Talent...abundance...but sometimes it is so hard to materialize

This is a oil on paper. This aint a painter but a budding fashion designer.

Ever since he was in his teens, he has been loading me with drawings, every weekend. Patterns that he made, new colour schemes, with a different flavour. I was never serious about them except telling him he was good or areas where he needed improvement.

Until today, when i am touched beyond words. With the spirit and passion that a hobby lends. This is my brother, who has immense potential and better still, relentless passion. Who moved to Canada when he was 18years, by himself, from India. Who really really wanted to study fashion designing from Nift, India, decided he could not manage his tuition fee and material expenses (never realised Fashion was so expensive to pursue until he told me), moved to Canada and enrolled himself into more job based study courses. Today he works a 9-5 routine for a random wierd thing we like to call stability, but his hobby is very much alive.

As I sat there clicking the many patterns and designs , I liked, tears brimmed my eyes. I saw his eyes were moist too. Little dreams, abundant talent, sometimes so hard to reach for lack of abundant resources at the right time.... Yet so much of enthusiasm, happy positive do-it attitude, loads of happiness in life , NO regrets, pride in all the little things.

Am very proud of you Rajat. And many never-say-too-tough attitude people, who make happiness in life from everything, who never regret, who pursue for plain happiness and not an end goal.

Love

Me

Salad Club

Well I think it worthy of a mention. What essentially is a club ?

A club is a conglomeration of a group of members, with a management created to advise direction and functionality, for facilititating a common cause. So we have heard of a yatch club, a sports club, a kitty club, Desi party club, the laughing club and now a rare innovation all for a good cause .... Salad club.

In my office, for lunch time, a bunch of about 10 people got together to realise that the cafeteria food was expensive and unhealthy over a lifetime spent at work. Packing food in the morning was a chore. And yet we end up not getting the essential vitamins and minerals and need to depend on our daily Vit capsules. So there was a need felt. A small effort in the direction was that these 10 people pooled in 10 salad items in the fridge for the week, with a promise to replenish every week and share within the group.

Sounds simple right. Today the effort has become 25 people. Which means a salad buffet to say the least every lunch hour, every week. All you do is pay $5 per week to the lady who buys green leaves and tracks a schedule for someone to lay out and then clear the buffet ( a 10 minute task per day) for the group. Other members simply bring in one item per week and put it in the common fridge. And there you go, 25 people eating healthy food at minimal cost everyday at work.

What a simple and fantastic idea put to work. And the menu sounds good t00 - Chicken fingers, tuna, boiled egg. cucumber, salad tomato, peanuts, almonds, pineapple, oranges, celery sticks, crackers, beetroot, cottage cheese, a myriad dressings and ... the list is pretty sumptuous.