Me as the central character

All the world's a stage... etc - said someone a long time ago. My addendum to that is that ME/I am the central character of my own stage. (On a side note, as the world revolves, it's nice to picturize a revolving stage, where the focus keeps shifting from one central character to another - all connected in some way. So, for a while I am the central character - and as one of my co-actors moves onto the stage, the stage rotates, and now HE/SHE is the central character of his/her own stage).

Yoga is for self-realization - good health, concentration power, etc are only side-effects! - Swami Ramdev.
Yet again, the theme of living for ONESELF.

As I see it, "I" am the central character and should concentrate on my own role in this world. The rest of the world is busy concentrating on itself. And that's the way it should be.

Connectedness = Isolation

The more connected I get, the more isolated I get. I have 2 active email ids, am on 2 social-network sites, am on 2 messengers, and have an active mobile phone directory. I would think I'm really connected. And I am.
And this is increasingly leading to isolation. Due to rapid/immediate access to all my pals, I know what each one is upto, almost on a daily basis. And due to this, I feel so connected, that I dont feel like making that extra effort to meet up! Which leads to virtual-connectedness but physical-isolation. I can always re-schedule meeting a friend, call/message/scrap or promise him/her that the next time I fly into their city, I'll definitely catch up. Oh yeah, flying has become very common too.

I think the more the world is shrinking, the more its growing apart. Effort to meet-in-person is drastically reducing, as the novelty value of "catching up" is dying due to too much and instantaneous connectivity.

Movie review: V for Vendetta

I've missed a lot of good movies. The good part about that is that there is enough selection to choose from, when I visit the DVD store.


V for Vendetta has a tight storyline, is fast-paced, and has deep psychological plays between the main 2 characters. As the story builds up, the reasons for the protagonist's deep hatred for the government become apparent. It's a tight script. Most fascinating of all is the fact that the protagonist is masked throughout the movie, and yet the emotions are so real and almost have a "face" of their own. Brilliant story-telling with dialogues that reveal more than actions.

After the movie, took an afternoon nap (I love those!) and dreamt of the movie... with me in it, and a storyline to match. Eerie. The longer the nap, the worse the dreams. Snapped out of it quickly.

The best drinks are at the bar

Once seated at the bar, I get the best drinks. I think developing a rapport with the bartender as well as the bartender's conscience that I am watching, makes him prepare the best drinks. Yesterday, i observed the bartender making the drinks. While the waiters/waitresses rushed in with orders, he quickly poured the booze, mixed the coke and sent off the waiter with the drinks.
When I asked for a drink, he took his time, poured a HUGE portion of booze and served it with a smile.

I like drinking at the bar. People came up and chatted, and I dished out my expert advice on the best drinks/snacks in the house. Flirtations also happened. Good fun.

How much "black money" is out there...?

Here, I define black money as that where there is no EQUAL trade of value.
Eg. If I buy a car, and pay 5 lakhs, and think I have got value for 5 lakhs, then it is a WHITE/PURE transaction.
If I feel value is less than 5 lakhs, then the difference is BLACK MONEY. Alternatively, if the car-dealer sold it for less value than it was worth (!!), then again the difference is BLACK MONEY.

Now, money was initially born as a medium of exchange for trading in items of the same VALUE. This replaced barter trade, where again, it was supposed to be exchanging goods of the same value.

Now, how much BLACK MONEY is out there? And what's my definition of VALUE? It's a personal call. So, this question can never have a unique answer. Ok.

There's no such thing as settling down

Phew. This sudden thought occurred in my mind today, and made me feel much at ease! The age of 28 is tricky, because my gang is all married and "settled". And parents dont know why I'm not in the same status as my pals. And for the past year, I too have been thinking why I'm not in the same status as my pals.

Now, suddenly, I see it. For me, there's no such thing as settling down. There's a lot to do - some of which I know of, some of which I dont know of - and will discover only with time and travel.

So, the next time someone asks me - why I'm not settling down - well, there's no such thing.

It's the Quality

I want each moment to be of the highest quality. Either engrossed in work that stretches my limits. Or reading books that stretch my imagination. Or playing/trekking that stretches my physical endurance. Or talking to people that stretches my boundaries of knowledge. Or laughing so loud that it gives me a terrible stomach-ache. Or listening to music that carries me into another world. Or sleeping so soundly that I stop existing for a while. Or meditation so deep, that the mind goes completely blank and I cannot feel myself think.

I dont want impure moments. I want pure moments of the highest quality for a lifetime. Where can I get those?

Suddenly famous... what if?

What if I suddenly become famous?
The phone will keep ringing. Postage will flow. Won't be able to walk on the street. Will be invited to zillions of artificial-people parties. Life will be scrutinized. Orkut profile will get spam. Email will be flooded. Ego will inflate. Mannerisms will be rude.

I don't want to be famous. I need to believe that.

When all else fails, Ignore it

It's happened before. I've tried too hard, pushed too hard, put in too much effort to get something going. And the outcome has not been pretty.

Following this, I've adopted two approaches in the past - not planned - but whatever made sense at the time.
1) Keep trying, pushing, putting in more effort - Now, this has at times, worked. But mostly, it has failed. Which basically means - dont try too hard - screw it, forget it, move on.
2) Ignore it - Now, this approach, surprisingly has worked in more ways than one. Either what I was after starts coming around. Or, I realize that I just dont want it anymore. Both of which lift a huge load off my back.

So, since the second approach has worked better, I think I'm just gonna ignore what doesnt seem to be budging. Maybe I'm after the wrong thing. The key is to keep myself busy with other things - which I will try to do.