I can be a soothsayer...

I am suddenly in the writy mood so here’s another one…

The last point in my previous list of learnings was on Linda Goodman and am sure that people might wonder about why I had written that as a learning… So some insights into my thoughts on the Zodiac Circus

As I have mentioned/written a thousand times I am someone who believes that I completely control the path that my life traverses. Most of what has happened to me till now (good+bad) is because that’s the way I made my decisions and I pretty much know how tomorrow’s gonna go coz am pretty sure that it depends on what I did yesterday and what am doing today. If I want something to happen I have it in me to make it happen (or so I think)

Can I represent India in Cricket in the future- Yes of course…If I practice for 6 hrs every day from today and sharpen my skills in about 15 years I can play for the “Above 40”/Seniors Cricket team !!!

Can I dance like Hrithik Roshan – That’s easy for sure. If I decide to amputate my legs and get some artificial limbs fixed I can then train the feet to coordinate with my brain while it comes to dancing. I then would sure be a threat to Roshan Jr.

Can I look like Tom Cruise – Yes by spending about 50 to 100 Million dollars on a series of plastic surgeries I can get close to looking like Mr. Cruise and then life would be a cruise..

But these snide comments apart the point is I can sure dictate the course of my life to reach milestone/objectives/targets that are practical and sensible. That’s what I mean when I say that my life is pretty much in my hands..

So when it comes to stuff like Horoscopes, Sun signs, Moon Signs, Star Signs and predictions I am very very skeptical to the point of being rudely dismissive…

But then when your lady love swears by the Zodiac and holds “Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs” as the Holy book of humanity over and above the Bible, Gita or the Koran you can’t just help but pay some attention to the topic can you? And that’s exactly what I have been doing for sometime. I read some Linda Goodman stuff (courtesy a book gifted by her) and it had not a single good thing to say about Leos (I am one…now people who know Leo characteristics please don’t start abusing me). Its not too pleasant a feeling to read lousy stuff about you page after page is it? So I said goodbye to Ms. Goodman and instead decided to opt for the innocuous yet extremely popular daily forecasts(to just see if they work) in Deccan Chronicle (an additional outflow of Rs. 1.50 per day as The Hindu does'nt feel the need to publish daily Zodiac forecasts)

I have been doing this for sometime now and I should say that it’s a revelation, and No I am talking about the predictions being true. At the risk of being beaten up by her I should say that I can confidently take up a job of writing daily predictions from today without knowing a thing about the stars, planets or constellations.

After careful Analysis I have found a pattern in the way these things are written. Read any bit from any newspaper/magazine and I can tell you that it would fall into one of these patterns.

Let me explain the patterns now

The Irrefutable truth – This one really bugs me a lot. This has advice that can never be turned down simply because its so obvious. Like you know “Actors should rehearse well”, “Accountants should try to reconcile statements”, “Students should practice math”. Now who on earth can disagree with that!!

Smart Hedge – This is a Risk Management professional’s delight. “You might be tired after a long week’s work but the weekend will prove to be a good break”. Come on!!! All of us always have bad days at work and great weekends don’t we. There’s another one…. “People exposed to the stock markets will see profits, however be aware of chances of losing money”…WOW these guys are better than asset management companies.

The Mega Serial mantra – “Loved ones will cause despair. Family problems might keep you worried. You will do well not to argue with your spouse” Ho-hum… as though I do not know the pitfalls of an argument with my spouse…who wants to get beaten up anyways …gimme a break

Feel good factor – who would not want to hear about “You might meet someone interesting”. “Its time for romantic escapades” Its always time for escapades just that money does'nt grow on trees and even if it does I can climb a tree for nuts

Proverbial punchlines – “Opportunity knocks on those who try”…. “Don’t be deterred by failures, keep trying”

With these five rules anyone can write predictions… Believe me… you can, just try. Ok if you still aren’t convinced lemme give you a sample

“Share brokers might have to buy or sell shares today to survive. If you are planning a vacation do your best to not think about expenses and pick the best options, however spending money is not the only way to have a good vacation. Your children might not listen to what you say and might argue with you incessantly. You might have good things said about you by someone you know. Remember that there is no substitute to hard work.”

See, One single outlook for the day that nobody can ever argue with…. Such are the ways of the soothsayers!!! Now tell me can't I be one?

A Naughty smile and numerous things that followed

I have had my fair share of situations in which I had to make some tough decisions... Typical crossroads where I have had to necessarily pick one path and take the plunge. But I was aware that the BIGGEST decision in my life was still pending. The one concerning the choice of a life partner. I had to search for, find, meet, talk, consider, discuss and decide about the one with whom I would spend the rest of my life. Knowing me my parents and close friends seemed to agree that Sriram indeed would take some time to do all this. "6 months at the least da" was dad's emphatic forecast and I couldn't disagree with that...

Then someone up above smiled at the misplaced confidence that a seemingly confident 26 year-old had about himself and his estimates...Thankfully it wasn't a wicked smile but a naughty one :)...and I met her... The rest as they say is history - just that in this case it was history made in 1 day instead of the expected 6 months. For once this "I control my destiny and I am pretty sure about what's in store for me tomorrow" guy was elated at having been proven wrong.

The last 3 months have been great... and here are some very pleasant/interesting things that I have discovered.

It is possible to yield so much of emotional space for another person in my life and there is not just this much but infinitely more space available if its for just the right person.

After a long time I am genuinely missing someone... over and over again...week after week...trip after trip....even phonecall after phone call... (The last time I really missed someone was in Oct 1998 when I went back to campus after a Diwali visit to home and I big time missed my parents).

362 KMs is a terribly long distance....

The mobile phone is not a necessary evil....its telecommunications' blessing ... and yes it is possible to have a 4 figure mobile bill...

SMSsing from a run down Nokia 6030 is not a pain...its a wonderful exercise to keep your fingers in shape

Indian Railway's Tatkal reservations open 5 days before the travel date - but its not a very sensible option (you can't burn money coz you have it)- and the Indian Railway website is slowest in the afternoons.... You don't have to necessarily travel by 2nd A/C, 3 rd A/C is ok as well...

It takes exactly 7 minutes to reach Park station from Central if you time your walk/jog well..

Sometimes the wait for the meeting is much better than the meeting itself because the meeting ends with the start of a wait while the wait actually ends with a meeting....

Evaluating honeymoon packages is a potential area for a doctoral degree...there is so much to think and decide about... Warm places vs. Cold places, Sea vs. Mountains, History versus Activity, customised vs. managed.... Its tougher than the toughest Optimization problem that Prof. P.Singh presented us with... and ya travel agencies' sales people are sweet talking but predominantly dumb

"Primary", "Secondary", "Stockist", "Invoice", "WISDOM", "Synapse", "Closing", "SMS Centre"are all terms that you need to appreciate, understand and even feel for....

Indypop is a popular, liked form of Music!!

There are things regarding which I actually worry about for the fear of not wanting to disappoint ...(unthinkable given my history)

Physics in not of practical use coz it doesnt explain why 16 gms might be too less in terms of physical mass but can be an immensely heavy and painful emotional baggage to carry, and now I completely understand why...

There is so much more to learn in the English language - many words have a variety of meanings -and the faster you learn the better

Linda Goodman books are well respected and read (revered actually)....and none of her books are good to Leos ....

There are so many more...these are just the tip of the iceberg...and its not even been 3 months... ... and these are just from my side.. Given the character that I am, I can bet that she has learnt a lot too...

The best learning has been that there is no limit to how much I can feel for a person I have known for such a short time.....Am sure there would be a zillion more for both of us as time passes on...

The loveliest part is that I am loving the experience of learning stuff while being in love.... Thanks to the one above for the Naughty smile...