Why we work

We work... to pay for our sins!

Dear Google...

Dear Google,

I truly and completely appreciate your stand on censorship and am in awe that you are okay with losing all that business that you will in the biggest market in the world. Not to forget all those relationships with channel partners that is now on shaky ground.

In the argument between corporate finance and professional responsibility, you have put your own ethics before any business decision. Kudos to Sergey Brin for standing by the principles on which Google was started. Power to you Sir for wanting to “do no evil”. Furthermore, for prevailing on Schmidt et al; it must not have been an easy feat to achieve.

BUT, forgive my naiveté as I question your methods. Is it not wrong for you to break the law of the land? You entered into an agreement with the Government of the PRC. You agreed to abide by their laws, however archaic may they be. You have rightly taken a step back and evaluated your stance given the current environment and decided that you cannot operate in this manner. It is truly commendable that you did that. In my humble opinion, I believe that if you do disagree, you should withdraw from the country and bring down the google.cn website. By your actions, you are imposing your ideas (however wonderful they may be; and I do believe that they are) onto others. Look at Go Daddy, they have stopped registering “.cn” websites because they are not comfortable with the documentation that is required of them (i.e. from their customers) from the government.

Having spoken to a lot of Chinese friends of mine on the topic, I realize that they value the freedom of speech and yearn to have this essential right back in their home country. They miss YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and the other simple pleasures of life. As for my beliefs, I too value this imperative fundamental right and its importance to humankind. I thank the Almighty for having given me the opportunity to have been brought up in a free liberal country and for having given me the opportunity to experience another. I wish everyone has this right someday.

Mahatma Gandhi famously said and I quote “Be the change you want to see in the world”. I completely agree with these thoughts. It would seem like Google does too. It believes in the freedom of speech and would like to champion the cause, vociferously and possibly at great personal difficulty. All is well and noble with that. There is just one minor problem that I have: One cannot take up arms against injustice. Google should leave the country if it disagrees; it should walk away. It should fight for its cause and fight it should hard. It should merely do what needs to be done within the ambit of the law.

Just saying. These are my two cents.

Peace be to all. Google: 8th wonder of the world. China: Respect, awe and envy.

Snakes & Ladders

Picture Source: AgileFAQs

Snakes and Ladders must have been invented by a philosopher
It truly is the best metaphor for life there is...

Will

If you can't do the time,
don't commit the crime

If you will the end,
you should will the means

Socialism and its perils

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class. That class insisted that socialism [eschewed for long by India and made famous recently by Barack Obama] worked. It said that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on the Socialist plan". All grades were to be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade. Ergo, no one would fail and no one would receive an A. At the end of the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone received a B. The students who had studied hard were upset. The students who had hardly studied were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who had studied little studied even lesser. The ones who had studied hard decided that they too wanted a free ride and ergo, they too studied little. The second test average was a D. No one was happy.
When the third test rolled around, the average was an F. The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one wanted to study for the benefit of others. To their great surprise, all of them failed.

The professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great. However, when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

-via random email fwd

Be Yourself

'Be true, Be yourself if that doesn't work, be someone else'

Sight

"I like what I see for I see what I like"
-max

Polyester Connections

Dearest Polly,

I do not know what to feel. A part of me is happy. The other is sad. As she walks on the other side of airport security, I know I will have to fight to hold back my emotions.

You always appeared from nowhere. When someone asks how we know each other, I am still not sure. I remember 'Cousin R' probing that line of thought deeply and persistently. Or Saffron Aunt giving me the third degree. It did ‘suit’ the occasion.

So, we met through some random connection. Then there was that coffee at Moxa. The bubbly you, I was impressed with your joie de vivre. Then we bumped into each other in Newport. The bubbles still there while I was grappling with life in the trenches. I wish I knew you only as that person. But alas, life is one roller coaster of a ride. And so, one fine day past summer, I received the weirdest of messages. I have no idea why I received that call for help. But, I was shocked to see the ugly joke that life had played on you. As we sat in the park, I saw you there… a little kid grappling with a coffee. Wanting to talk and yet, not knowing where life was to lead. The C story, while funny, did not take away the fact that there was a huge perceptible change.

Your journey back home and then back to the city saw you crawl towards a semblance of normalcy. It has been close to a year since then. It’s interesting to see how I have made such a great friend within just under a year. I do not believe in numbers and rankings. But, I will go out on a limb and say that you are the best friend I made in NYC. NAF came a close second. The rice-cooker: the clincher. What we have is different. [Saffron Aunty and Anna, if you are reading this, we were just good friends. :D]

We have shared some great moments: random chats, nautanki, home drops, inane fights, walks in the park, bug bites, movies and the like. Some regrettable moments: inane fights, bug bites, name-calling and the like. Some disappointing moments: Ibuprofen, First Ave visits, late night D train travels and the like. Some awkward moments: Sea, 5am noises and clatter, life decisions, hard-facts and the like.

We are quite different in more ways than one. We stand on different sides of the line. And yet, there is some common ground. There is so much to write. And yet, there is nothing that I can write. As are the ways of life: It was a good ride while it lasted. The flight is now boarding. You return to a faraway land. I may be soon to follow. Out of sight we will be; out of mind, I believe not. I can be an annoying bug.

So long Polly, it has truly been a pleasure. Keep that smile. Be the kid you truly are. Don’t let that rebel die. Be your crazy jhola kurta self. Breathe in, breathe out.

It started with that walk in the park… It’s a new journey you embark upon. Tum toh thehre pardesi…

Jai Maharashtra!

Love and Hugs,
Max

Locus Standi

As the Sri Lankan Army closes in on the LTTE in the Jaffna Peninsula, there is a huge call for a ceasefire. This obviously makes sense on humanitarian grounds as innocent civilians may be [and probably are] killed in the melee. There has been a call for Indian intervention of some sort, especially from the Tamilians in the country.

Without trying to make ANY sort of political statement and in all my naivete, I ask the following: If Kashmir is an integral part of the Republic of India and Pakistan, UNSC and the US have no locus standi on Kashmir, an internal and sovereign issue, what locus standi does India have on the happenings in the internal matters of the Republic of Sri Lanka?

I have heard certain people say that LTTE are not terrorists. If so, the Mujaheedeen are not considered terrorists by many, nor are the Lashkar or the Jaish. We cannot apply two different yardsticks. A terrorist is a terrorist.

Fear

In this journey called life
feeling the fear of crash and burn
Winding down an unknown road
Feeling the fear of a wrong turn

Astray seen the charm of life
Being led into a well gone dry
Unless we choose otherwise
Giving ourselves a try

Deep down lingers the feeling
Lest it does not work out
Horrid is the walk away
before the start of the bout

Trust in thy instincts
giving self the chance
shall sand slip through fingers
shall the horse prance

when things do matter
choose not to hate
charting the course ahead
not leaving it to fate

precious water you lose
untamed deserts as you chart
elusive will be the oasis
unless you choose to start

-max

Forgive or Forget

The Stupid neither forgive nor forget
The Naive forgive and forget
The Wise forgive but do not forget

Us Indians will all cry

The UPA is in disarray
The allies are parting away
The Congress has lost the plot
All set to give the treasury spot

Manmohan Singh, have you no spine
Your command is Madam's whine
Rahul Gandhi, what is the big deal
A nobody, without the Gandhi seal

The NDA has problems of its own
Jaitley and Rajnath fight for the bone
Discipline gives way to whining
A bleak future for India Shining

In the name of secularism
The NDA becomes the untouchable
With no other alternative
The future becomes unwatchable

The future seems in a quandary
As Third Front, the goons get together
Nothing in common between them
Brothers from a different mother

Deve Gowda, could it possibly be?
Or Mayawati as the Queen Bee
I foresee a botched up marriage
The country with a sad miscarriage

It is this scary thought
That makes me want to say
BJP and Congress, do something
Keep Mayawati at bay

She will shoot the bird down
From up high in the clear blue sky
The world will laugh
While us Indians will, all cry

-Max

Upto you

There are no magical fixes. It is ALL upto you. Get up off your ass, get out and start doing your work. And if you are scared of it being hard, realize that nothing in this world that is worth having comes easy.

I want to fly

Picture Source: vancouverisland.travel

Every day I want to fly
Stay by my side
Every day I want to dream
Stay by my side

Every morning I wish
I could just play
Wish the mornings
would just stay

Every day I want to cry
Stay by my side
Every day I want to try
Stay by my side

Every morning I wish
I could just sing
Wish the bells
would just never ring

Every day I want to smile
Stay by my side
Every day I want to laugh
Stay by my side

Every morning I wish
I could just write
Wish the end
would be in sight

Every day I want to fly
Stay by my side
Every day I want to dream
Stay by my side

- Adapted by Max from a jingle by Vodafone

Video Source: Vodafone through youtube.com
- One of the most beautiful and pleasing commercials that I have seen.

The Grass is Green

Picture Courtesy: Random find on Xanga.com

- Grass is greener on the other side.

- If you like what you do, time just flies.

- There is nothing like school life.

Was in the corporate world. Now, back to school. Well, been here for a year and a half. Almost done and I do not want to leave. The corporate life beckons. Hopefully. Jobs are not to be seen. I have one for now. Or do I not?

Sometimes I think I am tired of thinking about how expensive life is in NYC. As always, I could do with the money. Just this time, the value of that marginal dollar is a lot higher. Yet, as frugal as they are, school times are simply brilliant. As little sleep as I may manage [it is five in the morning], school times could not be more perfect.

I know that things cannot be the way they are forever. How I wish. But, take the debt away, place some more money in the wallet and life could not be better and hope could then be forever.

Three Cheers to school.
Three Cheers to NYU.

The child in you

Today is Children's day in India, a legacy of Chacha Nehru. And on this day, I ponder about the lost child in all of us. The one that gets lost in the rat race of life. We grow from being a child to an adult only to be a child again. That is the circle of life.
Why do we let the child in us go away for a bit? Why do we not let him stay? Why do we race to achieve this transition? Let him stay, be a part of who we truly are. Why are we not phuduking [translation: jumping] around as kids with happiness, joy and gay abandon?
Yes, we need to be serious when we need to be. But, that is not the whole day. There is always time for him.
All work and no play will make Max [and everyone else] a dull boy.

Marriage and Melodrama

Photo Copyright - Gotta be Max - www.nfyniti.com

And yet another douche bag bites the dust.
This is exactly how I felt when I heard of a friend getting ready to tie the proverbial knot. Don't get me wrong. I don't think of marriage as the end of the road. It is merely a road that I do not understand. And if you were to hear a few people I know [cannot call them out for their own sake] speak their mind, they tell me about what a great mistake marriage was.

Statistic: There is enough empirical evidence to prove that men are likely to say how marriage was a mistake and that they had a lot more fun in a life prior to that. Women on the other hand are likely to say that marriage was the best thing that happened to them and they would not trade it for the world.

Truth be told, I cannot think of myself married. I am 'old enough' to get married. I have friends who are married. I have colleagues who are married. I have colleagues who have kids. That is not a problem. Am I a kid? Maybe. A disputed factor, depending on whom you choose to speak to. Am I mature enough? Again, opinions vary on this topic. If you ask my dad, I think it is safe to assume that he will say that I am good for nothing. I try to think of someone who will counter that view, but I think that is a self-fulfilling prophecy more than anything else. Let us not go down that road.

Under the assumption that I can indeed get married [old enough, dumb enough and mature enough], the next question is to obviously the right girl. Let us face it. This blog is black in color, no flowers or smileys. Dont tell me you thought I was a girl. Or gay for that matter. Sorry to those amongst two and a third of my followers who had intentions of setting me up with their guy cousin who is a 'Systems Architect' working for Infosys and currently working at client-side in Columbus, OH. That is just not happening.

Do I have commitment fears? I would think not. Some people I know would think so. But, it is not the case. Why, commitment is the second strength that I always quote in all interviews. Commitment to my goals, commitment to my dreams and commitment to my success. It is not difficult to extend this commitment, enthusiasm and interest beyond the realms of an interview. I ask myself this question and I know that I do not have the fear.

So, what is it? Is it the pressure of the decision, the importance of the decision? I would think not. I think I will have thought things out before I take the plunge. So that is not a fear. Yes, you can never predict the equity market and the mind of a woman. But, it is a fair risk-adjusted project I would believe.

Can I not compromise or adjust with the newer or maybe different ways of life? Not really. Have been there before and that is not an issue. People who know me know that I can generally get along with most people, can adjust in almost all settings and am very accomodating in most respects. Think otherwise? Feel free to leave a comment. Not smart-ass ones though.

Is it the closing of doors on 'opportunities'? Well, no comments. The less on this topic, the better. Else, I know that this is come back to bite me. Not that I plan to run for the President of the United States. But, enough people can link this back to me for me to keep quiet. Let me just say that I am a single-girl-at-a-time-guy.

Is it the horse-with-eyes-covered-limited-vision syndrome? Maybe. I really hate to see when guys go 'sorry Mate, plans with wife'. Or 'Wife is alone at home'. Come on dude, she is not going to run away. She is not going to have an affair with the milk-man [are there any of those existing? Maybe in Columbus, OH.]. You want to spend time with her, that I understand. You do not want to antagonize her, that too I understand. It is her birthday, I would personally kill you if you were not with her. Unless you are an Investment Banker at WhatEverRemains Capital that is. It is the 200th day since your paths crossed each others in a dim-lit party in the meat-packing? Give me a break. I am sure that you can spare a couple of hours for friends of the yore. Or carry on your tradition of poker on a Wednesday night with cigars and beer.

Can I not speak on the phone for hours? Hell Yea! Enough experience on that front, not a problem. Though I have to say that I do not think too highly of losers on the train/bus/public transport who can go on and on. Get a room!

Have I not met the right person? Well, everytime I me[e]t her, she seemed like the right person. But, then again, maybe not. Tough to say. A matter of perspective. I will think that this was never the cause.

What is it? After Porter's five forces, three C's, four P's, BCG Matrix, and various other methodologies of solving the case, I really do not have an answer to this. Well, let me rephrase that. I do have an answer. I just do not know the reasons and the thought process behind the answer.

Maybe, someday she [whoever ever that turns out to be] will show me the light at the end of this tunnel of darkness. And hopefully it will not be the train.

Until then, I hold my ground. Thankfully, my parents are not yet on my case. They seem a while away on that front.

Make hay while the sun shines
Light the town, when it is down

I believe that I speak for most people my age. There is really no reason for shirking away from marriage. For most, the right girl is there. And the opportunity to as well. And yet, there is a weird non-Newtonian centripetal force that pushes you away from the depths of marriage. I do not have to deal with it just right now. But, I know I will have to deal with it someday. I need to find an answer to this.

Crystal Ball

This is what I found today as my fortune for the coming month.
You will never need to worry about a steady income

True. Infact, I am amazed by the logical correctness of this fortune while being eons away from reality. :D
Given that I do not have an income, I do not need to worry about the steadiness.

Brilliant!

Change

Change is the only Constant
- Anon

Given that the entire world is in a state of flux and is constantly changing. I too have decided and promised to change myself to what I wish to achieve. I got this idea from the most unlikliest of sources. It was one of those websites whose entire value proposition is to ask individuals to list things that they want to achieve in their lifetimes. Things like Backpacking at the foots of Mt. Tibedaabo, BASE Jumping among others.

I asked myself, what are the two most important things that I want to happen. I realized that both of them and many of the following ones were not entirely within my own hands. I decided to change myself in a way that was for my own good and in a way, in my own hand.
One is a personal trait while the other is a habit. I am hopeful. I am confident. I am going to try my best[est]. Wish me luck.

-max

Going gets tough

The old adage is When the going gets tough, the tough get going. I am not entirely sure if that applies to the current market scenario. For, even the toughest tend to slide down the slope that the falling Dow Jones [and other stock indices] have created.

I am not sure if I am tough and would hardly want comment on it. Nevertheless, I will say that the conditions are indeed very tough. Every once in a while, me and my friends look at the malaise and its never ending downward spiral and wish to hang our boots in hopelessness.

In times such as this, I make it a point to watch this video. It is ludicrous and almost insanely hysterical. And yet, it makes a good point and sends across a strong message. Here is finding meaning in a medium where I believe none was really intended.

Video Courtesy: Joel Pena Arias through www.youtube.com