The Neighbor

It was Nice New Guy and then Nutty; so I thought well what the hell, maybe I can try my hand as well...
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"Have you seen the movie?"
The Q was innocuous and out of the blue. I wasnt sure I was the one who was addressed in it; so at first I ignored it. Then she asked me again and this time all eyes were on me.
So just out of the fact that everyone expected me to say "Yes I have and dont want to see it again" I said well, "No, would you like to go for it?"
And she said "Yes; weekends fine with you?" and I said, "Yeah sure"
Ok a little bit of background ... she is THE single most hotty in town but at the same time a sweet old girl; old because well she is 5 yrs my senior and happens to be my sister's groups' heart-throb. And she is a neighbor, living in the big bungalow next to mine.
Me, I am a lazy sod who spends most of his time in the gym and the remaining in books; so not the actual "find" for this girl.

Anyways; so she and I go for the movie and she pays for her part and says we should do this again and I go "yeah whatever"; thinking thats that!
After a few days, I am again with my sister's group skipping thru the CDs in the room and she comes over and makes small talk. I get a little bugged; quite bugged because she wants to talk and I have nothing to talk about.
All I can talk about is what weight I lift and history; neither makes interesting conversation.
But she being her, is nice and wants to chat.
Again all eyes are on me not to offer her a drink and get 1 myself; so going against consensus, I do just that. And we start chatting.
I realise she knows something about World War II and I suddenly get into an agitated argument with her on why Patton was way better than Montgomery and being abusive; say a few "fukks and bullshit" along the way.
She gets annoyed and walks out; and I am like "yeah whatever".

But I want to talk to her; thats the first time I have wanted to be with someone and for the first have needed someone to say "I want to talk with you"
But alas not happening tonight...

The winter is on and I like reading my books in the sun: One day she walks over from her home and says, "I have been sitting watching you for the last few days and you know I have been watching you so why didnt you say hi or anything". And I go blank, as a defence I say; "Well yeah whatever"
"Is that your favorite word?" and I swung back, "Used to be" and as adjoiner say, "So how is Ravi?" (hoping to quell any further conversation, for I know they have broken up)
She gives a bad look and walks off and I go back to my reading.
Again comes the feeling and this time I say, "Hey babes, I know about Ravi; so what happened?"

The conversation picks up and soon we spend a lot of time with each other; out for walks and going for movies and kidding each other.
She gets a few funny comments (about spending time with a sod like me); some from my sister as well but she is ok about it; no one messes with me for I am known to be short of temper and a bit of a bully.
So the time spent together goes unabated.

Then one day she introduces me to someone who her parents want her to get married to; she asks me what I think of him and I say, "Well, he does remind me of a rat".
After that I stop meeting her and time comes for me to move out of my city as I have got a job elsewhere. We had not met since the above incident; I had got back to my books and weights and she to her earlier group.
My sister insists that I go meet her once before I leave and against all in my brain, I go.
My first line is, "So what happened to the guy?" and she says, "He looked like a rat"

We laughed; its been 6 years since that and both of us are still single.

"My eyes seek reality; My fingers seek my veins"

English Tea and much more

"You want to come to me mum's place?"
My colleague Chris asked me this when it was finalised that we 2 would be going together to London on work
I have always been a GREAT fan of Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, CS Lewis (among many more) and though I used to get confused why ppl stored food in their ladder (as in seedi); I have always been very keen to see and enjoy the English countryside.
So when Chris asked the above Q; I was like mate you are on!
Chris's mom lives south of Essex in a small hamlet of 400 ppl where obviously everyone knows everyone else and they have their local ghost as well; actually 4 of them; legend has it that the first house that you see when you enter the hamlet has 4 ghosts of sisters who were allegedly killed there. A pity I wasnt allowed to go into the grounds though we tried.
Anyways; so we reached his place at 8am and had the most amazing experience of "sounds of silence"; the hamlet was so quiet it was discerning!
Then followed a drive around the hamlet, followed by scones (no they are NOT muffins but sweeter); tea by the farmside with horses and small farm pets making acquaintance with you. The sun was out and even though it was a bit chilly; sitting out in the sun with a cup of tea and scones just made it worht it.
Lunch/supper (I had supper the first time in my life) was a rack of roasted lamb followed by ash black coffee and blueberry pie.
I KNOW!!!! A perfect English Sunday!!

Anyhow, had to leave the countryside because we WERE in London on work.
London is one of the most beautiful cities in the world; London has been able to mingle the efficiencies (well almost) of a modern city along with the colonial pride it is associated with.
You have ppl riding on horses in the middle of the city's parks; the taxis are imperialistic in appearance and size; and the cabbies are the most helpful in the world. People here actually smile at you and wish you good morning etc if you happen to make eye contact (somewhat like NY)
There is TOO much money here; an Aston Martin or a Lamborghni is very common (though HK has the highest Porches/Ferraris per capita in the world); but somehow out here you always relate the same to class.... the city brings it out.
I managed to do all my inter-city travel via cab because I knew I wont have the time to visit what the city is known for and it was so brilliant one can just imagine what the city would be like in all its glamor and charm of being the imperial capital of the world.

I am way too impressed by London; though have yet to see the darker sides and apparently its pretty bad; but the city has something which makes you feel charmed by it.

Anyways; they are calling my name now; so should rush.

Cheerio!

My worst (?) nightmare

I started getting this one about a yr back and it has a very good record of recurrence.

I am always in an exam; and almost always at school (think a few times it was college) and I am of the present consciousness i.e. I am giving a school exam so to say when I am 27 because I know that when I look at the Q paper I know nothing but at the same time I know that I can get over it because I have passed my higher studies and have a job and all.

So is this a nightmare or is it my sub-consciousness telling me that if spots of trouble do come across I would get over it?

My interpretation is that the profession I am in will change in the next 12-18 months totally and at present I am not well equipped for it; and I know that; but yaar kaam itna hai ki I cant take time out to get things in place. So lets see what my next step is

What do you suggest?
I know my job is different but still how do you guys sharpen your skills while still at work?

Air India ... watte flyer!

I was scheduled to leave by the 8:30pm flight from Bombay to HK; I was in town (south Bombay) @6:30; I made a mad dash and called the buggers some 6/7 times and FINALLY got thru the help desk (which if you know Air India is a rhetorical term); and they say sir everyone has come please come fast ... I somehow get to the airport at 7:30 and when I rush to the ticket counter they say sir no need to hurry; flight is 2 ours delayed and I am like excuse me.... anyways gave a good firing to the old aunty sitting there who seemed totally disinterested; so I passed a goofy remark "of course you guys are so used to being shouted at; that it doesnt matter anymore" and well; it didnt ..
So I get into the lounge and am writing this blog from a comp which is an exact replica of the DX360 I used to own some decades back.

So I dedicate this blog to the travails me and some of my friends have experienced.
1. I asked for some wine on the flight, I was given absolutely warm white wine (though I asked for red) and I say excuse me can you chill it and the air-hostess who was I think quite tipsy herself goes "sir, in case you dont know red wine is served chilled; and not white wine"; and I say ok get me a beer then (because who wants a chilled red wine?). Yup beer was flatter than well can pass a sexist remark can I?
2. I asked this uncle (well he was 45 yrs old and still a steward); "can I have some water please?" and he gives me a BIG open bottle and when I ask for a glass he says "pe lo koi nahin dekh raha"
3. A friend was flying form HK to Sg and there was some commotion while food was being served and some curd fell on the carpet exactly b/w the business and the economy class' segments; no one cleared it for 35 mnutes because well; no one wanted to acceed that the fallen curd was on their side... and it starts stinking so bad that my friend gets up cleans it. Instead of getting a thanks; a steward says sir you are not supposed to do that. The new India....
4. Well cockroaches are a common thing
5. Worst was when I waws flying this time to India; started chatting with my co-passenger who narrated this -> "when he was flying to NY the air-hostess asked everyone who was NOT Indian for wine and when this guy got the courage (to avoid a stern look from aunty) to ask for one glass; he was given from a different bottle; anyways he got pissed and said well its quite bad and he was told the others finished all the good one already". I remember last time I wrote how Indians are the biggest racists; well this proved it.

By the way if you are a guy and are sitting next to a hot girl and need to find the right line to strike a conversation with her; just start off with a small laugh so that she looks at you and then go "oh I am sorry I just rememberd what happened to me the last time I flew Air India" and trust me your journey is made

Pretty sad blog I know; but watto do? Flight is delayed 3 hours now ... these buggers know how to kill slowly

I was SHIT scared!

I have started kick boxing lessons and today I had my first sparring
Though I was all guarded totally (I mean shin guards; head guard) but even then I was so SHIT scared its not funny and forgot EVERYTHING
At one point my trainer id a push kick and I actually fell back ... and when I swung at him he winced and I am like God people do this w/o guards .... man! I so wanna do this!!
Next sparring on Thursday!

I need to get over this fear of loosing you know; once I do get out of it; I will get beaten but then that will perhaps add to it...? You get the drift yeah?

Replenishing My Music Collection Need Help

This is from both an experimental as well as a replenishment mode -

Or easier would be if you could actually put in your favorite songs and groups and maybe I can do some search on their greatest hits (in case of groups/artists being mentioned); I also promise to burn the combined CDs for all those who seriously contribute.
Those living in Delhi/Bombay/Singapore I frequent these cities often so I can deliver it if needed
Those in HK; ah well anytime
Those elsewhere; I can have the same courierd to you.
I already have some 3000 songs/compositions; I plan to add another 2000 odd more and will have them burnt and sent out to you; and you can pick and choose what you want.

1. I will tell you the kind of groups/songs I listen to; so maybe you could tell me where I can download good quality (I use Limewire for English and Papuyaar.com - Thanks to Adnan) for now
2. What I listen to - Anything but techno and pop.
3. In rock music along the lines of U2, Metallica, Dire Straits, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, CCR, Def Leppard (some call them pop but I enjoy it), Bon Jovi (at times); Deep Purple; Led Zep; Nirvana, S&G, Dave Matthews Band, Aerosmith (pretty rarely); Alanis Morissette; Bruce Springstein; Coldplay; Greenday, Nickelback etc
This is what I listen to in rock.alternative.metal; so in case you have any thing more I can look up or if you have access ot songs which are not easily heard like Metallica doing covers on Led Zep or Bono singing Sweet Summer Wine; that'd be great.
4. I am into rap and R&B but those songs you get easily and I have more than cuss words for a decade.
5. In Hindi I am a freak for oldies (but no good site to download music from); esp the likes of SD Burman, Mohd Rafi, Talat, Geeta Dutt, Kishore Kumar; and this is where I really need help besides Western Classical.
6. In movies post 1995; which ones do you think have had good OSTs, I can easily access music on them; so if you have any prefered songs/OSTs do let me know.
7. Sufi music esp Nusrat
8. Last but not the least I have started appreciating Bach, Mozart and Beethoven; so any particular symphonies or if you think I can look up someone on similar lines; esp on the violin. Unfortunately not been able to really appreciate Indian Classical so much; sadly.

I know it s a lot of grey but hey its music! It should be like that!

Cheers!

Watte Life; IT shtyle....

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/09/05/stories/2007090552560400.htm


.... this blog is to all the poor sods who thought IT is a very humane sector
.... I am not being mean; but this is the First time the tech bubble is actually going to burst and then stay there; the dot com burst was for dot coms; this is for IT services. (Alternate view points are welcome; for I may then need to change my investment thesis)

As some of you may know I am in the stock markets and there are two sectors which I hate (from investor point of view) which are Textiles and Pharma


Textiles because these buggers are always raising money and diluting shareholder value and Pharma because it is so bloody opaque; no one knows whats the next drug discovery coming from.


However, my best short (i.e. selling something heavily because you feel its fortunes are going down) for this year has been the IT sector
Though back in B School I was never too big a fan of marketing; I have, since joining the work stream, believed that any company/sector should have a sustained avenue for growth and stability of income, which hte IT services dont have

Ok; agreed this has been a sunshine sector for India and all that jazz; but look at what the companies do; shift high cost job to a low cost centre and then sit on it.
Companies like Infosys, TCS, Wipro should be ashamed of calling themselves value protectors because they had the chance of a lifetime of not just being cost-arbitraugers but moving ahead and making a name of providing offerings like products etc which could help them make a sustainable positioning and platform.
I conceed that these companies have given huge employment opportunities but the point is that by not thinking long term they have actually put so much in dilemma that its not funny!

Just 1 factor, the rising Re, is killing them so badly that they are now resorting to cheap tricks like increasing the work hours of their employees (as the above link shows)
I am in the finance world; I know what I am doing today may be redundant in 3 yrs; and more importantly my employer knows that and so they are always working on improving revenues and models; no one sits idle (well I do but thats because I am a lazy sod);

And look at India itself; we dont need people to keep telling me that IT is so great etc etc; htings have moved so much beyond it now; we are the cheapest steel producers; the best refiing margins are with us; we are the best in auto ancillaries and mid end engg precisioning... who needs cost arbtraugers?
If the IT companies really believe in looking after their employees and in creating value they need to start getting their act together rather than resorting to this shenanigans

This is CLOSE

The tall building is mine; I am on the 60th floor and damn I forgot to get my camera else would have taken another snap; this one was of course taken by some professional.

But it is a MASSIVE plane!

The Airbus A 380 cruised SAFELY by our TALL office

Quite a co-incidence to the blog below eh?

The geopolitics post 9/11

9/11 has been an incident which has divided the world into 2 distinct groups; those who hail this as a slap on the face for US and white (and thus Christian supremacy) and those who take this as a slap on the face on anything democratic.

And thats where the issue lies; it doesnt lie in the fact that the event was funded by Islamic radicals (though I have read enough "theories" which states that perhaps the American govt was as involved in the bombings as the Islamic radicals)
http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/pseudosc/911nutphysics.htm
But ok thats one thing I am not writing about; it is the approach ppl have towards it.
Frankly its not that I have been touched by this incident personally or that I am writing it on a an eve (almost) of the incidents 6 yrs; nothing like that; what started me off was this article in the Economist
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9724266 (read the last paragraph)

Most ppl look at 9/11 as a great tragedy which unfolded the banning of the Al Qaeda and the invasion of Iraq; (the debacle of which ie the Iraq invasion) which resulted in the prominence of Iran in geopolitics and thereafter the failed Israeli invasion on southern Lebanon, which is now leading to the revival of the rightist party in Israel and the fall of Gaza into Hamas' hand; so basically to a point where in the Mid East is becoming into a time bomb with a very short fuse
.. yeah so everyone knows that right
... and I am not even talking of the Afghan issue and the impact it is having on our dear neighbour Pakistan.

I again reiterate to see the basis of this problem; read what I have written up
The ppl who support radical Islamists see this face for US and white (and thus Christian) supremacy; so there are certain parties who are not even radical Islamists but arein favor of this and there you have some African nations, and the biggest one being Russia.
Of course Russia has its own issue with terrorism (Islamic & otherwise), but Russia is something which the other democratic countries aren't i.e. Putin can have any place bombarded w/o a single thought of why/why not; look @ Chechnya!

The second group comprises the whatever comes under the political definition of "liberal" across religions and countries who take this as a slap on the face on anything democratic. But the issue with most liberalists is that they are exactly that .. they are way too liberal to be made to force a point across. They want to be mid way ie not say anything which will be seen or heard as being forceful.
So they will use the logic that yeah 9/11 was bad but then the West has been funding the terrorists for long and terrorists needing a motive to kill would obviously move to the hand htat feeds them. Basic logic; but yeah why say it; claim 9/11 as being just that!
Something that should not happen ever!
Now all of you liberals will hit at me as saying that the west has been responsible and talk of the stripping of Gaza and the resurgance of Shia/Sunni enemity by favoring Iraq in the Iran/Iraq war and how the Pushtuns (and tribes from NWFP) were pushed into warfare against the Russians in Afghanistan and how that led to the birth of Al Qaeda.
But hey; read again I AM saying all that happened; but we are talking of 9/11 as being just that and what happened consequently.

How many of us claim 9/11 to be the date which changed the world forever? Everyone; but do you actually think how it has? Well when "liberal" countries like Sweden and Switzerland (who was neutral during the 2 wars) have issues about minarets and seemingly generous Muslim people in Europe start saying that they feel the need to be more conservative its that when you stat worrying about having kids

Honestly would you want to raise kids into a world like this?
I would like to see how the next 5 years move; esp now when the hegemony of US no longer exists and the Russians have re-started flying long range bombers on squad missions. Beautiful weapons those.
Oh yeah I have not used the word China even once because the Chinese know what Shun Tzu (did I get it right) meant best; let 2 big enemies fight and then go and take the spoils. and trust me Chinese know what they want! And its not just noodles and momos.

I am not menitoning India because we Indians take pride in the fact that we have never invaded another country; well yeah because they were busy invading us!
Hahahahaahha; bloody hell.