Back In This

How was 2011?
It just came and went really, not much slowness to it at all.

Bye (for now).

I-Liner

I ran Winamp with my earphones plugged in and organised documents across the HDD.

Once again, like the last 20 times, it took multiple attempts to start off something concrete on this blog.

Strumming nonsensical notes on the guitar during late night jam sessions can bring out the best of things.

Munching on one vada paav for lunch while in school, wait – make that four more.

Just recollected a crime I committed once – stop looking like that - I know you have your black tag too. Why won’t you admit it?

I’m not sure why or how this post got going but I’m liking the flow.

Power chords will continue to be the most super charged musical notes (in my dictionary).

“Keeping in regular touch” is the toughest goddamn thing on this planet cuz people aren’t bothered.

HongKong is a trip on my mind, and it’ll stick till I make it happen.

One can’t beat the weather in Pune. Sorry Mumbai, you lose here.

Transparency – that’s the key. What’s to hide?

Check Yourself

I wonder how I’m changing with this experience in the job. Jobs change people don’t they? Unrealistic targets, plenty of politics and obligatory sweet talk can cause dents in the strongest of moulds.

That’s the real test. Which is how I think values are ingrained for every organisation. Seeing the kind of service they offer, the environment they work in, each one is laden with it’s golden trail… holy trail is it?

I’d want to highlight one value that my company propagates – integrity.

It’s a heavyweight category value if you ask me, one that demands the purest from it’s “devotee”. And I wonder how many of us are keeping that monstrous value in mind whilst engaging in our daily routine. Every step of the way, running a mental check on your actions and it’s consequence on the situation – that’s  a big tease.

Have you violated? Are you within limits? Is doing A more tolerable than B? Can I tweak this a wee bit and still stay on safe grounds? XYZ has done this but it’s not by the book – should one request a probe into the matter?

Test your integrity....happy realisation?

The Cup Is Ours!

Wow.

We did it. And I haven't yet absorbed the excitement completely. I mean, I did feel it while returning from a friends place that night and seeing horders of people spilling out from scores of cars, yelling and screaming whilst waving the Indian tri colour sky high.

A World Cup win 28 years later is incredible. The match was a thrilling one, fit for the perfect final.

Most importantly, this entire outcome proves that as a team, we are no longer dependent on our top 2-3 batsmen for the runs. We can do it banking on team mates who come down the order.

Sachin's dream has also come true. That's another vital highlight for every Indian in the country. The man has everything he wanted out of the game with a passion that's probably stronger than ever before.

Kudos Team India.

Sympathy & Empathy

It had to happen.

Nothing feels as good as an assembly of old friends after a long gap. However, there is also a necessary evil that will sprout if any of the members have had a negation in the recent past, causing a reasonably stark difference in physical appearance which tends to become the topic of discussion with most of the conversations you work into.

After having gone through four dejecting  months of jaundice, I was disappointed to engage in conversation that involved exemplifying the cause of the appearance. Thankfully, there were participants who had been victims of jaundice. With them, it was so much easier discussing the “fresh” symptoms, emerging modifications in the bug & latest prescriptions that doctors were shelling out these days.

To banter is a likely outcome owing to the camaraderie but at times it got awkward.

Never mind.

LIFE as he knows it

I’d read 2-3 reviews of the recently published LIFE which is an autobiography of Keith Richards, the co-founder and guitarist of The Rollings Stones,an English rock band. Most publications rated his book as a very honest (& blatant) approach; a scenario not very easy to fathom for a stereotype image of a rockstar. Now I haven't heard much of the Rolling Stones’ music, so there was a little bit of worry if I would be able to relate to the matter. Luckily, no such obstacle thus far.(this acts as a cue for me to brush up on their discography)

Set in the year 1975, the book opens with a vivid description of the band traveling in a car through the tiny town of Fordyce in Arkansas. Keith promptly describes how silly it felt driving in a car stuffed with drugs everywhere;doors,seats,boot....all over. At the time, the American police forces were looking for as many ways to pin them down using the most paltry measure of evidence. Simply because the Stones were regarded as a "dangerous band", enticing rebellious activity amongst the young crowd. Past tours had triggered many a controversy, one of which was the notorious giant inflatable **** that was used on stage during the song "Starfucker". And in a very explicit form, there's a potent dig at Mick Jagger's "insecurities" relating to the same.

Of course, in all this jazz, thanks to their powerful lawyer Bill Carter (who was also a Secret Service man for Kennedy), the police network known to him was tapped in order to avoid any ugly instances.

The second chapter speaks of his childhood spent in Dartford – schooling,life at home,extended family,his grandpa Gus who introduced him to music and even a snippet on how he was part of the winning trio of a choir group in school before the "shit hit the fan"...He was given a "pink slip" because his voice had cracked. A keen interest followed in the basics of survival, which led to his participation & subsequent sucess as Patrol Leader in the domain of being a Boy Scout.

Keith has just picked up his first guitar- a Rosetti if I recall correctly – and his yearning for music is only increasing.

Will get back to this blog soon with another update!

Tireless Tubes

I’m not sure how many times I’ve been punctured in the arm. Left arm. For the years that have gone by without any medication/treatment at the clinics or hospitals, the past 2 months have definitely made up for it.

I wasn’t ever scared of injections. I’d look to speed up the waiting time. That’s the killer phase. In fact, I think the wait is most disastrous. It gets people imagining glitches & other silly things to be part of the process. Hence the fear. Makes sense don’t it?

A few of my friends are still shaken by the thought of injections. Seeing that needle move swiftly towards the vein and finally inside it, it can cause (shudder) .. significant discomfort. In the 2 month experience I’ve been through, I’ve started noting the good and bad segments of this activity. I know, it’s not the best of things to dwell on but a patient’s perspective must always be considered.

The armchairs are comfortable. That’s a guarantee. Once you sit yourself down on one, the natural tendency is to start looking around and in all probability, towards the rack of sampling equipment. 2,5,10 and 20 ml measures stare back coldly. Meanwhile, the nurse/technician pulls out fresh stock and yanks off the plastic cover off each one. Till recently, I never paid attention to how thick that needle really is. (maybe that’s one way to stop the fear?) And it is one thick piece. Soon, the cotton swab does it’s bit of ensuring a shiny forearm on the inside and the alcohol scent finds its way to your senses.  This is the good part. Then comes the syringe with the needle. A routine check of the piston clears out any trapped air and we’re good to go!

Every time I feel the prick I can’t help but look down at the needle. And it looks so much more deadly at this point.

Before one can settle in this phase, time is up. Phew..! made it.

~ 10 punctures in 45 days ~

Yellow Headless Wanderer

A month ago, a lot of things started going awry. Something, someone or a whiff of nothing wished me the best for life at Pune and so there I was, feeling very odd one Saturday evening sometime late August. High fever came and subsided for two nights so malaria was pinpointed on my guesstimate. The blood test turned out negative. So I took another to realise it was jaundice. Awesome. Strike #1.

I spent a few days at family’s place in Pune feeling terrible. Then I got back to Mumbai soon after where I felt a little less terrible for the remaining part of my monthly recluse. Home is best. I’ve never seen so many movies (at home) in such a short span. Nor have I seen so many hours of useless content  on TV either.

In that one month, I missed 3 landmark events at work. Crap. And then I made my way back to the office this week strapped with half day regimes on the timetable. I didn’t manage to stick to them. Something just kept coming up. This happened for the first two days.

Then HR planned an outbound for the entire Marketing team at Kolhad covering 3 days, starting today at 6am. Wow. Of course, crippled as I am, I couldn’t afford to go along. Over-exertion would have had my body sprawled across the beach/road/tent/jungle space and motionless too I’m sure. The diet you see, that’s what makes it happen. No fat. No proteins.

A diet that will last months – don’t forget that. And like I told AB, (as soon as he told me the same), I’ve accepted this diet dictat. Fate. Fatte. Solid.

HR sent an internal announcement mail stating my boss was now to head another vertical starting next month. That means from the day after tomorrow. I am headless at this point.

The incessant bile present under my epidermis continues to draw eyeballs every now and then. People point to my hand or neck and query, “But you still have yellow right?”. I counter this  with a solemn shake of the head and explain to them that intricate cycle of bile in this process.

On the (only) clear cut positive outcome  from all this blah blah --

1. This blog has awakened.