3 Random Things - Week 13

"There are no free lunches!!"

The first time I heard this was at the Woodlands Restaurant near my school. My school started at 7 in the morning and would finish by 1. One particular day, I was grabbing a quick lunch after school, before tuition. As I was finishing my lunch, in walks my crush with her dad. They didn't even notice I was there.

So, I panicked, gulped down whatever was on my plate, washed my hands and raced to the exit door. And that was when I felt a tap on my shoulder and the aforementioned dialogue. By the way, they noticed that.

As I have trudged through another twenty years of life, I have never heard that dialogue again. But like in each of Aesop's fables, across varies situations in life, I have realised that this was lesson to be learnt.

***

1. Why is your email free?

I felt like going back to 2012 - the year the world was supposed to end. So, I set a year filter on my email and took a ride back in time. And that's when I remembered that I was part of the generation which forwarded an email to ten people to avoid bad luck. Cringey? Wait till the post where I tell you what I found on Facebook (or what went to the grave with Orkut).

Anyways, it got me thinking. Why would a company pay a considerable amount of money to upkeep the data on servers around the world, so that I can read the nonsensical email that I sent a decade ago?

Well, alongwith every waste email, I'm giving them access to everything I'm doing. They might say (and they might actually) not read the email, but they do read where I got the mail from, and maybe the subject line. That's enough data.

For example, if I get a mail saying my car loan is sanctioned, they can use it to show me advertisements of car keys. And not just any car keys, car keys related to my favourite football club. And how do they know which my favourite football club is? Well, I hope you guessed that.

2. Capturing the market

The market, according to marketing teams, are pretty easy to manipulate. Unfortunately, us, the market, keep proving them right time and again. Again going back to 2012 and coming back, the major "disruptors" in all fields - think food delivery, can service, digital wallets, mobile services - they all seem to have one thing in common. They come in with a bucketload of freebies, make us get used to a certain way of life, and then start charging us living our life in the manner that they have dictated.

Is this life more comfortable and easier? Yes. Yes, it is. However, it's costlier too. So the next time someone offers you something for free, just think about how you would feel paying for it a few years later.

3. Electoral Bonds

I'm no expert on the subject. People far more intelligent have written and spoken about it. For your sake, I hope you make an effort to go through this topic.

***

A nomadic thought visited me whole writing this. What was the last invention/advancement which made the human race go "WOW!!!". Pretty much everything that are being done today have been fictionally created but authors decades ago. Personally, I am rooting for a conveniently compartmentalized time control apparatus. As with any time machine, you don't want the entire timeline to go back or forth - that would be like skipping to the end of the movie.

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Random Things - Week 12

Impromptu bungle.

My love story with low minimum pass mark, no negative marking, objective exams continues. This time it was for a certification to sell insurance, which is now apparently mandatory in banks. If you are having trouble imagining an example of such an exam, think about the driving license learners exam. These things are effectively a survey. You can choose options at random, and the result is exactly what they want it to be. In this case, the certification of the individual.

Anyways, it is never about the destination, but the journey. Likewise, this week's story is not about the test, but the journey to the test center and back. The center was at an institute in the main road along Thammannam in Kochi. Kochi-ites will know that it is not the ideal place to park a car.

So, I parked my car at Palarivattom Metro Station, took an auto for the 3km ride and ended up paying a whimsical Rs.70.

After the exam, I had some extra time to spare till Ammu and Appu reached. I decided to save the seventy rupees. So, in the not-so-wise words of Marshall from HIMYM, I said, "I can walk that far."

Remember - despite running that 10k marathon that one time all those years ago - recently, I've been actively avoiding any activity which would require me to get up from where I was sitting. This one journey would probably beat the sum total of the distance I would have covered in a non-mall environment in the entirety of 2023.

Well, I did finish the walk unscathed. And this week's random things are the from the walk.

***

1. Gym

It is good to know that, unlike me, other people are more interested in their health. This is evident from the number of Gyms I saw on this short walk (SHORT!!!). I counted up to four before I lost interest. And there was a common trend, beyond the photos of the barely covered chiseled bodies up front. All of these Gyms were located on the top most floor of their buildings - buildings, which were mostly three/four stories in height, and wouldn't have elevators. It seems like there's a daily entrance exam for going to the gym.

2. Nose job

If you are regularly travelling faster than the speed with which your brain recognises the scents picked up by your nose, you might be inclined to believe that your nose is not doing it's job. So, this walk gave me an opportunity to realise how much I've been missing. The mouthwatering smell that originates when crispy chips are fried in oil, or the smell from the various trays at the local bakery, or freshly brewed coffee at the tea shop, or the aroma from the perfume shop - you need time to take in and appreciate these smells.

3. Net zero

Well, you guessed it. I spent the money I would have spent on the return auto ride on pastries and soft drinks. Come to think of it, I might have gained calories at the end of the walk.

***

P.P.S. Car parking at Palarivattom Metro Station was free. At least, I think so. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Random Things - Week 11

Memories.

Memories serve us and remind us in a lost of ways - as bookmarks, as lessons, as expectations, as forecasts - shining through as ready of hope in despair, or bringing us to ground when the heart wants to fly high.

Now, it's time for the tricky question. Does happy memories make you sad? Does sad memories make you happy? Nope? Just me? Very well then. I can atleast express the theory behind my viewpoint here.

If you are feeling sad, you can reminiscence sadder memories from your past to make your present seem bearable. If you are of the quirky kind, who wants to search for sadness even when you have reason to be happy, bring forth to the center stage of your kind the happiest memory you have. Nothing will hold up against it.

For this week, we have three random memories.

***

1. 5 star fraud

The year is 2015. Both of them grew up in typical middle class family framework. As a newly married couple, they decided to splurge some cash, and have dinner at Marriott one day. Both of them looked splendid in their new apparel as they made their way from their car to the reception. The dinner was uneventful. At the end came the bill.

If you are a fan of old Malayalam movies like me, think of "See Maggi, I'm paying the bill" scene, or the Vishu scene from Kabooliwala.

I repeat. The year is 2015. The commonly.accepted payment methods were cash or card. Universally accepted mobile payment methods were yet to enter the market. Her dress didn't have any pockets, he forgot to take his wallet.

Thankfully, the staff were courteous and mindful of.our predicament. They let me go back home, and come back with my card. Just me, mind you. Not the perfect date night.

P.S. If.you open my phone case, you will find a Rs.500 note. Now you know why.

2. I'm coming home

Grand gestures were never my thing. I tend to believe that my strength lies in the subtle art of chori-ing. A little bit of misdirection and a lot of over complication.

Dec 5th, 2012. I called my mother from Gurgaon and told her that I'm having a fever, and that I'm going to sleep. Two minutes later, I was sitting in the aisle seat trying to get a glimpse of the cute airhostess, as we were preparing for takeoff on our flight to Trivandrum.

A surprise visit on the eve of their 25th wedding anniversary was my gift.

3. Numbers

This past week was pretty eventful numberwise for me. I've this vestigial function hardwired in my brain to sum up the numbers of all number plates I see on the road. Once used as a hack to pass time while traveling, this programs runs on auto mode these days, throwing up alerts only on hitting specific predetermined conditions.

This week was the first time I saw two random vehicles, having their registration numbers from the same number series, and within 100 difference of each other. It was KL 70 G 71xx and KL 70 G 72xx. The xx is for data security, because I'm trying to protect the identity of the owner of the vehicles, and not because I forgot the numbers.

I also happened to see a double reverse. A KL 64 and a KL 71 registration being closely followed on the road by a KL 46 and a KL 17.

Lucky me.

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Random Things - Week 10

Innocence

Kids say the cutest things. Do you know why? Because their innocence is yet to be tainted. The way they think, the way they find a connection between two unrelated things and the way they make conclusions regarding situations around them are astounding because of this reason alone.

Don't worry. The system and us will spend a decade knocking it out of them. And when they start toeing the line, we will have won. But until then, I can enjoy the free entertainment show put on by my four year old. Well, almost free. Have you ever gone shopping with her?

***

1. Food

Someone brought Appu a small toy cat as a gift. She loved it so much that she started carrying it everywhere. My mom asked her if she wanted a real cat. Appu said yes. My mom then informed her that the cat will grow up and become a big cat, and then Appu can't carry it everywhere.

My four year old had a simple solution. "I won't give it any food. Then it won't grow up."

2. Money

This is the typical response from every child. But still it's something which really pulls on the heart strings.

One Monday morning, as I was about to leave for office, Appu came and asked me not to go to office, and instead play with her all day like we did yesterday. The conversation went like this.

"Acha. Don't go to office."

"I have to go to office."

"Please don't go. Let's play like yesterday."

"What else did we do yesterday?"

"We went shopping."

"And what did we buy?"

"Toys and candy."

"How did we buy that?"

"With money."

"So, why do I have to go to office?"

"To make money."

*Pause*

*Gets up, runs away, and comes back with a box*

"Here is all my money, don't go to office."

She had brought her coin box.

P.S. Now, I tell her that I go to office to help my friends. She's okay with the explanation.

3. Backseat driver

"Why are you going fast?"

"Do you see that lorry?"

"Why are you talking while driving?"

My daughter has been trained by her mother and her grandmother in the dark arts of backseat driving. She is now the de facto mouthpiece for them, showering the driver with the above comments. Of course, she hasn't picked up the exact science behind the theme.

This weekend, Appu insisted on going to the Park, while the other two ladies decided they do not want to walk to much. This culminated in Appu hitching a bike ride with her father and her grandfather to Malampuzha Park.

On reaching the location, it was unanimously decided to take the Ropeway. Whole on the Ropeway, my father and myself were looking and commenting on the lights put up for the flower show, when we suddenly heard her say, "Don't talk while driving."

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Random Things - Week 9

I can't start writing this any later. Of course, that is a figurative way of speech. There's literally two hours and forty four minutes for me to start, but that would leave me with just a minute to finish the blog.

I've had a rough week, all around. You know, the sort of week when "if it can go wrong, it'll go wrong" is the earworm. I have had two blog ideas at two thirds stage for the entire week, but haven't been able to put a beginning or an end to it.

So, this is going to be an impromptu blog, looking back at my old blogs.

***

1. Ormayundo - written on Sep 3rd, 2013

This is the most read post on this blog. No self introspection, no meandering paragraphs, no significant storyline. I guess, comedy is always king.

2. When I asked a certain someone to write a guest post - written on Aug 8th, 2014

"Due to yours truly being temporarily disposed of, I requested our last guest writer Saiprasad, my dear brother to write today's post. Mr."I can't work creatively with deadlines" declined. And I turned to my close friend, Sreerenjini, who after some persuassion decided to indulge us with a short post on the books which influenced her. So, without further ado, here's what she has to say. Enjoy!!!"

Yes. This was written when she was not just my friend.

3. Opinions - written on May 16, 2014

"A single party has won the minimum required majority in the Lok Sabha. It was something I always wanted to happen, as one of the main excuses laid out to explain the stuttering development in this nation has been the influence of regional parties.

Now, a single party can take the decision and lead us on. "To where?" is a very valid question."

Tomorrow I'm having half day off, as a half day holiday has been declared for all Central Government offices.

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Random Things - Week 8

 After-party

The last two posts were a bit heavy, and so I wanted to make this one lighter. This is the time people would be trying to find the funnier side of their new year resolutions. I have decided to go another way today - the fun in the after party.

Those who have drinks claim that that is the way to have a good time. Those who don't have drinks will say that you don't need drinks to have a good time. Now, those who don't have drinks, but still goes to the party will say that the best way to have a good time is to watch others get drunk and then do/say things.

And today, for your guilty pleasure, I bring to you three such stories of drunken innocence. For the anonymity of the protagonists, we will describe all of these as stories of Mr.Raj.

P.S. The stories mentioned below never happened in real life. I pinky swear.

***

1. Tequila Sunrise

This was the first time Raj had had alcohol in his life. It was a party for something (nobody remembers why there was a party, but just a vague recollection that there indeed was a party on that day). Raj started off with beer, and with enough cajoling ended up having some stronger drinks as well. One of his friends, who recently returned from Bangalore, was going on about the variety of drinks that he had had at Pubs over there.

Like at the end of most parties, the entire group went outside the room at around midnight, because someone said they wanted icecream. Shepherded by the non-drinkers, the group eventually got to the icecream parlour and everyone placed their order, as best as they could.

A poor boy, working the graveyard shift, was distributing the icecreams. Suddenly, Raj started quarelling with him. Raj was enraged by the fact that the Tequila sunrise he ordered didn't actually have Tequila.

2. Smoking is injurious to health

Raj had started drinking, but not smoking. Being a sane person, he knew the bad effects of smoking. But once he got drunk, the sane person would leave the building, and so Raj started smoking when he had drinks. This story is from the first time he smoked.

Actually, this story is from the next day. The party went on late into the night, Raj got back to his home early in the morning, and went to sleep without breakfast. By 12pm, a slightly hungover Raj came out of his room and asked for food. His mother said that rice is ready, and asked him to take lunch by himself, as she was doing some gardening.

Raj started eating the food, and his soul left his body. He could taste the smoke from last night in the food he was having. He panicked, went to his room, brushed his teeth again, came back and tried the food. No difference. He went to his room, and called his friend, trying to get some advice on dealing with the problem. His friend, who was also knackered from the party last night, was not picking up the phone.

As Raj kept trying to connect with his friend, he heard his sister call out to his mother from the dining room.

"Ammae. Chettan choor ividae vachittu poi. Ith adiyil pidichu ena thonunnae. Karinju irupunde."

("Amma. He has left without eating anything. This rice is smelling weird. I think it got burned while cooking.")

3. Orthodox drinking

As we move along the drinking career of Raj, we see him arriving late for a party one day, as he was working late at office. Actually, he had worked late, went out with his office friends, had some drinks and now reached this party - the reason being that someone had sponsored a Whisky for this party. This was the first time Raj was having Whisky in his life. He went up to the designated bartender of the group and said without much inhibition, "I'll have one large whisky - orthodox".

"Enthutt??" was the reply in typical Thrissur slang. ("What?")

It took some time and explanation from Raj for all to understand that he had meant to say "on the rocks".

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Random Things - Week 7

Cry.

Do  you remember crying for a feeling other than that of pain or sadness? Out of frustration perhaps, maybe out of helplessness, probably out of a dawning realisation that you are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes even out of happiness?

I've. We all have.

***

November

When you don't feel at ease with the state of your professional and your personal life, you can breakdown during your daily walk on a chilly November evening. Hopefully, you will end up evaluating your life and where you want it to go, and end up taking the Leap of faith. And I hope it gets you where you hoped to be, like it has for me.

2. Onam 2019

If you happened to be at the Neonatal ICU wing of Amrita Hospital at 9am on any day between 7th August 2019 and 21st September 2019, you would have run into me. The princess snoring next to me right now was born nearly three months premature, and that was the visiting time for parents to see their child at the NICU.

I've a very bad memory, so thankfully whatever images I had to see there have been wiped clean in my head. But I still remember one day in particular. She had a recurrence of an infection, and they had stopped feeding her altogether. The doctor told me that morning that there was not much to do, but wait for 24 hours to see how she responds to medicine.

I was on my way to office after hearing that. We were celebrating Onam at office on that day. I had reached this intersection near Kaloor, and I just couldn't drive anymore. I stopped the bike by the side. The helmet hid the tears running down my face. I called in sick and went back home.

3. Onam 2020

You don't need to be a genius to figure out why tears were running down my face on a cold morning in August 2020. It was Onam again, and I had my princess in my arms.

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Random Things - Week 6

Warning : Sufficient fictional license has been used in the content below to not warrant use of logic at your end.

***

Consider three individuals of the similar mental capacity and similar middle class social standing, studying the same engineering degree - A, B and C.

1. A's Father wanted to be an Engineer, but couldn't. So naturally, he decided A will be an engineer. Hence, A is currently doing this course. If someone took time to talk to A, they would realise that A wanted to become a lawyer. However, the dominant nature of the parent stifled A's dreams and A kept studying the course.

2. B's family is precariously poised financially. B's sincere efforts resulted in a seat in the present course - even though B would have liked to repeat the entrance exam and join for a better course/College. However, time was not on B's side. B's father is retiring soon and B has to get a job as soon as possible, to avoid B's family going broke.

3. "We’re the middle children of history. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression." - Fight Club.

C cannot be introduced better than that. Growing up without struggles is a boon and a bane. This might be a second world issue, but a lack of struggle leads to lack of a specific endpoint / continuous force in one direction. C wanted to try everything - and ended up floating carelessly among options, like a paper bag in the wind. Whichever way the wind tugged last, it went.

***

This is a mid-life crisis self awareness rant. I'm not saying that I'm not questioning every decision I made between 18 and 23, but boy is hindsight 20/20. I was whimsical, instead of being logical. During that period, I lacked someone, who could guide me in the long term, instead of short term. I was taking advice from my seniors, who were practically fellow teenagers at that point in time.

We always think that if we could go back in time and do things differently, and the outcome would change to our preference. I don't think it works that way though.

In Gurgaon, I was in a collision where my bike traveling at 60+ kmph hit a car perpendicularly, and I walked away with a bump on my wrist. Another time, I kept my right foot on a football while playing a match, it spun under my foot, and I ended up with all my ankle ligaments torn. A butterfly flapping it's wing at the apt time would have changed the results in both those scenarios.

There are a lot of things beyond our control. We just have to accept that. Efforts made with the right intentions can lead to horrific results, and vice versa. I'm choosing to believe that I'm the culmination of all my choices and the experience it gave me. I'm aware that I can go back in time, make the same choices, and have entirely different experiences.

And I'll say all this, and the very next second, I will wonder what would have happened if there was no recession during the final year of my college. I guess all this is just a part of existing.

***

There was only one thing I was sure in my life. I want to have my family and that will always be my priority - a priority above my work, my career and my friends. I am glad that that dream of mine has worked out splendidly.

A professor picked on me class in 2010. He was making a sweeping statement that "All you people study engineering for four years, then go do software jobs", and I was unfortunately caught in the crosshair. But that pushed me to chose to go for a Engineering based job in Gurgaon over a standard IT job in Bangalore - I chose something against my skillset.

Three and a half years in Gurgaon and the struggles it brought made a better person, and it gave me a direction - I decided that I can't stay outside Kerala. I quit my job, scavenged whatever meagre savings I had, and came back to Trivandrum to do a course in Embedded systems in February 2014.

A certain lady, who shall not be named, was supposed to join the course six months before at Chennai. As her fate would have it, she joined along with me at Trivandrum. She would be the first person to read this line once I post this online.

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Random Things - Week 5

The obvious change in title might not have gone unnoticed, I presume. Like all things natural and artificial, I'm afraid of change, but not immune to it. 

There has been talks in the backalleys of the Internet that I'm running a scam here - I lure people in here by claiming that I'm sharing something I learnt, but they soon realise it's nothing more than an open diary.

Assume I had a any iota of talent in riding a cycle. The only way I could get better at it would be by riding it regularly. I would need a coach-like figure to guide me through. Unfortunately, my thing is writing. At the cost of indulging in oneself, I'm amazed at what I've written in the past. This might not be the endgame, but a positive feeling generated here sure reflects elsewhere.

Forcing myself to write every week on a public platform is the form of training I'm undertaking. Everytime I hit the "Publish" button, I mentally put a tick mark against one item in the weekly "To do" list. A sense of accomplishment every week helps.

***

1. Increasing sales

There's that "forwarded joke" about how someone at a toothpaste company increased the sales by increasing the diameter of the opening. While we read and laugh/smirk alongwith it, the unfortunate reality is being ignored. I don't know if the toothpaste thing is fact or fiction, but something similar is happening everywhere.

Recently, I had to upgrade the internet connection to Fiber. They came and installed everything (at a cost). In the end, they said that the input port of the Wifi modem we are using now doesn't support the output of the newly installed router. Basically, to meet the present criteria, I had to throw away a perfectly functioning device and pay for a one.

2. Turning 35

I dreaded heading into the wrong side of 30. In two days, I'm being pushed to the away half of the wrong side of 30. Like any normal person out there, I'm having my fair share of anxiety and depression. It's controllable till date, but I've researched for solutions in case it becomes something which starts affecting my routines. If you are someone/know someone battling mental demons, don't be afraid to reach out for help.

Ok. Let me be clear - I meant reaching out to a professional for help, not me. I'm in no way qualified t this. I do have a patient ear, but the logical/sarcastic responses might not be what you were hoping to hear at the end of a full disclosure.

3. "I owe you"

Allow me one "I owe you". I swear I'm good for it. As a security, please accept this old post.

Ormayundo?

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Things I forced myself to learn - Week 4

I haven't mixed writing with my job till date.

A natural tendency to over elaborate, an innate need to explain things like you are talking to a three year old, and always writing, while thinking of oneself as defending themselves in a court of law makes me a very "not-so-good" writer at work. If there ever was a word limit on the notes that I am asked to put up, I would hit a writer's block of epic proportions.

In short, I have mixed my job with writing to not so good reviews.

***

I was thinking of all the things that I have brought to my work, from outside what you would think is the normal purview of a Banker - Maths and Finance.

During the short period of four years of earning an  engineering degree, I had tried my hands at organizing events, entry level robotics, a couple of on-stage "performances", multiple "on-screen" videos (which the people of today might call a really long TikTok video) and much more. And you would be amazed at what all skills I learned then have been put to use when I reached the Bank.

***

1. Video editing

My video creation and editing skills were put to use. I'm not gonna explain for what and when. I'll explain how.

Pay Rs.499 per year to get full subscription to InShot app. The layout and controls are pretty simple to use. The key, as my friend taught in college, is finding the right music, and making sure that you do something on-screen to the tune of the beats.

2. Powerpoint

It's a trade secret. So I'll (try to) keep this to as many less words as possible.

Using powerpoint, timed custom animation, matching slide switching and loop-through slide music, you can save a PPT as mp4 to make a semi-decent video.

3. Teaching

Something I just love doing (I'm still regretting not taking my grandfather's advice to take up teaching). From last minute sessions before entering the exam halls in schools to trying to honour the name of group study during college, teaching is something I love doing.

I never thought I would teach when I joined the Bank. But that's where I found myself at the begining of demonetisation - going around the city, teaching people the various digital methods of financial transactions.

Then when the Bank launched a brand new online platform, I was able to train the staff on its features. Due to time constraints, we had to cover everyone in our region in one day. And so, I ended up doing eight one hour sessions on the same day. And it was one of the happiest days in my work life.

***

Going back to the first line, I haven't mixed writing with my job till date. Well, not in a serious manner. There was this post some five years ago

How to use a Credit card?

Recently, someone asked me where the second part was. And I sheepishly said "in the drafts". I'm thinking of seriously mixing writing with my work. Your thoughts?

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Things I forced myself to learn - Week 3

Some good news is creeping up on the horizon for Bankers, as the Five day Banking scheme might finally get implemented. To compensate for the additional non-working days, the daily business hours will be increased. Of course, when you are already working on non-regulated working hours with no overtime, that makes no difference. So, here's to hoping that all weekends shall be worth two whole days as soon as possible.

Why is this relevant to this blog? Well, a proper weekend every weekend means that I'll hopefully be able to get back to my routine back in 2013-14, where I took time to write, rather than trying to cram my thoughts into semi-coherent thoughts, late on a Saturday night, while watching some Premier League football.

***

For this week's blog, which is coming nearly 48 hours late, we are going tp go through some things I have had to learnt to do the phone.

***

1. Grocery shopping lists on WhatsApp

The first time I remember seeing someone use WhatsApp was in 2011. I was sending bulk SMS to my college friends across the country and he was chatting one-on-one with his friend in Australia. The speed with which WhatsApp replaced the existing platforms for sending "Good morning" messages and the "if you don't forward this to ten people, then..." messages was astonishing.

In the late 90s, I remember us calling the telephone exchange, asking for them to connect us to grandmother's home in Trivandrum, then waiting for some time before having the actual call (at a good cost too). Today, I can call my brother in US at any point of time with the tap of a button. Of course, I still have to wait, since the nocturnal creature might be asleep or playing some online game.

The latest addition to WhatsApp uses in my home is a group just for grocery purchase. If Ammu or myself find that we have run out of something, we will put it in the group. The next person who goes to the store is mandated by law to check the group before finishing any purchase.

2. Snapchat

I was initially confounded by the process flow in Snapchat - You click a photo, you send it across to your friends; they click a photo, they send it back. It's not even like forwarding a funny reel. The photo could be a mundane thing in front of you, or just a picture taken with the camera closed. I still haven't understood the logic (old age and all), but the advantage of trying out the app was in keeping my toddler entertained in 2020. She loved the "cat on your head" lens, and it was always a sureshot way to make her smile. No skill learnt is unutilized.

3. Voice notes

I hated voice notes. For someone who had built up his typing speed solely on chatting in Gmail and Facebook, I abhorred the idea of replying to someone with a voice note. Of course, once you start receiving minute long voice notes, you realise that you can't reply completely within a few short sentences. Slowly, I too was converted, and now I don't mind starting a conversation with voice note.

***

Before I take your leave, let me share an interesting question that was put forward to me this past week.

"If you are given one extra minute every day, what will you use it for?"

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Things I forced myself to learn - Week 2

History always repeats itself - mostly because the lessons of history fades away from our memory. The Malayalam movie TRAFFIC showed a possibility which arises from jumping traffic signals. People were very wary of it then, not so much now - I was a witness to a near miss event just today.

P.S. The flavour of the hour is to hold tight your kid's hands, and never let them get away from your sight. 

Coming back to topic, there is a reason why you chose not to watch THAT movie till date. With zero external compulsion, with no threats of blackmail, and with no tantalizing reward on offer, why I still chose to watch PERUCHAZHI will always be an enigma. Why I chose to complete watching the movie is on me though.

After intensely studying the subject for close to two hours - on whether this was a self-depreciating spoof movie or not - I'm still unaware of the intentions to make the movie. Maybe they just wanted to have a month in America.

Umpteen times have I fallen for this trap, and as soon as this experience faces from memory,  one more time will I repeat it in the future. History always repeats itself.

***

The things I learn at work are mostly in the operational category and are of not much use to you. Initially I thought of extrapolating such things to the general sphere of activity to make sure that there's some use of it for you. But then, if that was the case, you would have tried to finish those two paid courses you started at Udemy an year ago (says he looking at his reflection in the mirror).

So, I have decided to go the other way round. I'm going to give you three examples of how I picked up something from other walks of life to use in my job.

***

1. It's all in the numbers.

It was always fascinating to hear my father speak on the phone. He would say 98115 coach to be moved to rack in the morning, and 99124 to have its alternator checked. He has the ability to recollect things to a high degree, which is something he passed on to my brother. As for me, a goldfish will fare better than me when trying to remember what it had for breakfast.

Anyways, one thing my father told me is that since he knew the numbers, his colleagues knew they had to be precise. Data is king. Anyone can make a story, but there has to be data to back it up. And that is something I steadfastly hold on to in my work.

2. Teams

"Boop beep. Boop beep beep. Boop beep. Boop beep beep"

I'm pretty sure that sound made you shudder inside. We are now a generation working through online meetings. I had been watching my missus attend such meetings for a long time. The decorum they keep on their meetings - being online on time, giving value to everyone's time and sticking to the schedule and topics, not unnecessarily turning on camera / microphone, not forcing anyone to come on camera, etc - were little things obviously, but oozed respect for each other. 

Once covid fast tracked online meetings to traditional workplaces like mine, I have been following these simple rules myself.

3. Patience

I had seen it in movies and comics, but I never thought it actually happened. My curious little monkey found out the word "Why?" and decided to repeat it until she got to the bottom of every mystery in the world. And it taught me levels of patience I never knew existed. But again, it came good.

Having a client facing job is strenous work. You need to keep calm and accept that there is a mistake, even if you haven't committed any. Take for example, take the case of an IT professional somewhere far, far away - probably on a work from home schedule. They wake up one day and decide that one year from 01-12-2023 is 31-10-2024. And the field having the second date is non-editable. This halts operation for the day. You cut a sorry figure in front of the customer for no fault of your own. You are instructed that this issue will be resolved tomorrow. You use your entire gamut to convince the customer to come the next day. Next day arrives, so does the customer. And the second field date shows, "31-00-2025". Patience is very key to sit through another day.

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

3 Things I forced myself to learn - Week 1

The first thing I did before I wrote this was check something. By the time I click "Publish", it will be a minimum of  THREE years, SIX months, FOURTEEN days since the last published post.

And no, it's not like riding the bike.

So what do you do when nothing works? You pour the old wine in a new bottle.

* Deep breath as he wonders if anyone will get the dad jokes in the last five sentences*

***

3 Things I forced myself to learn - Week 1

***

I'll admit it. I'm now well into the wrong side of thirty. I can't finish a medium sized Domino's Pizza by myself anymore; I can't walk up three flights of stairs without breaking; and I can't understand many things that people are talking about.

The problem with procrastination is that time still moves forward. If you didn't learn how to use a computer in the early 2000s, you became expendeble at work. If you didn't find out how to use a smartphone in the early 2010s, you will find it is hard to talk with your grandchildren living abroad. If you didn't explore the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence in the early 2020s, you will miss out on easy ways to write blogs. If you don't care to hone your skills in using the selfie powered instant transporter in the early 2030s, you will be stuck at home watching your friends on the hologram, as they finally arrive at Goa, after twenty years of planning.

The fallacy of our youth is that we never realised we were constantly learning. Maybe it was just to pass an exam, maybe it was just to get a degree, maybe it was just for an event at a college fest, maybe it was just to impress someone, maybe it was just because you were competitive - but nonetheless, one way or the other, for the first two decades in your life, you learnt by default.

This brings us to the third decade of existence, where without a strong will to learn, you'll just start to ebb away from the process of learning. By the time the first half of the fourth decade is over, you will realise how hard it is to learn anything.

My chemistry teacher in school once told that the best thing she likes about her profession is that she keeps meeting young people and that keeps her young, atleast in mind. That was a tangent, and I'm not sorry. Just think it over.

Okay, so which part of my mid life crisis was I droning on about? Oh yeah. The part where I sorta, kinda accepted the fact that I have stopped learning and that it will require a significant effort on my part to start learning anything.

And as I learn, I'll share.

***

1. Learnt vs learned

Even though both of these words mean the same, with the only difference being that each word is used only on one side of the Atlantic Ocean, a significant difference I could find out is that "Learned" is also used as an adjective. So, to put things in a simple way, you can not become learned without having learnt something.

2. Xlookup

Whenever I wrote anything in Excel with vlookup, I would think "Oh, where would I be without you, you beautiful thing.". Understanding vlookup and indirect functions in Excel have been nothing short of miraculous in my work life. This week, I was fortunate to come across a higher level as follows.

P.S. Among the thousand and one ideas I'm constantly scheming , one of the stronger contenders is an Excel tips channel/blog/podcast. Even if I don't know what I'm going to do, I know exactly what I'm going to call it.

"PIVOT!! PIVOT!! PIVOT!!"

3. Give way

One of the first things I remember my freshly migrated friends mentioning about their new life overseas was that they didn't have to wait to cross roads, and that vehicles actually gave preference to pedestrians at road crossing points - which is in stark contrast to what we have here.

But it's actually not supposed to be like that. A quick visit to the MVD site shows the following.

I guess it is just a matter of manners.

***

So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

it's not easy...

It's not easy being a mom.

Who knew right?

Think back to the first day on your first job. In a completely new surrounding, you might have been asked to take care of an issue without any prior training. Becoming a mom is like that, but nothing like that.

Overnight, you are made the keyholder to the self destruct button of the entire world. One wrong step and kaboom. There is a glaring lack of an authoritative instruction manual, which leads to the void being supplemented by a plethora of unofficial, "friendly neighbor" advices. And that's always helpful.

***

It's not easy to be a working mom. 

To be a committed employee to your job and to meet the needs of a toddler. I don't need to say much. You are the superhero every kid deserves.

***

It's not easy to be a wife, who's a mother.

During the initial stages of parenthood, during those moments of experiencing the firsts of your child, during the frustrations of having to give up your earlier comparatively carefree lifestyles, it's usual for both of us to forget that we were once a thing. But when she places her one hand on my face and the other on yours, and then breaks out into the most beautiful of smiles, we realize that the our feelings were only playing hide and seek. 

***

It's not easy to be the mom of a premature baby.

Remember the self destruct button I was talking about earlier. This is when someone else presses the button and then leaves you in charge.

The normal pregnancy comes with enough trauma and tension included in the box. Prematurity kicks it up several notches. The simplest of pains is that you only get to see your kid (don't even dream about holding her) for less than ten minutes a day for the first 40 days. Everything else builds on that. 

***

It's not easy to not fall in love with this feeling.

This is one job you would find hard to hate. One smile from the upcoming terror, and you end up forgetting about everything else.

***

Happy Mother's Day, Love!!!

The Best of the Worst

"All I can do is to pray to all known Gods, and unknown, that they let me see this piece of heaven in her arms, both of them safe and healthy."

***

That was the last line I wrote on this platform, some 6 months ago. And I thank every single one of them, because it took every prayer that could be heard, every blessing that could be given, and every miracle that could be spared to bring my girls home safe and healthy.

The short version of the story is long by itself.

On July 26th, in her 26th weeks of pregnancy, Ammu decided to check her BP. Even though we brought the BP monitor the month we knew she was pregnant, we hadn't used it yet. The reading showed 160/110. We decided to go to the Hospital and they admitted her for observation. We would be at a hospital every day for the next sixty days.

By July 29th, it was confirmed that Ammu had Pregnancy induced hypertension, and had to be kept under medication in observation for a longer period. The good news amongst all this was that the baby's growth and vitals were not affected by any of this.

On August 2nd at 12pm, the Doctor informed me that her body was not responding positively, even to the maximum allowed dosages of medications. The only solution was to terminate the pregnancy. It took fifteen minutes to understand that the jargon meant the baby would have to brought out in an emergency procedure. But I dare you to be in my shoes for those fifteen minutes and come out laughing at the confusion it caused.

The baby's weight was still below 1kg and since Ammu's body was still fighting, the doctors were able to push the cesarean to August 6th. In the meantime, neonatologists informed me about the complications that could arise for my child and the survival chances. 

On August 6th, SHE was born to us. Weighing in at just above one kg, she put on her gloves and took her stand onto the right of the boxing ring. Having had to come to the fight three months early, she needed all the help she could get. Thankfully for the three of us, the doctors and the nurses were very adamant in providing that.

We got to see her for 10 minutes in a day. Touching her was a luxury. Seeing her without tubes on her face took 6 weeks. The infection scare in first week of September almost stripped us of our faith in this world. None of this was how we imagined our first two months with our child, and we pray that no one else has to go through the same.

There are a thousand sights I can't unsee, and a thousand words that I can't unhear. Even though they are fading into the horizon, I felt the need to write this line down here for eternity. 

***

To our Daughter, 

Between February and September of 2019, you were presented with multiple opportunities to just go away. Your mom doing heavy gym work in the early weeks of February was the beginning. Of course, we didn't know that you had decided to make your mom your home at that point in time.

We came to know about that only the day after we ran and finished our first 10km Marathon. The marathon your mom ran with a nagging pain in the stomach. At both instances, you could have quit and no one would have blamed you. But you stuck on.

Come the end of July 2019, your mom was lucky to have the thought to check her BP and that helped in identifying the pregnancy induced hypertension and subsequent pre-eclampsia. One in a lakh pregnant women are diagonized with this. You and your mother went through this to allow the other 99,999 have a better entry to this world.

You were born extremely Pre term in the 27th week of pregnancy at just above 1kg. You had barely functioning internal systems. The odds were stacked heavily against you. You could have quit, and no one would have blamed you. But you fought on.

Luck was on our side even in these dark times. You had the least of complications and other issues. We were blessed with having the best of the worst experience possible.

99% of the babies hardly leave their mother's shadow in the first six months. You fought a battle alone in an ICU. You have proved your grit and determination against your peers. When you feel down in the future, as is wont to happen, I want you to remember this. You were born a fighter.

Love,

Dad.

Meals for Two

February 20th

Three rounds around the Kochi stadium. Around 9 mins per km.

February 21st

Five rounds around the Kochi stadium. Around 9 mins per km.

February 22nd

Five round around the Kochi stadium. Around 9 mins per km.

February 24th, 6am

We start our 10km marathon from UC College, Aluva in the Kashi Periyar River Run. Going by my earlier averages, I expected to finish the marathon in an hour and a half. Ammu started running the moment we started. I was only lazily jogging. Usually, I would catch up to her in 700 odd metres when she would be jogging along. After half a kilometre or so, she would start running again. This routine would repeat. This was what happened on the earlier days.

Today, I couldn't reach her even after covering 2km. It was then I got a call from her. She apparently pulled something in her abdomen, and was only doing the walking part, and she was, in fact, way behind me. I waited so that she could catch up. Almost 90% of the fellow runners moved past me in this period. The best she could do was briskly walk. We finished the marathon, but only after one hour and forty five minutes.

February 25th, 7am

I'm deep in sleep, trying to forget about the aching joints. That's when she starts asking me to wake up. When I ask her why, she says that there are two lines.

We had been here before - when she claims to be able to see a second (almost invisible) line, and I nod along only to not disappoint. I prefer that honour to go to the next test, or the blood test. Mostly, it was because I hoped against hope that my lies were not lies.

But today, there was a line. We decided to get a blood test. The counter person told us that we can see the results online by 12. She kept pinging me. She was feeling a lot of things. I was practically numb. I couldn't think of anything to reply.

The result came at 12.15pm, after a few agitated calls. The values showed that she was three weeks pregnant. I was still hesitant to believe. We booked an appointment with our Doc for the evening. She was ecstatic, I was jittery. Evening finally came, and the Doc said it's a start.

We did blood tests two more times, the values kept increasing - along with that our hopes. We had our first scan in the first week of March, and there it was - all, but a dot on a flickering screen, which filled us up with warmth.

Sometime in the second week, she asked me if she's really pregnant. I went out and bought her a pregnancy kit from the same Lady, who had given me sad look on February 21st, when I had last brought this from her. This time though, I had a smile across my face, and the arrogance to say, "This is the last time."

I don't usually turn to self-serving on this platform, but I need to say this out loud for every husband out there. On February 25th, as the Doc was confirming the good news, she asked what she was doing to maintain her fitness. Ammu said that WE had been going to the gym for one month now, and that WE had prepared and WE had completed a 10km marathon just yesterday. The Doc said that the WE was really nice to hear.

We are into the sixth month now. She has been immense since the turn of the year. The way she keeps herself in check, so that the health of the kid is safe - she is a mother already. She is feeling all of this emotions and pains and what not, and the best I can do is be emphatic and nod. The next few weeks are going to be more hard for me, as I will be unable to comprehend the mental and physical state of my wife, as she is crushed internally by our growing baby.

All I can do is to pray to all known Gods, and unknown, that they let me see this piece of heaven in her arms, both of them safe and healthy.

How to use a Credit card? Part-I (13/52)

Republic day sales are in full swing in the online sphere. Redmi Note 5 pro is a decent phone priced originally at Rs.17,999/- on both Amazon and Flipkart. As a part of the sale, both of them are selling it at Rs.12,999/-. Flipkart is giving an extra 10% discount on using SBI Credit cards - which means that it is available to me at Rs.11,699/-. They also have NO COST EMI option on SBI Credit cards, which means that I have to pay no interest as long I repay the cost of the device within 6 months.

Long story short, I bought the phone in 6 months NO COST EMI for Rs.11,699/-. I pay my first installment of Rs.1950/- on 7th March 2019. The phone will be delivered to me on 23rd January 2019.

I have to pay Rs.1300 less. And I will have used the phone for 43 days before I pay the first rupee for it. All because I used my Credit card. Now that I have your attention, let's proceed.

***

Let us get the first order of business out of the way. What qualifies me to have a say on the said subject? I have been using a credit card for over 8.5 years now. I don't remember who told me to get a credit card and use it the way I do, but I would praise that person to the high heavens. I've been equipped with a tool of multiple benefits, with the knowledge of how to use it without getting my fingers cut off. I thought I was being selfish in not sharing this information, and so here we are.

Oh!! One more thing. I'm a four year old banker now. So I guess it weighs in my favour to speak on this subject too.

***

There are some terms you have to know before we start though. I thought of giving a dictionary style explanation, but I believe an actual situation would be able to help you understand better.

Suppose that I have a credit card of Rs.50,000/- limit. It means that the total amount I can borrow is Rupees Fifty Thousand.

Suppose the card's billing date is 17th of every month. Any purchase I make will reflect on the bill made on the coming 17th.

The payment date is usually 20 days after the billing date, which in this case is 7th of the subsequent month.

Let's try some examples now, shall we??

Date - 17th January 2019

a. Rs.1,000/- spent to buy petrol.

b. Rs.12,000/- spent online to buy a phone. It is on NO COST EMI. I have to pay Rs.2,000/- for six months.

Date - 18th January 2019

c. Rs.1,000/- spent to buy petrol. (again!!)

Let us assume that "a", "b" and "c" are all the purchases I made in that period. Let us see how my credit card bills look like now. I get a bill for all pending purchases on 17th of every month. The bill is generated at midnight, so it includes all the purchases made on 17th too.

My bill generated on 17th January 2019 will include the transaction "a" and "b". Since "b" is an EMI option, I will be charged only Rs.2,000/- for it. This means that the bill amount is Rs.3,000/-. I would have to pay this amount on the coming 7th, that is, on 7th February 2019.

My bill generated on 17th February 2019 will include the transactions "b" and "c". Again, since "b" is an EMI option, only Rs.2,000/- will be charged. Again, my bill amount is Rs.3,000/-. And my payment date is 7th March 2019.

My bill generated on 17th March 2019 will include the transaction "b" only. Again, since "b" is an EMI option, only Rs.2,000/- will be charged. Again, my bill amount is Rs.2,000/-. And my payment date is 7th April 2019.

If have looked closely, you would see that I paid for the petrol purchased on 17th January 2019 on 7th February 2019, and for the petrol purchased on 18th January 2019 on 7th March 2019. That my friends is the power of the billing cycle.

A note on the credit limit though. The variation of credit limit is as follows:

On 16th January,

Rs.50,000/-.

On 17th January,

after "a" - Rs.49,000/-.

after "b" - Rs.37,000/-. (even though it is on EMI option, the entire amount is reduced from limit)


On 18th January,
after "c" - Rs.36,000/-.

On 7th February,
on making payment of Rs.3,000/- - Rs.39,000/-

On 7th March,
on making payment of Rs.3,000/- - Rs.42,000/-

On 7th April,
on making payment of Rs.3,000/- - Rs.44,000/-

***

In the hope that the above helped you understand the concept of credit limit, billing cycle and payment date, I will take a break for now. Please don't start applying for a credit card just yet. We have only gone through the positives of credit card. Going back to the tool analogy I used before, I have only told how to use a hammer to drive nails in the wall easily. I'm yet to tell you how not to hit your own fingers with it.

You need to look at the Annual Charges, processing fees involved, reward points scheme, and in what manner you can redeem those points before you do that. And I'll help you to understand those points of concern in the next part. The next part which I will post from my new phone. ;)

Generations (12/52)

YOLO - You Only Live Once - was a trend. By the lack of #yolo in social media updates, I guess it is safe for me to assume that the phase has passed. But just today, I was bombarded with not one, but two four letter acronyms.

FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out.

FOGO - Fear Of Going Out.

I fail to understand how my generation missed out on the acronym thing - I guess we were more concerned with omitting vowels from our words and erasing prepositions from our sentences. It was always the need of the hour to convey a higher amount of information at a lesser cost to available resources. That is the reason why our generation shortened "Where are you?" to "whr r u". And I'm pretty sure that the present generation have compressed it further to an acronym by now.

I showed the below picture to someone in the current generation and asked them to identify it. 

With no answers forthcoming, I introduced the Floppy Drive and told that it could hold all of 1.44Mb. The follow up question was unexpected, "What could it hold? Even a picture is of larger size."

It is for this reason that I believe my generation to be the bridge between the old and the new. We are old enough to know what a floppy disk is and how hard it was to use a dial up modem for internet, while at the same time, we are young enough to understand the concept of cloud computing. I first worked on a computer with a 256MB RAM, a 2GB Harddisk and a dial-up internet connection. Now, I own a phone with 8GB RAM, 128GB memory and with two 4G connections.

We know exactly how bad it was to appreciate how good it is now.

***

With all this talk about the Statue of Unity, I happened to find myself in an article, where Sardar Vallabhai Patel was talking about his good friend, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as follows:

"...It was, therefore, in the fitness of things that in the twilight preceding the dawn of independence he should have been our leading light, and that when India was faced with crises after crises, following the achievement of our freedom, he should have been the upholder of our faith and the leader of our legions. No one knows better than myself how much he has laboured for his country in the last two years of our difficult existence. I’ve seen him age quickly during that period, on account of the worries of the high office that he holds and the tremendous responsibilities that he wields.

…As one older in years, it has been my privilege to tender advice to him on the manifold problems with which we have been faced in both administrative and organizational fields. I have always found him willing to seek and ready to take it. Contrary to the impression created by some interested persons and eagerly accepted in credulous circles, we have worked together as lifelong friends and colleagues, adjusting ourselves each other’s advice as only those who have confidence in each other can."

I wish we had amongst our current crop of politicians, someone capable of having an erudite discourse like above. And I'm pretty sure that the acronym loving present generation is never going to be so descriptive about their buddy - they would probably say something like "He is YOLO."

***

Someone replied to me with IFKR. Hence, the thread for this post.

Thank you (11/52)

Snip snap, snip snap, It's ringing clear,

Combing out, cutting through my month long harvest.

***

Every damn time. Every damn time that I get my hair cut, these two lines getting on in my head. The two lines above are the offspring of a misguided sense of rhyming and a purpose to achieve poetic excellence, inside the mind of a 12 year old me. With a tune of its own when it is sung in my head, I'm pretty sure that this is as close as it gets to the Smelly Cat song by Phoebe from Friends. Because I do remember my friends reading the lines and making a not-so-offended face. Some even complimented.

Speaking of compliments, Narender who was my hair stylist for the day, decided to shower me with some. "Sir, you have such good thick hair. Not so oily as the other people who come here." And if that wasn't enough, "But your face is oily, which gives you a tan. If you use a oil clear face wash, you will become fairer."

Now, let me be frank with you. I don't know how to handle compliments. Even at the most genuine of compliments, I respond with a weak smile, and a quick word to change the course of the subject. It probably has everything to do with my tendency to analyze everything from a critically pessimistic angle. If you still don't believe me, let me tell you that the first thought that went through my head when Ammu said "I love you" to me was "now what is she planning on gaining from this lie?"

I can accept compliments and the like, as long as they are backed up with verifiable facts and figures. For example, I am okay with the following compliments.

•  "Hari, you are really tall." - I am after all 6 foot plus.
• "You are skinny" - I am below my ideal body weight.
• "You act like a child." - Said right after I spent 10 minutes holding a phone high up in the air, so that a short person can't reach it.
• "You are good at football in FIFA." - I do have my fair share of victories off the pitch
• "You excel in Excel." - well, eight years of spreadsheets surely helped.

But at the same time, the following compliments make me queasy,

• "You are looking fairer/darker than the last time I met you." - from every relative I visit once in a blue moon.
• "You have gained weight since the last time I met you." - see above.
• "You look good in this dress." - This makes me question their sense of fashion. Because the first dress that I brought for myself had two tears through the middle with a red background. And I wore it because I thought it would be cool to look like you have been slashed across your chest by Wolverine

Coming back to Narender, I looked up and said "Thanks" with the sort of confidence I usually reply with when someone compliments my height - thanks to the fact that Ammu has been persistent enough in her endeavor to make me accept some of my better aspects. And I am able to say thanks a bit more openly, freely now.

***

You should say thanks too. To that person who cut you in the queue this past week, so that you coffee was delayed. To that car which stopped at the yellow signal, which meant that you had to wait for the signal to turn green. To that person who attended the interview with you, and got that job ahead of you, which is why you are at your present job. To that baby in the lift with you, who captured your attention for a full three seconds, so that you took the wrong turn on getting off the lift.

All these people made sure that you were late to arrive at where you are now. And wherever you are now is exactly where you are supposed to be at this moment in time. It could be intoxicatingly happy, mindnumbingly mundane, or exasperatingly sad - but whatever you have - health, wealth, happiness, time, family, friends, career, love, a clean conscience - it is because you went through the path you have.

So once again, please do thank those whom you thought acted against you.

Petrol, time and a question (10/52)

If the recent chats feel like an assortment of random strips of thoughts, please feel reassured that it's very much intentional. I'm unable to put my mind on any one subject long enough to gather a clear train of thought. I'm unable to add anything worthwhile to these public discussions, and hence I refrain from screaming into these online echo chambers. The topics of #metoo, Sabarimala and more will be discussed, but in due course.

Let's start for today, shall we?

***

Let's assume that there's this unique item in the world called One Of A Kind, OOAK in short. Let's also assume that a lot of economic jargon affects the price of OOAK, but it's controlled by the owner, Mr Z. What's more, let us assume that Mr Z has posted an Ad that he himself stars in, at the exit of every store selling OOAK. 

If Mr Z was expecting a positive feeling towards him, unfortunately, the placement of this Ad had an effect just the opposite of what was intended.

Now, let's assume that the price of OOAK has reached levels never seen before. And we all are finding it hard to accept the same. Every time we remove myself from the store after paying a high price, we are now reminded of just who is responsible.

In other news, there are rumors that Ads with our respected Prime Minister have been made mandatory at all petrol pumps.

***

Having to chose only two out of Time, Money and Friends is an age old adage. And recently, I'm feeling more in agreement with the same.

During the years between 2006-2010, when I was in college, I had a lot of time and a lot of friends, but a very limited amount of money. Yet, we made most of what we had.

Between 2012-2016, the early stage of my career, I had money and time, but lesser number of friends. Yet, we made most of what we had.

Since 2016, I have had money and friends, but time is now of the essence. For any sort of get together to take place, the sun, the moon, the stars and the whims of our bosses to grant us leave have to align perfectly.

But like before, we are to make the most of what we have.

***

Now for helping me sort out my thoughts on the Sabarimala topic, I hope someone can help me with this doubt I am having. It is said that entry of women to Sabarimala was restricted because Swami Ayyappan wants to remain celibate. If that is the case, how are women allowed in all the other temples where they have the Ayyapa Idol. I know temples where the main deity is Ayyapan and where no such restrictions exists. Aren't all the rules supposed to be applied the same everywhere??