Work - Recession reality...

Recession seems to be getting too close to me...
Getting into a project within the company seems to be all the more difficult than getting a job outside..

Generation Gap?

I was having this conversation a few days back with my friends, where in my friend was in love and was all keen on getting married to the one in his life. And as in most cases, his parents were dead against it as she belonged to a different caste all together. Being the good friends that we were we joked, We argued, counter argued, we probed the situation, the pro’s the con’s and then from nowhere during the conversation one of the guys screamed out.. “Man! This is the problem with generation gap. Our parents never think the way we do”. And all nodded in perfect synchronization, which on any other day would have taken a dance master at least a week’s practice to get the synchronization rite.

“Generation Gap”… I often wonder if there is any relevance to this phrase. May be its jus’ different perspectives that we have. Not necessarily the way a generation thinks and the way they need to be branded. Not sure about the others, but coming to think of it, in many ways I still uphold the virtues and ideology that my parents have imbibed in me. And in that sense, most today will typecast me to be of an older generation…

In most cases, I don’t quite understand the reason as to why parents are generally against love marriages. They always have a rationale to it, which on most occasions sounds very unreasonable or unacceptable to us. May be it’s our age, our natural tendency to revolt, may be our short sightedness or maybe we are actually being pragmatic.. It could be any of the afore said reasons.

But then again, when I see myself few years down the line (hoping I ll live that long), when my son or daughter walks up to me and says the most dreaded words which parents I know sure hate.. I really don’t know how I would react. I am not quite sure if I ll behave the same as most parents do. Though I hold nothing against people falling in love(which I truly believe is a blessin’ and the best thing to happen in life) and getting married to their love, I am sure there are various factors which I ll come to play. So it’s evident it’s not gonna be a Happy Dad jumping around and saying a yes, it’s gonna be a more thoughtful and apprehensive dad fazal…

Won’t then my son/daughter for that matter may be even my friends say It’s all because of the generation gap?

I live by certain values in life and I am hope and pray to god that I for eternity live by it… I might not be against people who are for live-in-relationships, pre-marital sex, one-night stands, pub culture.. etcetera etcetera… But to me these are a taboo.. A strict NO.

Though I live in today’s world, I still live by the same values which my parents still uphold, and to me, we all live in the same generation. And by same generation, I mean same generation of thoughts….

Our kids....

This is how I foresee our future......
A blogger dad/mom who will have a blogger kid :)

A really Bumpy Drive

It was a bumpy ride back home today...

No, it was not that the roads were bumpy, for a change people in Bangalore were bumpy, and everyone was interested in kissing my bike at the rear..
And call it coincidence or pure luck... This is what happened today...

I was driving back home from office and was jus' coming to a halt at one of the traffic signals, when a bike guy came and bumped into my bike from behind. Thankfully I was driving at almost zero and I was able to steer clear from falling. I jus turned back to scream at that person and right away he lifted his hand up in the air(as if sayin’ I lay down my Arms) and said sorry!!!

Huh!!! So much for my humility I jus gave him a stare and said nothing. Anyways there was no damage to my bike.

Jus a km away and I was stuck in this leisurely moving traffic. I was jus' waiting for the traffic to clear and there I felt a strong jerk...

Huh!!! Not Again, All fuming I turn back with my helmet still on.. And what do I see??? A FEMALE rider, driving her Honda Activa. She too jus like that biker guy, instantly laid her arms and looked apologetic (I hope that's what she meant, she had her helmet on)... I jus ignored...

And jus when there was some room for me to move a little ahead. This lady from no where tried to squeeze her bike and there she goes again... She HAD to brush against my bike.

Bangalore roads in general drive me nuts, and motorists like her, make me even MAD. I took off my helmet trying to vent out my frustration... As I was jus beginning to phrase my sentence (Yes, I had to think what I was about to speak as it was a lady on the other side, and for fear that if things go outta control I know I ll be singled out in the crowd), for a split second I was left flabbergasted when the lady took off her helmet.

It took a piercing honk from someone behind to bring me back to my senses. I slowly pulled my bike to the side and so did the lady sensing I had something serious to say to her.....

I got down from my bike, walked up to her.. And.. and.. and... I jus' said "Sorry"....
(YES!!! That's exactly what I said!!!! )

The lady bursts out laughing and says "What re you sorry for??? It's my fault FAZAL! I should be sorry"!!! (YES!!! She called me by MY name!!!)

And that's when I said "I didn't know that it was you, that's why sorry..."

And she "I too didn't know it was you, else I would have made sure you fell from your bike"...

Me, “Ya Rite, and you ll come to the hospital everyday to visit me with flowers”
And then the conversation jus' went on...

It is a wonderful feeling to meet those good friends who many a times get lost in the walk of life... And what better way to meet.... Looks like a scene rite out of a 70MM screen...

This sure was one bump, that I loved ;)

Laziness the key

I often wonder "Whether Laziness is the key to all Inventions"..

The need for Inventions and Innovations arise as people become lazy to do things the conventional way. Jus' give it a thought, Man was slothful to cycle, so he invented the moped, and then he invented the car (a pure luxury)

There have been so many instances at office with me, where in I have been so lazy to do things the conventional way, that I love to try something different. The pure urge to find an easy way out which ll make my life easy has always brought out the best in me. I still remember in the very recent past my idea clicked so well, that I was handsomely rewarded by the client. I had come up with this stupid graph which we used to make use of in our reports . To generate this graph the client would normally spend 15 mins or so. And using my technique it took us less than 5 mins and the graph was all the more customizable.

No!!! My blog is NOT a brag corner for me... Coming back...

And today was again one such day for me. Yesterday I was getting bored at office doing my usual chores and was looking for a break. And that's when a friend of mine said she was reading this novel by H.G.Wells, "The Invisible Man". She instantly sent me a soft copy of the book and the next minute I started reading. Having jus' read a few lines; I realized I have no patience to read. As my friend was already reading the book for herself, I was pestering her to read it aloud for me. .. (So that she could put me to sleep).
As I kept persisting, she finally agreed to gimme the "gist" of each chapter and it was nice. 4-5 pages of text in jus a few sentences. It was nice and easy.. Laziness brought out the better persuasive skill outta me.

But then unfortunately my friend was on leave today (Guess she must have fallen asleep giving me the "Gist" instead of putting me to sleep.) Somehow I was determined to finish the book today. But at the same time I had no patience to read through. That's when I remembered there is an option in "Adobe Acrobat Reader" an inbuilt feature in the application, where in the application will read out the document to you. (Jus what the doctor had prescribed for lazy one’s like me)
With options like, to be able to tweak the pitch of the voice, choose what voice you want (ya, I went for a female voice narration) and to select the reading speed, it was indeed quite an experience. And without the least effort I silently finish 5 chapters.

May be, this is when, I ought to say..... " What an Idea Sirji.."

To forget...

"Oh! I forgot!!!” How many times haven't we sighed saying the same?
We always create a hue and cry about our innate tendency to forget things. But have you ever realized that the tendency to forget is indeed bliss.

Jus’ a couple of days back, on my way back home, I had witnessed an accident rite in front of my eyes, and I was quite disturbed by the very scene and was very overcautious driving back home that day. But the very next day there I was again driving my way through the chaotic Bangalore traffic. Had I not been able to forget the incidence which I had witnessed, I don’t think I would have ever been able to zip through the roads of Bangalore.

It’s quite a master design, the way the human mind works. Was it not for the power of to be able to forget, I am sure most of us would have lived all our lives in fear, or in despair, or cribbing about things that went wrong, and sulking all our lives about all the things that we never got. In the mean time forgetting to live a life that lies ahead of us..

The starling fact is that we forget all these things without our knowledge. Meaning, me don’t make a conscious effort to forget, it happens subconsciously.
But then again there are a few incidents, few people whom I have not been able to forget though I have been trying hard. They say you can never forget to eat, drink and sleep. May be that’s precisely the reason I have not been able to forget reminiscences and people, as they are all an integral part of my life..

Leaving Early, Sir??

I have been a little busy for the last 4-5 days. Mom is back home. It’s a big relief to have mom back home. I was so bored and depressed of staying home alone for quite a long time now. And from the time mom is back, my house looks like a place to live, I have begun to love my home. My things are back to place, I don’t tend to forget to carry my mobile or wallet to office. And the best part of all, I get to eat good homemade food J

My uncle (mom’s bro) and his wife, the newly-wed couple had also come down home along with mom. They were here for the last 4 days and I never realized how time went by. For the period they were here, I was playing the role of a guide cum photographer for their trip around Bangalore and Mysore. Full time travelling and full time photography….

While the new couple were at home, I always made it a point to leave office early so that we could make time to go out in the evenings. And I don’t know is it recession or being popular for all the wrong reasons at office, this is what happened…

Day1:

Time 4 PM..

I swipe my access card and step outta the floor. The Security guy at the help desk on my floor gives me a surprise look, and then says “Saab, itni jaldi?” (Sir, so early?). I was taken aback by the question. I smiled and replied “Thoda kaam hey” (have some work). Security guard wishes “Ok, bye Sir”

Day2:

Time 4:30 PM.. I swipe my access card and step outta the floor. The Security guy at the desk gives me a wicked smile and says “Sir, Rooz jaldi nilkaltein hey” (Sir, you leave early everyday). Shocked at how quickly he came to a conclusion and Trying to put an end to it, I said “Mein roz subeh subeh aata hun, issi liye jaldi nikalta hun” (I come early everyday and that’s why I leave early also) . Security guy acknowledges the fact and says “Sahi hey Saab, jaldi aao, jaldi nikalo” (You re rite sir, come early leave early). My irony though is that it’s a different guy at the security each morning when I step into the office at 8.

Day3:

Time 3 PM..

I had to leave very early today as the guests were leaving today and they had their bus to board at 5. l as always walk out and the security guy on seeing me looks at his watch and gives me this look as if he is seeing something for the first time in life. “saab, aaaj itni jaldi, abhi aapka time nahi hua na” (Sir, so early, it’s not yet your usual out time). To which I politely replied, “Aaj bohat kaam hey” (I have lot of work today)… I am sure the security guy must be wondering If fazal works inside office or outside office..

Day 4:

Time 5:45 PM..

Now that, it’s only mom and me at home, I leave office at my usual time. And when I step out, the security guy again “Saab, aaj itna late kaise, kya hua?” (Sir, this late today! What happened?) .. I couldn’t control my laugh. I smiled and said.. “Aaaj OFFICE mein kaam tha” (Today I had work at office) and then the security guy bursts out laughing…