Thank you...

I never imagined the day was so near. Like, so damn near !
But it is (was) and now I am at home sleeping till 8.30, waking up to think that on a normal day my bus would have reached Tripunithura by now; at 9.30 I am having breakfast and I can't stop smiling thinking, how at this time none of you reached office and I was happily cyber scaffing! ; at 11.30 I am watching a discussion on tv and my mind wanders to the chai-time discussions we had; at 12.30 I am lunching and I know that you guys are not even hungry....every train of thought is somehow leading to that little space we so fondly called our own, where we laughed, giggled, argued over silly stuff and did everything but work. Ok, I am exaggerating. There were times when we worked. ;)

I won't say it's bad sitting at home doing nothing. I am kind of enjoying it. But it is also true that I am missing a lot of stuff. I guess I must get straight to the point of this post, which is very simple. I want to thank you guys for being there, for loving me, for giving me opportunities for personal and professional growth (that last line is right outta my rsg. letter, but I mean it), for being true friends. I would be sinning if I do not write something nice about each one of you here. So here it is, from the depths of my heart...

Expresso aka RGB: I have never met anyone who can actually look 'perfection' in the eye and say 'I personify you'. RGB is a perfectionist when it comes to her work. You would overlook it- a spot on the design with a darker tint, an almost invisible line running around a nmemonic, a slight change in the tone of the copy, a broken link, a spelling mistake...the list goes on. On a personal level, she's the most chilled out person you would have ever met. No pretences, unnecessary flourishes, ego, attitude or bossiness. A friend who lends you a willing ear no matter how silly the subject you are talking about, who has a hundred interesting tales to narrate (re-re-re-replay sometimes..hihi), who encourages, motivates and inspires. I pray to God that everyone gets a boss like her. But I guess the Lord is busy. Wonder if He would entertain such requests. I can already sense that there would be none like you in the future. You have spoilt me for sure! Love you!

KK aka Holy Lama: Truth, righteouness, knowledge, goodness, spirituality...these words resonate when I say the words Holy Lama. The fact that it has little or nothing to do with what you really are (fun, funny, naughty), is something I choose to shrug off. You definitely are my holy guru. Who do I turn to for advice in times of distress, who shows me the inside of her palm with the tip of the thumb and index finger touching each other, saying All izz well, who mesmerizes me with that halo around the head (a trick of the light of course), and who, finally who, smiles that wicked smile and mouth that funny hash-push accent, making all woes disappear into thin air? Who? Who? Who? Of course, YOU! What would our office have been, without a soul like you? KK is just the person to go to when your spirits are low, hopes hit rock bottom and when the world seems unjust and unfair. Speaking to her you will realize, just how trivial your own mental problem is. ;)
Well, take this. KK is the only person on the face of this earth who will laugh heartily at a jibe like this. Sporty, thy name is Lama. :) Your are kids are lucky to have a mom like you around. I have never said this to you but I feel obliged to share the details of my day with you. Somehow, narrating them to you makes me feel great. I love the way you talk, yes, I do. :) I love you. Miss our non-stop chattering :(

Latte aka Novice Writer: You made the process of settling in easy. No, that's an understatement. You made me realize that it was not important to know a person for a hundred years to be able to call them your best friend. The best thing about you is that you are sensitive, which makes you sensitive to other's feelings. You can never hurt a person. Intentionally or unintentionally. You are crazy enough to have dreams where vampire attacks turn you into a rabid dog, where ants where pants and where all the books that you have read and not read, form a frightening collage! In you I found another sister, a friend for life. :) I love you. You have a bright creative spark and please, please, please, don't let it die down. Fuel it, nurture it and I see you going places. Literally and otherwise. :) I have not even said half of what I feel about you but I must say this, you really mean a lot to me.

Well, so that's that. This is what I feel. Before I get too emotional and all that let me round off saying that I was destined to meet you people. That's why I also call myself Destiny's child. Because so far, my destiny has taken me to people and places I have loved. Wish me luck dear friends, I hope my destiny continues riding this good tide....

-Cappuccino

Untitled Document(Can't think of another title!)

Scene: Office
Four copywriters working efficiently & professionally (ahem)
Espresso: Gals, I am going for ‘some meeting or the other’
Gals (turning their heads): OK! Great! Tataaa!
Exit Espresso

After sometime
KK:Gals, I am going for lunch
Gals (turning their heads again): OK! Tataaaa!
Exit KK

(Pretty quiet day for the gals, eh?)

After some more time…
TDing TDing Ting Ting TingtingtinGGG....

It is Cappuccino’s mobile
Cappuccino: Hello! Where are you? Ok, I will be there in a minute
Latte’s ears suddenly become alert.
Cappuccino: A friend of mine is waiting outside to see me. I will be back after sometime. Don’t miss me…
Latte: Alright, I won’t. Tataaaaa..
Exit Cappuccino

Latte is all alone, working energetically. It is all very quiet…Spooky, Eerie... A strong wind barges in, which reminds Latte of all the spooky stories she has read… An owl hoots in the distance and a bat... No,no, shouldn’t get carried away now...Where was I?? Ah, yes…

Latte feels lonely. Why had they all left her alone? Life is cruel, she thinks. Tears of self-pity did not well up in her eyes. Thank God for that…And then..

KK glides in

KK: Where is Cappuccino?
Latte, knowledgeably: Oh, she has gone to meet her friend. Will be back soon. Asked not to miss her and all that.
KK: Ok, cool.

Back to work.

After even more time
Cappuccino storms in with a shopping bag like a super fast express train.

Cappuccino: Am I in trouble? Did I take long?? Have I lost my job???
Latte: Yea, you are in trouble, girl. The Boss called three or four times asking where you were!

Cappuccino feels at ease on cleverly noting the subtle voice modulations in Latte’s speech. Latte does not ask about the contents of the mysterious shopping bag. Something was going on. She could tell.

Cappuccino: It was a friend from Bangalore. We went to shop to buy some stuff. And I had forgotten to take my purse and thank God she did not forget her purse as well...And we had a great time and...yea, that’s it.
Latte: You shopped real fast!
Cappuccino: Yea, we sure did!

In a matter of minutes

Espresso trots in and looks at all the faces to make sure that no trouble had brewed in her absence. Seeing nothing but robotic beings, she settles down.
Latte: So how was the meeting?
A blank expression.
Espresso: The meeting? Oh, yes, it went fine. Buttered them good!
Cappuccino slowly faces Espresso like a guilty child.
Cappuccino: Er..Ma’am, I went out to see my friend during your absence.
Espresso:Really? And you did not ask my permission! Once I am out of office you all slip out, eh? Not acceptable, not acceptable!

Another sheepish smile.

More work. More silence…

Soon Latte wakes up…that is to say…Latte notices hushed voices behind her and turns to see what was going on. The three gals are smiling at her and is handing over the mysterious shopping bag to her. Latte looks like an Untitled Document as partial understanding hits her like a thunderbolt.

Latte: But…Why? What? You…
Cappuccino: This is your farewell gift. Surely, you did not think we would let you go without a gift, did you?
Latte: But…
Cappuccino: The mysterious Bangalore friend was none other than Espresso. She came back to the office after the meeting, called me, and both of us went to get you this.
Espresso: We did not want it to look suspicious so we left KK behind…
KK: We planned the whole thing over the phone. I think we pulled the whole thing off quite nicely.

Latte: Nicely?? You deserve the Academy Award for the best actresses!!!!!
The gals glows in triumph.
Gals: What are you waiting for? Open it!!

The beautiful gift wrap had hidden Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, An Anchor Quick Stitch Kit and a really sweet card + a special gift from Cappuccino.

Latte: Thank you so much gals! I am going to miss you so much…
Gals: We are all going to miss you too….
An emotional moment…

[Latte after being relieved from her job as Copywriter set to work on the Quick Stitch Kit. As for the three gals, they went on with their work in their dear old office and can be seen in the premises even now….]

The End
Hell, no, I will be around. Can’t get rid of me that easily :-)

Latte

Another year

Just one more day and the curtains come down on 2009. A year that has changed much, at work, at home and for the world. Looking back it brings mixed emotions. Let's just take a test of how much we recall... Just simple stuff. Answer Yes or No.

1. Do you remember what you wore on 01.01.2009?

2. Do you remember how many times you called or mailed your parents this year?

3. Do you remember the great bargain sale you missed?

4. Do you remember how many times you said you are going to buy a new car?

5. Do you remember how many times you thought you might not have the job by end of year?

6. Do you remember how remember how lucky you are to live in a secure country?

If you answered more than 4 Yes, What are you doing here? Tell Guiness Records about your memory power.

If you answered in more 'Nos', stay put. It's just another year.

WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Cuppa Copy Lingo

Some new words, phrases, sounds and expressions by yours truly, that just might find an entry in the Oxford Dictionary some day:

• Klipithiri: Referring to a small twist or problem
• Tsuna / Tsunapi: Thing
• Fool of a guy / Moron of a guy: When the person alluding to is an absolute fool or moron
• Is he dumb or is he dumb?: When the person on the other end pretends to be a real dumbass
• Shing: That easy
• Tapping the head or chin, twirling the tresses: Thinking
• Rolling the eye: Warning
• Don't you dare: Warning again
• Dusht Kumari: Cruel Girl
• Vyaaj Kumar: A con guy, or someone who cannot be trusted
• Santhosh Kumar: Happy Guy
• Ksheen Kumar: Tired Guy
• When to use the word 'Funny': When you want to refer to someone or something as different, ugly, awkward, bad or just plain 'funny'. Sometimes can be used as a word filler, when you run out of words, and still come clean.
• Fooling around: Again a sort of filler, where you can say 'fooling around' for just about anything without really meaning 'fooling around'.
• 'Ga' Shape: In malayalam the letter 'ga' resembles the letter 's' when horizontally tilted at 90 deg. It refers to the condition of a person when physically unwell (a combination, or otherwise, of headache, neck-ache, backache, leg-ache etc)
• La-la-la-la-la: (in a sing-song) If something needs to be done with a flourish, like write poetically or la-la-la-la-la!
• Dishkyaeow: The sound says it all!
• Zokka: Fatso task /thing/person
• No Raksha: No hope
• Ithian Bothamless: A person who has no common sense ('Botham' in malayalam means sense)
• 'Meim' (as in gori 'meim') - 'Maam' with a twist (and a dollop of butter for maska-fying) ;)

© Copyright Over a Cuppa Copy, its owners and affiliates. All rights reserved.

Mannerism: A study

A very serious study has been conducted on mannerism. The results were..erm rather amusing.

Aim: To find out the types of mannerisms in the selected specimens and to notify general public of the existence of such rare species!
Specimen: Espresso, KK, Latte, Cappuccino
Time taken: Hmm
Request: Don’t kill poor Latte, gals!!

Espresso

• Her famous jingle: lala lala la...when she wants to say something she simply goes...you know... lalalala... eg: “You can go lala lala la on that content’ - Meaning you can take your time on writing the content. (Heard that there is a recent remix version of it..hmmm..)
• When she is hungry she makes actions of nibbling....always reminds Latte of a rabbit
• Rolling eyes, straight-lipped smile, the biting-finger-nails action, the running action (ha, classic), the ‘boss’y stare (oooh scary!)- and SO MANY indescribable actions! Phew!

KK

• Sometimes bursts out laughing making every head turn
• Likes to do a dance by moving her hands to and fro, sometimes accompanied by appropriate jingles
• Likes to singgggg!! (Refer another post for a detailed description)
• Taps her chin with her fingers when in meditation or when she has just heard/ said something that requires thinking

Cappuccino

• Has the habit of saying “Yikes...Such a shame!!” whenever and wherever she thinks appropriate
• Narrows her eyes and gives a smile when she is in absolute disbelief
• Likes to add a ‘Tishyavu’ (Or something like that) for effect sometimes..like in a Bruce Lee movie..
• Likes to say “I am feeling scared” especially when Latte starts cracking un-laughable (Is that a word??) jokes

Latte

• Nods her head vigorously to let people know that she agrees with them completely and wholly
• Likes to twirl her hair when at the heights of absent-mindedness
• Sometimes tries to look at people with spectacles at the tip of her nose (Ah curse the specs!)
• Yea, Ok, likes to be a cry baby!! eeeeeeeheeeee

Observations: Specimen exceeded all expectations. This is Nobel Prize material, people!

Bang on!

Around 130 employees sat at their desks looking straight into the monitor. The only sound heard was the tik-tik-tik as fingers ran over the keyboards and the click-click-click of the index fingers on the mouse. The usually noisy Creative Department was unusually quiet as KK, Latte and Cappuccino sat thinking-typing-thinking-typing at their seats. Espresso was on leave and so her seat lay empty, the computer switched off.

BANG BANG BANG BANG! THUD THUD THUD THUD! The ‘computerish’ silence was suddenly broken.

Around 100 employees got up from their seats and looked towards the canteen from where the noise seemed to be coming. Yes, we have around 30 employees who seldom look beyond their computer screens, codes or programs. For them, no distraction is a distraction. God bless them! It takes all types….Ok…I am going into unnecessary details.

A few guys ran to the spot where the noise was coming from. We all stood there, watching the drama unfold. Latte looked alarmed. Cappuccino looked anxious. KK wanted to go with the investigating team but Latte and Cappu held her back.

After a few moments, we saw one of the big bosses (lets call him x) striding out of the canteen area with a frazzled look. His hair was slightly disheveled (mm…we couldn’t tell actually, he has close-cropped hair, you see) and his shirt was not completely tucked in. Out came another guy (the one who sets our computers right whenever there is a virus attack or something of the sort) with an equally fatigued look. Now, his hair was really ruffled and his face looked like he had received a blow. X strode off into the biggest boss’s room and the computer mechanic went out off the office. The investigating team was seen coming out with an exhausted look too.

'Fight scene! Fight scene!’ KK squeaked.

'What fight scene?’ asked Latte and Cappuccino

‘The mechanic and X had a fight! Isn’t that obvious? You didn’t see them coming out?’ KK said. She went on, ‘See X has gone in to complain to the boss and the mechanic he went out, right?’

Latte and Cappuccino nodded wildly.

'Now, I know where he has gone.’ ‘I know, I know.’ KK repeated so that Latte and Cappuccino would ask her ‘Where oh where?’ It worked.

‘Where oh where?’ chorused Latte and Cappu.

‘He has gone to write his resignation letter. Just wait and watch.’ KK chanted.

We saw the mechanic guy coming in and yes, he had a neatly folded sheet in his hand!!!!

‘See, see, what did I say?’ KK said triumphantly

Latte and Cappu swallowed hard. A fight (mm…physical) had never broken out in the office. It was surreal. Almost Hindi movie-like.

One of the guys of the investigating team sits next to Latte. He reached his desk. Keeping her eyes glued on to X and the mechanic who walked towards each other, in slow-motion, Latte asked the investigating team member, ‘What was it about?’

X and mechanic were now just a few feet away.

'Oh that..’ he said…

‘Oh what?’ Cappu, Latte and KK asked

X and mechanic were a few inches away now.

‘X got locked inside the bathroom; mechanic was trying to get him out. We helped him open the door.’

KK, Latte and Cappuccino stood there with their mouth slightly open. They must have looked very foolish indeed for the guy who broke (read spoiled) the news to them let out an amused chuckle.

The three of them looked on as X and mechanic came face-to-face; smiled at each other; X put a hand around mechanic’s shoulder in a thankful gesture and they walked towards the canteen.

Latte and Cappuccino sank into their seats and Cappuccino asked, ‘then what was that paper? Sheesh…what fools we are!’

KK narrowed her eyes, kept staring at the duo that walked into the canteen and said, ‘I think I know what the paper is…’

One vexed look from Cappu and Latte, and KK was back on her seat thinking-typing-thinking-typing….

- Cappuccino

Compare Notes

“Hello, we’re planning a get together. Come along. We can relive the good old times”, boomed Mr. Achuthan from the other end.

“Why not? Who else is coming”, asked Dad.

“Oh! The Menons, the Arvindakshans, the Nalinakshans, The Sudhakarans and the Surendrans.”

“And Hemachandran?”

“No. His mother in law is not doing fine.”

“Let me call him up”

Before I go further, this presumed get together was for some retired fellows most of them free with kids married and settled in far off places within India or in some foreign country.

“Hello, Hemachandran? Ah! Why are you not coming over for the get together? You ask your brother in law to manage for a day, no?”

“Eeek! Should one bother?”

“Bother about what?”

“What can we do? A pack of oldies who can’t drink or smoke or eat their fill? Compare notes on how much sugar one has or pressure? Or talk about the pains and aches? Iam not coming!”

Dad broke out laughing. A call to Hemachandran always makes you laugh.