#464 Unnamed - #BlogChatterA2Z

 Unnamed

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

Few connections are unnamed,

They don’t find a place

in your life; permanent,

It’s just we connect for reasons

Known, unknown, or coincidences,

Or is it sort of serendipity?

Whether the experiences are pleasant

Or unpleasant, they did their part

Which had been assigned

To them by a power much higher and

Stronger than all of us,

They were a part of our lives,

Thank them for whatever they offered,

Whether ideas, time or lessons,

That we must always remember,

They did what they had been asked for,

Nothing less or more,

Aren’t we all part of this

Incomprehensible cosmic design?

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Swati Sarangi

28.04.2022

#463 Remote Work - #BlogChatterA2Z

 Remote Work

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

One of the working cultures that the lockdown brought is that of the remote one. I am not sure how common it was before lockdown, but it sure existed before lockdown, even though not so popular. I have always supported working from the office until my recent experience. I have joined a job which consumes 3 hours of time in the daily commute to the office from my home by public transport. Long commuting hours leave me exhausted to do anything after I am back home after work. How great it would be if 15 hours of weekly commutation time to my office could be saved!  My experience of working from the office has been excellent where I get to meet my colleagues and face-to-face conversations keep me motivated throughout the day. I look forward to going to the office but the transition from home to the office has not been so easy or very motivating. That kept me thinking about the benefits of remote or hybrid work.

Remote working is a boon, especially for those who have to travel long hours to their workplaces, and for women, it is a productive hack. In an Indian household when a woman is expected to perform household chores due to an unequal division of responsibility of household chores, long traveling hours can be channelized in productive ways. Working remotely gives one flexibility to do his/her work and if one is honest in his/her conduct and integrity, no matter where he/she works, he/she will always be working towards meeting the goals. Not everyone needs someone to keep an eye on him/her to bring him/her on the track.

Remote working may not be the same as that of office work but if an employee can deliver better results, with flexibility and application of available technology, to an organization, what could be a better option than that?

 

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Swati Sarangi

27.04.2023

 

 

#462 Quantity Over Quality - #BlogChatterA2Z

 Quantity over Quality

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

Most of you must have come across this famous phrase "Quality over Quantity" emphasizing the quality of the work, product, service, etc. rather than the quantity. In this article, I want to stress the reverse phrase, "Quantity over Quality". It's always easy to demonstrate some ideas or concepts through examples. Let me take an example of developing any hobby such as writing.

When someone is building a habit, it requires consistency. If one is sincerely putting effort into any of his hobbies, he need not worry about the outcome. I am participating in the #BlogChatterA2Z Challenge where I commit to posting 26 articles in different letters for the month of April. There have been several drafts lying on my laptop; unpublished, waiting to be made perfect. To complete this challenge, I have to be consistent rather than a perfectionist. There's no point in aiming to produce quality content when I am not able to produce even a single article in the cobweb of being perfect.

Perfection is often a myth as so aptly put in this quote: “I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business.”― Michael J. Fox. While chasing perfection or aiming for quality output, one must not stop trying once more. One of the famous mathematical notations representing consistency clearly is the following. It shows that putting in even 1% of effort in anything every day for a year yields growth of 37.8% whereas if someone stops putting 1% of effort in anything he does, every day in a year provides him the result of only 3%. So, consistency is the key to excellence.

 

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Swati Sarangi

27.04.2023

 

 

#461 Nice to meet you - #BlogChatterA2Z

 Nice to meet you!

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

Ever since I landed in this place where I’ve been living for a period close to a year, I have developed an intense desire to meet and interact with people and get to know them. I believe that everyone has many stories to tell, which are indispensable incidents in their lives. I try to strike up a conversation with anyone I come across, be it at the bus stop, metro station waiting for the train, or in a workshop or a shopping mall. This is something so unusual for an introvert like me whose mind would be full of conversations. At least I got to know a thing or two that I didn’t know before. I’ve recently observed that it’s so amusing and interesting to talk with people. People are important networks; be they active or passive.

I joined a job a week before where I get to meet new people every day as many of them are working remotely. The natural flow of conversation makes me forget the exhaustion caused by the daily commute to the office which takes around 1.5 hours one-way and I, actively, look forward to going to the office. The lunch table becomes the place of gathering during office hours where several topics ranging from the latest technology to hobbies like hiking, singing, etc. are brought to the table. I realized how common interests bind people more intensely than professional engagements.

Another reason to connect to people is that I have been learning Finnish leisurely and what could be a better way to learn a language other than practicing it with native speakers? About my Finnish knowledge, I am a beginner. Thanks to Google Translate, which I use frequently to translate from English to Finnish. With the discovery of my nature of loving to interact with people, I have found myself saying “Nice to meet you” more than ever before.

 

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Swati Sarangi

23.04.2023

#460 Me and myself - #BlogChatterA2Z

 Me and myself

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

You have to always remember,

That you’re your priority

Whether you’re committed to

Someone, married or single,

Try celebrating your success

When others don’t praise you,

Try lifting yourself up,

Cheering you whenever you can,

For failures are not final,

And good days aren’t so far.

Dress up for yourself in

The finest of the attire,

Take yourself out on a

Finest restaurant for a treat

That you’ve always deserved.

It’s never so selfish to try

To care for yourself

Amidst the chaos of life,

Feeling proud of your existence

And every little tidbit

That makes you who you are!

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Swati Sarangi

23.04.2023

#459 Test of patience - #BlogChatterA2Z

Test of patience

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

The last week has been a very hectic one for me with so many tasks to be completed one after the other. While it brought me the excitement of joining a workplace and on the other hand, the daily commute to the workplace left me exhausted. I was not able to process everything happening in my life at a lightning speed owing to the fact that I had recently recovered from a fever and cold. How strange is the timing of life, when you eagerly wait for the occurrence of an event, when that moment comes, you are not able to live or enjoy that moment because of some factors like health or other issues.

In the last week, my days started as early as 5:30 am to prepare breakfast and lunch for both of us, then catch two buses to my workplace; one at 7:30 am and the other at 8:19 am which would drop me at my workplace at around 8:45 am. There was enough time I got during my travel I would spend either reading a book, talking with my family members, or reciting my daily prayers or affirmations in my mind. The office is awesome, I like the vibes of my colleagues and the surroundings. I felt happy to have met a lot of people sharing common interests and I don’t miss any chance to interact with people, be it in the workplace or outside of the workplace. I found a colleague with whom I would take the bus home after work at around 5:20 pm which would drop me at my destination at 6:30 pm, then a 10-minute walk to my apartment.

There were commitments other than my professional work too. I completed all the assignments of the course I had been enrolled in and submitted the final essay. I did the review essays of my peers as expected of me and received the grade. Now, I am waiting for the final grade of the course. I completed the April’s Challenge of DuoLingo. I am committed to completing the #BlogChatterA2Z challenge and I realize that I am lagging heavily behind the schedule. I realized that it is the test of patience. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. I developed a stronger desire to finish off the tasks with more patience rather than feeling anxious about them. This post is the result of it. I would try to give my best to complete this challenge because I had already completed the #WriteAPageADay challenge.

Challenges are meant to be difficult, and life is a challenge. Completing challenges provides infuse immense confidence. If challenges were to be easier then everyone would have done them.

 

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Swati Sarangi

23.04.2023

P.S: The picture of the flower that you see in this post is from the garden of my apartment. The blooming of the flower reminds me of the harshest climate it had endured to come to this stage. Similarly, the outcome of every grind is as beautiful as this flower.

 Edit: This post received the TOP BLOG Badge at BlogChatter.

 

#458 When in sickness and in health - #BlogChatterA2Z

 When in sickness and in health

 This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

In the morning, while going to work today, I saw an elderly couple, probably over 80 years of age, holding hands in hands, and going toward the hospital. I was moved by watching the couple which reminded me of the Christian Wedding vow, “……… when in sickness and in health……..” What’s love if it doesn't go through a testing time of sickness of a partner? I often wonder about this disparity in understanding basic human values. In some parts of the world, where love is conditioned on so many factors and the threat of separation, blackmail, and other evils of social media. I wish love was simple and pure just the way my blessed eyes witnessed it.  As the couple walked away, I closed my eyes and prayed for their long lives.

 

Long ago, when they were young,

He met her at the metro station,

Waiting for the train,

Destiny had already planned

Their union oblivious to

Both of them

Both got into the same cabin,

As the train picked its speed,

They saw each other,

Right in front of them,

He was mesmerized by her beauty,

And she fell for his smile,

That’s how they might have met,

My mind weaved a story,

As imaginative as their meeting might be,

It made my heart full,

Years of courtship were divine,

As they were content being with

Each other, not many years later,

Standing were they at the Altar,

Taking wedding vows,

“…… when in sickness and

in health….” They chose each other,

Even today, many years after that vow

Their footstep supports each other,

What’s love if it doesn't go through

A period of test and trial?

May lord bless this couple,

And make them live longer.

 

 

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Swati Sarangi

19.04.2023

#457 Kindness - #BlogChatterA2Z

 Kindness

                                        This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

Be kind when you can,

To others as their paths cross,

Kindness is something,

That costs nothing

So why do you shy away

From lending a should to

Someone who wants to cry?

Why do you not smile at

Someone, you pass by?

Can you be a listener to someone

Who wants to speak his heart out?

Can you cheer someone up

With your silly jokes?

Just look around and observe,

There may be people who

Wants to be heard,

Be kind to strangers even when

They might not help you

The way you did but

Every good deed that you do

Returns you a price,

At an unexpected moment.

 

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Swati Sarangi

12.04.2022

 

 

#456 Introduction to AI - #BlogChatterA2Z

 Introduction to AI

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

Ever since I came to Finland, I have catered a desire to at least experience studying in the classroom of Aalto University which is about 5 kms from where I live now. When I started enquiring about enrolling into a full-time course, it demanded English Test Score and unfortunately my ToEFL Score expired in October 2022. Adding to this woe was the unavailability test centers for writing the English Test for admission during Spring. So, I looked for other feasible options and I came across FITech: Intro to AI(Artificial Intelligence) which is an open university course. I enrolled into this course because I wanted to be acquainted with the basics of AI to understand the recent trends and developments in this field. AI is an emerging and expanding field which made me very excited to learn it.

 

This course is 6 weeks long and only one class is left to attend. Attending class in person revived a lot of memories of my life as a student. It was a pleasant experience to recall days of struggle and hardship and feel grateful for all the love, help and support from people who played different roles in that part of my journey. I loved the vibes of the classroom and the way instructor taught. All the students were encouraged to ask questions, which I think is the best thing during any learning process. Any student can mail their doubts in case they encounter any of them, during studying. There are two classes in a week – one for course lecture and the second one is that of the exercise. The lecture is taken by the Professor and the exercise class is taken by the Teaching Assistants, Postdoctoral researcher, or Doctoral fellows. Course and additional reading material are provided in student’s online profile. Recorded lectures and exercises are also made available in student’s profile. To pass the course, one must complete the quizzes after every lecture and exercise class. Guest lectures on different applications or dimensions of AI are also available to get an insight of AI.

 

I liked the course very much which opened with the question of what an AI is to introduce Machine learning, its derivatives, algorithms, and examples. The course has been very well designed, keeping in mind the diverse backgrounds of students who can take this course. AI is a vast topic and is now extensively used in various fields these days. The exercises classes were so interesting in contrast to my thought about how this introductory course could be non-technical. The learning process is a continuous one and it should not be confined to grading only. So, to absorb and reflect on the learnings from this course, it has been made mandatory to submit a course essay on which I’m working these days.

Last but not the least, thanks to Aalto University for this opportunity. I am grateful to Prof.Arno Solin   for awesome teaching style and TAs: Dr. Marcus Klasson ,Rui Li, Riccardo Mereu, Haishan Wang for clarifying my doubts so patiently. I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge in this field.

 

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Swati Sarangi

10.04.2023

#455 Hindustani Classical Vocal #BlogChatterA2Z

 Hindustani Classical Vocal

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

I am very passionate about music and I have been trained in Hindustani Classical Vocal (Indian Classical Vocal) up to 4^th year. It has been over 14 years since I discontinued my training in Indian Classical Vocals and often contemplate completing it and getting the degree.  

 

Let me take you through my journey of pursuing music. I started learning Indian classical vocals with my sister, when we were in class 1, from a teacher in Bhubaneswar. He was the best teacher of music that we have come across till now. He taught us the basics of Swars, Alankars, and Alaaps. He was too patient in teaching the subtlety of music when we were naive as toddlers. I am so grateful to him. My father purchased a Harmonium and our teacher would play with that Harmonium. He taught us how to play Sa Re Ga Ma and from then our journey of exploring Harmonium began. Over the years, I and my sister experimented with the keys of the Harmonium to play various songs.

 

When we moved to Kanpur, we enrolled ourselves in a music class where we learned for the next 5 years. Our teacher was teaching the course of Akhil Bhartiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Mumbai. So, we became a part of ABGMV, Mumbai. In those 5 years, we completed the course up to 3rd year and wrote exams. I received the distinction in Vocal for all three years and aggregate distinction for the first year. Those were the times during early 2000s when we completely immersed ourselves in the flow of classical music and refrained from ourselves singing anything which was not related to classical music. We came across music teachers in school who became guiding lights in our pursuit of music. We had to discontinue learning music as our teacher moved to another city and academic commitments took priority.

 

In my spare time, I practice music. It’s a pure nectar of joy for me. I pick up old Bollywood songs with classical touch to learn. Now, the question arises, is it possible to learn classical music from where I had left off?  The answer is No, for me. Classical music is like a vast sea and a teacher is like a sailor who has the experience of sailing through the sea. For a learner, it’s very easy to get lost in the flood of availability of excess material and the search for the right guidance.

I wish and pray that I get a Guru who will help me to pursue music in its purest form.

P.S: You can listen to my recordings on Smule and Youtube Channel.

All Rights Reserved

Swati Sarangi

08.04.2023

 

 

 

 

#454 Future Me #BlogChatterA2Z

 Future Me

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

How exciting would it be to write a letter to your future self? Have you ever tried it? I recently attended a session on personal and career development where the participants were given a fun activity to write a letter to themselves and the suggested tool was futureme. If you’re interested, you can check the link. If don’t have any idea about how to start it, you can look at some of the letters written anonymously which can be publicly accessed.

As a participant in that event, I used Gmail to write a letter to myself and schedule it for a date in the future. I wrote a letter in the second Week of February and scheduled it for the 1^st of April. I wrote about the climate condition then and described the situation, in detail, in which I was writing. I wrote with a lot of minute details so that I would be transported to that exact moment when I would read that letter. I also wrote about the projects that I had been working on then and the targets that I would have achieved by then.

It was a pleasant surprise to receive a mail schedule from the past and find that some of the targets that I had intended to achieve, had been achieved. It was such a rewarding experience. I recommend everyone to write a letter to their future self and get surprised to receive it in their inbox unexpectedly.

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Swati Sarangi

06.04.2023

#453 Duolingo #BlogChatterA2Z

 Duolingo

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

I have chosen to write about my story of association with the Duolingo App for the letter ‘D’. As many of you might already know about or use Duolingo App, I would say it has become an addiction, a productive addiction. Currently, I’m on a 615-day strike for German and Finnish languages. In this post, I am going to reveal my motivation behind choosing and learning these languages.

 

When I was doing my Masters, somewhere I read that the strongest passport in the world is that of Germany and by acquiring it one can travel the maximum number of countries. I have always had the desire to travel the world, meet people, and get to know their cultures and stories. When I researched the eligibility of acquiring the passport, one must know German well. That planted a seed of desire in me to learn German. Apart from that, I never planned or intended to travel to Germany.

Screenshot of my Profile in Duolingo App

I started learning German at the Prince Margaret Hospital of Hong Kong in April 2021 where I was admitted as a patient of COVID. It was very very easy in the beginning and I felt like giving up due to the monotonicity or repetitiveness of the exercises but the concept of day strike made me hooked to it. Later I realized that the repetitiveness of exercises ensured the retention of words for a longer period and it is an essential part of learning any language. Duolingo App provided a variety of exercises designed for reading, writing, and listening, making the learning process wholesome. There is also a provision to revisit the exercises which you chose incorrectly. There’s a lightning round to increase your points as XP rapidly and I am so fond of matching exercises. There are friend Quests where you along with someone randomly chosen from your contacts will have to complete given tasks within a deadline. There are monthly challenges in terms of attaining some XP which decide one’s position in the leaderboard and eventually the league. 

 

My story of learning Finnish on the Duolingo App is simple. When I learned about our moving to Finland from my husband, I started learning Finnish. I found German easier than Finnish contrary to many learners.  It may be because I had already spent more than a year learning German when I started learning Finnish, so I felt comfortable in German. Whenever I saw any English word, its German equivalent came to my mind effortlessly. So, I have taken a break in Finnish.

Screenshot of my Duolingo progress of German

 

This year I took a paid subscription for a year to Duolingo App to learn faster by avoiding advertisements coming up after each exercise. There are also many benefits of opting for a paid subscription like freezing the day strike in case you miss it, unlimited hearts to practice for a long time,

 

I haven’t found any app so addictive as Duolingo and it keeps praising the users to have spent the time productively and effectively rather than scrolling aimlessly in social media. As I believe in forming habits rather than chasing goals, spending time on Duolingo is a perfect example of learning a language in a consistent way without feeling pressurized. When the learning becomes fun, the progress comes out to be cumulative and grand.

 

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Swati Sarangi

04.04.2023

 

#452 BlogChatter's advent in my life - #BlogChatterA2Z

 BlogChatter’s advent in my life

Theme for Day2 of #BlogChatterA2Z

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2023. 

Blogging is something that I’ve been doing for the last 10 years. Oh! Yes, my blog has turned 10 years old recently, this March. I have been associated with many blogging platforms, which have helped me connect with many like-minded people to share ideas and learn from them. Everyone has a story to tell and someone to listen to those stories. When these stories are written down or documented, they become immortal. Such is the power of writing and blogging makes your work reach people.

BlogChatter’s advent in my life has made me more consistent towards writing. It’s a very common phenomenon for writers to face writer’s block and BlogChatter has been an absolute assistant in helping me to come out of this situation. Everyone needs motivation and ideas for being consistent. Various writing activities in form of featured campaigns provide ideas to write on. BlogChatterBlogHop provides two prompts weekly out of which is essay-type/factual and the other demands imagination. This lets the creative juices flow. I have realized that I am not procrastinating on my pending writing assignments anymore when there are deadlines to submit them. I have now got more of my writing work done than before.

 

Sticker Earned for completing #WriteAPageADay

Another aspect associated with joining any blogging platform is building a network. These networks act like support groups by helping you to achieve your target. The recent writing challenge that I completed at BlogChatter was #WriteAPageADay in February. Never had I ever imagined writing16161 words in 28 days! It would be boastful to say that my motivation was always high during this challenge. There were times when I did not feel like writing. I sought motivation from my connections or peers who were also participating in this challenge and that kept me going.

 

Gift for completing #WriteAPageADay

Last but not the least, I feel super fortunate to have come across BlogChatter and decide to be associated with it.

Day-wise theme for #BlogChatterA2Z

 

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Swati Sarangi

02.04.2023