Every day passes with a smile…..2 years have completed so quickly, I can hardly believe it. I love this day so much because there are so many great memories that joined with it. It is the day that Neeraj and I got married in Jaipur, then last year a day that we spent with Neeraj’s parents here in the USA, and this year a day that we will spend with my parents, Suraj, and friends.

Prior to getting married, Neeraj and my conversations always were around, “Hum log ko yeh karna hai….woh karna hai“. “We will do this after getting married, we will do that….” Its amazing how much we have done in the past two years….just like we had planned.

Neeraj, you are the most important person in my life today. You have always been there for me when I needed a suggestion, idea, thought, and you have always come through to solve my problem. You care so much about what I want, what should we do, what would be best for our life. I know that i try to do the same, but there is so much that I want to learn from you. May Mata Rani shower us with blessings on this special day.

I love you very much. Wishing you a very Happy Anniversary!!!!!!!

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

If in case you have not heard, there were about 8 blasts in Jaipur yesterday evening Indian Standard Time.

Neeraj’s immediate brother (Manoj Bhaiya) and sister-in-law (Maya Bhabhi) live in Jaipur. When I heard the news at 10.45am yesterday after a voicemail from my mother, I called Neeraj to make sure he knew. He did, and he was already calling his eldest brother in Hindaun City to make sure Manoj Bhaiya and Maya Bhabhi are fine. The mobile phone line was cut off after the bomb blasts happened, so it was after an hour or so when we finally heard back.

The majority of Neeraj’s extended family also live in Jaipur. This also includes his eldest sister-in-law’s (Renu Bhabhi) family. They live & work in Chandhpol where one of the blasts occurred. They were also all fine.

My friends that went with me to India for Neeraj and my marriage may remember atleast one of the places quite well - Bapu Bazaar. They had the opportunity during that time to go around Jaipur with my family members, including Johari Bazaar and Bapu Bazaar.

Very tough time for the South Asian countries. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families that have lost a loved one in this horrific blast. The blasts did happen on bicycles and so far 12 have been detained that may be linked with the blasts.

Such things are awful when they happen - and we pray that we have peace on earth very soon.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

It was a wonderful weekend due to one person: Mumma. It was a special weekend for our family because it was my dear mother’s birthday and mother’s day. So today’s post dedicated to NP’s dear mothers.

Current Tune: Chaaliya - Tashan

Change is good…especially when that change involves technology. Before that, welcome my dear blog to our new theme. I hope that you like your new look because I love it Neeraj finally helped me get the stupid widgets to start working - so now I have a new thing to add to your sidebar.

So in the weekend I called DirecTV because I wanted to find out if we were in any type of contract. Ever since the announcement that Star Plus and Star One is now being shown on Dish Network, there has been really no motivation for Neeraj and me to keep DirecTV.

Current Tune: Sab Kuch Seekha Humne

So I have updated to the latest version of wordpress - 2.5.1. Its an achievement because the last thing that I have been working on these days is my blog. Sorry dear blog, sometimes there are other priorities that took over our life. But now its just the beginning of your makeover. A new theme will be headed soon, but first, I have to make it.

In other news…….

Neeraj and I have a lot going on for this week……just like any other week. I am looking for a way to convert a powerpoint file (ppt) to dvd. I have a slideshow that Neeraj and I created of our wedding photos and music that we used behind it that I would like to convert into a DVD. But I am not able to do it using the Roxio DVD Creator software that I have. So if anybody has any suggestions that would be great.

I have to go to the mall this weekend. We will be in Morton this weekend for an engagement party, and we need to get a card to give them. It will be great seeing the family after two weeks.

Neeraj and I have to look at our stuff and what we need to get ready to go back to our MBA classes for the summer. Looking for books is one of the things on target……

Then there are always other stuff that come up that we need to complete so the week will hopefully just fly. I would like to update the blog to the latest and greatest Wordpress version, but that always get put on the backburner.

We are still looking for bedroom furniture too….we have given ourselves an April 18 deadline to buy it

Sometimes its incomprehensible to me how arrogance can take over a person. Just because you were given a promotion or even a pat on a back, doesn’t mean it makes you better than someone else. I can’t say that this just part of Corporate America because this happens eveywhere. You see it more and more that people can promoted because of what they say and how they can say it, rather than their capabilities. The wrong ones move up and the good ones get left behind. I can’t say that all managers make these mistakes, but it seems there are more of them then the ones that will stick their neck out and make the right decision. Just because you are friends outside of the office doesn’t mean that you need to reflect that on your judgement and decision making in the office. That’s the big mistake that I have seen in my experience that managers/decision makers do on the job.

You must be thinking - why is she writing about this? Did something happen to her recently? No nothing has happened. I have been observing such trends since I entered Corporate America so that I can learn about how business works, to learn, and reflect upon it.

Just recently I told Neeraj that when we open our own IT company, I am going to make sure that such mistakes are not made. I want to be in charge of the internal resources so that I can make decisions that would be best for the company and its employees. People get treatedly badly all the time, sometimes its political. I hate that - there is no reason that politics needs to be involved for the betterment of the company. The shades of gray in business has been brought in by the people and needs to be changed by the influential — that is if you have the guts. That is what I see is lacking in today’s companies. No one takes on the initiative to make the big change because unfortunately they are too worried it will fail.

You can’t go wrong in your company right? I wouldn’t think so. Its amazing where Neeraj and I are in our lives right now. I see us growing more and more, thinking about such aspects that we had never thought about before, and many people our age don’t think about. We have an action plan for what we want to do 10 years from now - where most people couldn’t even realize where they will be in that time.

You do have to be realistic which I understand. But I know that if I was an authoratative position where I could make the hard decisions for the betterment of my own company, then I could do it. If you don’t have happy employees then all you are going to have is higher turnover and low motivation to get the job done. People should feel that somewhere that company is their own as well, and they should work to make it better, as if it is their own. Alot of people work because they have to not because they want to. Those are another type of people, along with the arrogant ones, that I wouldn’t tolerate in my company. They are only bad news to the company and a deteriment to what could be outstanding for a company. The ideas are flowing like crazy, and I am liking it. Its the time now that Neeraj and I can take to grasp and learn all that we can, gain the experience, so it can be applied when its our turn.

Its easy to make the same mistakes over again that you have seen or if its happened to you. Its harder to achieve the ability to learn from the wrongdoings from others, and take it on as an initative to change and not let it happen again. That’s the passion that I have to do. I have always wanted to make a difference a person’s life, career, or any other way possible. Realistically it will happen - it just takes time.

The other important thing to remember is that the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen - if you just wait and take a hard look. So I will take my frustration that I am seeing today as a positive note, learn from it, and not make the same mistake when I am the decision maker.

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.

I have got this ‘one post a month’ routine going on these days that I need to stop. Its just so difficult finding time. There are many times that I think to myself, that is a topic that I need ot blog on, etc… but it just never makes it.

Our immunizations saga still continues…mine is finally done. We are waiting on a response from the university on Neeraj’s immunizations (if they have accepted it). What a hassle!

Congrats to the Under 19 India cricket team for beating South Africa in the World Cup. After going undefeated in the tournament you deserve the win

As you may have seen in my previous posts, customer service is a big issue for me. If I don’t get the service that I feel that I deserver as a consumer, I blog about it. There are many big companies that have failed in this that I have blogged in the past about such as Verizon Wireless, Air India, Sears, Citibank, and so many more that you could search for on the blog.

Now there is another company that has joined in that realm of unsatisfactory customer service: eTrade. Its been just about a month or more since Neeraj and I have been trying to get a savings account open with them. Its like dealing with an Indian company. “Well, we need to do this veriifcation, that verification. You will need to fill out this form, that form.”

The reason that we were opening a savings account with eTrade was because our current company, ING Direct have recently slashed their interest rates due to the alleged upcoming US recession. At that time, eTrade was offering a whopping 5% interest rate for a savings account, and so Neeraj and I jumped on it.

A month later, we still don’t have an account open. God knows why because every time we call customer service they really don’t know why the account hasn’t been created either.

Now the interest rate is 4.10%. That sucks. ING Direct is still worse so it still makes sense to open the savings account, but it would be nice to get somewhere with the eTrade folks to get it open so that we are able to deposit the money.

So again on Monday Neeraj will call to find out what he needs to do next to get this account open. ING Direct was definitely not this difficult to get the account open. It was a very simple and easy process. Immediately after opening the account we were able to start depositing money. With eTrade, nothing seems easy.

So if you want to look at savings accounts, you might want to think twice on eTrade… I know that we have now since experiencing such bad customer service. It would be nice that today’s companies start caring for their customer who is bringing in the money rather than not paying attention to them at all. eTrade - wake up!

Alvida. Jai Mata Di.