… Not I in my entirety, but my nose has been going thru a lot of shedding and renewing. And the brave soul in me learnt a very brave lesson - never challenge mother nature.
I was out apartment hunting a couple of weeks back. And as usual, I ventured out without checking the weather forecast. It was about -45 degree celsius combined with the wind chill. So what! I am close to a polar bear, at least that's what I thought. So I reach the area, see a couple of apartments, and then decided to walk down a couple of blocks to see the next one. Wonderful description - spacious wooden floored apartment right by the elbow river.. As I was walking down, I did feel the cold in my bones, but hey, I am the Indian superman. How bad it can be!
Reached there and the apartment owner is not around, I can't get in to the damn building.. and that’s when I felt for the first time "Dude, you were being stupid".. My desperateness led me to knocking and trying to break open several doors.. Aren't there people in there; are they hibernating? I saw a big van parked on the street and walked up to it. An elderly gentleman was sitting in the van with a strange look on his face.. He was starting the vehicle and resembled one of those worn out grandpas who gets abused by his wife everyday.. I asked "Are you leaving?" He looked at me like I am an alien from a planet named GT216450110 or something like that and said "Yeah! I am".. Dude, can't you see that I am dying here..
To my relief, as soon as the van moved away, I saw the apartment owner pulling her car in.. She looked at me and said "Your nose is all white".. I looked at my nose. Yup, it was beyond doubt extremely white.. Infact if I had that color on my entire body they would have given me an Icelandic passport.. may be even an Arctic passport if polar bears were allowed to issue one.
Anyways my nose changed to bright red as soon as I entered the building.. The image in the mirror reminded me of a joker I'd seen in a circus long time back..
Next day I get to the office, and a client stares at my face and goes "Oh! you got a frost burn..wait.. it will change from red to blue, then to black and ur nose will fall off in a week or so.." like it was the most wonderful thing to happen to anyone.. Was he helping me or the project in anyway? You tell me..
The next few days passed with me measuring the length of my nose with my fingers every 10 mins, touching to see whether I have the measurements intact.. seriously, I can't afford to be nose less, trust me.. My nose went thru various stages of shedding and renewal.. Initially the upper skin which was all black started shedding, then it became red, then the lower skin started shedding.. I guess I have at least 5-6 layers of skin (that could explain my unusual shamelessness).. the final update - I have a renewed nose thru naturopathic nose renovation therapy.. but I think I will stop with my nose.. it's indeed a scary treatment..
As you read this, I am setting up an entire home for the first time in my life, definitely with lots of remote help.. and DD and Yogesh has been doing a lot of manual labor..
And I am back with my creative guns firing again..
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Sunday, December 2, 2007
I am not for sale
Two days back, I received a call from the father of a prospective bride. Seems to be a gentleman, settled in one of the west coast cities of the US. The conversation went pretty decent until he started giving me accounts of his richness. He said " I own multiple liquor stores, gas stations, I don't really work but just go to the shops, collect money and deposit it in the bank". He was also President of some kind of North American East Indian association.
I was thinking "Good for you, but why are you telling me all this, tell me about your daughter".
He said somethings about his daughter, how she has done her University, but still want to start her own business and his promise that he will invest in whatever she wants to open up.
Then he asked me "You can relocate to the US, right?"
"Excuse me, but isn't it too early for that discussion. And even if things were to proceed, isn't this something your daughter and I should talk about and decide - who wants to move? where?"
The rest of the conversation didn't go that well. End of it I told him "I don't think this is really going to work out". I think he got something close to a cardiac arrest, he was only used to people admiring his riches and wanting to associate with him.
I felt good after the conversation ended :D
I called my mom and told her what happened. I thought she was going to talk about "how I am not being open about possibilities etc". Instead she said "My son is not for sale". She rocks!!
It was her birthday on Wednesday and my grandparents were home. My grandpa was upset. And I asked "what now? - somebody didn't wish him, invite him for a function or something?". People sometimes hunt for ways to get disappointed. My grandpa's only brother's son; happens to be my uncle (but he's more like my friend), had a kid recently. For the major part of his life, he has lived in London, and a few years back he got married to his Scottish girlfriend.
Now, that is not the reason for his recent mood fluctuation. They all like her very much, I remember my mom and grandma talking about how nice she is etc, the last time they visited us.
Apparently, they didn't give the kid the same name(his church name so to say) as his grandpa; which is sort of a tradition.
Big deal!! what's in a name?
He was ok by the end of the day. I think he realizes times have changed!
So, thought for the day - "Don't hunt for ways to get disappointed. Cherish what you have. Shoot for bigger dreams, but don't get yourself wrapped up in things that you can't change. Some things are really simple, they are better left as is, not worth the effort of trying and changing them"
I am going to Kerala for Christmas and I can almost sense the arrangements being made for my visit home. Sometimes I think I should get into a contract with NBC, take a camera crew home and shoot the Indian version of "The Bachelor".
I could be a millionaire!! hmm..
I was thinking "Good for you, but why are you telling me all this, tell me about your daughter".
He said somethings about his daughter, how she has done her University, but still want to start her own business and his promise that he will invest in whatever she wants to open up.
Then he asked me "You can relocate to the US, right?"
"Excuse me, but isn't it too early for that discussion. And even if things were to proceed, isn't this something your daughter and I should talk about and decide - who wants to move? where?"
The rest of the conversation didn't go that well. End of it I told him "I don't think this is really going to work out". I think he got something close to a cardiac arrest, he was only used to people admiring his riches and wanting to associate with him.
I felt good after the conversation ended :D
I called my mom and told her what happened. I thought she was going to talk about "how I am not being open about possibilities etc". Instead she said "My son is not for sale". She rocks!!
It was her birthday on Wednesday and my grandparents were home. My grandpa was upset. And I asked "what now? - somebody didn't wish him, invite him for a function or something?". People sometimes hunt for ways to get disappointed. My grandpa's only brother's son; happens to be my uncle (but he's more like my friend), had a kid recently. For the major part of his life, he has lived in London, and a few years back he got married to his Scottish girlfriend.
Now, that is not the reason for his recent mood fluctuation. They all like her very much, I remember my mom and grandma talking about how nice she is etc, the last time they visited us.
Apparently, they didn't give the kid the same name(his church name so to say) as his grandpa; which is sort of a tradition.
Big deal!! what's in a name?
He was ok by the end of the day. I think he realizes times have changed!
So, thought for the day - "Don't hunt for ways to get disappointed. Cherish what you have. Shoot for bigger dreams, but don't get yourself wrapped up in things that you can't change. Some things are really simple, they are better left as is, not worth the effort of trying and changing them"
I am going to Kerala for Christmas and I can almost sense the arrangements being made for my visit home. Sometimes I think I should get into a contract with NBC, take a camera crew home and shoot the Indian version of "The Bachelor".
I could be a millionaire!! hmm..
Monday, November 26, 2007
The voice from above
Lightening.. thunder.. an angel.. and then a voice "Son.............."
What I heard was nothing close to thunder, at the best it sounded like an old coffee machine.. for a second I thought my overworked laptop was uttering its final words of pain before an inevitable death.. it has been giving out noices like an old Diesel engine boat since the past few weeks.. Panick attack..wait.. no, it's not my laptop..
The sound is coming from above.. and then a voice spoke "Attention".. There comes my gaurdian angel.. may be the Archangel himself.. I glanced across the room.. there's this figure standing with a white robe on.. angel in a white robe.. no wings.. no.. no.. it's not an angel.. it's DD..and she is wearing a white jacket.. then there's Chris standing, but he doesn't look like an Angel..
Confused; I looked at DD.. She said "Fire Alarm".. The voice from above said "We have detected an issue on the 16th floor. Please stand by for further instructions"..
I sensed the opportunity, looked at DD, pointed to the client who was running out with a red base ball hat on his head, and said "we should get ready for evacuation.. take only your most precious belongings.."
DD took it very seriously, almost swallowed her burger, removed her shoes, put on her sneakers and I think even did some warm up; some basic pushups and situps; for running down 30 floors..
Manish put on his jacket, got dressed up and looked very happy for an early smoke break.. Before we could rejoice much the voice said again "The problem has been investigated.. You can now return to your seats.."
There goes my unanticipated break.. and I have a client meeting in an hour, havent finished even half of my prep..
I deserve this, I did play the role of a devil this weekend; except that I didnt have horns and a three pronged tail..
Somebody asked me today "How can I avoid disappointment?". I told him "Dream, but don't base your dreams on what others will do". I sounded like a Mahatma, dude, I am good!!
But I also said "Sometimes disappointment is a good price to pay for the thrill a dream can give you"
---
I have a feeling that I am going to get some threatening messages for some of my comments above.. :D
What I heard was nothing close to thunder, at the best it sounded like an old coffee machine.. for a second I thought my overworked laptop was uttering its final words of pain before an inevitable death.. it has been giving out noices like an old Diesel engine boat since the past few weeks.. Panick attack..wait.. no, it's not my laptop..
The sound is coming from above.. and then a voice spoke "Attention".. There comes my gaurdian angel.. may be the Archangel himself.. I glanced across the room.. there's this figure standing with a white robe on.. angel in a white robe.. no wings.. no.. no.. it's not an angel.. it's DD..and she is wearing a white jacket.. then there's Chris standing, but he doesn't look like an Angel..
Confused; I looked at DD.. She said "Fire Alarm".. The voice from above said "We have detected an issue on the 16th floor. Please stand by for further instructions"..
I sensed the opportunity, looked at DD, pointed to the client who was running out with a red base ball hat on his head, and said "we should get ready for evacuation.. take only your most precious belongings.."
DD took it very seriously, almost swallowed her burger, removed her shoes, put on her sneakers and I think even did some warm up; some basic pushups and situps; for running down 30 floors..
Manish put on his jacket, got dressed up and looked very happy for an early smoke break.. Before we could rejoice much the voice said again "The problem has been investigated.. You can now return to your seats.."
There goes my unanticipated break.. and I have a client meeting in an hour, havent finished even half of my prep..
I deserve this, I did play the role of a devil this weekend; except that I didnt have horns and a three pronged tail..
Somebody asked me today "How can I avoid disappointment?". I told him "Dream, but don't base your dreams on what others will do". I sounded like a Mahatma, dude, I am good!!
But I also said "Sometimes disappointment is a good price to pay for the thrill a dream can give you"
---
I have a feeling that I am going to get some threatening messages for some of my comments above.. :D
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Fast and feast
One of the things I love about this country is the All day breakfast joints. Remain hungry till afternoon and headout to one of those places to feast on eggs, bacon, sausages, pan cakes, waffles etc.. Its sort of become my routine since the past 2.5 years or so I have been here - I call it the fast and feast routine..
Today I went out for brunch with a friend who is basically from Palestine. He recently got engaged to his Canadian girlfriend and has been apparently getting some fire from his parents for getting engaged to a non Muslim. The guy is pretty confident of getting through this phase, and I am pretty sure he will get through it. After all they look so perfect together, nobody can deny that for a long time.
I have had multiple friends who faced similar situations. The latest was a friend from Kerala. He had met this girl from North India, and had decided to spend his life with her. Sounds simple - guy meets girl, gets convinced she's the one, gets married, lives happily ever after.. But not so simple when you bring community and tradition into the picture. He is from the South, speaks Malayalam, eats Southern cousine, born into a Brahmin family (Brahmins are supposedly the uppermost caste in Hinduism, traditionally the ones who are authorized to become priests). The girl is from the North, speaks Hindi, digs Northern food and born into a different caste which is supposedly lower than Brahmins; not that it mattered to him or any of his friends. His parents although were willing to accept, were worried that he might become a loner in their community, it took a lot of persuasion to make up their mind. They got married about 5 months back and the last I heard everyone is happy. Afterall, Hinduism does say that life originated from the sound "Om" and Brahma is the creator of all things.. So why should caste really matter?
I can't help but to remember my most controversial involvement in a similar situation. Back at the University, I had a lot of friends, but I was in particular close to 4 of my friends, just because we stayed pretty close to each other. A guy from my course, and 2 guys and a girl doing their MBA. We used to hangout all the time, it was quite a contradicting group when it came to personal beliefs - 2 of the guys including the guy from my course were Pentecostal christians (if you haven't seen a Pentecostal Christian try talking to one of them, they almost had a fire in their belly when it comes to their beliefs, another guy a strong Catholic, the girl born to Christian-Hindu parents had been raised a Hindu and me the ex-communist turned practicalist, still confused about spiritual beliefs.. Though I did not agree to a lot of things they did or said, I was quite impressed with their passion; this ultimately led me to studying the bible and participating in a lot of those all congregation discussions.. That was also the beginning of my general interest in studying about religion - I ended up reading a lot on other religions like Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism etc.. etc..
K. enough.. I am starting to sound like a theologist.. let me get back to what I was talking about.. Towards the end of the first year, she accepted Christianity and started going to the Pentecostal church and started hanging out a lot more with the guy from my course. We all knew something was happening, but didn't know for sure. A lot of things happened which I don't want to share, but they had this strong feelings for each other and felt what they thought as a soul level connection. Thinking back I'd have to agree, they looked so wonderful together and by that I just don't mean physically, they were emotionally compatible, shared similar interests, shared the same passion. Its a weird situation sometimes when friends fall in love, to add to that she was actually about a year elder than him. I guess that was pretty tough on them. Having such a feeling for one of your best friends, knowing the family differences - his father being a pastor and her father being a business man - diverse backgrounds and the perceived restriction that a man has to be elder than his woman. They went through a lot of pain before admitting their feelings to each other. I was probably the first one they broke this news to. The months followed were very dramatic, but somehow I had this conviction that they were meant to be together.. I was the Best Man at their wedding. They have a 3 year old son today. They still have their parents, their siblings and all their loved ones - very much a family..
Since my brunch meeting, I have been thinking about them; haven't really seen them in the past 4.5 years. May be, it is time to catch up, it is time to meet their son; after all, I did/still do care for them and they did care for me. And I have always been proud of them for following their convictions..
Today I went out for brunch with a friend who is basically from Palestine. He recently got engaged to his Canadian girlfriend and has been apparently getting some fire from his parents for getting engaged to a non Muslim. The guy is pretty confident of getting through this phase, and I am pretty sure he will get through it. After all they look so perfect together, nobody can deny that for a long time.
I have had multiple friends who faced similar situations. The latest was a friend from Kerala. He had met this girl from North India, and had decided to spend his life with her. Sounds simple - guy meets girl, gets convinced she's the one, gets married, lives happily ever after.. But not so simple when you bring community and tradition into the picture. He is from the South, speaks Malayalam, eats Southern cousine, born into a Brahmin family (Brahmins are supposedly the uppermost caste in Hinduism, traditionally the ones who are authorized to become priests). The girl is from the North, speaks Hindi, digs Northern food and born into a different caste which is supposedly lower than Brahmins; not that it mattered to him or any of his friends. His parents although were willing to accept, were worried that he might become a loner in their community, it took a lot of persuasion to make up their mind. They got married about 5 months back and the last I heard everyone is happy. Afterall, Hinduism does say that life originated from the sound "Om" and Brahma is the creator of all things.. So why should caste really matter?
I can't help but to remember my most controversial involvement in a similar situation. Back at the University, I had a lot of friends, but I was in particular close to 4 of my friends, just because we stayed pretty close to each other. A guy from my course, and 2 guys and a girl doing their MBA. We used to hangout all the time, it was quite a contradicting group when it came to personal beliefs - 2 of the guys including the guy from my course were Pentecostal christians (if you haven't seen a Pentecostal Christian try talking to one of them, they almost had a fire in their belly when it comes to their beliefs, another guy a strong Catholic, the girl born to Christian-Hindu parents had been raised a Hindu and me the ex-communist turned practicalist, still confused about spiritual beliefs.. Though I did not agree to a lot of things they did or said, I was quite impressed with their passion; this ultimately led me to studying the bible and participating in a lot of those all congregation discussions.. That was also the beginning of my general interest in studying about religion - I ended up reading a lot on other religions like Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism etc.. etc..
K. enough.. I am starting to sound like a theologist.. let me get back to what I was talking about.. Towards the end of the first year, she accepted Christianity and started going to the Pentecostal church and started hanging out a lot more with the guy from my course. We all knew something was happening, but didn't know for sure. A lot of things happened which I don't want to share, but they had this strong feelings for each other and felt what they thought as a soul level connection. Thinking back I'd have to agree, they looked so wonderful together and by that I just don't mean physically, they were emotionally compatible, shared similar interests, shared the same passion. Its a weird situation sometimes when friends fall in love, to add to that she was actually about a year elder than him. I guess that was pretty tough on them. Having such a feeling for one of your best friends, knowing the family differences - his father being a pastor and her father being a business man - diverse backgrounds and the perceived restriction that a man has to be elder than his woman. They went through a lot of pain before admitting their feelings to each other. I was probably the first one they broke this news to. The months followed were very dramatic, but somehow I had this conviction that they were meant to be together.. I was the Best Man at their wedding. They have a 3 year old son today. They still have their parents, their siblings and all their loved ones - very much a family..
Since my brunch meeting, I have been thinking about them; haven't really seen them in the past 4.5 years. May be, it is time to catch up, it is time to meet their son; after all, I did/still do care for them and they did care for me. And I have always been proud of them for following their convictions..
Saturday, November 17, 2007
My barber says I will have a good life
Friday morning - As I was getting ready for work, I realized I had to apply a li'l extra gel on my hair - just a li'l bit extra to make sure that nobody calls me a "Big Head". Ernie (yup, Ernest Cheng) used to do that when I was in Toronto, "How's it going big head?".. On the positive side, I thought thats another way of saying "You are intelligent". But he actually thought my head was larger in proportion than the rest of body.. whatever..
So after lunch, I decided to go to the Asian lady who runs a hair salon ground floor. Think she is basically from Vietnam or something.. Anyways a very talkative woman, in the 15+ minutes I was there, I got a snapshot of her entire life, the men who courted her, her ex-husband, her daughter, the men who still tries to hit at her etc.. etc.. She washed my hair and had hardly patted my hair dry when she decided to show me some pics.. She ran to the drawer, and I am sitting there with water drops streaming down my face.. For some reason, I didn't want to interrupt her. She was having her own happy moment showing me all those pics, why would I want to disrupt that..
She then looked at my hands and said "You have very nice hands". "Thanks" I said still wondering whatever that comment meant.. She went on and on "You have very nice teeth, white and shining". Oh yeah!! I have been using Aquafresh white and shine.. "You are nice.. You are a gentleman".. She went to talk about her loneliness and how she appreciates nice friends etc.. etc.. Dude, I think she is hitting on me :D.. I have to find another salon.. She ended our conversation by saying "Those with nice hands and nice teeth will have a very prosperous and good life".. Ooh.. I am so happening.. Few years ago a friend of mine created a computer jaathagam for me.. A jaathagam is based on traditional Indian astrology and sort of gives a snapshot of your entire life, I mean the key trends.. Not that I am into it, but didn't want to disappoint him.. It said something about me having a "Gajakesari yoga".. In short it means that I will own an elephant, well not literally, but in the past rich families always had an elephant. Money baby, money, I am all for it, bring it on..
Evening I ended up in a pub close to my place, I have been visiting that place almost every Friday, pretty old place, gives me the feeling of a country bar.. I was sitting there and having my beer, when an elderly gentleman called Woody came to me and introduced himself. Then I got introduced to his entire circle of friends - Byron, Alex, Lloyd.. Most of them have been here since the 1950s..So, there I was hanging out with them hearing all their adventure stories with the untamed wild and the rapids.. I didnt want to drink too much, but then gave in to the temptation of getting another one. As I was ordering Woody says to the waitress "Thats damn right.. He is having another one and I am paying for it". I told him "You really don/t have to do that".. and he threatens me "I am the Sheriff of this bar. Don't argue with me".. Ok Sheriff, as you command.. Later the pub owner, Gordon came to us, my next drink was on him.. I am still so moving here..
As I walked back home I felt guilty about the 4 pints that I had. When I was in Halifax, Nick challenged me to a get fit routine; I have been religiously working out since then and is definitely seeing good results.. I promised myself "I am going to run an extra 30 mins tomorrow".. Though not quite upto my promise, almost managed to run about 45 mins, brutal, I hate that sort of hardwork..
Today evening I went for African drumming lessons, I think the drum is called "Jambe".. Contrary to Indian drums which is played mostly using fingers, this one was like "Bam.. Bam".. It was so much fun..I think I am going to continue doing this.. Did I ever tell you my failed attempt with the Tabla? That was probably about 15 years ago.. Learning Tabla needs a lot of discipline and patience, teen me didn't have much patience, I dropped out after about 6 months or so.. After that my drumming encounters were mostly on the college desks and plastic buckets back at the hostel.. Oh that was so much fun.. Imagine 10-15 guys jamming with almost anything they could treat as an instrument.. Those nice college days..
So after lunch, I decided to go to the Asian lady who runs a hair salon ground floor. Think she is basically from Vietnam or something.. Anyways a very talkative woman, in the 15+ minutes I was there, I got a snapshot of her entire life, the men who courted her, her ex-husband, her daughter, the men who still tries to hit at her etc.. etc.. She washed my hair and had hardly patted my hair dry when she decided to show me some pics.. She ran to the drawer, and I am sitting there with water drops streaming down my face.. For some reason, I didn't want to interrupt her. She was having her own happy moment showing me all those pics, why would I want to disrupt that..
She then looked at my hands and said "You have very nice hands". "Thanks" I said still wondering whatever that comment meant.. She went on and on "You have very nice teeth, white and shining". Oh yeah!! I have been using Aquafresh white and shine.. "You are nice.. You are a gentleman".. She went to talk about her loneliness and how she appreciates nice friends etc.. etc.. Dude, I think she is hitting on me :D.. I have to find another salon.. She ended our conversation by saying "Those with nice hands and nice teeth will have a very prosperous and good life".. Ooh.. I am so happening.. Few years ago a friend of mine created a computer jaathagam for me.. A jaathagam is based on traditional Indian astrology and sort of gives a snapshot of your entire life, I mean the key trends.. Not that I am into it, but didn't want to disappoint him.. It said something about me having a "Gajakesari yoga".. In short it means that I will own an elephant, well not literally, but in the past rich families always had an elephant. Money baby, money, I am all for it, bring it on..
Evening I ended up in a pub close to my place, I have been visiting that place almost every Friday, pretty old place, gives me the feeling of a country bar.. I was sitting there and having my beer, when an elderly gentleman called Woody came to me and introduced himself. Then I got introduced to his entire circle of friends - Byron, Alex, Lloyd.. Most of them have been here since the 1950s..So, there I was hanging out with them hearing all their adventure stories with the untamed wild and the rapids.. I didnt want to drink too much, but then gave in to the temptation of getting another one. As I was ordering Woody says to the waitress "Thats damn right.. He is having another one and I am paying for it". I told him "You really don/t have to do that".. and he threatens me "I am the Sheriff of this bar. Don't argue with me".. Ok Sheriff, as you command.. Later the pub owner, Gordon came to us, my next drink was on him.. I am still so moving here..
As I walked back home I felt guilty about the 4 pints that I had. When I was in Halifax, Nick challenged me to a get fit routine; I have been religiously working out since then and is definitely seeing good results.. I promised myself "I am going to run an extra 30 mins tomorrow".. Though not quite upto my promise, almost managed to run about 45 mins, brutal, I hate that sort of hardwork..
Today evening I went for African drumming lessons, I think the drum is called "Jambe".. Contrary to Indian drums which is played mostly using fingers, this one was like "Bam.. Bam".. It was so much fun..I think I am going to continue doing this.. Did I ever tell you my failed attempt with the Tabla? That was probably about 15 years ago.. Learning Tabla needs a lot of discipline and patience, teen me didn't have much patience, I dropped out after about 6 months or so.. After that my drumming encounters were mostly on the college desks and plastic buckets back at the hostel.. Oh that was so much fun.. Imagine 10-15 guys jamming with almost anything they could treat as an instrument.. Those nice college days..
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
I need one too
Yesterday a friend of mine was talking about some stalking problems she has had in the past and it occurred to me, "Wow,What a wonderful idea!! And a wonderful position to be in. being stalked by someone.. sort of like a mini Celebrity status"
I said "that's so cool. I wish I had one."
She replied "I think everybody should have one"
I think stalking should be encouraged worldwide.. My brain is full of ideas now..
1) Start a company called International Stalking Corporation
2) Create a worldwide database of experienced stalkers, amateur stalkers, wanna-be-stalkers
3) Categorize all stalkers by their behavioural classification - more like the chicken wings options - mild, hot, suicidal
4) Market my stalker database to potential stalkees.
5) Become the founder of a stalker-stalkee rights activists group..
6) Lobby to make stalking an international pride event
7) Lobby for a ruling of 1 year of mandatory stalking for everyone immediately after school (imagine stalking a hot girl and telling her "I can't do anything about this.. It is mandated by the government.." )
8) Gradually rise to become the supreme leader of a stalker-stalkee cult
9) Become the President of America
10) Take over the world
or
9) Become a billionaire
10) Travel around the world in my own private yatch, or may be I could buy a ship and randomly get people to go on a cruise with me..
I have not made up my mind yet, but what a brilliant idea? Like my own ten steps to success, I should give a call to Stephen Covey.
....
Yup, you guessed it right.. I am crazy.. I slept late yesterday and woke up very early this morning
Why late? How could I sleep when all the CSI Miami folks were getting royally screwed..Horatio was being framed in a murder. Somebody shot Wolfe near the eye using a nail gun (with the half penetrated nail literally popping out of his eyeline). Eric is about to lose his job for caring about his dying sister. And to add to my grief - she is gorgeous and she is dying, what a waste!! Beautiful girls should never die and never should they be single.. It is a terrible waste of human talent
I am not a big fan of CSI, neither do I watch it regularly.. but yesterday was super dramatic and they were showing about 5 episodes back to back..
And then today I had to get up at 5:00 am, had to get into a meeting at 7:00 am and had to be in the office at 6:00 for the prep... Can you imagine a meeting at 7:00 am? I never got up so early even for my University exams.. I hate people who schedule meetings before 8.. Yeah, You heard it right. All you selfish predators - I hate you!! You took more than an hour off my most precious sleep time.. 3-6 am is the time when I sleep really deep.. But, regardless of that, it was a very productive day
I feel happy in general - may be it is because days have become more productive, or may be because a happy soul just brushed past me.. Feels good.. Life is good again..
Oh! I forgot, we also executed the first 100% remote fusion exercise in the company's history today. Technology is absolutely brilliant sometimes. We had participants from 5 different locations - Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Boston and Houston. Pretty impressive, eh?
I said "that's so cool. I wish I had one."
She replied "I think everybody should have one"
I think stalking should be encouraged worldwide.. My brain is full of ideas now..
1) Start a company called International Stalking Corporation
2) Create a worldwide database of experienced stalkers, amateur stalkers, wanna-be-stalkers
3) Categorize all stalkers by their behavioural classification - more like the chicken wings options - mild, hot, suicidal
4) Market my stalker database to potential stalkees.
5) Become the founder of a stalker-stalkee rights activists group..
6) Lobby to make stalking an international pride event
7) Lobby for a ruling of 1 year of mandatory stalking for everyone immediately after school (imagine stalking a hot girl and telling her "I can't do anything about this.. It is mandated by the government.." )
8) Gradually rise to become the supreme leader of a stalker-stalkee cult
9) Become the President of America
10) Take over the world
or
9) Become a billionaire
10) Travel around the world in my own private yatch, or may be I could buy a ship and randomly get people to go on a cruise with me..
I have not made up my mind yet, but what a brilliant idea? Like my own ten steps to success, I should give a call to Stephen Covey.
....
Yup, you guessed it right.. I am crazy.. I slept late yesterday and woke up very early this morning
Why late? How could I sleep when all the CSI Miami folks were getting royally screwed..Horatio was being framed in a murder. Somebody shot Wolfe near the eye using a nail gun (with the half penetrated nail literally popping out of his eyeline). Eric is about to lose his job for caring about his dying sister. And to add to my grief - she is gorgeous and she is dying, what a waste!! Beautiful girls should never die and never should they be single.. It is a terrible waste of human talent
I am not a big fan of CSI, neither do I watch it regularly.. but yesterday was super dramatic and they were showing about 5 episodes back to back..
And then today I had to get up at 5:00 am, had to get into a meeting at 7:00 am and had to be in the office at 6:00 for the prep... Can you imagine a meeting at 7:00 am? I never got up so early even for my University exams.. I hate people who schedule meetings before 8.. Yeah, You heard it right. All you selfish predators - I hate you!! You took more than an hour off my most precious sleep time.. 3-6 am is the time when I sleep really deep.. But, regardless of that, it was a very productive day
I feel happy in general - may be it is because days have become more productive, or may be because a happy soul just brushed past me.. Feels good.. Life is good again..
Oh! I forgot, we also executed the first 100% remote fusion exercise in the company's history today. Technology is absolutely brilliant sometimes. We had participants from 5 different locations - Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Boston and Houston. Pretty impressive, eh?
Saturday, November 10, 2007
My two heroes
For some reason I have been thinking about these two personal heroes. None of them are alive - nevertheless they continue to be my heroes.
The first one most definitely is my maternal great grand father. - the same person who built the home where I grew up most part of my younger days. He used to travel frequently to his other farm lands, but weekends he was always at home. He continued that lifestyle until he was about 85 years old. The remaining 10 years of his life, he was mostly home suffering from Parkinsons, I'd already moved out to stay with my parents by that time.
A great man who commanded respect from everyone he met. He was well educated for someone of his time - a farmer, a banker, a firm practicing Christian (btw, unlike most people think, Christianity came to India almost 2000 years back). My great grand mother used to tell some of his stories. Kerala was divided into 4 different small kingdoms, India was mostly under British control, but the British were lenient enough not to attack these kingdoms, but maintained diplomatic control over these regions. My great grand father was from the kingdom of Kochi while my great grandmother from the kingdom of Travancore. He had to frequently travel across the border to take care of the farming lands there. Bullock carts or boats were the major form of transportation. He'd have to cross this jungle which was infamous for robbers. He always used to carry a walking stick which had a long sharp sword inside - well armed and well equipped it was sort of a caravan whenever he crossed the border.
I was his favorite (not surprising considering that I was the only kid around), sometimes I'd accompany him on his evening walks, it was more of a social walk and didn't have much of a "work out" value, he'd have lots of people coming and talking to him and I would pretend that I had a very important part in the decisions being made and the instructions being given out. Sometimes he would handover money to people, and he would always give the cash to me to handover.
Evenings he was particular about the long 1 hour prayer before dinner (ok, I have to agree, didn't quite like that part) Dinner time - I would always get the chance to sit next to him and at times on his lap. I was so proud that the same person who could terrorize the house with a slight change in his tone was actually feeding me at times. After dinner I would sit with him outside, looking at the stars while he told me stories - sometimes funny, sometimes fictional - he was never a character in those stories, and when I am almost asleep he would call Grandma to take me to my bed.
I was there by him during his final 2-3 days. He couldn't recognize anybody, was mostly in coma, but the morning of his death he was awake, he had a constant smile on his face, he was tired but he would touch affectionately anybody sitting next to him. He passed away that evening. The funeral was the biggest I'd ever seen. So many people - political figures, popular figures in the community, a number of bishops, lot of priests, etc.. I think at least one person from every household attended the funeral. I was so proud of him..
My second hero is my paternal grandfather. I didn't get a lot of chance to spend time with him and he wasn't always approachable as my maternal great grand father was but as I was growing up and learning more about him, my respect for him grew day by day. He and my maternal great grandfather were almost of the same age. My father was his sixth son, so his house was always full of kids, many of my cousins were almost the same age as I was and obviously I didn't get the undivided attention except for my mischievous nature and my reputation for getting in trouble.
He was a lawyer (or a Barrister as they used to call in those days). Becoming a lawyer during the pre-independence era was definitely an achievement. He began his practice in the early 1940s and was a great sympathizer of the freedom movement - I am still not sure whether he supported Gandhi's nonviolence theme or Subash Chandra Bose's way of the Indian National Army. But he was definitely daring and outspoken. Famous for his Hitler style moustache, can you imagine wielding a Hitler style moustache and walking into a pro-British court as a lawyer, that too during the Second World War era? It doesn't mean that he supported Hitler's Nazi ideology, but he most certainly viewed Hitler as a power who threatened British supremacy and treated enemy's enemy as a friend. He was the first in his community on many accounts - first lawyer from the community, first man to own a car, first man to have a telephone, a pretty successful lawyer, many of the lawyers who practiced under him went on to become judges, and he was also the lone successor of the vast areas of coconut/paddy farm lands, prawn farming fields, family operated business.
My father sometimes tell us - His pride was his biggest enemy. My grandpa did trust some wrong people, and of course did many things and gave up so much money to defend his pride, and on his death bed only had a fraction of his fortune.
Regardless, he was one heck of a man, my grandpa, my God Father and most definitely my hero.
The first one most definitely is my maternal great grand father. - the same person who built the home where I grew up most part of my younger days. He used to travel frequently to his other farm lands, but weekends he was always at home. He continued that lifestyle until he was about 85 years old. The remaining 10 years of his life, he was mostly home suffering from Parkinsons, I'd already moved out to stay with my parents by that time.
A great man who commanded respect from everyone he met. He was well educated for someone of his time - a farmer, a banker, a firm practicing Christian (btw, unlike most people think, Christianity came to India almost 2000 years back). My great grand mother used to tell some of his stories. Kerala was divided into 4 different small kingdoms, India was mostly under British control, but the British were lenient enough not to attack these kingdoms, but maintained diplomatic control over these regions. My great grand father was from the kingdom of Kochi while my great grandmother from the kingdom of Travancore. He had to frequently travel across the border to take care of the farming lands there. Bullock carts or boats were the major form of transportation. He'd have to cross this jungle which was infamous for robbers. He always used to carry a walking stick which had a long sharp sword inside - well armed and well equipped it was sort of a caravan whenever he crossed the border.
I was his favorite (not surprising considering that I was the only kid around), sometimes I'd accompany him on his evening walks, it was more of a social walk and didn't have much of a "work out" value, he'd have lots of people coming and talking to him and I would pretend that I had a very important part in the decisions being made and the instructions being given out. Sometimes he would handover money to people, and he would always give the cash to me to handover.
Evenings he was particular about the long 1 hour prayer before dinner (ok, I have to agree, didn't quite like that part) Dinner time - I would always get the chance to sit next to him and at times on his lap. I was so proud that the same person who could terrorize the house with a slight change in his tone was actually feeding me at times. After dinner I would sit with him outside, looking at the stars while he told me stories - sometimes funny, sometimes fictional - he was never a character in those stories, and when I am almost asleep he would call Grandma to take me to my bed.
I was there by him during his final 2-3 days. He couldn't recognize anybody, was mostly in coma, but the morning of his death he was awake, he had a constant smile on his face, he was tired but he would touch affectionately anybody sitting next to him. He passed away that evening. The funeral was the biggest I'd ever seen. So many people - political figures, popular figures in the community, a number of bishops, lot of priests, etc.. I think at least one person from every household attended the funeral. I was so proud of him..
My second hero is my paternal grandfather. I didn't get a lot of chance to spend time with him and he wasn't always approachable as my maternal great grand father was but as I was growing up and learning more about him, my respect for him grew day by day. He and my maternal great grandfather were almost of the same age. My father was his sixth son, so his house was always full of kids, many of my cousins were almost the same age as I was and obviously I didn't get the undivided attention except for my mischievous nature and my reputation for getting in trouble.
He was a lawyer (or a Barrister as they used to call in those days). Becoming a lawyer during the pre-independence era was definitely an achievement. He began his practice in the early 1940s and was a great sympathizer of the freedom movement - I am still not sure whether he supported Gandhi's nonviolence theme or Subash Chandra Bose's way of the Indian National Army. But he was definitely daring and outspoken. Famous for his Hitler style moustache, can you imagine wielding a Hitler style moustache and walking into a pro-British court as a lawyer, that too during the Second World War era? It doesn't mean that he supported Hitler's Nazi ideology, but he most certainly viewed Hitler as a power who threatened British supremacy and treated enemy's enemy as a friend. He was the first in his community on many accounts - first lawyer from the community, first man to own a car, first man to have a telephone, a pretty successful lawyer, many of the lawyers who practiced under him went on to become judges, and he was also the lone successor of the vast areas of coconut/paddy farm lands, prawn farming fields, family operated business.
My father sometimes tell us - His pride was his biggest enemy. My grandpa did trust some wrong people, and of course did many things and gave up so much money to defend his pride, and on his death bed only had a fraction of his fortune.
Regardless, he was one heck of a man, my grandpa, my God Father and most definitely my hero.
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