I love rags to riches stories

I have always been very moved when I hear of someone (related or not) really make it big in life (s/he doesnt have to be a known personality), but has just become big after starting from humble beginnings.

Last night I was watching a movie called The Invincible, its a true life story about Vince Papale (a bartender becoming American Football's oldest "rookie). After that I was discussing it with a friend and she rightfully pointed that there can be enough examples to highlight w/o they being celebreties.

In my office alone; I have very senior colleagues who have been (individually) life guard, someone who had to borrow money to buy a suit for his interview, an orphan at the age of 12 (in fact my dad was 1 at the age of 7 and I am so proud of him), and the list is endless. Among my friends I have enough examples of ordinary guys going thru tough times and coming out of it winning.

And it makes you wonder, these guys all started from such humble and in a few cases far below humble backgrounds and just stuck to it.

In fact more on the above discussion (the 1 with my friend), we also conversed on how every one worth his/her salt works for 12 hours at least but not every one makes the same amount of money and that is not a matter of chance (of course luck plays a role) but more to it; it has to also do with what choices we make.

Our choices define us and these need to be made thinking 5 years ahead and not what job and money am I getting right now. Sadly so many of us get caught in that shit and then cant get out of it.

There are so many of us (me included) who just get stuck to shitty things like "oh where am I headed" and "why does this happen to me" when what we need to focus on is just to say fukk it and move on with life.

Self pity is worth that only ... get over it before you get under it.

In short money aint everything; if you love what you do, you are already far richer. That doesnt mean you become satisfied with what you are; but yeah grow.

Life is good and it always gets better.

Hospitals and morphine

I was hospitalised for 2 nights this week .. it started off as a pain in the stomach to become a sever intestine infection which had to be operated upon

No one among my friends or family were told of this .. because I didnt want too many people visiting the hospital or my folks back in India getting worried and thinking about coming to HK just because of this.

But a few things happened while I was on morphine ... the pain was really bad, I actually thought I was about to see my tummy explode and an alien come out of it like it happens in all sci-fi movies, I, for the first time, thought about death ... and it wasnt pleasant.

I thought about what am I doing in this place, lying on a hospital bed while others are just wanting to spend an extra day more to make it their best day ever and so I realised the importance of living and being there for the moment.

And thats what I am going to do. Live it. And make it worthy.

Cheers and touchwood.

PS: an arbit post ... but hey thats where the morphine part comes in ... I am still on the drip.

Have you ever thought?

1. If you werent born to the same parents and family who would you be
2. Who decides that you are born as who you are
3. Who decides you will be a Hindu or Muslim or Christian
4. Who decides you would be born in India or US or Iraq
5. Who decides we are born white, black or brown
6. Who decides that the X chromosome will match up or it will be the Y one
7. Who decides you are born a human
8. Who decides that you should exist at all

I always try to think if there was something I could change in my life what would it be? Just one thing.
1. Would it be hitting my first punch which put me onto being overtly aggressive?
2. Would it be being the cause of me breaking someone's heart which I still feel screwed up about?
3. Would it be to getting back in the fight which I backed out of?
4. Would it be my career choice?
5. Would it be nothing?

If there was one thing God would come and say I could do what would it be?
1. World peace
2. Kill all fanatics
3. Take greed & jealousy away as an evil from all people
.... I would say point 3 here.

If you could be one person among the following categories, who would you like to be?
1. A saint like Mother Tersa, Joan of Arc or someone like them
2. A general like Patton, Caeser, Asoka, Alexander, Ghenghis Khan, Temur or Akbar
3. A politician like Gandhi, Churchil, Roosevelt, Machiavelli or Martin Luther (not King)
4. A celebrity like Madonna, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods or Tendulkar

If you could thank just one person, who would it be
1. God
2. Family
3. Yourself

And finally what would like to be among the following only one choice allowed
1. Sailor like Crusteaou
2. Pilot like Amelia Earhart (w/o vanishing of course)
3. Adventurer like Marco Polo

Things you dont want to try

* Never try fixing the brakes on your bike when you dont know where to start from; and if you do try to do that; dont go on a slope after that; especially if it rained the previous night.
* Never kick your teacher hard even if he says you can do that; the rejoinder wont be pancakes or pats on the back. It will be if you are lying down .... later.

Thats enough for today's lessons; tomorrow I meet the Beast again.
Considering the aftermath of the above two incidents; I look forward to meeting her.

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?

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.

A baby is born

2 of my close (couple) friends here in HK had a baby boy today; cute little thing with lot of hair and small little chubby nose and already he looks like he is going to be a naughty little baby.
So first of all congrats to you two on the new life and a great chapter of your lifes and hope God embarks choicest wishes and blessings onto your family.

When I saw the baby I was like whats it to be a mother; father is a great responsibility but think about the mother; she nurtures a life inside her for 9 months to a stage when all she does is for the baby inside her. Her eating habits; her lifestyle has to surround the baby.
And post that another 4/5 months you are again about the baby; and you start building up expectations about your lifes and most importantly your decision span now envelops somehting so important as it will involve the basic essentials of putting someone onto the world and how his outlook about himself and the world will be like.
My parents are here and I am like have I been a good son?
So I went out for a run for like 60 odd minutes and thank God for giving me the fortune of being born to my parents and hope He will give me enough time and opportunities to make my parents proud of me.
I think all those who are close to parents should really really thank them for being there; and those who arent well just think what they have done to make you grow up well in this world.

My final thought is that THANK GOD I am not a woman ... I mean me and with so much responsibility ... you gotta be kidding
(Had to write something like this; cant be serious for far too long)

Emotions are a poor man's dream

I am a cocky bastard; no Qs about it; but what differentiates me is that people I really like and love I am with them thru even thicker and thin that one would like to stand for.
But ever so now and again I am made to realise the futility of it and I think is it really worth it?

The answer till now has been "well so what if someone fukked around the better things lie in the things to come and people you know"; and then suddenly you realise well dude this is it right?
Its not worth it; and all the time you spent building it up is actually a waste; so perhaps *** is right when he says he doesnt care a damn who it is or how close a friend s/he has been in the past; what matters is now and when I look @ now I realise that well most of the people I think of dont really matter.

Ah well times change and people change with them; Tempora mutantor mutamur in ilis.

Fear Of Starting Something NEW

When I was on campus we had a very bad placement yr but I was dead sure that I only wanted one company and got that; I am sparing the intricacies though thats worth another Blog ...
So against EVERYONE's better thoughts and wishes I joined this securities house; initially when I told my friends and relatives that I work in a securities house; they linked it to doorman security and lockers and stuff; so I changed it to Equity Markets and that didnt help.
Anyways the point is that I was 23 young at heart and out to see what I can do; and things happened I swtiched my job profile in the same company some 4/5 times and ALWAYS picked up something that never existed; like we never did Mid Cap stock picking; so I along with 1 more colleague started it; then did a similar thing for Sales; then after setting up the salesdesk; created my erstwihle company;s first foreign sales desk and then went on to set up their first offshore office in Sg.
Now I am wroking with a French Bank (& thats another story) in HK and setting up their India desk; now the problem comes in ... its like I have been working for 4 years w/o having a base at all; so if tomorrow someon asks me what all have you done; I say look above ... rather read above but havent got anything to show it with.
And the worst part is that now I am in a field that I honestly dont know anything about and so at times I get scared and really really worried that fuck did I do the right thin in moving out of Sg where I was like being treated like a King for the work I did.
I famously believe in the "frog in the well" story and in the line that "kill complacency before it kills you"; but have I this time taken a much larger risk that I was ready for?
I know I will have to learn and learn I will; but now the Fear Of Starting Something New is settling in; and I need to kill it before it enlarges.

I see my ex colleagues and some of my ex batchmates and think that yeah well I am better off at least I didnt shut myself to opportunities when I was 24 and I am 27 now ... and I dont want to but you know how it can be; I need to kill this fear before it enlarges; so any suggestion guys?

Those who know me; know that I am not boasting; neither am I trying to sound like Alice in Wonderland but trust me when you take risks like these you need to know how much water runs below your feet.
So let me know what you think?

Cheers!

Why am I single?

Good Q.
A friend suddenly asked me why I am still single and not seeing anybody etc.
Well my sexual orientation is "still" straight so its not that I am confused; but I really never felt the need to "be" with someone; but as all women are this friend kept plodding with Qs and statements like "why are you still single?"; "you should see someone you feel better in life" and the likes.
So it got me thinking; so much that on a Saturday evening (after a night out at Macau) I thought lets think this over and not go out with the guys for a beer ... wait a sec friend calling; ok it seems I am going out for a vodka now (technically still not beer); so will come back and fill this in.
I am still drinking less than 3 times aweek (I just change the Hindu and Christian way of looking at the week to my advantage ... refer to previous Blog "Things to ... 30")

Anyways in the meantime I had a bit of a chat with my friend (mentioned above) and it seems she is worried about me because well everyone we know is married and have kids (including her) and I am the odd one out.
So I am thinking out aloud and writing it here where ppl who know and dont know me can comment.
By the way just getting back to the travails of my night; as I mentioned this friend (above) is like a close one and so if she is concerned then I need to mull on it; so I sit with another friend (guy) here in HK and we talk about what all men mean by relationship and what women mean by it and so thought its not worth a night and watched some good movies and cartoons and headed back; okay ... I confess we finished half a bottle of Red Label but hey c'mon this is a Saturday night right.
But even after talking with my babe friend and discussing ends over some Red Label (maybe we should have had Chivas); I really couldnt hit upon the subject; that I think maybe its not worht all that thought.

Or is it?
What about you guys? You think being single at 27 is an issue? Comments awaited.