Finally!

After a mind-numbingly hectic schedule over the past 18 months, I finally have time to take long break. Ok, I am exaggerating but it was quite hectic (esp the past 7 months). And it is a long vacation. Long as in LONG. More than a month in India is a much-needed luxury that I need right now.

Happy new year to whoever cares to read this blog. Be good, stay happy!

hmmm

There are times when you mess up and realize what went wrong. And there are times when you mess up and just move on. And then there is a 3rd kind of mess-up, which takes you aback. Stuns you into disbelief. Into denial. Into a state of blankness. A state where the mind becomes a big black hole where everything gets lost.

Someone has very rightly said, "Expectation leads to disaster. More expectation leads to more disaster." That sums up my mood for the past 1 week. I am not going into the details of this 'disaster' here for the sake of well-intentioned 'happy feel' that this blog has aimed to maintain.

Life is about frame of reference. In bigger scheme of things, some disasters are just pin-pricks. For someone in Congo suffering from AIDS, these so-called disasters would be met with an indifferent guffaw. Not for me.

So what to do? Qualitatively speaking, I feel human mind has the highest youngs modulus of elasticity. It bounces back. It just moves on. Denial gives way to logic. Logic gives way to more effort. Effort gives way to expectation. And the cycle continues? Or maybe not. Upto you.

Hidden talent unearthed!

I didnt know - until today - that I have a big negotiator latently sleeping inside me for the past 2 decades. Just weeks back, I felt literally looted by comcast's 65 bucks a month high-speed internet deal. My attempt to question it and bring it back to 'normal' levels had failed miserably. Untill today, that is. I tried again today and thanks to my super-polite and a genuinely sounding 'why is comcast so much more expensive than its competitors'ish query, the lady on the other side replied as if its blasphemous to disconnect comcast. "Oh, are you going to disconnect? We definitely dont want that.", said she. "Do I have any option?", I smiled. It worked! She took personal pain to find out the best possible deal and guess what, I now pay 31.99 a month for both internet and cable :) Not only that, my soft-spokenly assertion also 'entitled' me (I would like to assume that) to some other waivers too. Hold on, there is more. We also talked about things other than "high speed internet".. like christmas, India, her family etc. And it all ended with she giving me her extension number and gently wishing me "Call me if you have any question in the future. Have a great trip to India. I ll think about you." Ok guys, stop raising your eyebrows. She said that in a very 'friendly' way :)

Lesson for the day: negotiate for one.. who knows, you might get two. Maybe more :)

Way to go, Dada!

Excelling during pressure situations day after day requires something out of the ordinary. It is the real test of mental strength. Something that separates good players from stars. I must say, despite not being a big fan of the former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, he has excelled in 2007 like no one else, shown tenacity like no one else. Almost everytime he has stepped into bat (after his comeback), he HAD to deliver, especially in the tests with the in-form Yuvraj sitting on the bench. A string of 2 or more consecutive flops and he would have been dumped out of the team. He has not only cemented his place in the ODI team (despite being a so-called "senior") but has also, with his latest double century, shone as a middle-order batsman in tests.

Is it due to the fearlessness that I once talked about? People tend to under-perform if they fear something. Fear of rejection, fear of ego-bruise whatever. Just like most of the human activies, fear triggers a biological process that affects the way you act. Thats what Steve Jobs referred to (indirectly) in his commencement address at Stanford 2.5 yrs back.

"Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important."

Ganguly had already gone through the ignominy of getting sacked from the team. It couldnt get worse. Maybe this is something that took away all "fear of embarrassment or failure". Is it any coincidence that most great people have similar stories of 'failure' to share?

For his sterling performance post-comeback in the most stressfull of situations, dada deserves a standing ovation :)

What has the world come to?

Indian judiciary seems to have taken the role of "entertainers". How else can one explain this? Court "serving notice to Hindu Gods, Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman"?!?!? I couldnt stop laughing at first. But now I realise, it might just be to gain cheap publicity? No wonder millions of cases are backlogged in Indian courts.

This is the funniest line in the news article:
"The court staff even went to the temple to serve the notices but there was no one to receive them. "

Dog ate my...

..back!

Ok, this is as hilarious as it gets. For the 'onlookers', not for me. I was at a senior's (from undergrad) place this weekend with a friend. Apart from his football-fieldish home, one thing that really amazed me was his dog. It looked just like any other dog but had a weird urge to constantly stare and gasp at 'strangers' almost lecherously. Sensing my discomfort at being licked by a dog, he was kind enough to keep him (the dog) out as long as I was there. But he (the dog) kept staring at me through the window glass, breathing forcefully. As if I am already a dead meat. I was happy that he couldnt jump on me. Not for long though. As I stepped out of the home to get fresh air, he (the dog) pounced onto me. I somehow prevented myself from being licked and went back inside. But that was just the appetizer. The entree was yet to be come, if you know what I mean. As we came back from a game of bowling, I saw the dog wandering in the open. I ran for the nearest exit but was easily outpaced by the dog. He jumped at me from behind. I shrugged. But he jumped again, this time catching me from behind with a now-where-will-you-run expression (apparently). I was struggling and giving kodak-less expressions (or so I assume). I was not even bothered about getting licked at that point. All I wanted was to escape. Luckily, the dog-owners came to my rescue at the right time and the ordeal was over. I am not scared of dogs as such (no, really!). Its their habit to lick human faces (and/or anything) with those long omnipotent tongue that I cannot stand.

Oh well, I am safe. I am alive, and kicking! Cheers!