guitar God - Newton Faulkner

This is what talent looks like - ginger dreads, pale white skin and magic fingers

and another awesome song - teardrop

Introducing Newton Faulkner - Been thinking about it

If I was lost. Lost at sea. I'd grab the flag and I'd swim all the way home. Cause it's it in my genes

I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it.

If I like you, And you like me, Why the hell are we wasting our time ? Are you too afraid to cross that line ?

I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it.

If this was to end right now. I'd go with a grateful smile

I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it.

If life's so short. Then what's the cost. Of working day and night five days a week ? You say you hate it but it makes ends meet

I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it.

My time here on earth could be. A fragile and fleeting thing. But if this was to end right now. I'd go with a grateful smile

I've been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it. Been thinking 'bout it. I've been thinking 'bout it.

If I like you. And you like me. Why the hell are we wasting our time ?

Skin deep

We let beautiful people get away with murder, we buy over price cool looking gadgets, cloths, food etc. Businesses have long tapped into this very human tendency to go for packaging. Gyms sell the idea of personal reinvention, people let perfectly packaged humans walk all over them. Somehow the same standards don't apply, be it people or things. My Imac is not compatible with my external hard drive, it doesn't have a bloody backspace key, but who cares, I dont. I look it its aluminum body, beautiful screen quality and awesome sound and forget all about it, even as I write. I adjust, learn to work around that missing key, missing compatibility.

But I want to ask why god made us so shallow, why is pretty so important, why were we not created to look deeper than the skin. Darwin would say its an evolutionary advantage, you have greater chances of having offspring. I agree, but then why do we apply that logic to appliances. It has to be something deeper than that, or is it that simple. But then why is pretty not enough! why this mix, why not shallow through and through. Why do we realize with much delay it is not enough. If it was that then my Imac didn't need to have awesome sound and screen quality. just being an aluminum box is enough. I sometimes look at myself and see how I treat people differently, how my own standards change irrespective of gender. But as a saving grace I am much more nicer to my friends and I give them infinite chances. Somehow, friendship sails right through the skin and lands at the heart. If my friend doesn't wish me well, I will not put up with her nonsense simple. Somehow the way we behave with our friends, is the most rational we ever are, when you compare it with our behavior with strangers, people we like, our parents, etc. We are much closer to our ideal self when we are with our friends, no temper tantrums, a sea of understanding, nothing is too extreme. Maybe friendship is the most stable of human relationships, it gets ruined when other emotions - jealousy, love, ego etc enter. But despite that, it remains the most stable form. The skin of you friend doesn't matter, if  she or he has your back. Maybe we should turn all our relationships (parents, lovers, professional, religious) into friendships. Maybe then we would be nicer to other people, most importantly nicer to ourselves. 

Things I am grateful for

I always list things which I am scared of, its almost automatic and i am very good at it. The list goes something like -

i am not good at my job.

I am not comfortable of speaking in front of people.

Due to above two I might lose my job.

I have to face the very real reality of living alone forever.

Losing someone  in my family.

I will get fatter. This was initially get fat but with time the starting point changed!

Post which I successfully feel scared and lousy. So i though i would list a couple of things I am grateful for, not good at, but grateful for -

My family, they are still here, even though they are not in the best of health.

my health, i do put on weight extremely easily but I am grateful for a healthy body, that becomes better when I really need it. I mean my asthma disappeared when i joined my master's course, I would have never made it otherwise.

My job, it sucks but i am payed well. I have lady boss so I cant be harassed to the full extent of the term.

Friends, even though they all go away, US seems to be a popular destination. But I still have a bunch of people other than my family who wish me well. Also when one goes another comes to my rescue.

Mumbai, if you have to be a girl and want to be relatively free and in India, Mumbai is a blessing.

Money has never been plenty but it has never been scarce.

A house in the middle of nowhere, but it is always a bailout option to run to in my weakest moments.

I have always had good people to work with.

My sister, who never fought with me and who probably never wants to live with me thanks to my temper, but still loves me.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

I know a little late for a review, but if you have not seen this movie and want to visit Spain, want to know what it feels like to have a trip with friends, face your fears and have fun while you are at it. This movie is for you. My favorite scene is the one below-

Exciting stuff...

Now this is truly exciting stuff, you see I belong to the world's most boring sun sign (how ironic!), so much so when the hottest fellow in my master's course was discovered to be of the same sun sign, people politely said no you have to be a Sagittarius, not this you cant be. Every sunday I look forward to Bejan Daruwalla (what were his parents thinking when they gave him that name, even though its very self explanatory) forecasts, much more than I look forward to my boss's forecasts and every single time its always - will work harder, needs to work harder, you will focus on financial matters, bla bla bla. You guess it - Taurus, the world's dullest sun sign, but we are nice people, much more trustworthy than the other flashy sun signs like sagi, scorpio or libra. And we don't get along with any of those flashy ppl too (apparently)!

So this sunday I did my usual ritual kept sleeping till my family gave me tea, I am always worried if I get up I might have to make it. Full proof startegy. But this time the paper didn't come, so spent half an hour chasing the paper fellow. Kept convincing him it hadn't come -

" I am standing in my doorway, there is no paper, everyone else has a paper except me" (emphasizing on the me for dramatic impact)

And when the paper finally came, I opened it starting from the reverse till I reached the column and I was blown away. For every taurean who was fed-up reading work hard or work harder, today is the week ;)

Yes yes, of course it will not come true but still... exciting stuff :) 

Year-end review of God

Firm management: Welcome, please take a seat. I know it's a bit late to do a year-end review, with the new year already, but the firm thought it is a good opportunity to combine the year-end and goal setting for the new year, all together. So lets start with you review shall we.

God: (Smile)

Firm management: So the goal set for you were pretty simple, lets see the first one - change sloth's boss. unfortunately not much progress on that front. It remains the same and if I may add it is getting worse.

God: I am working on it, but it will take sometime for Sloth, you see I am trying to get a permanent solution.

Firm management: That brings us to your second goal, speeding-up completion of projects. God you take too long to make any significant progress. This is a fast paced industry and our clients really dont have much patients.

God: I am trying, but it takes so long for Sloth to get the picture, doesnt matter how many bumps I put there, she doesnt seem to take the right path.

Firm management: This brings us to your third goal, communication. You and Sloth seem to have trouble communicating. You need to be crisp and to the point, you cant keep beating around the bush. This industry is all about getting information and analysis out there in the most clear and precise manner. Our clients have a very short attention span.

God: I need to tell her all the points, she needs to know all her options, before the right one comes her way. Hence I find it hard to be brief and precise, you see God is in the details (smile). I do admit a few mistakes get made in-between but there is a point behind each one of them.

Firm management: This brings us back to your final goal, reducing the number of mistakes. You see we need to stop making mistakes. In this industry there is a very low tolerance for mistakes.

God: But with each mistake, Sloth learns something, otherwise it will be a very long and uneventful life. Plus I always make new ones.

Firm management: yes we know and we need to work on that too!

(Pause for dramatic impact)

Firm management: Let us formulate new goals for you, for 2012.
First: Change Sloth's boss
Second: Let's work on being more efficient on completion of projects, maybe you could improve your communication, lets say instead of sending bad gut feeling before something goes bad, let it not happen. And if you feel Sloth is taking the wrong decision, maybe you could put a billboard up and say "WRONG".
Third: The finish product needs to be client ready, we cant keep double checking everything you do. So maybe you could try to get it right the first time.

God: I will try, I am working very hard, its a process you know. Each time you learn something new and come up with a inbuilt prevention mechanism. And it is important to know what is around the bush, so finally when you find your spot you know its your spot.

Firm management: God this explanation will not fly with any organisation and Sloth is not a person who will let this situation drag on.

God: I will try to work on it. (Gulp)

Funny God's review sounded so much like mine, looks like I am not the only one with a bad boss. Maybe we should give him a chance, as we all expect one. I realize this is a confusing post so wanted to add a clarification - God's boss is me and Firm management is just intermediating and transferring my feedback to God.