I am Inspired !!!

It was a lazy saturday morning.. Had a pretty loong night yesterday. So ended up gettin up really late. around 12.PM.. he he.. For guys who dont know me, I am a typical lazy, unorganized procastinating couch potato.. So the very first thing I did was freshened up, grabbed the days' paper and switched on the TV... Was jus flicking through the channels, and there came Spiderman 3.. just wanted to see the stunts all over again so left it onand was also running through the days headlines on the newspaper..

The Movie was on in full swing with all the special effects, graphix and stuff, which I was intermittently enjoying.. The Movie was almost over andthats when our Spidey passes on a statement --

"Whatever comes our way, Whatever battle rages within us, We always have a choice to make...Its our choices that make us who we are, And we can alwayschoose to do whats right!"

All of a sudden, something struck my mind.. I found the statement so powerful that I ran through my DVD stack, played Spiderman 3 again, just to hear the statement again. For some reason, it got registered in my head !!!

Choices... Ever wondered the number of options God had always offered you..Ever bothered to rethink the choices that you have made till date???.. You chose an option which has defined what you are today !! Whoa !! If you ever think of it that way, it sounds so huge, but when you are actually faced with multiple options, the choice that you make mostly, are based on the immediate benefits are short term happiness... It may or may not be right at a later point in time..

I should also agree that there will be times when life does not offer multiple options, and you are left with no choices but forced to pick one that comes your way.. And thats the real challenge. Even though the choice is yours, you may not have the option to choose right !!

Personal turmoils can always hinder sane decision making abilities .. Lifealtering choices should never be taken under pressure. Faith in self should guide you in taking decisions..But I firmly believe that If one always wishes good for himself and for others the choices that he makes eventually may turn out to be right !

So Mr. Spidey, I beleive that we alwaya have the option to choose what isright.... But i must say, It was indeed a powerful statement.

Cheers..
Ash.....

Remember the Time... JAckO !!!

"If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave the world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with" -- Micheal Jackson

Browsing the Internet at 2 in the morning, after a long hard day at work, one doesn't expect anything dramatic...leave alone earth-shaking. One look at CNN website and I was jolted out of my sleepy mood...the breaking news ticker said Michael Jackson, the absolute King of Pop, had been rushed to hospital after collapsing in his rented Bel Air mansion. I sat up straight, said a tiny little prayer but I feared the worst. And so it was. Soon all the channels were saying the same thing -- the King was dead.

I am Upset...it's as if someone I knew, someone real close to me, had died. And he was CLOSE...I've literally grown up listening to him...first as the Jackson Five and then as MJ...he rocked my world.
I remember vividly my dad bringing me the a triple casette pack of MJ "History"(no CDs back then) from one of his trips. I played it morning, noon and night on my Philips deck. I used to continuously play all my favoraite .....Billie Jean, Beat It, Wanna Be Startin Somethin' BAD, Earth Song, Heal the world (one of his best ever) and Thriller, of course.
Sing he could but dance...There was no one who could bring the stage shows alive as much as MJ could !!! He was a God on stage and crotch-grabbing was the only move that I could pull off when on the floor. He had created a charecter of his own by his sense of style -- red leather jacket and glitter glove on the right hand -- and I would want to remember MJ like this for ever...

As for the scandals, that's what sets the stars apart from us mortals. I definitely do not want to remember Jacko for the Scandals he got himself into, but as the creative and genuine Musical Maestro who set the wholw world danve to his tunes !!!!

I along with my close friends had decided to pay Ode to the King of pop in our own way possible.. We went out on a looong drive late in the night with the Car's audio system loaded with MJ's songs and we drove around the entire city playing his songs remembering him for his contribution to the world of Music !!!

Will Miss you Micheal !!!!

Lovely Recession.... :)

Hmmm.. Everyone was writing about the Global Economic Recession and stuff.. I had decided that not once will I post anything related to that.. I mean the job loss, lesser pay, pink slips and stuff.. Everything sounded so depressing... So I made up my mind that I will not write anything on the recession.. Let the Laws of Economics play its role and bring back the boom..

This was what I kept on thinking till I happened to come across the following.. I found it soo interesting that I thought it is worth to be shared with everyone.. So here goes.. :)

It is August. In a small town on the South Coast of France, holiday season is in full swing, but it is raining so there is not too much business happening. Everyone is heavily in debt.

Luckily, a rich Russian tourist arrives in the foyer of the small local hotel. He asks for a room and puts a Euro100 note on the reception counter, takes a key and goes to inspect the room located up the stairs on the third floor. The hotel owner takes the banknote in hurry and rushes to his meat supplier to whom he owes E100.The butcher takes the money and races to his supplier to pay his debt.The wholesaler rushes to the farmer to pay E100 for pigs he purchased some time ago.

The farmer triumphantly gives the E100 note to a local prostitute whogave him her services on credit.The prostitute goes quickly to the hotel, as she owed the hotel forher hourly room use to entertain clients. At that moment, the rich Russian is coming down to reception and informs the hotel owner that the proposed room is unsatisfactory and takes his E100 back and departs.

There was no profit or income. But everyone no longer has any debt and the small town people look optimistically towards their future.

COULD THIS BE THE SOLUTION TO THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS? Or, is there a catch here? A thought worth pondering around huh???

The Complete Man... !!

Now I definitely can understand why Raymond had come up with this tag line.. It takes helluva lot to be the Complete man....

Why God Why... Why should I know things which are trivial, yet they mange to bother me so much... Y cannot I just remain blissfully ignorant about these little facts, which will help me enjoy myself without worrying much..Before all you guys start wondering about wat I am talking about, lemme just give you a hint.. Its about Fashion, etiquettes etc.. Hold On HoldOn.. I am no Fashion Guru or a Connoisseur of fine arts or manners or something... But its just that, since I know certain facts, there is a subconscious urge in me to stick by them, even if it makes me feel a bit uneasy... How unfortunate...

I know its no biig deal, but just have a look at the list of things I haveto be careful about, just because of the fact that I am aware of it... Hope somebody understands my Misery... :)

Here Goes..

If you are wearing a Blazer, you must ensure that the last button of the blazer is left open. Only three fourths of the cuffs of your shirt should be visible. I never used to bother till i happened to read about it some place.... Cuff Links are supposed to be worn only with twin cuffed shirts. Thankfully, never had the ability to own an expensive pair of Cuff Links..

You are not supposed to wear White sox to office... And I always had a feeling that White means formal and made it a point to wear flashy WhiteS ox for each of my placement Interview... Seesh !!!

The color of your Tie and that of your sox should match.. And here I was thinking that the Shirt and the Tie matching was of most importance.. But hell no ! It has to match with the bloody sox as well.. Well here is some more about ties... The length of the tie denotes your relationship status.. Can you beat that !!!! If the length of the Tie is just above your waist, then you are a Single earning professional. If the length is upto your belt buckle and covering the same, then you are a married man, and if the length of the tie covers the belt buckle and is slightly below the belt, then you are married and you have kids....Thank God, there is nothing to show how many kids you have.. hehe... Man... Every Monday, I struggle to keep the length of the tie just above my waist... Something I woudnt even have bothered had I not known about it..

The Color of your Belt and that of your Shoes should match.. Um Well This is something which I always knew, but never bothered to follow, Until recently.. (An Honest Confession)

The Belt buckle should always face towards the right.. Well I should admit,this is something which I knew right from my school days.. So not much complains about that...

Formal wear mean propoer formal wear, But business casuals definitely doesn’t mean casual wear.. Friday Casuals means -- No Round necked or V necked Ts, only collared ones.. Faded jeans – A strict NO NO.. etc etc.. Something for which my company HR always used to warn me.... hehe...

Monday Formals are different from Tuesday and so on.. Well I have to make a Candid confession out here... This silly guy.. (yours truly) had a belief that any Full Sleeve Shirt neatly Pressed and flaunted with a Matching Flat front trousers means you are in formals... A Mistake which I corrected Longback.. But there are several additions to it as well.. On Mondays it should be only a Light Plain coloured shirt with matching trousers and a tie plus a BLACK Shoes.. Yes.. Brown leather is not meant for MondayFormals..(God only knows howmany people know and follow it as well..) Teusdays and Wednesdays can be a Combo of not too loud Cheks or Stiripes and can be paired with Chinos and Khakis... And Thursdays are the only days wen one can wear a Half Sleeve and still manage to get away without raising many eyebrows..

And now to the most interesting part .. for me that is...– Watches.. For some strange reason it is said that Watches are to be worn on the left hand.. (I prefer in the right hand though, which explain the strage part of it.. he he).. And you cannot own just one watch and be content with it... Wondering Why?? Well here z why.....

Along with Monday formals, don’t you dare to commit the blunder of wearing a Metal Bracelet Watch. It should be a leather strap watch the color of which should of course match with your belt and shoes.. Digital Watches are definitely out of the league till Thursday.. probably you can manage towear it on a Friday..

Shoes.. One thing which I wouldnt want to discuss much in detail here, coz I myself am not sticking on to what ever I am about to say.. So leaving it unsaid .. Wink Wink...

I have no clue as to many of you were even aware of the details ... But I sure hope it should bother you as well the same way it troubles me... Only then my purpose of this post will be served... :D.. And Ladies.. Dont you dare say that Guys dont have to bother much. All they have to do is wear a Shirt and a Trouser... Atleast now you would be aware of the pains we go through for that perfect look.. :)

Well thts about it.. Me signing Off..

Good Times and Bad Times....

I had this wierd thought in my mind... Dont know if it applies to all, or is it just me !! But anyways.. feel like sharing it .. so here I go...

Why is it that when you are happy and things go on very smoothly, you seldom realize it and hardly appreciate it.... Things are picture perfect.. You are Sorrounded by all wonderful people, good friends and everything is just as you wanted it to be... But when you are living those moments you fail to realize how precious these moments can become sometime later in your life... These moments in life come and go real quick...

On the other hand, when Life moves outta track, when things get difficult, when you feel the world around you is crashing down, You tend to feel every bit of it... Every second feels like and hour... You feel you are stuck in that moment for ever.. Everything that was wonderful earlier turns out to be sour, you will miss all the wonderful people around you and feel all lonely and left out...

Y does one fail to understand Life has its on Peaks and Troughs.. Enjooy the peaks and survive the trough.. The deeper the better.. Coz you will apprciate the next peak even if its a very small one, which might have gone unnoticed if things were always perfect !!!

Whoa !! tht was too heavy a post !!! God... Somebody.. Plz pack me off to the Everst or the Amazon for a few days.. Else I will keep posting such stuff.. :)

Not an Ordinary day !!!

A Smiling Face doesn’t indicate the absence of Sorrow, but it only indicates that they have ability to Deal with Them.... I just realised how true this statement is...

It was a regular day at office.. The same old Solution Document preperation, the endless discussions to arrive at a Solution, so tht i could tweak the response, deadlines,escalations so on and so forth...

Enough for any guy to loose his senses.. Adding to it the fact of me being equally pissed from morning for some other reason..

It was already 9 in the night.. I was riding back home, praying to reach home ASAP.. All I needed was a wonderful cup of tea, and my muzik collexxion to tak e me to a world far far away....

Phew.. finally home sweet home.. This was the last thought that ran in my head just before I entered the main road !! I am in the main road and Voila.. I have got myself into a wild and crazy collexion of Buses, trucks, Autos, bikes and cars all of em honking wildly to make their way through a heavy traffic... It ususally is never this crowded at this time of the night... The last thing I wanted after a baad day at work... Greeat !!!

Soon even before I could realise, I too added to the already sky rocketing decibal levels by honking my shrill horn to find my way through the traffic...I felt a bit guily for abusing a guy for blaring his horn some time back and now I am doing the same.. Sheesh !!!

My Mood was going from Bad to worse to Mad !! All of a sudden,a well dressed, educated elderly man, jus jumped out from the side of the road asking me for a lift.. I was about to abuse him for his recklessness, when he passed on a Wonderful smile, apologising for his mistake.. The warmth and genuiness in his smile made me forget everything.. And we were off.. As it was the highway, I did not bother to ask him where he wanted to go, neither did he bother to tell me.. After a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence, I decided to break the ice, and started complaining about the traffic, the weather, and all the trivial stuff jus to keep the silence away.Little did I realize that I was cribbing too much.. The man answered to all the questions calmly, with a smile on his face all the time.. Not once did he get irritated.. I later realized that even My temper had sobered down ...

As soon as we reached Lifeline Hospital, The gentleman asked me to stop the Vehicle.. I will get down here Boy.. Thanks a loot son.. he said, again with a warm smile on his face..I couldnt resist myself from asking, what he was doing at the Hospital at this point in time... And beleive me.. I wasnt ready for his answer.. He said he had a Son of my age who has been admitted in the ICU for the last One week.. He had run out of cash. His debit cards were not working in the ATM with in the hospital.. His vehicle didnt start, so he hired an Auto to the nearest ATM some 5 KM frm the Hospital.. (The place where I picked him up from). since none of the Autos were ready to take him back in the traffic, he had to hitch a ride with me !!!

I was spellbound.. Here is a man who's son is in a critical condotion at the hopital, His ATM card dosent work, His Car wont Start, The Autos wont take him back to the Hospital when its urgent.. Inspite of all this he alwaays managed a pleasant smile on his face, Was not cursing or cribbing about what ever was happening around him..And Here I was who was snapping at anything and everything around me just coz I had a hard day at work !!!

After the man walked into the Hospital, I still stood there watching the man walk in, trying to digest what he just said... Thts wen i realzed the power of smile and its healing power... I dont even remember the name of that Gentleman, but what he taught me in those 15 min that he was with me, is something that I will cherish my entire life..
I bet your Son will be perfectly fine pretty soon..

Cheers...

Know Yourself Better

This is a loong pending post... Amrit had tagged me in... So here I go.. Letting myself off..
I tagging a few of my buddies as well.. Deepthi, Zack, Dad, UL, Nikki.. Guys.. Plz try it out.. Its interesting... :)

My Responses >>>

1. Were you named after anyone?
Guess my previous post would explain that … Wink...!

2. When was the last time you cried?
Excuse me.. Guyz don’t cry… Bet this is passé…. Apparently it was last evening itself. I was watching Taare Zameen Par.. The last scene, where Ishaan gets the award, I didn’t even feel like struggling to hold back the tears. It was a direct hit at the heart !! And I bet, even the most stoic person would shed a tear or two… :)

3. Do you like your handwriting?
Love it.. Except when I am completely bored.. It gets really ugly…

4. What is your favorite lunch meat?
Prawns.

5. Do you have kids?
Nope..

6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you?
If I were another person, I would have definitely been ‘Good Friends’ with me as I am a very buddy buddy kinda guy…

7. Do you use sarcasm?
Yes I do. Use it a loot to tease friends.. No harm intended though !! But its fun...

8. Do you still have your tonsils?
Yes! No idea why this questions figures in here....

9. Would you bungee jump?
Oh yes, Very baaadly! I never got a chance to try it out have been wanting to do it …

10. What is your favorite cereal?
Rice…I guess… …

11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Always…. I Neva take em off without untying them.. The only reason behind it being the fact that it would be equally difficult to put them back on the next time with the laces still tied!!

12. If you were to pick your own first name, what would it be?
It would definitely be Ashwin , again…

13. What is your favorite ice-cream?
Chocolate. All time hit in my case....

14. What is the first thing you notice about people?
What kind of shoe, and what brand of Watch is he/she wearing.. Believe me it gives a loot of info on the Personality of an individual. The next thing, of course is the way the individual speaks…

15. Red or Pink?
RED.. I hate anything to do with PINK… it’s a personal thing..

16. Whom do you miss the most?
Ma nephew…. Aryan…

17. Do you want everyone to complete the list?
Yes.. I would definitely expect the people I forward the List to complete it…

18. What color clothes are you wearing?
Faded Blue Jean + White Short sleeve Tee .. :)

19. What are you listening to right now?
Illusions and Dreams – Poets of the Fall

20. If you were a crayon what color would you be?
Black…

21. Favorite smells?
Hugo Boss – SOUL and also.. Fuel - Petrol, Fresh Paint, and Fresh Coffee on a rainy day… Whacky choices huh…

22. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
Silly question !!!! Anyways it wouldn’t be of any use here…

23. How do you know the person who sent this to you?
Well, he is my Colleague, my buddy the guy who inspired me to restart this blog which I had almost let it go !!! Thanx a lot mate…

24. Favorite sports to watch?
F1 and Moto GP... The only sports which deserve my precious time before the TV... :)

25. Hair Color?
Black

26. Eye Color?
Brown

27. Do you wear contacts?
No…neither glasses

28. Favorite Foods?
Mexican Red Wave Pizza – with extra cheese and a chilled Coke

29. Scary movies or happy endings?
Depends on the mood!

30. Last movie you watched?
The Day the Earth Stood Still

31. What book are you reading right now?
The White Tiger – Want to find out why d hell it won the booker prize.. :)

32. Summer or Winter?
WINTER alwaays !!

33. Hugs or Kisses?
Both are needed but if I have to chose one, I would prefer a “I am there for you, always” Hug over a Kiss… Waiting with my arms wide open.. ;)

35. Describe your pencil cup?
My company’s coffee mug got became my Pen- stand recently… A White cup with a huge Logo of my company all across the mug !!!

36. Favorite Artists?
Darren Hayes, Nickelback, Poets of the fall, Eagles, Linkin Park, Akon …

37. What kind of music are you into?
Rock, trance, and Hip-hop

38. What is on your mouse pad?
I use the touchpad..

39. What did you watch on TV last night?
The making of Departed, Followed by the Lonely Planet on Travel and Living ………..

40. Favorite Sound(s)?
A Yamaha R1 roaring its engines in the First gear, A Mclaren Mercedes F1 car zipping towards the finish line.. Aah !! Heavenly Bliss !!!

41. Do you sing or play an instrument?
I only sing when I am in the Mood.. I used to play the Keyboard.. My mom still abuses me for giving the hobby away half way through !!!

42. What is the farthest you’ve been from home?
I had a chance to visit Taiwan and Hong Kong in the recent past.. Till date the farthest point from my hometown in Trivandrum, Kerala

43. Do you have a special talent?
I have no idea if it’s a special talent or not, but I have this amazing ability in me to go and spend my time and money on things which I actually never wanted !!! Trust me.. I never learned from my mistakes… hehe…

44. Where were you born?
In a small and sleepy city >> Trivandrum, the Capital of Gods own Country…

45. Favorite piece of jewelery?
A simple , Thin Platinum chain

46. How did you meet your spouse/significant other?
Sob sob.. Yet to find the perfect match….

47. Favorite Song?
That’s definitely not a fair question to ask !!!

48. Favorite Musical Movie?
Sound of Music

Phew.. Finally.. Man It was a loong one.. But Worth it.. I tell you.. Some of these questions did really get me thinking...

Cheers...