
lives tea
leaves tea?
never.

~Uniek Swain 

#28

The Tale of The Three TeaMen | Of love and labor

Did I ever think one day anybody could make a living being a Tea Sommelier? No.
Did I ever think one day it would be my dearest girlfriend, Snigdha? Never.
Did I ever think one day I would write about tea cups & a teapot? Not in a lifetime.

And yet, I feel like a proud mamma as I bring you…

…The Three TeaMen

My own little set of little paper quilling men. Handcrafted with care. And love. And joy. And paper strips. And some glue.

My own little way of saying “all for one, one for all.”