Life

 As I was rolling in the bed y’day night trying to sleep, I weirdly started thinking how Hindi as a language fared in my life. When I entered middle school, I had to make a choice for the second language. And my parents rightly made my choice for studying Hindi. They felt, I would anyway pickup Tamil and knowing the national language is very important. Yes. I totally agree today – besides, I am sure Hindi was simpler than Tamil. In those times, choosing Hindi has its own disadvantages. For instance, during Engineering college admissions, if two candidates had all parameters equal, then the candidate who chose to study Tamil would get preference. At least that is what I was told. I never had to validate it though. ...

Last weekend I had a very bad tooth ache. Clove oil wouldn’t work. And it got so bad that I actually went to a dentist. Oh! And getting a dentist appointment in Singapore is next to impossible – I guess every one is fixing their teeth at all times. After quite a few failed attempts, the wife managed to land an appointment in one clinic. Dental treatments in Singapore are a luxury. It has a reputation for being overly expensive. Maybe people are mostly getting their tooth to look good than fixing aches or root-canals. And usually dental treatments are not covered by group medical policies or insurances. ...

Noni is at her parents’ for a couple of weeks. I don’t have the luxury of a work-from-home for that long, so I stayed back. There was only one thing both of us were worried about – my food. I could barely cook, forget preparing lunch and dinner amidst all the dish washing. But before Noni took the flight she prepped me up for a full week to be able to cook – more than curd rice and puliyodharai paste. ...

I was in Chennai last week. I had to go out someplace and I had hired a cab since I am not very keen in driving in Chennai any more. It was a 40 minute drive one way and it was a pretty hot day. The cabbie was the only relief all along the drive although both my wife and my mom found him a tad too annoying. The man was naturally gifted at talking. He spoke a naturally funny dialect of tamil. And he picked up topics from the road. Every street name, car, building, office space that we cross, he had something to quip. Some where just a rant or a while, but a lot many were just good humor. It is clear that he doesn’t mind. That’s like the best stand up comedy show I have been in – not that I have been in a lot. I listen to them a lot. ...

Funny that I should talk about music. But anyway, laugh all you want. I am going to talk about something related to music. After a long time, I liked what I heard in OK Kanmani songs. I didn’t quite care about the lyric, but I didn’t find it obscene. Yeah, that’s been a while when the song is not obscene. And its more obscene to hear kids mouth the lyrics innocently. Somebody really robbed them off their innocence without telling them about it. ...

After a period of absence, I am back to the writing board. Lot of things happening and I hope I would take some time to pen them here for future laughs. I am sure most of us have used a pain killer spray. There are a quite a few good brands out there and we usually stock one called “Moov”. We don’t use it very often, but sprays are handier than the ointment tubes. Especially for me. I have noticed that every time I use the ointment, I need to pee almost immediately. And no amount of washing your hands can save your *** from getting a bit of ointment treatment that would leave it frigid for quite some time. So, sprays are definitely better. ...

I have tried to learn stuff via coursera only to give up quarter way. Usually am off after the first week or so. This has nothing to do with the difficulty or anything. Usually, my work spikes immediately after I sign up for a course. I’d miss a week or two of assignments. And then I ll loose interest. I am trying again now. Let’s see how far this goes. ...

I won some cookies in the office CNY lucky draw this year. Honestly, its an amazing thing to happen. I have tried to participate in lucky draws in many different stages of my life. And each time, my number would never be called out. Then I concluded that these are sour vine. Not for you. I had the same thoughts as I wrote my name in the lucky draw tag at office. I knew I won’t get it. I didn’t get it last year either. But heck, I’ll give it a shot anyway. Nothing to lose, not even my pen to write the name with 😀 ...

I love this post from Seth Godin. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2015/03/more-trouble-than-its-worth.html You must read it too. And here is my favorite line in that post: Seeking out the things that are more trouble than most people think they’re worth is a powerful place to be. I have been here. Early on in my career, when I was here, it really gained me the quick recognition and earned me the type of tasks I was best suited for. On the edge. ...

Sometimes it’s a shame to do some things. It’s a shame to not do anything about what is important to you. It’s a shame to feel helpless when what you love is snatched right from your hand and you don’t even raise an eyebrow. It’s a shame to let someone think you are at their mercy. And it’s a shame to believe that someone is in your mercy. At this point in time, I feel ashamed about myself. This is not who I set out to be. Yet this is not the time to act. I choose to remain shameless until it is time to act. Because not everyone or everything is fair. ...