Sunday, November 01, 2009
Have you had a day, when too many things happened, many things changed, many decisions taken, many surprises seen, some promises made, some untold secrets revealed, new relationships made, some guilt washed away through long rants. That s too much for a day!! As the day draws to a close, when you take account of the things, you realize that all those are going to change the way you see your tomorrow. You did not even in the faintest of your last night thoughts imagine or expect this. The Tomorrow that you see in your mind is something unrecognizable, but it is going to come to you, for it was meant to be.
These might be,
A new job offer - the longed for one.
A new workplace - like travelling overseas.
A long wished for thing taking shape tomorrow.
A new relationship - like starting your life anew.
Some of these things can have a striking change in your day-to-day activities and you go through a mix of apprehensions, tension, unrest, newly dreamt doozie dreams. You starting living that changed tomorrow in your subconscious mind, start living in the future, waiting restlessly for the tomorrow to come or not wanting the today to go away yet. It is strange , it s creepy, it is the tomorrow that you wanted for long, but all of a sudden, it looks a stranger to you, though you know it is for the better , it scares you.
How many such "All-is-new-and-rosy-and-equally-scary" tomorrows have you had?
To one such tomorrow, that is mine.
If it is to be, it will be.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
I am shifting away from the Beautiful theme for today, because I want to talk about Tomorrow which is going to be my last Theme Post in my blog. I got into Theme Blogging about a month ago (Precisely on August 24th) when I posted this. I picked up the themes from NaBloPoMo for August and September , Tomorrow and Beautiful. With about 26 posts on Tomorrow and 9 posts on Beautiful, I am running my last mile now tomorrow and will complete my 30 blogs in 30 days for the month of September.
During this time, I had drafted a hundred drafts in my mind, in rough scraps, on my iTouch while on travel and "What to write Tomorrow" has been a persistent thought in my mind everyday.
This blog that started as a review blog, with me placing my "two pennies" on the things I read and watched has now transformed into a blog that gave vent to a lot of new things like Theme blogging.
I thoroughly enjoyed this blog ride the whole of this month, all thanks for the motivation goes to nablopomo. I am waiting for my badge "I DID IT beautifully" for the month of September to showcase on my blog and you wait for the last Tomorrow/Beautiful Series post.
I feel like this today about parting with this theme.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
I have had a lot of fun writing about Tomorrow for about a month now. The word has taken many meanings in my blog here and it was an experience of reliving some pleasant memories, dreaming some new dreams and a lot of excitement. I went through a myraid of moods while writing this and I wanted to capture the moods here. :).
Marking a mood for each post itself was fun.
I picked up the theme from nablopomo, a site that encourage blogging to be a habit by blogging everyday.
This blog will continue blogging the next week on the theme Beautiful and will return after a while to wrap up the Tomorrow series.
Wishing you all many Beautiful Tomorrows.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Well according to me, that is the most boring type of tomorrows. The predictability of your tomorrow is inversely proportional to how interesting or exciting your tomorrow can be.
When you know that you going to face the same music the next day, much to your annoyance, that s when your tomorrow becomes predictive.
When you are always tempted to call in sick to work, is a hint that work is mundane and is boring you , that is when your tomorrow becomes predictive.
When you are going through one of those toughest times in personal life, and are mourning day-in and day-out, that is when your tomorrow becomes predictive.
Sometimes, such predictability can be good, but if it is not and if any/more of these symptoms exist, before they ruin any more of your tomorrows, it is time to set it right. After all, tomorrow is another day and it ought to be different and full of suspense. Making it predictive, kills all the beauty of the Tomorrow.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Monday morning blues characterized by droopy eyes, reluctant waking up is something that I have had right from childhood. But with the advent of corporate culture, the Fridays took a new meaning. It marks joy, relaxed work, people talking about plans for the weekend, leaving early, people casually dressed and you see traces of fun everywhere around you. You see orkut and facebook messages saying "It is Friday". In life , there is a flip side to everything, so even though you Thanked God It s Friday (TGIF), there have been bad Fridays too.
I am going to limit this post only to the experiences of the Fridays at the workplace only because, accordingly to me, so much anticipation and excitement to the Fridays came only during this phase. Till before that, you realize it is weekend only on Saturday morning, when you don't have to wake up to mom's screaming to get to school.
Friday 2-3 PM
Boss: Can you get started with the Design Document? We'll review it on Monday morning so that we can send it for client review (USA client) on Monday morning US Time.
You : {Now, that brings me to work on Saturday and Sunday!! } Ya!
Thursday 9 PM:
Boss ( from Client's location in US of A): We have a demo on Monday morning US Time.
You: {Why does one have to schedule all releases and demos on Monday morning, it is a trick for the bosses to get to work on weekends! } Yeah, that means we have to fix all these issues by then!
Thursday 9 PM: {The following week}
You: I am so glad that the demo is over. After that work week without even a Sunday break, I am so glad it is Friday tomorrow.
{Come on, You still have to come to work tomorrow}
You: that doesn't matter, after all Tomorrow is Friday.
Thursday 4 PM:
Friend : TGIF. Thank God Its Friday. I am going to go out with my friends to that new pub in the city tomorrow.
Friday 8 AM:
You: Leaving early today. All pending work can wait for Monday.
Bonus Fridays are the ones which come with a long weekend with the Monday being off as well like the one I am going to have this week. Not far away is the time when folks are going to start considering Thursday as end of week, because The Next Day is Friday.
What is your Friday holding for you tomorrow? Have a great weekend!!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Yes, Title Borrowed from a James Bond movie. But what am going to write in this blog, is nothing to do with World War III or China or about warships.
It is just my little message to all of you to say that I think about Tomorrow never Dies. When it comes to its finish, it hands over its title and charm to another day which you will call Tomorrow. It always leaves you to live only its past.
Yes, we are Tomorrow's Past, any day, any moment.
Isn't that spine-tingling? Ringing in your ears? We are Tomorrow's past, clash of the tenses. Now you know what I went through when I wrote this.
The first time, I read the title "Tomorrow never dies", I got a very creepy feeling of what it could mean and what it could be interpreted as. But thinking about it for a while, it gives a very simple message to say, D.R.E.A.M, your dreams never die.
From childhood, we have had many dreams, after they are realized and lived, it loses the excitement. Yeah, dream of visiting a foreign land, dream of finding that good job, dream of getting that special someone, dream of learning a skill, so on and so-forth. When you have lived some of your dreams and the best way to live a dream is with the deja-vu elation that you already lived this very same moment - In your dream.
So, does that mean that your dreams are done and dusted with, after you have realized them? No, it only means that you now need to dream up some more doozies , for as long as there is a DREAM alive, Tomorrow never does.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tomorrow is another day -
Origin of this phrase: Source:http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/388000.html
The last line of the American Civil War novel Gone With The Wind:
Scarlett O'Hara: "Tara. Home. I'll go home, and I'll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day"
Meaning: "One may not accomplish everything today but will have another chance."
It is a day yet to take shape, a day not yet lived, a day to still hope for.
All of today's sorrows, miseries , hardships will vanish into oblivion
For tomorrow is another day.
Things that went wrong today, will be set right,
For Tomorrow is another day.
If you are sick today, you will get better tomorrow,
For Tomorrow is another day.
If you had a bad day at work today, things will change for the better,
For Tomorrow is another day.
If you had a fight with your best friend, you are going to patch up tomorrow,
For Tomorrow is another day.
For all the better things that are to be, that are hoped for will all come Tomorrow. For after all, tomorrow is another day.
Change, they say is the only constant thing.
Because things are the way they are, they will not stay the way they are, for Tomorrow is another day, another chance, another dream.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Be it after a hard days work , after a tough exam, after a tiring outing , be it one of those awful Sunday nights like yesterday, the last thought that crosses everybody's mind before sleeping that night's sleep is about the Tomorrow . More than the thought of how the day has been, the more predominant thought is about what the tomorrow going to hold for you. It is just a fleeting moment in thought of the Tomorrow.
It might be as simple as your friend's birthday , or a book that you are reading , or meeting a friend , your office meeting tomorrow, some interesting thing to try at work or your most interesting class in school tomorrow.
But some happy thought at that moment is what completes that day and let's you peacefully call it a day and look toward to that tomorrow.
A happy today may not be a great start to a good tomorrow but however bad the day has been, a pleasant thought at this moment will let you welcome that tomorrow with your best smile.
What is that fleeting moment of thought tonight going to bring to your mind of your tomorrow? Think something pleasant, sleep a peaceful night's sleep.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Jam Tomorrow:
Source: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/211400.html
Jam Tomorrow means some pleasant event in the future, which is never likely to materialize.
Origin:
Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (1871).
I particularly liked the scene in which White Queen offers Alice "jam to-morrow". It was just beautiful and a right fit to my Tomorrow Series.
Quoted below from the Source:
'I'm sure I'll take you with pleasure!' the Queen said. 'Twopence a week, and jam every other day.'
Alice couldn't help laughing, as she said, 'I don't want you to hire ME - and I don't care for jam.'
'It's very good jam,' said the Queen.
'Well, I don't want any TO-DAY, at any rate.'
'You couldn't have it if you DID want it,' the Queen said. 'The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday - but never jam to-day.'
'It MUST come sometimes to "jam to-day,"' Alice objected.
'No, it can't,' said the Queen. 'It's jam every OTHER day: to-day isn't any OTHER day, you know.'
'I don't understand you,' said Alice. 'It's dreadfully confusing!'
The highlighted lines convey the essence of the whole phrase.
It is about a promise of good things that have just never occurred. When I think of this phrase, I am reminded of those never-ending election campaigns in our country, none of those have materialized till today. These politicians shamelessly promise a host of things for the betterment of the country, we believe, we vote only to realize that the Jam that they promised us tomorrow has already been eaten. And the tomorrow in their vocabulary and dictionary is to indicate something never comes or rather in their cunning world, when the tomorrow actually comes, it becomes today.
What a way to use the word Tomorrow - in contradiction to the series of lovely meanings that I have given to the word in my Tomorrow Series.
An interesting connotation of the word Jam that I read today was that it is used to indicate
"Real jam, a sporting phrase, meaning anything exceptionally good."
So go on, Take an extra helping of Jam for your Today.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Today's post is about the phrase "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" which is an idiom that is used to indicate something that is here today, but will soon be gone.
I interpret this phrase on the same lines as "Opportunity knocks, but once, but Temptation bangs on the doors for years".
Yeah, opportunity comes only once, there are evil beings like Temptation, Laziness , Pessimism that lean on your doorbell forever trying all too hard to hide it from you, to keep you away from grabbing that opportunity.
Scare those evil things away. Get prepared to welcome your visitor standing at your door step.
Wear the optimism suit that you look best in, accessorize it with a tinge of faith, and stay warm with a lot of self-confidence as an over coat.
{Whisper} You are looking good now.
Go snatch it, Go answer your door bell and let the opportunity IN, For it is here Today, (and may be) Gone Tomorrow.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Q: What other than 00 HRS on your clock separates the Today and Tomorrow ?
A: Sleep.
This is about the times when the actual Tomorrow became Today without that Sleep. Yes, I am talking about when we walked into the tomorrow without even realising that it is Tomorrow.
Some of my such tomorrows - some pleasant and some unpleasant. Here they go
1. A friend's wedding in Calcutta with lots of fun filled events which started at 11 PM and ended at 2 AM the following day.
2. Discussing the most interesting theory over phone with a best friend only to realize it is time to get to work while still being on the phone.
3. New year's eve while aboard, watching those fireworks on the riverside.
4. At work, fighting that last minute defect for the next day's release.
5. At hospital, seeing a family member fight a illness.
6. Those tour nights or guide camps while in school or college, talking, gossiping the entire night only to realize that the rest of the group is up for the next day.
All such tomorrows have come to me, without even me realizing that it is coming. I call it the Untitled tomorrows, in my world.
How many such Untitled tomorrows have you had? How many of them pleasant and how many of them unpleasant?
P.S: Dedication to a friend who gave this idea and want to be addressed as IDEA MANI, but can give such brilliant ideas only when being alcohol enhanced.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
In yesterday's post I talked about the anticipations and expectations when Tomorrow is my birthday, today's post is about the the more emotional aspect of Tomorrow being a birthday.
Tomorrow is my birthday : The almost sleepless night and yet, The night of the longest dreams.
The dreams of those tomorrow birthday nights:
Tomorrow I turn 10:
10 is a magic number. :). Well, I just picked this number to get reminded of somewhere around this age how we felt about growing out of childhood. We started thinking of our own, making more friends, starting to be independent and were slowly getting out of the pampering mode from parents. For some of us, it may not the age of 10, it might have been a little earlier or a little later, but this phase came sometime before we entered teens.
This was a phase of dreams of small school aspirations like winning a badminton match with a friend, coming first in class, winning that dance/singing competitions, getting selected for the school team, dream of your team winning the march past shield this year.
Tomorrow I turn 13:
The start of teenage, the changes in us made us feel apprehensive, moody, self-defensive. A lot of emotions changing, a lot of preferences changing, a start of an new era on the emotional trance of life.
Dreams of looking good, buying that lovely looking pair of shoes, dreams of getting out of school with good grades, dreams of a good college and dreams of a career big.
Tomorrow, I turn 20:
The just out of teens phase.
Dreams of finding that job ( the one you dreamt up for yourself in the last phase when you turned 18 or 19 ). Dreams of earning big, dreams of getting up the career ladder.
Tomorrow I turn 25:
Dreams of exploring life, dreams of saving for parents' retirement, dreams of a better job and those doozie dreams of a life with that special some-one.
The dreams..continue..all the remaining nights to come ...
It is the time to bask in the glory of "I have got a year older, wiser!! I have a whole new year ahead to dream for, the whole year for me to realize it and to live some of my dreams during the year."
It is a day to dream a lot of doozies for the year to come, to dream grand and royal. Dream them in small installments, realize them and dream some more.
Don't just dream also take stock of the dreams that have come true and rejoice in them.
Whatever be the tough time you go through, don't just stop dreaming. Even if it is not your birthday tomorrow DREAM. Tomorrow is nothing but a DREAM for a better today.
A dream is not something that you sit and wait for, it is something that you have to achieve with all our heart and soul's earnest effort.
"Dreams are work in progress"
A contented ME dreamt this last night and I am happy that I am "Living my dream"
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
One of the memorable days in our life is the Birthdays , more so the excitement and anticipation on the previous day thinking the whole day "Tomorrow is my birthday". Like I have said in many posts, the emotions involved with this varied depending the stages of life
Tomorrow is my birthday - Phase 1
I can't wait to wear my new dress.
I am excited about people signing me Happy Birthday in school assembly.
It was lovely of my dad that he bought the latest toffee to distribute to school.
No teacher is going to punish me or shout at me for no homework today.
I can't wait for the moment where I can proudly gleam into class tomorrow with my pretty dress while the rest of the class wears uniform.
How is the special outing with dad in the evening, going to be?
Tomorrow is my birthday - Phase 2
I am curious about what my best friend is going to gift me.
I read one of the beautifully written birthday cards last time I went to shop, will somebody give me that?
Where can I take my friends out for a treat? ( Near by sandwich shop /chaat/Icecream outlet)
Is this new dress going to look good on me?
Tomorrow is my birthday - Phase 3
Is my best friend going to call to wish me?
Am I going to get my birthday goodies?
How many orkut/facebook friends are going to scrap me?
Where to take my friends out for dinner (well, this time it is like which great restaurant in the city?)?
How much of the cake is going to be on face?
Tomorrow is my birthday - Today ( now-a-days)
Despite feeling a pang of sadness these days and some pensive moments about "growing older", the birthday even today has not lost any of its charm and is still filled with a lot of excitement and anticipation the previous day.
For all those of you , celebrating your birthdays tomorrow, Happy birthday.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
All of us see Tomorrow as a bright ray of light. We see it as light because we relate light with hope, a dream dreamt, a wish realized and many such happy feelings. Today, I get reminded of the blind whose world is only that of darkness and whose Tomorrow is not about light at the end of the tunnel but as a feeling, a feeling of joy with relationships, love shared, greetings exchanged. From their smile, I infer even darkness is JOY. Light is non existent but yet there is a feeling of hope and rejoice in their tomorrows.
But if you and I could give them that light, would it not complete their joy.
Let the blind see their Tomorrow with your eyes when you are gone. Give light to another person's Tomorrow by donating your eyes.
This is in special dedication to National Eye Donation day which is today 8 SEP. Don't wait to give somebody a bright tomorrow someday, Donate your eyes today.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Every night when I get down to write this series, I faced this challenge. Despite being convent educated and having read the Wren & Martin with a lot of enthusiasm, the decision on then tense to use in these posts was a great challenge.
I am writing about Tomorrow, I know and all the grammar exercises I did advised me to choose the future tense when talking about Tomorrow. Yeah, Tomorrow is the future right? But I felt like using the present tense in many-a-occasion. I got confused so I did them recalling and reliving those grammar lessons.
Every Grammar rule has an exception , so did the rule above with respect to Tomorrow and Future Tense. Here is why?
When will you choose the Future Tense?
Express a Voluntary action
Usage: I will shape my tomorrow* in the way I want it.
Express a promise
Usage: I will make myself happy tomorrow*.
Express a prediction
Usage: I will give shape to your dreams and will live my dream tomorrow*.
When do you choose the Present Tense?
You could use the present tense with the word Tomorrow or to talk about future when you want to
Express a plan
Usage: I am going to be what I want to be tomorrow*.
Now, given all this, I really had a tough time deciding on the tense to use for my sentences in this post. I decided just based on instinct. I read somewhere, Today is a gift that is what it is called the Present. Let me tell you, Tomorrow is also a Present then because I know
I am going to live my tomorrow happily* (Present Tense)
or
I will live my tomorrow* happily.
Which of the tenses should I keep? The present is better, ain't it?
*Tomorrow in this post means Future to come.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
A spine-tingling thought to think of someone who denied themselves , their tomorrows. Yes, I meant Suicide.
Written To all those souls who took their own lives away,
Death is scary enough, from where did you muster up the courage to take life away from yourself. Did you not want to see the tomorrow? Or were you so much in a hurry to see your final tomorrow?
Did anyone tell you that you are a coward and that's why you were not ready for the tomorrow?
Let me tell you, that it takes a lot of bravery to do what you have done to yourself.
If you are listening, you did something that you had no right to do.
Though it may hurt you deeply to hear this, I have got to say this. The moments that made you lose hope in life and made you think is the worst that anyone has gone through and led you to this decision; that moment is no worse than what your loved ones go through after you have left them.
This is a dedication to World Suicide Prevention Day - 10 Sep. I was part of the Walkathon in Chennai on 6 Sep organised by Sneha - A suicide prevention organisation. The facts about suicide reported in their site was disturbing.
Friday, September 04, 2009
This is about the feelings that we went through when it was exam time tomorrow.
All the tomorrows are exhausted in preparing neat study time-table and after about a week when the time-table is discarded after realising that it is only One Tomorrow left for exam. Thanks to all Tomorrows like this.
Now it is time to take stock, how much is left to study new, how much to revise. Is it best to study the left over chapters or revise the already studied stuff? So much confusion, odd-time alarms, night time tea s, envious about all the others at home who sleep peacefully. You curse God for bringing you to this and pray hard to introduce to you soon, the world with no exams.
Exam was strategy time where you draw plans and road maps to collecting notes, predicting questions, planning how many chapters to skip studying, figuring out sections which can be studied with lesser effort and yet yielding better scores.
CHAOS - is one word which summarizes all those exam tomorrows.
When I talked about this topic, to a couple of my friends, they felt that this post should activate get my funny bone. Only then I realized, something that we dreaded and despised with all our heart a couple of years is something that we smile back at and cherish today. Ironically , we also wish for those exam days again in this exam-devoid stage of ours :)
Did anyone ever tell you that only things that you loved and held dear are missed? I hated exams then but I miss them now, do you?
Thursday, September 03, 2009
This is about the many days when we have waited for the First-Time tomorrow in anticipation of how it is going to turn out with apprehensions, doubts, excitement and joy.
A recall of some of those first-timer tomorrows
Tomorrow is my first Stage performance - Excited, Tensed. Numerous standing-in-front-of-mirror rehearsals
Tomorrow is my first day in new school - A high feeling, exuberated about making new friends.
Tomorrow is my first Job Interview - Keeping fingers crossed.
Tomorrow is my first time on the flight - Thrilled about travelling abroad. Tension about the baggage and about missing Mom's idli-dosa-vada.
Tomorrow is my first client presentation - Can't sleep the night about what to wear, how to shake hands, and collecting thoughts of how well to present.
Tomorrow is my first day in this new country - Delighted, looking forward to all the fun exploring.
All such first-time tomorrows were lived through and today they are some most cherished memories. We smile, when we think of the tension and unrest we went through. The learnings and memories from those first-time are the ones that make those things not feared any more.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
This post is about the many days when I have procrastinated the things I had do for the next day, tomorrow.
Procrastinating for Tomorrow - Type 1
This type of pushing the task for Tomorrow is because I dislike the task and can't get my mind to do it and I put it off till tomorrow hoping that the task will get done on its own by magic or the need for that to be done itself will go away. However in some cases, the task just comes back to hit you the next day , I still don't care only to get postponed for the tomorrow. I have no count on how many such things I really got done or did I postpone for ever.
The best such procrastinations have been during the school times, where I look at the study-timetable I made on Day 1 of your study holidays and kept postponing the study to every tomorrow that I had left till I realized that Tomorrow is exam time.
Procrastinating For Tomorrow - Type 2
This is a special type of Procrastinating for Tomorrow. I have postponed a few things in life for the reason that if I get it done today, it would mean parting with it, tomorrow it would not be mine anymore. Some of these have been stuff that I feared it going away from me if I do it today. I would have nothing tomorrow to long for. Like they say, Save your best for last. Like that, there are some things that you just want to keep wishing for , waiting for..Tomorrow
Type 1 is a feeling of guilt while postponing whereas Type 2 is a feeling of joy while postponing.
P.S: I went through one of such procrastinating mindset today when I got back home at around 23:30 hrs and wanted to postpone the blog writing to Tomorrow. If not for NaBloPoMo, I would have never gotten myself to write this post today.
Thanks NaBloPoMo.
