This is not much of a posting really... but then I cannot just sit here idle without welcoming 2005. I found many fools doing that, as if by not welcoming 2005 it would not come in. For once I decided to play along with popular mediocracy and decide to write a welcome note to 2005. And now, having done that, I am feeling tall and proud that I have done my part in welcoming another important year in this century.
Among other things, Meera had taken my blogs a bit too seriously (please refer to her comments for my previous blog). I am sorry not to have included a disclaimer earlier on saying no one should take my blogs to the heart. Meera asked me what I meant in my previous see off article for 2004 where I wrote we had "Tsunamis and all for entertainment". Sombre question - but I dont answer such questions. I cannot feel sorry for a thing unless I experience it first hand. Journalists and the media are not enough to convince me of the disastrous impact of any situation. I found a lot of photographs here in the US saying US aid finally reached Sri Lanka and the picture shows destitute people begging for water. If this is what Tsunamis mean for the rest of the world, thanks for CNN and BBC, I would very much like to disassociate from having to do anything at all with it.
So Meera, dont feel bad about such words. If possible, you could contribute directly to the relief. Probably you are doiing that already. And if you are, there is no real need for a big concern for my words. I have done my part of the contribution too - which is mostly with money; I cannot give my time for these causes.
As I write these, the democratic media is showing the pathetic state of affairs in Sri Lanka and what the US is doing to "take the lead" in helping Asia out of the hell! God, give me a break. One thing I have seen about this country's media is even if they have nothing to say, they can move the people to display pseudo feelings and talk eloquently about the concern for the world, when majority of the people here think US is the world.
So another year in the making for us - let us see what we make of it. I dont see any difference from my personal standpoint - it is going to be another year, one third of which is spent sleeping. Perhaps most of us dont realise that one third of a day is spent sleeping. Then of course, there is work, work place and the associated crap. And friends, and family and pets and cattle on the streets. This year does not augur entirely well for me since I would be required to be back in the US for work related reasons for 4-5 months. I am game, but not with the usual gusto and enthu though. Thanks for my warning in the earlier article, Libra does seem to be good for 2005. For a while I am not thinking of changing my sign.
Monday, January 03, 2005
Friday, December 31, 2004
Musings on 2004...
Year end laxity and the fact that 99% of the work force here in my work place is on vacation has kind of put me in the vacation mode – in other words, no work is being done. I don’t feel like it either, which is nothing new, but this is year end time…! Just a few more hours to go to finally call 2004 another sloppy useless year in my life. To add to the mess I had been to the gym yesterday and ran 6 miles like a big hero and got my legs jacked seriously today. I am used to running such distances, but something went wrong yesterday. So here I am sitting with a painful right leg and writing stuff to give headaches to those who are dumb enough to read these.
The gals of my age group are busy in contributing to the continuation of the species. Others are into similar games, but are not keen on having the output so fast. Yet others, like me, are seriously weighing the decision to get married or not! Not much choice on that front really, considering biology is something of a formidable force. So sooner or later it is going to be traversing through the long treaded path of family and wife and nagging and kids and … my god.
Looking back at anything is not the way I go ahead about things. But sometimes it is tempting, like this year end time. It is tempting and disappointing too to see the results of another futile year on the planet. This year mainly comprised of about 200 days at work place.. it is the worst swear I can give to 2004. But honestly speaking it was not so bad. I flew business class to the US. Business class? I can see my Indian friends gasping for breath, for those poor souls have only traveled in economy through Indian service companies! Snigger, snigger.. My company, after its many years of existence learned that it is a futile thing to pay more to thankless disgruntled employees. Instead they decided to make our preferred airline rich. So these days all of us travel business class. No joke. Of course, US branches have always done that, but when bad times came in 2001-2003, the top management there suddenly decided that they could save good money by letting their Indian counterparts travel the way the world travels – economy class. But a dramatic quirk of fate brought back human travel to us Indians this year mid. So at least in that aspect we are at par with our American brethren.
2004 has not just been about work. My parents decided it is time to curb my freedom. I saw a couple of girls and thankfully nothing worked out. Most of the girls I saw were waiting anxiously for Tom Cruise. I tried to convince he gets in and out of marriage like a slimy reptile, but the girls preferred that instead. My stand on the church and its associated wisdom was disliked by a few of the females I had the privilege to see. Wisdom prevailed…
I read a good number of books – Krishnamurti and osho have laid their consecrating hands upon me. I was reading a book named My Diamond Days with Osho by one of his close disciples. This year it was another series of blasphemous literature like The Last temptation by Kazantzakis. If you have a taste for Krishnamurti, his books can be superb. You will get to know in the first few lines whether you have a taste for him or not. Osho is always delightful, sparklingly intelligent and irreverent!
I have been getting enough exercise since I cycle to work and back. So that it is about 24 km total a day. When I told my boss that I take the longer route to work, he said "you are so eager to get to work!". So this year there was some good cycling. Besides, I met my guru Shreekumar at the cycle shop where I get my cycle repaired. This gentleman is a top notch cyclist – see his blog at http://shreekumar.blogspot.com/. I consider my luck that I have always been able to be friends with and understand individuals who tread outside the commonly used paths.
Not a single year passes without some major blunders. This year I went to tickle and queendom and did a few IQ tests and came back crying since they said I was retarded. Mmmm. Don’t smile and snigger and feel superior. If I am retarded, then what about the people who are reading these pages? You should be even more so.
I am hoping that my sign Libra behaves well and gives me a good year ahead!
So looking back, it was a nice year. Tsunamis and all for entertainment. As each of these years go behind, one thing is dead sure. We are ALL growing older – whether we are growing is a different question altogether. I will let posterity answer that.
The gals of my age group are busy in contributing to the continuation of the species. Others are into similar games, but are not keen on having the output so fast. Yet others, like me, are seriously weighing the decision to get married or not! Not much choice on that front really, considering biology is something of a formidable force. So sooner or later it is going to be traversing through the long treaded path of family and wife and nagging and kids and … my god.
Looking back at anything is not the way I go ahead about things. But sometimes it is tempting, like this year end time. It is tempting and disappointing too to see the results of another futile year on the planet. This year mainly comprised of about 200 days at work place.. it is the worst swear I can give to 2004. But honestly speaking it was not so bad. I flew business class to the US. Business class? I can see my Indian friends gasping for breath, for those poor souls have only traveled in economy through Indian service companies! Snigger, snigger.. My company, after its many years of existence learned that it is a futile thing to pay more to thankless disgruntled employees. Instead they decided to make our preferred airline rich. So these days all of us travel business class. No joke. Of course, US branches have always done that, but when bad times came in 2001-2003, the top management there suddenly decided that they could save good money by letting their Indian counterparts travel the way the world travels – economy class. But a dramatic quirk of fate brought back human travel to us Indians this year mid. So at least in that aspect we are at par with our American brethren.
2004 has not just been about work. My parents decided it is time to curb my freedom. I saw a couple of girls and thankfully nothing worked out. Most of the girls I saw were waiting anxiously for Tom Cruise. I tried to convince he gets in and out of marriage like a slimy reptile, but the girls preferred that instead. My stand on the church and its associated wisdom was disliked by a few of the females I had the privilege to see. Wisdom prevailed…
I read a good number of books – Krishnamurti and osho have laid their consecrating hands upon me. I was reading a book named My Diamond Days with Osho by one of his close disciples. This year it was another series of blasphemous literature like The Last temptation by Kazantzakis. If you have a taste for Krishnamurti, his books can be superb. You will get to know in the first few lines whether you have a taste for him or not. Osho is always delightful, sparklingly intelligent and irreverent!
I have been getting enough exercise since I cycle to work and back. So that it is about 24 km total a day. When I told my boss that I take the longer route to work, he said "you are so eager to get to work!". So this year there was some good cycling. Besides, I met my guru Shreekumar at the cycle shop where I get my cycle repaired. This gentleman is a top notch cyclist – see his blog at http://shreekumar.blogspot.com/. I consider my luck that I have always been able to be friends with and understand individuals who tread outside the commonly used paths.
Not a single year passes without some major blunders. This year I went to tickle and queendom and did a few IQ tests and came back crying since they said I was retarded. Mmmm. Don’t smile and snigger and feel superior. If I am retarded, then what about the people who are reading these pages? You should be even more so.
I am hoping that my sign Libra behaves well and gives me a good year ahead!
So looking back, it was a nice year. Tsunamis and all for entertainment. As each of these years go behind, one thing is dead sure. We are ALL growing older – whether we are growing is a different question altogether. I will let posterity answer that.
Musings on America - Part 2
If I don’t mention the heartbeat of the US, the Interstate system of highways, I would be doing great injustice to Eisenhower. Interstates are highways that run the length and breadth of the country – four lane for most part, except in cities where they are sometimes upto 16 lanes. It is safe and comfortable to drive on these roads. Coming from India, they were really a surprise to me. Cows and animals normally don’t cross the road and pedestrians/ cyclists are not even allowed on them. However, more exotic ones like antelopes and mongooses do try to cross them and sometimes get killed. Cars and trucks roam free, as long as they abide by the speed limits. It is 65 miles per hour high and 45 miles per hour low limit within which you drive – but practical allowance make it for a high of 75. You average about 100 km per hour on a normal journey, assuming sane driving.
Workplace is real cool. People come in at 8 and leave at 5. During work hours they actually work! That’s a far cry from India where people come in at 10, take huge breaks for lunch, tea and fags, go back at 9 in the night and say they are overworked. These are a few things my countrymen should learn from Americans. Professionals are really professionals. J When it comes to efficiency, there is no beating them. Of course, germans are still there in Europe… But these guys are a tad too much obsessed about efficiency.
The food is something I guess I will take some time getting used to. Burgers, pizzas and stuff. My god. Then there is coffee. And decaf. Can you imagine decaffeinated coffee? People here actually prefer it. Decaffeinated coffee seems to be something roughly similar to having water that will not quench thirst. Then there is sweeteners, which looks like sugar but is not sugar. Why? Sugar has too much calories it seems. Boy. It is definitely a land of extremes. People running marathons to pass time on one end and people who weigh 300 pounds on the other.
If you ever go to have tea, they would ask whether you want small, medium or large size cups. Indians should always ask for small because they will faint if they see the large size cups. The large cups are so large that those size vessels are used in my village back in Kerala to feed cows.
I guess it is precisely this play of extremes that makes life sometimes interesting in this strange land, flanked by two different oceans on either side, and a huge country on the north.
When I talk about the north, many more things come to my mind. For instance, the winter. The guys who have been reading this and not known the winters here should read on. In the tropics, we have a far better climate. Winters are chilly here – temperatures in dec and jan hover perpetually below zero Centrigrade (yea 32 F). Even 30s are considered warm enough. Till now I have seen -16C. Only polar bears are naturally adapted to live in this kind of weather. And I live so north that I can actually walk over to the Canadian border, and cycle to the north pole! Its the season here when people open the fridge to feel warm. I had once put a few cans of Pepsi in my car boot. Due to the cold, the liquid became solid and made holes on the can. It was steady -14C outside then. People in India would never have used heaters in their cars, except the ones living far north. Here it is an everyday thing in winter. You cannot drive without the heater.
If I come to social mannerism, it is really fun. People say sorry, thank you, excuse me et al at the drop of a hat. These words are used so frequently that it has lost meaning. It becomes a mere formality to use these once beautiful words. In India, it still means a lot to say a thank you or sorry to someone. On the rare occasions it is used in my country, it is usually meant. Here in US it is used everyday, and never the person using it means it. All these kinda speaks of their British ancestry.
I have not yet written of the most fascinating topic yet. Girls! This is the land of Marilyn Monroe and Britney Spears, J Lo and others. But women here seems so dignified to me, unlike what Indians think snobbishly. Girls don’t always dress the way they appear to be in Baywatch. If it is the idea of my Indian friends, they better change. It is something like how National Geographic shows Africa. It looks so sweet and cute on NG, but the reality is slightly different.
Though I don’t know much about the family life of the Americans here, I guess it is pretty much good and sweet. People don’t marry and divorce the next year. I guess we Indians need to really get out of our alleged moral supremacy. I sometimes feel these people are far better and innocent than our folks in India.
One thing I did not like is the way they treat convicts here – I don’t see a trace of compassion or of Christianity about which they keep giving big speeches to the whole world. Punishments are very severe, and death penalty is common. These things make me wonder if there is really any civilization… Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth pretty much remains the norm of all conduct, Jesus Christ notwithstanding. Owning a gun is a fundamental right. Can you imagine that? I think it is outright stupid. When you drive along the highways you see boards saying Guns save life. I have not been able to see the point yet. One of the strongest lobbies in this country is the national rifle association, with a 4 million membership. That is insanity wholesale!
Another trouble is the name of streets. Looks like these people have seriously run out of names. Either it is the name of previous presidents, or states or such things that streets are given. Since any of these are not too numerous, names get repeated. So if you name a city called Springfield, you have to say in which state it belongs. Because there would be many Springfields in the country. So you say Springfield Illinois, Springfield Missouri et al. That would look really hilarious to Indians, but that’s the way. After the frachise business idea took shape, most places look the same – because McDonalds, KFC, Pizza hut and all have the same appearance everywhere. So if you happen to see a street in a movie, it will be very difficult to guess which city it is in. Even if a part of the city is shown, you will not be able to identify, with rare exceptions. In India it is a general knowledge question answered by very few people to find names that get repeated anywhere in the whole country.
(to be contd...)
Workplace is real cool. People come in at 8 and leave at 5. During work hours they actually work! That’s a far cry from India where people come in at 10, take huge breaks for lunch, tea and fags, go back at 9 in the night and say they are overworked. These are a few things my countrymen should learn from Americans. Professionals are really professionals. J When it comes to efficiency, there is no beating them. Of course, germans are still there in Europe… But these guys are a tad too much obsessed about efficiency.
The food is something I guess I will take some time getting used to. Burgers, pizzas and stuff. My god. Then there is coffee. And decaf. Can you imagine decaffeinated coffee? People here actually prefer it. Decaffeinated coffee seems to be something roughly similar to having water that will not quench thirst. Then there is sweeteners, which looks like sugar but is not sugar. Why? Sugar has too much calories it seems. Boy. It is definitely a land of extremes. People running marathons to pass time on one end and people who weigh 300 pounds on the other.
If you ever go to have tea, they would ask whether you want small, medium or large size cups. Indians should always ask for small because they will faint if they see the large size cups. The large cups are so large that those size vessels are used in my village back in Kerala to feed cows.
I guess it is precisely this play of extremes that makes life sometimes interesting in this strange land, flanked by two different oceans on either side, and a huge country on the north.
When I talk about the north, many more things come to my mind. For instance, the winter. The guys who have been reading this and not known the winters here should read on. In the tropics, we have a far better climate. Winters are chilly here – temperatures in dec and jan hover perpetually below zero Centrigrade (yea 32 F). Even 30s are considered warm enough. Till now I have seen -16C. Only polar bears are naturally adapted to live in this kind of weather. And I live so north that I can actually walk over to the Canadian border, and cycle to the north pole! Its the season here when people open the fridge to feel warm. I had once put a few cans of Pepsi in my car boot. Due to the cold, the liquid became solid and made holes on the can. It was steady -14C outside then. People in India would never have used heaters in their cars, except the ones living far north. Here it is an everyday thing in winter. You cannot drive without the heater.
If I come to social mannerism, it is really fun. People say sorry, thank you, excuse me et al at the drop of a hat. These words are used so frequently that it has lost meaning. It becomes a mere formality to use these once beautiful words. In India, it still means a lot to say a thank you or sorry to someone. On the rare occasions it is used in my country, it is usually meant. Here in US it is used everyday, and never the person using it means it. All these kinda speaks of their British ancestry.
I have not yet written of the most fascinating topic yet. Girls! This is the land of Marilyn Monroe and Britney Spears, J Lo and others. But women here seems so dignified to me, unlike what Indians think snobbishly. Girls don’t always dress the way they appear to be in Baywatch. If it is the idea of my Indian friends, they better change. It is something like how National Geographic shows Africa. It looks so sweet and cute on NG, but the reality is slightly different.
Though I don’t know much about the family life of the Americans here, I guess it is pretty much good and sweet. People don’t marry and divorce the next year. I guess we Indians need to really get out of our alleged moral supremacy. I sometimes feel these people are far better and innocent than our folks in India.
One thing I did not like is the way they treat convicts here – I don’t see a trace of compassion or of Christianity about which they keep giving big speeches to the whole world. Punishments are very severe, and death penalty is common. These things make me wonder if there is really any civilization… Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth pretty much remains the norm of all conduct, Jesus Christ notwithstanding. Owning a gun is a fundamental right. Can you imagine that? I think it is outright stupid. When you drive along the highways you see boards saying Guns save life. I have not been able to see the point yet. One of the strongest lobbies in this country is the national rifle association, with a 4 million membership. That is insanity wholesale!
Another trouble is the name of streets. Looks like these people have seriously run out of names. Either it is the name of previous presidents, or states or such things that streets are given. Since any of these are not too numerous, names get repeated. So if you name a city called Springfield, you have to say in which state it belongs. Because there would be many Springfields in the country. So you say Springfield Illinois, Springfield Missouri et al. That would look really hilarious to Indians, but that’s the way. After the frachise business idea took shape, most places look the same – because McDonalds, KFC, Pizza hut and all have the same appearance everywhere. So if you happen to see a street in a movie, it will be very difficult to guess which city it is in. Even if a part of the city is shown, you will not be able to identify, with rare exceptions. In India it is a general knowledge question answered by very few people to find names that get repeated anywhere in the whole country.
(to be contd...)
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