Justin had this video posted on the blogging website, Tumblr’s, platform page for all to see. Good thing Marissa said YES!

My thought brings no harm or embarrassment to any party. Some people can afford to take their significant other to a romantic spot and while they look up into the sky, a plane forms the words “Marry Me”. The guy usually takes out the ring and proposes. Nice idea but costs money. A solution to make it more affordable is to group people who plan to propose on the same day together and have them share the cost but, personally, I don’t like that idea so much.

I prefer to hack into the company’s log, check where and when the plane will take off, take my girlfriend there and propose to her while the guy who will actually foot the bill is also proposing nearby. It’s called taking advantage of open spaces, I am not stealing the other guy’s moment, he still gets to do his stunt. I, on the other hand, am effecting a multiple use of an event that is bound to take place anyway, why waste it when others can benefit from it and when no one will ever find out about it?

If you don’t know how to hack, hire a hacker, it will still cost you much less than if you paid full price for the thing. How cool is that? Wait! I have a last-minute tip. Before you take the ring out, read something romantic to her and use the time to CHECK no name follows the “Marry Me” sentence, the romantic words will reinforce the moment, checking that no names suddenly appear next to the magic words can save you from disaster…

http://www.thinkaloo.com

I tend to read our local news paper’s online every morning in addition to my blog reads. I came across this article (and I’m a sucker for happy endings…….not that kind…..sicko’s!) Anyhoo, I came across an article of a local couple. The man planned to propose to his girlfriend. He took her into a hot air balloon while carrying a bag that had the ring in the bottom of it.

The bag ends up going overboard!!! Can you even imagine how he was feeling at this point? I probably would have thrown up over the side haha.

Anyway, for those who’d like to read the store can do so here

~ She Who Sasses

An ideal alternative perfectly fulfills every condition set for it without adding new difficulties. Unfortunately, ideal alternatives are rare. We must, therefore, evaluate each available alternative by measuring it against all of our objectives. It is the relative quality of that fit that concerns us.

If we must choose among several alternatives, we will have to decide which one will best fulfill our objectives with the smallest acceptable risk. In other words, we try to make a balanced choice. An alternative that best accomplishes the objectives but carries severe risks is not, after all, the best choice. Another alternative, perhaps less exciting but safer, may be the best balanced choice.

If there is only one alternative, we must decide whether it is good enough to accept. In this case our evaluation will focus on its relative worth compared with a perfect but unobtainable alternative.

If we must choose between a current and a proposed course of action, then we consider both to be alternatives. We evaluate their performance against our objectives just as we would if both had been proposed. Whatever is currently being done is, after all, an alternative; the choice is whether to continue that way or find another, better way.

If, in the absence of any alternative, we must create something new, we can usually build an alternative from available components. We then choose the best and most feasable combinations, treat each as a separate alternative, and evaluate all of them against an ideal model of an alternative.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, Lectures, Line of Sight

Alex Rodriguez’s journey from “A-Fraud” to ALCS hero and World Series Champion has too many chapters to sum up in 160 characters. Still, a timeline of the Yankee slugger’s cell phone use reveals a similar, scapegoat-to-superstar storyline.

1. October, 2007 – Bad Form!

With the Bronx Bombers’ season over and the World Series in process – featuring New York archrivals, the Red Sox, zoning in on their own Championship – A-Rod opted out of his contract. Strangely, he and agent Scott Boras chose to release this news by a voicemail message. The beleaguered millionaire may not have wanted to meet face-to-face with Yankee GM Brian Cashman or deal with the tough New York fans, but this gaffe put Rodriguez in the doghouse throughout the major leagues.

2. June, 2008 – What Are the Odds?

As one of baseball’s all-time greatest hitters, it’s no surprise that Rodriguez would seek out advice from another legend at the plate. In his own words, “I mean, it’s kind of like, if you’re a writer, why wouldn’t you want to talk to Ernest Hemingway?” Only problem here is that Alex’s “Hemingway” and text-message buddy turned out to be Pete Rose, the Hit King who nevertheless is under a lifetime ban from the game.

3. July, 2008 – Madge-League Scandal

Here’s where things heat up. When Cynthia Rodriguez served her ex-husband with divorce papers, she backed up her suit with threats that she would release Alex’s texts to Madonna. At the time, both Rodriguez and the Material Mom denied any shenanigans, but the pair’s SMS love notes would usher in the dawning of the ill-fated “A-Rod-ica” affair.

4. November, 2008 – “Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes…”

Of course, it’s not so scandalous when you’re already divorced. Back on the prowl in Miami, Rodriguez was introduced to actress Kate Hudson, on whom he’d been crushing hard ever since seeing the movie Almost Famous. The two kept in touch over the winter via tender texts, and early in 2009 started dating. While she’s been getting an allegedly chilly reception from Jeter’s GF Minka Kelly, after the 2009 season A-Rod’s enjoyed, nearly everyone in New York sees Hudson as a good luck charm.

5. April, 2009 – Rehabbed and Ring-Focused

Hip surgery early in the year looked certain to doom A-Rod’s – and the Yankees’ – 2009 season. Without their superstar, the team got off to a horrendous start, but everyone in the organization breathed a huge sigh of relief when Manager Joe Girardi received a text from Alex saying “Everything’s great.” Rodriguez would return to the team May 8 against Baltimore, and on the very first pitch of his first at bat, swatted a three-run homer that would prove to be a very good omen for 2009 after all.

Now that A-Rod has his World Series ring, is it time for him to bestow a diamond engagement ring on Kate Hudson? The Predicto community has voted, and 57% say that the super slugger will ask the movie star to marry him by New Year’s Day.

What do you think is going to happen? Visit Predicto.com to register for the text message-based mobile game that has everyone predicting the outcome of sports, pop culture, news and entertainment events. Along with being able to vote on surveys, including this one, you’ll get updates when the answers are revealed.

Sign up today — and get more Predicto by becoming a fan on Facebook!

Every decision we make requires us to think in terms of objectives, alternatives, and potential risks. That choice may involve a thousand criteria plus the inputs and deliberations of a hundred or more people. Or it may involve only five criteria and ten minutes of deliberation by one person. The dimensions are immeterial because the basic process is always the same. And the final judgment is always: “This is what ought to be done.”

The decision situations fall into five categories:

• The complex decision that requires examination of a large amount of information, and involves the judgments of many people.
• The “Yes/No” decision that involves only two alternatives: to take or reject a course of action; to do something in a different way or continue as before.
• The decision as to whether a single proposed course of action is sound enough to be implemented.
• The decision in which an original alternative must be developed by the decision-maker or team.
• The routine decision: hiring, purchase of equipment or services, development of personnel policies, and other everyday decisions.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, Lectures, Line of Sight

Transcription des principaux extraits de la remarquable chronique d’Alain-Gérard SLAMA, professeur d’histoire des idées politiques, entendu ce matin sur France-Culture.
Peu suspect d’être un suppôt de la Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire, il s’exprime avec sa clarté  coutumière à propos du “grand débat” relatif à l’identité nationale voulu par Mr Eric Besson (Ministre de ladite Identité nationale).

S’il doit y avoir des contradicteurs, on aimerait que ce soit d’autres porte-voix que les sieurs Frédéric Lefebvre et Eric Besson, qui ont plutôt l’air de gamins avec leurs tambours au coin de la Place du Marché sous le régime de Pétain, que de responsables politiques qui savent que certains mots et concepts ne sont pas des allumettes avec lesquelles on joue sur un terrain de foire.

Donc bien lire et  méditer ce qui suit.

Bibliographie d’Alain-Gérard SLAMA

Titre de la chronique : ” Identité : l’entêtement et l’obsession “

” Faut-il que la société française soit en crise pour que la tentation de réduire sa culture en une identité tourne en ce moment pour elle à l’entêtement et à l’obsession.
L’entêtement est celui de ses dirigeants, l’obsession celle du pays  dans son ensemble.
Le  Président de la République a fait campagne sur le thème de l’identité : il y revient en faisant, par un de ses ministres – peu importe lequel – venu de la gauche, un grand débat national invitant les Français à préciser la notion.

On connaît le prétexte de l’opération : la mondialisation bouleverse la France, qui doit son unité à son Etat plus que toute autre nation. Et on ne voit pas sans inquiétude le lien social s’y défaire au point que notre pays redevient, comme sous l’Ancien Régime, et selon la formule célèbre de Mirabeau, “ un agrégat inconstitué de peuples désunis“.

Or, trois fois hélas, toute l’histoire de la société française témoigne qu’on ne la réunira pas autour du concept d’identité. Ce concept, à la différence de la notion de culture, exclut au lieu de ras-sem-bler. Nous savons bien que ce mot “identité ” est précisément utilisé par le pouvoir pour sa fonction “clivante” entre la droite et la gauche, mais aussi à l’intérieur de la droite, et à l’intérieur de la gauche.

Pour avoir un peu étudié le nationalisme français, j’ai appris combien l’usage du mot identité est dangereux. Certes, si on l’applique à l’individu, il est incontournable, puisqu’il faut bien que chacun identifie en lui-même un “moi” indispensable, qui unifie ses manières d’être et ses possibles.
Mais considéré du point de vue d’autrui, la notion d’identité peut réduire cet individu à un seul aspect de lui-même, à le renvoyer sans cesse à son origine, et à le juger sur un mot, sur une apparence ou sur une profession de foi.”(…)

La loi qui porte interdiction du voile, entre autres signes religieux, concerne ces sanctuaires du service public que constituent l’école publique et l’administration, dans lesquelles la manifestation ostensible d’une appartenance religieuse fait écran entre l’individu et le citoyen ; entre d’une part la propension de toute religion à répandre ses certitudes et celles des autres cultes – je respecte ces certitudes, bien sûr – et d’autre part la nécessité de former des citoyens respectueux, égaux devant la loi, et distinguant entre les sentiments “clivants” et l’ordre universel de la raison.

Alors, le nationalisme, ce n’est pas autre chose qu’un sentiment religieux, profondément diviseur de l’appartenance nationale, et il n’est pas surprenant que le mot “identité” soit remis en honneur par un pouvoir qui, par ailleurs, remet en question la notion de laïcité, notion pourtant rassembleuse et beaucoup plus respectueuse des croyances que beaucoup d’autres : elle est de plus en plus regardée comme un modèle par nos voisins. Pour en rester à l’Europe, c’est à Londres ou à Copenhague qu’on tue pour des raisons religieuses…

VOILA POURQUOI, SUR LE PLAN COLLECTIF,
LA DEFINITION D’UNE NATION PAR LE MOT IDENTITE
EST PLUS QUE REGRETTABLE, DANGEREUX.
ET VOILA POURQUOI SON USAGE PERVERS PAR UN POUVOIR
EST EN TRAIN D’AJOUTER AU MALAISE FRANCAIS
ET DE TOURNER, AU SEIN DE CE PEUPLE, A L’OBSESSION.

CE SONT LES VALEURS ET LES PRINCIPES CULTURELS,
INSCRITS AU COEUR DE LA CONCEPTION FRANCAISE DE LA LAICITE,
QUI FONDENT L’UNITE D’UN PEUPLE,
LEQUEL SANS EUX, SERAIT PROFONDEMENT DIVISE.

CE SONT CES VALEURS ET CES PRINCIPES
QUE LE SYSTEME EDUCATIF TRANSMET.

ET DANS CE PEUPLE D’IMMIGRES IMMEMORIAUX
QU’EST LE PEUPLE FRANCAIS,
CE SONT CES VALEURS ET CES PRINCIPES
QUE LES GENERATIONS SUCCESSIVES SONT VENUES
ET CONTINUENT DE VENIR CHERCHER.”
(c’est nous qui soulignons cette conclusion)

Source photo – Pedro Uhart

Qu’est-ce que l’économie-fumier ?

Selon le Dictionnaire Littré, le fumier, c’est ” la paille, qui a servi de litière aux animaux domestiques, qui s’est mêlée avec leur fiente, s’est imbibée de leur urine et s’est ensuite décomposée par la fermentation“.

L’économie-fumier, ce pourrait être une économie qui, sur le lit de paille où tout le monde est assis, a laissé traîner ses produits dérivés, ses hedge-funds, ses titrisations, ses subprimes,  ses fonds spéculatifs, ses “private equities”, et tous les produits issus de l’urine des cerveaux des pontes de l’ingeniérie financière globalisée… avec le résultat que l’on connaît avec les conmséquences sur l’économie mondiale.

Des exemples?

(“Le Monde” – 19.10.09)
(…) ” Un milliardaire – qui gérait un fonds spéculatif de 3 milliards de dollars – et plusieurs dirigeants de grandes sociétés américaines, dont deux dirigeants du hedge fund New Castle, ont été arrêtés vendredi 16 octobre (2009).(…) Les fait se seraient déroulés sur trois ans à partir de janvier 2006.(…) Des délits d’initiés auraient permis à plusieurs dirigeants  de gagner plusieurs millions de dollars. Dont un dirigeant d’IBM qui aurait transmis une information d’initié au sujet d’un fabricant de puces, obtenue dans le cadre d’une négociation entre IBM et cette entreprise. Il est aussi accusé d’avoir transmis des renseignements sur IBM avant la publication des résultats trimestriels du groupe. Ironie du sort, IBM vend des logiciels pour aider les sociétés à prévenir les délits d’initiés.”(…)

Le journaliste (P.A.Delhommais) ajoute : (…) ” Le Procureur fédéral de New York, Preet Bharara, a souligné que la justice américaine était décidée à employer vis-à-vis des financiers les mêmes outils de surveillance électronique que pour les organisations criminelles, les trafiquants de drogue et les terroristes.”

Si le moindre factotum militant s’était risqué à assimiler les financiers internationaux  à la grande criminalité organisée, que n’aurait-il pas entendu …!!!

Dans “le Matin-Dimanche” (Suisse) de ce jour 25.10.05, on apprend que, suite à l’annonce bien orchestrée de “l’inévitabilité de l’augmentation des primes d’assurance-maladie” (comme tous les ans on prépare l’opinion publique vers la mi-octobre…), il apparaît pourtant, dit-on, que des caisses d’assurance sont intéressées de perdre des clients pour faire monter le pourcentage de leurs réserves financières … Diantre… Comment est-ce possible ?

(…) ” Parce que les réserves ne sont pas calculées sur la base des prestations versées, mais sur les primes à encaisser.(…) Une caisse qui enregistre de nouvelles affiliations en grand nombre se retrouve donc obligée d’augmenter drastiquement ses réserves, tandis que celle qui voit sa clientèle diminuer bénéficie artificiellement d’une marge confortable.(…) Pour fixer les montants des cotisations, les prévisions des assureurs concernant l’évolution de leurs effectifs et de leurs réserves sont déterminantes. (…) Il est certain que les évaluations de certains assureurs sont systématiquement exagérées.(…) Il est possible que certains assureurs augmentent sciemment leurs primes pour améliorer artificiellement la situation de leurs réserves.(…) La fixation des primes dépend  en grande partie des stratégies commerciales. Avec des cotisations élevées, les caisses évitent  un afflux de mauvais risques, tout en augmentant leurs réserves.. Un double bonus puisqu’une partie de ces réserves font l’objet de placements financiers, dont les résultats, assez opaques(sic) fournissent régulièrement matière à controverse.” Etc,etc,etc…

Un simple détail : on ignore combien coûte le département communication de ces compagnies d’assurances qui , tout au long de l’année, convainquent le grand public de leurs sociétaires que la hausse des primes d’assurance est inévitable, en raison des innovations technologiques, du vieillissement de la population, et toute la panoplie des “éléments de langage” préparés en plats chauds aux cochons de payeurs que nous sommes et qui n’ont qu’à gober leur ration quotidienne de fumier de communication.

Que viennent faire les ONG dans ce tas de fumier, lesquelles font la morale au monde entier des multinationales et des Etats pour exiger l’application de codes de conduites et d’engagements éthiques, pour la transparence, la bonne gouvernance, and so on… ?

Malheureusement…

On apprend que 17 associations caritatives françaises (ONG loi 1901) font l’objet dune enquête judiciaire ouverte par le Parquet de Paris depuis mars dernier. Il s’agirait d’une escroquerie à plusieurs millions d’euros qui, sous des procédures apparemment légales, auraient ainsi été détournés vers les Etats-Unis. On s’abstiendra ici d’énumérer la liste de ce 17 associations, pour cause de présomption d’innocence , mais le quotidien français “Le Parisien- Aujoud’hui” en a diffusé la liste le mercredi 14 octobre dernier.

Le mécanisme du scandale ?

1 – Aucune indication des destinataires réels des dons collectés en France.
2 – Les associations, juridiquement différentes, procèdent de la même manière, par mailing (courrier en nombre), concoctés par une seul et même agence de marketing. Ces mailings sont agrémentés de petits cadeaux (calendriers, cartes postales, etc). Ces associations s’échangent les fichiers des donateurs qui ont répondu à l’une d’entre elles.
3 – Toutes les apparences de garanties médicales et/ou religieuses noyées alimentaient un discours larmoyant et strictement émotionnel, sans aucune indication précise de destination des dons, ou des partenaires locaux servant d’intermédiaires.
4 – Au maximum 20 % des sommes collectées peuvent être identifiées dans leurs destinations. Les dons ne sont pas gérés directement par les associations. Elles sous-traitent à une compagie américaine, ” leader mondial  dans la gestion des de données en ligne pour le marketing direct“ dont  une branche à Lille  travaille pour le compte de la majorité de ces associations et qui percevait jusqu’à 90 % des sommes collectées.
5 – L’IGAS (Inspection Générale de l’Action Sociale) qui a dans son mandat la supervision des ONG faisant appel aux dons du public (et probablement échaudée d’avoir été très critiquée au  moment de l’affaire de l’Arche de Zoé en 2007) avait fait état en octobre 2008 de soupçons sur deux de ces associations en expliquant : ” la mondialisation de l’activité caritative se traduit par la multiplication d’associations souvent dépourvues de réels moyens humains et matériels”. Et à la question de savoir qui sont les commanditaires,  l’avocate des associations répond : “ Je ne peux pas vous dire qui sont mes clients, cela est couvert par le secret professionnel.”

Bref, la soi-disant professionnalisation des ONG, dont la démarche ne consiste souvent – sans généraliser –  à faire du mimétisme avec le management des entreprises (comme si celles-ci ne faisaient jamais d’erreurs…) est parfois particulièrement ridicule. L’objectif final n’est souvent que de “conquérir ou améliorer leur position sur le marché des donateurs“, leurs salariés ne sont que de variables d’ajustement budgétaire (le sommet du raffinement dans le discours de la modernité…) et la responsabilité du fonctionnement promotionnel, mais aussi comptable, est sous-traitée à des gens qui n’ont aucune idée, ni aucun intérêt à quelque cause que ce soit – sauf évidemment dans le charabia marketing des mailings. Tout le  monde se paye,et s’il reste quelque chose, il y a assez de bénéficiaires qui attendent. Ne pas oublier de faire des photos..

Andai lelaki mengimpikan wanita yang memiliki paras rupa cantik dan tubuh menggiurkan, wanita juga pasti mahukan elemen sama dari seorang jejaka.

Apapun alasannya, setiap orang ada sebab tersendiri untuk membuat keputusan. Apakah pilihan hati anda bersandarkan paras rupa atau lebih menjurus kepada aspek pendidikan, latar belakang pekerjaan dan personaliti diri?

Mistakes. They are the most beautiful thing the man has ever created. It’s my mistakes that have always helped me to grow, transform, love. Yet, like all others, it took me long to acknowledge what they did for me.

Man is stupid, who fears to make mistakes. I don’t understand why anyone would deprive oneself of a chance to learn. Of many such lessons learnt through my mistakes, one that I carved in my heart is: Deliberation spoils relations.

Relations are to be lived and not manufactured. You should be part of a relation; not the creator. The moment you try to be the creator, you end up disrespecting the indiscernible soul of that relation. And in my quest of being the closest to Aditi I committed this mistake; not once but thrice.

In life, some experiences, however bitter they may be, take us closer to a person. Sana should have been probably mad at me, or that’s how I thought it should have happened. But the next morning, she was different.

She came to me and talked to me like I was a very close friend of hers. She talked to me about her family, about what she thought about our classmates, and then, about Ankit.

Ankit was a brat from the other section who had been hitting on her from two years. An average built specy, filled with arrogance and vanity.

To be frank, he looked nothing more than a ‘mistake’ trying to act like a hero out of a B-grade movie. With at least, five sycophants running around him to lick the dirt out of his face, it was evident that it wasn’t his personality but the moolahs raked in by his parents that kept those ALs (ass lickers) around.

At such a time, when my relation was on a dicey ground, I was least interested in listening to what Sana wanted to say, but then I owed her an apology. I sometimes kept making an effort to listen to what she was saying, but was failed by the constant intervention of thoughts that kept pouring in. Thoughts about how I could ensure that when I leave the class, I leave with a belief that I haven’t lost Aditi.

A spider’s web is a perfect example of the situation where I was. The more I tried to free myself, escape; the more I got entangled in the web.

The Unit Tests were just a few days away, and I was spending more and more time with Sana. I knew that Aditi was a serious student; hence, it would be stupid to think that she would be attending all the classes till UT. After all, they were our first UTs in the new school.

For me they were actually UTs (Untimely Tests). Ten days later these obnoxious little weeds were going to separate me and Aditi, when I was in real need of a new physics law (or ‘one’ which I could invent) that could scientifically make everyday last at least 60 hours.

Time was running out. And since, I scored low (abysmal is the perfect word) on the style quotient, I decided to play a gamble with the resource I ‘thought’ I had in profusion –intellect.

After two days of long separation (I guess, which applied only to me) I squeezed time to sit with Kritika, Navjyot and Aditi. It felt like eternity when I saw her laugh at my lame jokes. There’s a strong relation between lame jokes and girls. They always tend to click with the girls who are friendly with you; but the same set of jokes, prove critically endangering when experimented with girls trying to repel you.

So in between those small chit-chats I teased Aditi by enquiring whether the ‘liking-percentage’ has increased or not. And very playfully to my bad-luck, she kept putting the topic off.

Finally, I decided to make the gamble. I challenged Aditi to out-score me in the coming UT and in return I promised not to prick the issue again. I was sure that I would score more than her. She was a silent lamb in the class; I was the one who shone in front of teachers. First she tried to disagree, boosting my self-belief, but quite reluctantly later agreed on the persuasion of Kritika.

Sitting on the dining table, I was lost in these thoughts, smiling at few occasions, when papa decided to take me out of my hypnotic world.

“Girish Bhaiya had called up today. Can you just go to his place on Sunday? He needs you there.”

‘Papa my UTs are just round the corner. How will I study?’

‘Oh jaise ki tu boht padta hai… tokri lejaani padti hai jab bhi tere results lene jati hu! (Like you study a lot… every time I go to get your results, I need to carry baskets) ’ mom joined the discussion.

‘Carry your books. It’s just for a day. Anyways, the apartment is holding a Jagrata. So you can study at Bhaiya’s place. You used to love staying with him. Is everything alright?’ dad sounded concerned.

“Arey, dad it’s just that I want to score high…”

“Oh, don’t take tension. You’ll just do fine! So he will pick you from school on Saturday.” Cutting me midway in my discourse, Mom completed the soft-toned command.

When mom makes such soft-toned commands, we all adhere to it strictly; because we all know that if we don’t the very next following sequence of things would be in this manner – anger, sobs, anger, sobs, again anger, more sobs and finally just sobs.

So in order to help her maintain her body-water-levels we always cut her at the first sob itself and give whatever she wants.

Sitting at the other side of a counter isn’t a pleasant experience, not when you are surrounded by beautiful ornaments shinning Gold. That tenses your muscles up, for you can never imagine when you might become a victim of Delhi’s criminal exercises.

It’s queer, because I don’t now whether I should actually thank God that no customers turned up that afternoon, or should I curse Him. After all, it was my brother’s shop; I would always like it to prosper.

So when you have nothing much to do in a shop, you have two options – gaze at the idiot box or call some idiot. I opted for the second option. I picked the receiver up and dialled Navjyot.

‘Fantastic! He’s busy with someone. Or maybe, it would be aunty.’ I murmured in disappointment.

After Navjyot, the only name that resonated in my mind and was tempting enough to be slyly given a call was Aditi. But then, calling her was sort of banned. She feared her dad, or at least, that is what me and Navjyot thought. The biggest fear for any guy is father of his girlfriend, and for girls, the biggest dragon is the mother of her boyfriend.

Nonetheless, I decided to give it a try. ‘If she picks up, I will talk to her, if she can. Otherwise, IF it’s her dad, then, I would simply say something and put the phone down. After all, he’s just a dad. How bad can a dad be? Right?’ I assured myself.

I picked the received and pushed her number. I must appreciate the Tata telecom department for their ‘class’ ‘You-are-in-queue’ recording, which wins hands down for using the most irritating voice;  of course, after BSNL’s. Every time you hear the recording you feel the itch to throw the phone as far as possible. Now, that’s what we call deep understanding of customer needs

After few minutes of constant dialling, the phone finally rang. Before I could just rehearse my lines, a male voice grunted from the other side, “hello.”

‘Hello,’ I squeaked. “Er… can I speak to… (I thought for a microsecond)… Ramesh Sharma?” I thanked wholeheartedly to whomsoever the name belonged to.

“Don’t you have eyes? Are you blind? Are your fingers alright?” spat came the reply from the other end.

For a moment I went into serious cogitation, how is a wrong number connected to anyone being blind? Or was he working for some NGO that worked for the disabled? But thankfully, her father saved my time and energy. “Can’t you see what number you are dialling, moron?”

“I am sorry, uncle”

“What sorry?” he seemed in no mood to stop this. He was breathing fire!

Since, her father didn’t know me, I had nothing to lose. “Arey… I said am sorry, what else do you expect anyone to say. If you have installed a telephone, you would get miscalls, messages and wrong numbers. You have problem with that… sue me… or better, sue Tata!” and I jammed the receiver down. It felt like I had just won a war, peace overpowered me.

To be continued

this relationship is doomed

To the surprise of no one, they were doomed. I don’t propose to get into the whys and wherefores of it all. Suffice it to say that they both did unforgivable things (and I’m not referring to infidelity because there was none). While this isn’t the way either of them wanted it, I’m fairly certain that this is the way that it had to be. Of course, it’s quite a bit more complicated but that’s private too. Very sad but I guess that’s how it goes sometimes. ….

She was constantly surprised at how ordinary the things she found herself missing were. She was only beginning to understand how much of her life she was sleepwalking through and what a small and wasteful way that is to live. How it fades the potential out of you and those you love. ….

When he cleared his stuff out of the house about a week ago…she was at work at the time and came home to a place that looked quite a bit different than it had that morning. She wasn’t resentful and didn’t feel ripped off. It was just that a lot of the furniture was gone. In its place were the hordes of dust bunnies that had been breeding under the chairs and bookcases. I was appalled at what a shocking housekeeper she appeared to be…..

She didn’t miss the stuff — there are very few material things she couldn’t live without, rootless thing that she was. Still, she ambled around doing an offhand inventory, only mildly curious. But what was begun as an accounting of the possessions she’d lost soon became an examination of the empty places in her. It was an odd feeling to wander around the place trying to put a name to all the things she’d relinquished (willingly or otherwise), especially since what she gained remains hypothetical. ….

As she paced the suddenly empty rooms, she thought about how many irrevocable events she had experienced over the past three years and how fundamentally she had changed. She thought about her complicity. She had no idea what she was expecting to achieve but it seemed both necessary and cathartic. ….

Did she miss him? Of course she did. You can’t spend most of your days with someone and not automatically turn to share a comment with him. He was so necessary to her for so many years. ….

The thing is it got really baroque towards the end. She began to feel like she was on parole she hated it – she felt trapped and surveilled and became secretive and cautious around him, afraid to put a foot wrong. She was surly into the bargain, struggling as she was with having to be so tentative. This, predictably, led to resentment all around and they both behaved badly. ….

It’s taken her a while to work this out, but she thinks that his recent behavior said more about the situation than about the person. For the sake of her conscience, she hopes hers did too. What saddens her most is that (at least in the short term) their memories of each other were going to be bitter. She’s hoping that won’t last – she thinks they were worth more than that in the long run. ….

Still, this part of the process is hardly fun. Since they broke up, she can’t sleep later than 4 a.m. regardless of what time she goes to bed. She finds herself sitting on the edge of her bed in the wee hours unable to get out of her own head, watching music videos and infomercials for weight loss — depressed, restless, every synapse firing. Leaking memories all over the place….being unable to move because thought and grief and loss have become the same state of mind……..

Despite an overwhelming urge to wallow in self-pity, she continues trying to attend to the practicalities. She is trying to be good to herself by making sure she gets enough sleep but not too much, remembering to work out and keeping the house clean which she has to admit has recently become much easier. ….

Besides, this is one of those personal growth opportunities strange that they’re usually so unpleasant. Given that her coping strategies in the past have involved fleeing and denial, not doing either this time requires will and vigilance. Along with most of the rest of the world, her favorite route from A to B is down the Path of Least Resistance. She didn’t have that luxury now – this time the experience involves character on a defining level. How they disengage will say much about whom they are and will form the people they will become. ….

She learned much about herself, most of it not very heartwarming. She found out, for example, that she is a coward and can be breathtakingly selfish. She is adept at being expedient. She used to have an intrinsic softness, but it’s gone now and she suspects it was the best of her. These days, she does what she has to without flinching first. She knows she’s lost something she cannot afford to do without, but doesn’t have the insight or the courage to put a name to it. ….

She has become dangerously rational instead, everything is analyzed logically, and all of it is categorized. Arguments are dissected, risks considered, options identified. Much of this is second nature – the practice of life taught her how to create distance between herself and unbearable things, how to construct order and achieve resolution…how to cut her losses-in theory. ….

She is so paranoid about protecting whatever else she may have left to lose that she approaches everything warily. It’s exhausting. She is suspicious – she never used to be. She doesn’t particularly care for it, though she doesn’t know how to stop. She is not sure that right now is the best time to do without it anyway. ….

She is struggling to convince herself that there must be benedictions under the skin of the indictments that not all of this is about what she may have lost or abandoned. She needs to be able to quantify the cost of her freedom with absolute honesty. ….

She needs to make damn sure it was worth what she paid for it. ….

Hi there,

This is my first posting. Doesn’t really know how to move around. Perhaps it’s going to take me some time to figure out.

At the meant time, let me figure out what to do with this blog.

There are nothing much to write about myself. So I was thinking, why not create this blog to help others. Ya, thats’ right!!!  So from now on. I will go by this path. HELP is the keyword. I guess this is my calling.

Let me think… ok, first let me help my brother.

He has a failed business some time ago. From what I know, he has many cutlery in his house from his ex business. He is not using them now but that doesn’t mean he like to keep them. I will propose to him to sell at my blog. (I wonder this is violating the rule of this blog? ) If I remember visiting him some times ago. The cutlery occupied one of his bedroom. So if I can persuade him to sell it off. Why not? It will save him space and at the same time, create wealth too.

Most likely, there will be pictures here on my next post. Right now, I need some time to organize his stuff into presentable product. hehehe