Watercooler Tidbits 4th Oct 2011

Continuing from where I left, yesterday; I mean, the writing, not the contemplation. The latter sticks and grows on me now, bound to me, becoming a "hobby" I indulge in. I don't mean analysis. I mean looking and observing the ways in which I behave.

Just to be entertained for some time, I walked to the water-cooler today. Refilling my bottle was the pretext, of course. There was a group of newly joined employees; we like to them "Freshers". The talks bubbled with energy. They discussed about Pune dust and traffic, the evening hang-out and then the appraisal cycles and their managers. Some had a very chirpy way of addressing their "problems" as they call them. While other, chose to literally, drag every word they pronounced and made the issue sound like the most melodramatic epilogues to a Shakespearean poems. To each his own. I respect that. But I kept wondering about the variety of ways we approach a situation. We give so much of importance to a "promotion" or "appraisal" which means, almost nothing, outside the perimeter of the bureau. The sentence, I just formulated, made me laugh, on reading it.

Well, the water-cooler for me, right now is one of the best places to be. I get to see the behaviours that other have, in me. I literally identify myself. Sometimes, judging and other times, criticizing. The former stands like an undying love while the latter is like the joker that makes me laugh.

Today's highlights weren't the Freshers. They were actually, a couple of experience folks, discussing their chances, for an onsite. Well, the onsite, for most of us, is a big door of opportunities which we try to cash every single bit. And, every person has his or her own reasons for an onsite. All well-justified reasons.

The protocol is not to reveal names. So, Guy1 (less experienced), Guy2 ("been there, done that") and Guy3 (“Onsite, not again!”) are my best picks.

Guy1 - "I think I will tell my manager to initiate my visa. I need to travel."

Guy2 - "That's good. You should. I remember my days of struggle."

Guy1 - "Oh! Then you could help me with a few suggestions."

Guy2's accent had not changed. From Hindi, he switched to English. He pulled and stretched every word, rolling the "R"s and using more of "Well, you know..."

Guy2 - "It's all about "selling" yourself."

Guy1 - "What??? How do I..."

Guy2 puts out a "been there, done that" huff and puff.

Guy2 - "Dude! I don't mean that. We are all in a corporate world. We deal with all these big people and we need to make our presence felt. Else they will not consider you. You need to let them know what you have. Tell your manager that my aspirations are ... Use catchy words like "long term plan", "career roadmap", "resource re-vamp", "insurgence of new technology in the market", "client satisfaction", "customer handling" etc." blah blah blah

Guy1 - "Dude, you rock! Boy! I'm so glad I spoke to you."

Accent engraved in every single consonant and vowel this time.

Guy2 - "Sure man! You'll do it. Barge into the cabin confidently and grab what belongs to you."

Guy1 - "How is it at onsite?"

Guy2 - "Boy! It is amazing. We do like real fun things. And I mean, REAL FUN THINGS. I stayed there for like, good 6 months and understood the "client expectations" and got a "good opportunity to polish my managerial skills". It felt after all, I had reached a place, I belonged to."

Guy1 receives a call and excuses himself. Enter, Guy3.

Guy2 - "Hey Guy3, wasssssup man?

Guy3 - "Dude! I think I may have to travel again for a few days. They have a resource crunch out there. Damn it! Hey you wanna give it a shot? Again?"

Guy2 - "Naah! Six months were good for me, with all that work pressure and those ranting folks. May be after a year."

Guy1 returns.

Guy1 - "Hey Guy2, can we continue from where we left?"

Guy2 - "Sure man!"

Sadly for me, I was caught red-handed listening to the interesting conversation, because I foolishly laughed.

I have a few sincere friends, fortunately for me, who have shown the real picture of the coveted onsite. I want it, but I am not sure if I am ready for the entire package. Yet.

And hey, dear Managers, if you are reading this, I am kind of open to all those jargons mentioned above. Really!

TO BE CONTINUED

Watercooler Tidbits 3rd Oct 2011

"Man is a social animal" is what I have been taught since the time, I don't remember anymore. So what exactly does this statement mean. What I understand from this is that, one, Man is after all, an animal, thus savage and two, he "needs" a society with certain dogmas to lead a "normal" life. "Need" and "normal" are so relative but I don't intend to delve into those perspectives.

So, we agree, that Man is an animal and he's social. Somehow the "animal" part got me thinking more. I take a tangent now, knowingly. I think men are categorized as animals because there is some part within us which is never at peace. Obvious questions, not at peace with what, which part, why, how. Not at peace with the present state of affairs. Which part? I personally believe it's the mind but somewhere that answer does not satiate. Well, I see how I just embodied "not at peace with the present state of affairs". How, is a million dollar question which I can't answer. Why, because the mind, by our present reality, is so well trained to look into the future that the future always looks better and more promising than the present.

Anyways, a deeper thought into the discontentment, previously discussed, somehow made me think about the behaviour patterns we endorse now. Our inferiority complex, our insecurities, our jealousy! These are the outcomes of "something", "which WE THINK, we lack". The "something" which is the causal, is a Pandora's box. It is worth every nano-second to explore it, but it requires one to just "be", that is to say, it requires contemplation; which I think is the most difficult task, for me, as of now, because I prefer "the jazz" to "the silence".

Furthermore, these thoughts, very well, propel our body to have disorders, in ways, we may not like to look at. For example, eating, sleeping disorders. Well, gossip is also a disorder. How? We feed an "empty bowl" (which only FEELS empty) with the tidbits. At this point of time, I have a million questions to ask. Why, how, when. Although I just know the answers, and have not "felt" them, I shall not "papa preach".

So, gossip stays for now, as the best, cheapest form of entertainment for most of us. May be because an old adage brainwashed us to believe that "knowledge is power". If you are working for a modularised bureau, then canteen, the next cubicle or the water-cooler are the best places you would find a cue to pacify that sudden rush of "knowing" which is also called "vampire-feeding" or better yet, gossiping, for us, laymen.

A few days back, I went to the water-cooler bay, which has huge windows, in our office, to bask in a bit of sunlight, since I felt too cold because of the air-coolers. It was nice and silent. I could hear only the sound of the water-drops from the water-cooler. I stood at the window, which was tinted and showed my reflection in a bluish hue. Suddenly, two women rush there and seat themselves on the bean bags. To maintain anonymity “to respect the privacy”, let’s call them Lady1 and Lady2. The ladies begin their talk with a few giggles. They were married, I assumed, from their discussion on husbands to cooking in the morning. After a hush-hush talk on "something", they talk about their mother-in-laws.

Lady1 - "My mother-in-law is an amazing woman. She did... for us, she maintains a decorum at home. My father-in-law consults my mother-in-law on almost all matters."

Lady2 - "My mother-in-law is the most jovial lady you'll find. She cracks jokes at the drop of a hat. We are so happy when our mother-in-law is here."

Lady1 - "That is amazing. How come she is so humorous? She must have had a great life."

Lady2 - "Oh yes, she laughs at anything and everything, anyone and everyone. She is such a happy person."

Lady1 - "Wow! So when is she going to come next, to see you?"

Lady2 - "Well, that's the thing. She is coming next week" {with a grimace}

Lady1 - "So? Aren't you happy?"

Lady2 - "I am. But you know it is kind of tough for me to handle her sometimes. She instructs me to do everything her way."

Lady1 - "Oh yeah! I know what you mean."

Lady2 - "No you don't. She gets irritating and then I have a string of fights with my husband. Why can't she let me just be? Why does she have to laugh at me? Every time!"

Lady1 - "But isn't that good... she is humorous, right?"

Lady2 - "Oh come on, is that really humour, when I am asked as to why my husband should heat the milk in the morning while I get the clothes ready."

Lady1 – “My mother-in-law is the same. She cribs about almost everything about me. Including the food I eat.”

Lady2 – “Hell! One shouldn’t marry!”

Lady1 – “Yes, but you know we HAVE TO.”

Lady2 – “I know...”

Blah, blah, blah...

Marriage is a big, big question. To add to the “solved-mystery”, how difficult it is to accept a whole bunch of new relations though marriage, for both men and women. And tolerate or rather succumb to the “get-togethers”. Then, this had me wondering if I can genuinely, ever appreciate anyone. If I do, do I criticize them, after a while.

To be continued...

Doc1.docx

I just realized how difficult it is to write without having a topic or subject on your mind. In fact, I’ve begun writing this in an MS Word document and have saved it by the default name, Doc1.docx. I still don’t have a title and probably may not get one either, unless I spend substantial amount of time thinking. Thank you Microsoft.

Well, if so is the case, I should have chosen not to write. I would have been better off sleeping, on this lazing afternoon or may be watching any of my favorite movies. I have the option but I still choose to write. And if you have realized, I have completed one paragraph and am about to complete the second, but still nothing particular to write about.

Why does this happen? Why does one feel like writing but have no topic? Well, the way I look at it, I see the bombardment of subjects. This week almost everything under the Sun, has found some way to be associated with me. Not that I mean to give importance to myself. It’s just the dynamics! So many things to talk about, so much so that I don’t know where to begin.

Just to give a direction to this imbecile chain of thoughts, I would like to begin with my office. We’ve completed the Sprint, as they call it. Successfully! A small luncheon party to commemorate the occasion at a nearby restaurant, followed by a gust of meaningless laughs and gags, ensured that we were, after all, a Team, a good one. Notice how the mind finds everything and everyone, good in the ‘good times’. Just yesterday, I remember, having a tiff with a senior person, from this ‘good Team’ and cursing things away to glory. I showed my brave self in front of all the staring pairs of eyes. But once home, I cried my eyes out. You see, the mind is a funny laboratory. One reaction causes another one and the chain continues, like the organic chemistry.

Nothing gave me solace. No indulgence helped.

The next morning, when I stepped into the conference room, the aura had a charm about it. It was all fine and everyone took a big part in the leg-pulling, at every random person.

Anyways, I still haven’t been able to make up my mind about office. So I shall let that be.
I just read what I’ve written so far. Alas! Still, no title, suitable enough. May be, this one is destined to go unnamed. May be, this one may never be read. Would it matter if nobody ever read it? If yes, how? If no, why?

A small documentary named “Einstein’s biggest blunder” revealed to me that his relativity theory, E = mc2, is merely three-paged. I think of this again and again and still come to a conclusion about the ridicule this revelation brings. A bespectacled gentleman in the video said “Einstein gave us many answers but he left us, the scientists, with more problems.” Even the geniuses aren’t spared. But think about the three-paged theory. I’m tempted to call it a booklet, but it would be an understatement, for booklet, of course. He wrote the most admired axiom and explained it, in a way a kindergarten teacher would explain to a three year old, the meaning of education.

This was yesterday, unlike which, today is not at all eventful. One mind-rippling thing that happened is that my Papa sent me a gunny bag of mangoes, the non-hybrid, the authentic Goan Musraad. Papa knows the best. Let’s keep it at that so I can sign off for now.

It all belongs to thee

This is my land, where I was born,
Richness of wheat, rice and corn.
This is my land where I toddled around,
No worries, no limits to me bound.
This is my land where I played hide-and-seek,
A few missing teeth and a dimpled cheek.
This is the spot I was kissed my first.
Some new feelings, then felt not nursed.
This is the land I toiled with my father,
Being a lawyer, I preferred rather.
Drenching in the sun made no sense,
And money after all covered every expense.

I chose the green notes over the greener paddy,
Being modern I thought was good and faddy.
A new home made far away from ‘home’,
In a city that looks like a posh glass dome.
A place that paid so much in dollars,
This “Independence” really pulled up my collars.
Elated was I to know I was my boss,
This life seemed full and red like tomato sauce.

It was all happening like a dream come true,
Until I was ushered to see things, without a clue.
All that was “real” seemed then, like nonsense,
I wondered what made these houses have a fence.
Was it only me alone and isolated?
Probably something was ill-fated!
The fake brilliance this city had once shown,
I could see through as the veil had blown.

It was too late to go back I guess,
This is an excuse, nevertheless.
Its’ easier after all to “suffer” and stay,
But challenging to walk out and go astray.
And yet if I go that way, once forgotten,
My land where the water never went rotten.
I see that I have to prove my identity,
As if to show I’m sane, a harmless kitty.
This is the place where I now want to be
And yet couldn’t, without paying the fee.

In spite of the affair I had with the land for years,
Why would I have my eyes not welled with tears.
The land, the water, the air was all free,
Until you decided it belonged to ‘thee’.

The worse is that I played your game with open eyes,
So how would I blame you for my own vice!

As within so without...

Nothing stands alone,
Nothing can just be.
It's all a part of One,
Open your eyes and see.

Its the same everywhere,
And yet there is doubt.
They said it long ago,
As within so without.

The innocent cat closes her eyes,
And stealthily licks the milk.
She knows she's watched all along,
Yet she refuses to belong to the ilk.

The human is no different, yes!
Evading and putting on a pout.
He knows they said it long ago,
As within so without.

Someday the sleep will come to an end,
And he would have to rise on his feet.
But the reality would be too strong then,
A smack he may not be able to beat.

But does it mean it ends right there?
As if the emptiness was a bout.
It will still resonate again and again,
As within so without...
As within so without...