I just realized that i am one of those, useless, boring, worthless blokes who'll grow up and be a Mamoo* 


(* Maamoo as in Munnabhai, im sure one gets the idea)


The reason for this, rather sweeping, conclusion is that it appears that in order to get ahead, make a living (and all that blah-blah) i'l probably be spending the rest of my life doing uncool stuff. 


I am, of course, developing the most boring, bird-brained, clumsily presented theory around this. Maybe later. 


Case in point: 


My conversation with female X the other day.


X asked me about what i 'did', where i 'hung out' in spain. 


I, as usual, kept my work out of the discussion. And with little else from Spain - stumbled around the few plazas, nightly walks, 10 euro-all-you-can-eat-buffets and a (what must have been) godawfully boring account of the day trip to barcelona..(Note: Sarcasm intended)


X, incidentally, is the same person who actually started laughing (rather loudly - i must say - even attracting the attention of passerbys) when i had once, during the course of some gen chit-chat, explained to her my concept of how blokes should think of setting up this 'trust fund' before getting married etc. 


Now, a little bit of introspection actually reveals that X's attitude is probably correct in one sense. 


Let me explain: An impressive, well rounded, going-places - young man of 25 - ought to know a little more about all the right things in life like 'doing' 'hanging out'. And X is just behaving naturally - just like nature intended her to behave like - anyone with an overall behavioral pattern similar to mine are Maamoos and Maamoos are a big no-no (or possible casual+sometimes entertaining+nice to know acquaintances) 


This thought process leads to several, hugely tricky questions - two of which are pro'lly: 


1) WHAT is the ideal-impressive-kindof behavior in such contexts ? One of these days, when i stabilize a little- or maybe someday in the future, i'l probably ask X the same thing - WTF does she consider cool ?


2) Is the problem really with X, in this case - as in - 'bah, X is not worth it' 'X has a brain about the size of the average parrot's' (as some friends suggest) ?


OK. Enough.


We now move on - a maamoo is a respectable maamoo ONLY if he does well at work - and such delusional, hormonal state of affairs is NOT the ideal frame of mind for a maamoo to be in. 


P.S  All this has sort-of-spoilt my planned post and all - but Ive uploaded a fairly largish chunk of photos - in no particular order - Commentary / Post later on, if i manage crawl out of this hole this week. The album is here

There was some website i was looking at which had a whole section with stuff tagged - 'Nobody thinks this is funny but me' 

I am thinking of naming this blog exactly that. 

I am also thinking of writing a book. 

No, i dont do drugs at home. 

And, no, not outside home either. 

Ive finally gotten down to reading 'The world is what it is' (Patrick French's biography of V.S.Naipaul) - im in fact just about into the first 50 odd pages. Its real nicely done, i have to admit - and its one of those books i know, i am sure, that i'l enjoy.

I have a thing for biographies - always had. If i ever sit down and make a list of books i've enjoyed the most over the years - the list (however tedious it is) will surely contain more than a few biographies. I mustav done, i dunno, hundreds of them i think.

Was chatting with a friend a little while ago - and it seems that him & nearly everyone he seems to know - haven't read a book in a really long time - he in fact does not remember the last time he read a book - ANY book

(Remember - the guy is a normal, nice, fun guy. He is pretty educated, holds down a nice job and all..)

In fact several other people - people i talk to - at work, from places like IITs, IIMs, doing post-docs, double PhDs, managed seriously complex businesses and so on - actually NEVER read.

Funny part is - they don't seem too affected by this -  potentially hugely crippling - deficiency (at least as what id expect it to be like).

While the friend agreed that he does not gather enough 'funda' (his word, not mine) - he claims that most book-reading related 'funda gathering' - is not really relevant in terms of holding down a good job, having an active social life, being liked by people in general.

The guy here is sort of implying that - he thinks that no tangible, monetizable, directly-qualifiable - 'skillsets' are developed when one has a reading habit.

Stupid, wrong and ludicrously narrow-minded, of course.

For example, one can read and write better if one has a reading habit.

But WTF, funny way of looking at the whole thing, no ?

I am back home, after like 10 days of stimulus overload.

I had a lovely time in Madrid and then the one day in Barcelona - will probably count amongst the bestest trips ive ever had. I've been making notes, keeping copies of maps, entrance tickets and loads of photos for a nice, rambly post (godawfully boring too - as im sure most of my pieces are). Will pro'lly get through it when im free - weekend, maybe ?

Here's a sneak-peek at the kind of photos one can expect (there are like 300 of them)



p.s : BTB in case anyone wonders where on earth have all the copies of "John Keay's India: A History" have disappeared to  (Landmark, Kinokuniya etc were always out of stock) - the answer is that they've been mass booked by the 2-3 Airport stores in Madras (past the international security check, just before final gate entry). Each store had like half a dozen copies in stock, the ridiculous overprice and all. I did buy one - and Boy! it is crammed with fundae, much too heady for my present state - but my dads already taken it off me and appears to be engrossed in it.

P.s 2 : Did i tell you that i had a WHALE of a time WRT work in Spain too ? The daily grind we've gone through for the last half year or so - almost on a daily basis - is worth it - mind you - whatever / however one might crib - this basic funda is intact. So there. That should explain the entire air of positive optimism and all. :x

Just ran through the below post and i cant help but realize how much of a bore i probably must be!

No fucking wonder...

I cant believe that i am actually saying this - but i actually am realizing how important this trip is actually turning out to be.

You get different perspectives on what you think you are doing, what others think you are doing, what you think others are doing and finally try and make an assessment of what you should be doing.

I realize that most people think that ive done - still doing fairly well - but i realize that in nearly cutting off myself from stimulus from the commercial side of my what otherwise was a carefully cultivated business - the whole scenario is a little bit drifting.

Most importantly - i realize that one can be WILDLY successful by just doing / delegating / training for the basic, standardized tasks that one normally associates with our kinds of businesses - taking up too much of such, what is normally standardizable work is probably my biggest folly.

People with FAR less skillset levels achieve FAR bigger results by doing exactly what i am explaining.

WTF, i ve also probably been a little hormonal off late with this juvenilish crush and related obsession consuming a significant part of my mental bandwidth. This trip, lets say, apart from what work ive managed and all - is like a sort of a vacation. 

We´ll put the crush behind now - work on a response of respectable quality to all the stimulus i am gathering.

(P.s Ive been in Madrid since Sunday - i stay in this wonderfully located Hotel - bang on Plaza Mayor (sort of like the center of old town) - its like i step out - im in disneyland - the hotel, at 75 euros a night (BnB) is typically European - small rooms, arrogant pricks at the reception desks and but all the more charming because of where they are located. i use the internet at the cafe further along Calle Arenal, surrounded by babelicious senoritas furiously typing away on facebook and MSN msnger. I ve been taking photos, using the Metro a lot - taking long walks and all - i also bought a 50 euro ticket on a overnight train to Barcelona for Friday night - saturday will be spent there - before flying back to Madras on sunday)

P.s 2 - I suddenly miss having friends to talk all this through. WTF. Just when i thought i should stop being hormonal :x

I worked through the night yesterday, went to sleep at 3 am, backup at 7. But LOADS of stuff got done. I've filled up nearly 2 days of meeting slots, and already have atleast 3 meetings - EACH of which will be separately worth this trip. Another day or two like this, i'l be done.

I'l be leaving a day early - so we have a day to spare in Madrid - and by some conspiracy cooked up between my travel agent & Jet airways - will return one day late, via, get this, Barcelona.

I havent made up my mind - as to whether i should crib or feel elated.

But all signs point to a great next week - and Diwali will be spent (depending on when diwali is) either roaming the streets of Barcelona or hanging about in Brussels.

The Channel Paradox

One way to beat stress at work, i've realized, is to shut down that day and take the next day easy. Then work your way up the list of pending gigs from the bottom - the easier ones first - the messier ones last. This way, when you've done about a dozen emails over half a day - you feel a lot lighter and de-stressed.

I'l be sort of in stealth-mode at work tomorrow, taking out a few pending gigs from my to-do list. I'l probably be in stealth mode all of this week, in fact.

In fact, i have a theory on this too. Here goes:

The amount of stress you endure at work is related to your mental bandwidth. The more your perceived mental width, the more channels* of work you take on. The more the number of channels, the probability** of encountering trouble in atleast one of the channels increases. In fact the value approaches 1 when the number of channels one works on is more than 2 or 3.

(* Dimensions = channels, in bandwidth parlance - if you get what im saying)

** Probability of occurrence of either A or B, as we all know is ADDITIVE - higher than either just A or just B. If A, B becomes A,B,C,D,E..etc. the probability of either A or B or C or D or E nears one, i.e a definite event)

This brings us to the crux of this theory - tentatively named  - 'The channel paradox' - where the ideal scenario is for an individual to have as many channels working as possible and a nearly stress-free life (or a near zero stress value, which can be directly correlated to the above probability discussed).

The paradox here is that practical considerations will almost all the time lead to a scenario where - more the number of operational channels, higher the value of trouble probability in atleast one of the channels and thusly, a poor stress score.

P.S - Heres some corollary i'd have written up back in the old days. 

If a guy can play the guitar like John Mayer, Speak with an accent as sexy as Javier Bardem's, look like Mark Wahlberg and write like Stephen Leacock's step brother - he'll probably be as strung as him and most definitely will need to be locked up in a nuthouse with multiple keepers with submachine guns guarding him. 

P.S 2 - I know that the whole thing is majorly *Yawn* inducing. I'l let it stay though - will be the only thing i'l write up for quite some time.