And I'm so loving it. So far atleast. ;)
It's been a few days now, and I love the entire feeling of home-work-home all over again. The first day, I almost run through the heavy doors as I am a wee bit late, and pass by a smiling lady at the coffee room. "Helloooo, 'Morning," she calls out. I catch a quick glimpse of her, don't think of stopping to return her hello (on hindsight, kick myself for that!), and just keep marching.
I meet 'A', my boss, a pleasant, friendly man, who was even kind enough to put away my coat and bring me a cup of coffee! We talk about our weekend activities, discuss work briefly and then he gives me a quick introduction to the rest of the staff. I am instantly enamoured by 'P', mostly in her mid-60s, short, sharp-speaking and so so active. "Any help you want, come to me," she says. "Of course," I say.
"How do you spell your name?," is something that almost everyone asks me. A-N-J-U...I tell them, "Anju." Every single time, they repeat after me, "Anjou". Well, if that's how they like it! Then comes 'G', 6'2'' and dapper to say the least, but way into middle-age. 'A' introduces me to him, and he says, "Oh, Anjou...like the wine, is it?" I look lost, and my mind is racing; I hear my alter ego scream at me inside my head, "Don't just stand there you dimwit, respond!!" I cannot fathom how my name can remind someone of wine, unless the man has downed a couple of bottles first thing in the morn, and a decent Indian name reminds him of wine, and only wine! But 'A' comes to my rescue, and says, "Oh yes, very much like the wine, easy to remember isn't it." "Absolutely! Welcome aboard then Anjou, I do hope you have a great time here," 'G' says. I am still rooted to the spot, dumb smile plastered on my face, not knowing how else to respond.
Introductions done, 'A' lets me settle down. I look for the nearest system, log on to google, and type "anju - wine" to see where the uncanny resemblence came from. "Did you mean: anjou - wine," the monitor shoots back. I clicked on that and yeah, the answers to my strange existence lay right there. Anjou is indeed a wine. From France.
'A' comes in again, and tells me that the CEO is around, so it's a good time to get introduced to her. We go up to a chamber, and I walk in find none other than the lady from the coffee room. Realisation strikes, and I'm numb again. "Anjouu...Welcome aboard," she smiles. I'm left mumbling, and for the second time in the day, more than a bit embarassed. Oh well, I can just pretend that I'm a bit hard on hearing. Atleast until I settle in!
25.1.08
Little do-gooders
The doorbell rang at 4 pm, when it was just about getting dusky. I'm a little wary about opening doors to total strangers in a new country, but this time I saw two little blonde girls, all giggly but buzzing with energy. "Hiya there...we were just wondering if you would like to make a contribution to our pound...you see, my mom works in this dog house, and we have about 100 dogs there, all caged and we are doing a dance and raising money and would u blah blah blah..."
"Hey, wait a minute, would you guys go a bit slow?" I ask a bit sheepishly. "Sure. We are raising money for dogs. They are in a pound home where my mom works, and these dogs are all caged in and you can see their ribs. I got one home and I am keeping him home till he gets better, but you see there are so many other dogs like it. We need to raise 10 pounds per dog. Would you like to contribute? Oh by the way, I'm Lacey and this is my friend Dorris," she says, pearly whites showing.
I really want to say yes to them but I hesitate remembering that the only money I have is a 20-pounder. "I'd love to help you girls, but I don't have change right now. Would you'll be able to come back tomorrow?" I ask. Lacey smiles now, and she says, "that's perfectly awrite, coz' we have change." I suddenly feel rather dumb but manage to brush that aside and ask them to wait, as I run upstairs to get some cash. Fortunately, I find some coins in my bag, and I run back with 4 pounds. "I have 4 pounds in change, would that be okay?" I ask. "That's puurfect. We have a dance for you. We're doing this for everyone who contributes. C'mon Dorris, take out your cell phone." Before I knew it, cell phones start blaring Solja boy (btw, that seems to be the hip-hop anthem of the youngsters in the UK now!) and the two girls are performing a neat little choreography. "You girls are doing a great job. How old are you?" I ask.
"I'm 10 and she's 11. I love dogs you know, coz' I've had like loads of them until now. My mom loves them too, that's why she's helping out at the pound. Do you have a dog?" "I had one," I respond, swallowing. As if reading my mind, she tells me, "You can join the pound if you want to. They pay you 5 pounds an hour, and you can earn upto 350 pounds a month! And you get to help all these dogs, they are just wonderful, you really ought to see them" I will, I tell her. She hands me a chart and a pen to put in my name and address. "We'll send you an invite to our dance show," she grins. "I'd like that," I tell her. Lacey and Dorris take the chart back, briefly survey the neighbourhood for other dog-lovers, deliberating on which doorstep to land on next. "Wowwwie...we have 8 pounds already," squeals Dorris. I wish them good luck, and tell them to keep up their good work. They smile back. I'm left wondering when was the last time I did something about a cause that I was passionate about.
I don't have an answer.
"Hey, wait a minute, would you guys go a bit slow?" I ask a bit sheepishly. "Sure. We are raising money for dogs. They are in a pound home where my mom works, and these dogs are all caged in and you can see their ribs. I got one home and I am keeping him home till he gets better, but you see there are so many other dogs like it. We need to raise 10 pounds per dog. Would you like to contribute? Oh by the way, I'm Lacey and this is my friend Dorris," she says, pearly whites showing.
I really want to say yes to them but I hesitate remembering that the only money I have is a 20-pounder. "I'd love to help you girls, but I don't have change right now. Would you'll be able to come back tomorrow?" I ask. Lacey smiles now, and she says, "that's perfectly awrite, coz' we have change." I suddenly feel rather dumb but manage to brush that aside and ask them to wait, as I run upstairs to get some cash. Fortunately, I find some coins in my bag, and I run back with 4 pounds. "I have 4 pounds in change, would that be okay?" I ask. "That's puurfect. We have a dance for you. We're doing this for everyone who contributes. C'mon Dorris, take out your cell phone." Before I knew it, cell phones start blaring Solja boy (btw, that seems to be the hip-hop anthem of the youngsters in the UK now!) and the two girls are performing a neat little choreography. "You girls are doing a great job. How old are you?" I ask.
"I'm 10 and she's 11. I love dogs you know, coz' I've had like loads of them until now. My mom loves them too, that's why she's helping out at the pound. Do you have a dog?" "I had one," I respond, swallowing. As if reading my mind, she tells me, "You can join the pound if you want to. They pay you 5 pounds an hour, and you can earn upto 350 pounds a month! And you get to help all these dogs, they are just wonderful, you really ought to see them" I will, I tell her. She hands me a chart and a pen to put in my name and address. "We'll send you an invite to our dance show," she grins. "I'd like that," I tell her. Lacey and Dorris take the chart back, briefly survey the neighbourhood for other dog-lovers, deliberating on which doorstep to land on next. "Wowwwie...we have 8 pounds already," squeals Dorris. I wish them good luck, and tell them to keep up their good work. They smile back. I'm left wondering when was the last time I did something about a cause that I was passionate about.
I don't have an answer.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)