Wokay!

Archive for the ‘Consumerism’ Category

Calibrating Expectations

Posted by: Aadisht on: June 22, 2012

June has been the last month where I get to live in my own place (well, until I make new arrangements in either Delhi or Chennai. It’s complicated.) As a result, I have been making the most of it by inviting as many people over as possible and socialising like there’s no tomorrow (this will [...]

Saving for Marriages

Posted by: Aadisht on: April 8, 2012

I am at Kanchipuram today. This is due to dire circumstance and not by choice. My car is being serviced (this involves spare parts from Europe and so will take a month), and so I couldn’t drive back. The driver is on holiday for Easter (hey, Happy Easter, everyone!) and so he can’t drive me [...]

The Backpack for All Eventualities

Posted by: Aadisht on: November 5, 2011

Last night, I’d gone for a jazz concert by these guys. Unfortunately, due to heavy rain in Chennai (which may be a byproduct of the legendary #chennaisnow) , almost everybody in the audience came late. The organisers solicituously delayed the concert until everyone could come in. While this was nice of them, it meant that [...]

Lonely Planet, Amethyst, Parks

Posted by: Aadisht on: July 31, 2011

This isn’t the common name for it, since a Google search doesn’t seem to throw up the link I want, but there’s a Lonely Planet Curse: as soon as Lonely Planet (or, to be fair, any major travel guide publisher) lists a restaurant/ hotel in their guidebooks, it starts getting an influx of tourists. Since [...]

Flathunt

Posted by: Aadisht on: July 8, 2011

My career path this year consists of not being at the factory (located fifteen kilometres outside Kanchipuram) every day, but gradually shifting into a sales role, so that I’m either at the office in Chennai or travelling and meeting customers. Therefore, I am looking for a place to live that is not too far away [...]

Barriers to Style

Posted by: Aadisht on: March 15, 2011

A few months ago, I vaguely resolved to become a well-dressed person. The chain of thought leading up to this momentous decision was something like this: I ought to have  really stylish visiting cards Hmm, but if I have really stylish visiting cards I ought to have really stylish card cases too instead of yanking [...]

On Chequebooks

Posted by: Aadisht on: February 19, 2011

I used to work for Standard Chartered Bank, and so my salary bank account was with them. Even after I left, this continues to be my main account. This was partly because I already had mutual fund installments set up to be debited from it, and I was too lazy to go through the rigmarole [...]

Neo-Edwardian Calling Cards

Posted by: Aadisht on: May 27, 2010

The Art of Manliness blog recently (well, actually, a couple of years ago) had a post on how the Victorian custom of calling cards had died out, and lamented the fact: During the heyday of calling cards, using a business card for a social purpose was considered bad manners. Today, while business cards are great [...]

Not Wasting Food

Posted by: Aadisht on: July 2, 2008

Love Food Hate Waste has five tips on how to save money by not wasting food (via). Although the list has been designed with a UK audience in mind, some of the tips hold equally well for us junta sitting in India. For example: Tinned beans, frozen vegetables, meat and fish and dried fruit, nuts, [...]

I Want!

Posted by: Aadisht on: February 27, 2008

The coolest bookshelf I’ve ever seen:  Limited by space, we melded the idea of a staircase with our client’s desire for a library to form a ‘library staircase’ in which English oak stair treads and shelves are both completely lined with books. With a skylight above lighting the staircase, it becomes the perfect place to [...]