What makes one happy?

In the last few months, I have been a little curious to know what people do in their lives. No, I dont mean the lives of ones I know, but about those new people I have been meeting. I think this curiosity developed because of a general boredom I have been facing over the last few months. That has led me to try and understand how people who seem to be happy do it. Or rather, what have they done to be so?

So one such curiosity led me to this conversation I had with a lady I met today.

She: So what do you do?

Me: I am an engineer. IT.

She: Oh. Software engineer. (some exclamation there)

Me: Yeah. (smile)

She: Where?

Me: (I tell the name of the org. When I tell people the name of my org, I normally pry their eyes for signs of recognition. It’s tough when you are not working for Pepsi or Coke you see.)

She: Oh. PDF?

Me: Yes yes. PDF. (happy!) Where did you study, by the way? (I didn’t ask her where she worked because I knew it.)

She: I did my graduation in New Delhi. You know St.Stephens?

Me: Of Course. (God! St.Stephens! Level!) Graduation in?

She: Mathematics.

Me: Oh. Ok. (This is when I began trying to imagine her 12th std percentage. Must have been what? 94? 96? Brains!) So how Bangalore?

She: After St.Stephens, I took a break for an year. Then I went to IIM Indore for two years.

Me: Oh! IIM! (Happy that my jaw didn’t drop at that)

She: Then I got into a finance firm on a marketing assignment. That’s how I came to Bangalore. (smiles) I worked there for six months. Realized that I wasn’t enjoying it. Quit it. And became a teacher.

Me: Great.

There was nothing more I could say. Even if I had tried.