Cheers

I vanished from my blog as I had left too many things for the last moment before leaving for my vacation and it was a choice between writing goodbye and leaving in time to catch my flight.

I went home.

Crammed in as much of being at home, eating mom-cooked food, soaking in the sun, shopping and meeting old friends as possible…and well let me keep adding more details as I get time

For now I wish you all A Very Happy New Year and a wonderful time ahead.

To Another Year!

The HSBC Credit Card trauma continues

I thank my friends who egged my on to continue the fight against the bullying. And I apologize to all of you because I caved in, agreed to settle up by paying up for something some thief bought (proved by the charge-slips sent to me by HSBC, which obviously the retailer didn’t verify):

There is still a part of me which winces at the thought of paying up. Just encourages them to continue doing what they do (just try looking it up on the Internet you’ll find more cases than you’ll have time to read through), but I have my reasons:

1. I do not have the time, money or energy to fight through the courts.
2. I do not want to start another year with a debt in my name (no matter who was responsible).
3. I have had ENOUGH.

 I do not want to spend everyday of the rest of my life talking someone calling on behalf of HSBC. I have developed a high degree of HSBC phobia-I do not want to do anything with that name again.

So much that when a guy popped up from behind the grocery counter at a supermarket with forms for a “free” credit card on which I get points every time I shopped there-the HSBC logo was the first thing I spotted.

NOOOOOOOO! I don’t want a HSBC card.

Ma’am this is the Supermarket card. It is free. You will get special offers………

Yeah. But the credit card company is still the same. They have been harassing me for the last six months. You want to know how many other victims have faced the same.

It’s ok Ma’am. 

He pops back behind the counter just as fast, as he notices other potential targets paying asking me for more details..

I tell them. And I also tell them not to go by just my story.

Before you sign up for any credit card, please read through all the fine print on the form and also on the respective website (the forms don’t have it all).

And read all the reviews and user experiences on independent web sites/blogs/forums...... wherever.

Had I done that I would have never signed up for this one!

As for the bank, I am sooooooooo done with them that even when they wrote to me to say they are reporting me for default, and that they have reduced my credit limit to zero, I didn’t write back telling them what they can do with their credit limit.

Just wrote this hoping that this is closure, and I and anyone else for that matter, never have to deal with this organization ever again.

The Female child

After Swaram's post I just could not help sharing my experience.

We longed for a daughter. Yes I was ready to bring up a son with the same love and affection-but we still wished…

I went for the regular ultrasounds to a family friend who never confirmed if it was a girl and so I had doubts. And the last thing I remember whispering immediately after the baby, as everything passed into a blur was…Tell him it’s a girl!

Reactions:

The hospital staff was full of sympathy as they slinked away to other patients to collect Baksheesh: Oh, it’s ok. This is just your first child…

Uncle who did my ultrasounds: Beta, I don’t tell anyone if it’s a girl. Because if anything happens it’ll be on my conscience….(I knew what he was trying to say, but still could not believe “normal” people would do what he was implying)

People who did not matter: Chalo theek hai. Lakshmi aayee hai. Aglee baar........(err Congratulations, but better luck next time!)

My family was furious. How dare anyone imply that she was not welcome? I was so thrilled with my baby that I seriously didn’t mind the opinionated, ignorant, deprived fools for their conditioning.

And then I did it again!

Some “well-wishers” were so over-whelmed with sympathy that they just couldn’t keep it to themselves: You didn’t get a scan even though you already have a daughter?

No matter how futile arguing with fools is, I could not let that one go. These were prosperous, well qualified people. What do they think having sons will accomplish? All for the big deal of another generation with the same surname? And the hope of the son sharing his dowry when he reaches an auctionable age?

For that they are ready to kill a baby before she is born.

I am so sad that there are so many of them still around.

I am so happy I have my baby girls to cherish!

A day in a life of Mom (with Computer savvy kids)

To anyone who finds the learning useful…

When the kids are not fighting over computer time and you know that something is very wrong, and you switch on the PC to find the screen looking like this…

One option is as Aurora suggested-just hang the monitor upside down and continue working.


For the ones who prefer more “in-the-box” solutions, just move the mouse left to right and top to bottom to figure out how exactly you need to move it to reach the right point when the screen is reversed (it’s quite easy one you get the hang of it).


Right click on the screen and scroll (with the mouse in reverse) till you get this menu.

And select the degree of rotation-depending on what your kid managed to do.

It’s simple isn’t it? Especially if you’ve had a couple of times to practice.


How on earth did they do it in the first place?


No point in asking unless you are prepared for an endless stream of:


But I did nothing…
She must have..
No I didn’t even go near it…
And I didn’t even look at it….
Oh! She is such a….


And if you are a mean Mom like me, you’d wait for one whole day before you let them know the screen is upright again!