Disgrace - J.M. Coetzee

Very rarely have I read a book at the end of which I've remained undecided about it being a good/bad read. 'Disgrace' by J.M Coetzee is one of them.
I picked up this book yesterday and there's only one word to describe it - D.A.R.K.

Set in post-apartheid times in South Africa, it's a very powerful book ... well-written, subtle at times and excrutiatingly menacing on occasions. It's a very honest potrayal of life in the real world and I admire the way the author has brilliantly presented the lead character with all his complexities. But it's the overall cheerlessness in the tone of this book that has left me feeling disturbed. And confused.

Cheap Air Tickets

Shelling out on air-tickets pinches me real bad. It kills the joy, and even chances, of impulsive travel. And looking for good deals is such a chore esp when you have a busy schedule at work. Plus, I can think of hundred different ways of spending that money otherwise !

If you feel the same as I do then here are some sites where you have maximum chances of getting tickets at a reasonable rate :

www.momondo.com

www.kayak.com
www.cheaptickets.com
www.expedia.com
www.travelocity.com
www.orbitz.com
www.priceline.com, allows you to bid for your price.
www.hotwire.com
www.cheapair.com
www.bookingbuddy.com
http://travel.ultimatefares.com
www.cheapflights.com
htp://travel.yahoo.com

www.lastminute.com
www.air-gorilla.com
www.lowestfare.com
www.airticketsdirect.com
www.lastminutedeals.com
www.sidestep.com
www.tripstalker.com - an application that you can download for free. Also allows you to set a "notify" price. When your airfare stalk drops below your "notify" price, TripStalker will automatically alert you that the price you are looking for is available.
www.onetravel.com
www.itn.net
www.previewtravel.com
www.americanexpress.com/travel
www.travelweb.com
www.mobissimo.com
www.cheapoair.com

www.site59.com/index.html

www.bestfares.com/home.asp

Some pointers :

1) Avoid weekend travel. Look for tickets 1 day before or after
2) Tickets for red-eye flights are a lot cheaper, but it costs you a good night's sleep.
3) Traveling on long weekends is expensive. Again, look for tickets 1 day before or after.
4) Check for rates to nearby airports as well.
5) Some of the sites mentioned above do not list all airlines / sometimes the airline website offers cheaper rates. So check their website as well.
6) I have heard that airlines regularly release new fares on Wed mornings. I haven't tried it yet, but if you try before me, let me know if it's true!

That's all I can think of for now ... will keep adding more sites and pointers as and when I discover them.

Chronicles of a traveler

Back when I used to be mole-less, I would enviously watch others show-off their black dots and listen to stories of what that mole 'meant'. Yeah, each mole came with a story - like if you had a mole somewhere around your mouth , then you were beautiful. And having one in your palm meant you would be rich.

So imagine my joy when I discovered this teeny-tiny black dot on the sole of my feet! I remember running to Grandma ('Naani-Ammi' as I fondly call her) and asking her if this mole meant anything as well. She looked at it and told me very matter-of-factly that this mole would take me places, in the literal sense. That people with moles on their feet were born to travel.

Looking back, I feel proud that my dear old naani-ammi was right after all!

I started traveling very early, accompanying papa on some of his work tours whenever I could get away from school. With him I saw steel plants in different cities, a coal mine, naval bases, the inside of a submarine, ships, toffee factories, a milk-bottling plant, handloom houses and a tour of few other small cottage industries which I can't recall now. We even stayed among the tribals of rural Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. We'd almost always travel by train and on occasions that we didn't, we'd travel by road in a good old ambassador or a Willys Jeep. Bringing me up true Railway ishtyle, he even took me to the inside of a rail engine and the driver was kind enough to let me stand there between two stops. I've seen how food is cooked in a Pantry car, and have even traveled for a short distance in the guards van! Since papa's work required him to relocate frequently, we would see ourselves in a new city every three years or less. So there were always new places to explore, new forts to conquer, new rivers to cross, and new rail-lines to chug on.

My grandparents had complete monopoly over my summer and winter vacations and I spent it with them in either Uttar Pradesh or Madhya Pradesh ever year. There we'd often travel to rural interiors and stay in small villages, sleep on 'charpoys', milk goats, pluck henna leaves, eat fresh corn - right off the farm, bathe in the cool well-water which some good-hearted villager would draw for us and listen to stories of ghosts who lived on Pipal trees!

Growing up brought with it the advantages of traveling unaccompanied by parents for the first time. College excursions, traveling with friends, and sometimes alone or with just my bro was a whole new experience. In some thankless way it meant I had more freedom to do whatever I wanted to do minus the watchful eyes of papa-mummy. Actually, traveling alone is actually a misnomer. I could never really do that back then - papa always had someone look over me, sometimes even have them escort me and the destination was more or less restricted to places where there were family friends or some family member, however distant. Much as I hated that I accepted it as some kind of breakthrough.

Moving to Bangalore was another feather to my already established travel record. There I met friends and colleagues who shared the same passion for travel and together we hiked our way through some lush green valleys and mountains and rowed a few boats every now and then . Every other weekend was a getaway weekend with a long trip added now and then. By the time I left Bangalore there was not a place within 400 - 500 kms of that city that I hadn't seen ! This was when my love affair with road-travel matured. Of all forms of travel that I've used, this is my top favorite. To discuss why I love this form of travel the most, I shall print another blog.

And then US happened. In my first 4 months of stay here I had already traveled across 9 states. A feat I am quite proud of. And had it not been for frequent travels to Ohio and Michigan, my average would been a lot higher by now! I still have 39 stars to reach now. My dream travel right now is to do a road-trip across the country. Sounds a little daunting at the moment but I am damned if I leave this country without doing this!

My worst nightmare is to wake up one day and find out that that teeny-tiny black dot has vanished! Every now and then, the superstitious me checks if that mole is still in place and feels comforted seeing it right where it was first spotted.

I seek boredom

Yes I seek boredom.

I've heard, it's when people start getting bored that their creativity kicks in propelling them to act and produce something miraculous. I am certain this is that one thing in my way of coming up with something big.

So mankind, if I haven't 'arrived', it's only because I am yet to get bored!

"Setting priorities"

"When one of your lazy employees asks you to set priorities, it is a devious trick to avoid doing whatever you rank lowest. You can thwart that transparent maneuver by ranking all assignments as top priorities. Later, if an assignment doesn't get done, you can blame the employee for not working on the highest priorities. It's that simple.

If the lazy employee whines that priorities should be ranked differently, you can smooth those ruffled feathers by becoming noticeably angry. If you have to fake anger, use these simple tricks : If you're male, reach below your desk and squeeze your testicles until your face becomes flushed and your eyes bulge. If you're female, think about the fact that the male managers are sitting at their desks squeezing their testicles and getting paid more than you are; the result will be similar."

- Dogbert's Management Handbook

I couldn't stop laughing for a loooong time after I read this bit! Picked up this book for a dollar at Half Price Bookstore in Seattle last month and since then, like all Dilbert books, it's been a laugh-a-second affair.

P.S: Dogbert is Dilbert's pet dog. Dogbert is a megalomaniac intellectual, planning to one day conquer the world and enslave all humans. He once succeeded, but got bored and quit. Often seen in high ranking consultant jobs, he constantly abuses his power and fools the management of Dilbert's company. Dogbert also enjoys pulling scams on unsuspecting, and usually dull customers to steal their money. However, despite Dogbert's cynical exterior, he has been known to pull his master out of some tight jams.

Kya se kya ho gaya...

There couldn't be a better time ... an era... for the introverted, xenophobics or even the ones who are too-proud-to-ask.

Google is an answer to their prayers ... their antidote ... salvation...

As for me, the list of - what/how I used to do before and what/how I do now (read Google) is massive. And why? Coz it's now a 'basic' thing to do when you want answers. Remember the days when you came across a new word and instead of asking somebody, you were encouraged to look up for it in the dictionary ... it's the same.

It amazes me to think of what Google has "turned me into". From being an out-an-out people's person all my life, I have become an avid Googler. Initially, I resisted, did things the 'old way' deliberately, but in vain.

Now, dear Google, let me make peace with you before you get me wrong. These aren't allegations for bringing about this change in me or the likes of me. I am hooked on to you ... you are indispensable to me now. I only wonder, how many such other technologies are looming out there waiting to turn me into a 'look no further beyond your laptop' kind. What next is going to suck out whatever 'outdoorsy' and 'people's person' is left behind in me? I wait.

P.S : Will Mr. Regis Philbin ever consider replacing all other lifelines from his show with just a ' Google in 30 seconds' lifeline?

The Annual Forbes Millionaire list will surely run out of space.

It's cool to have one

Till some time back I used to think making a New Year Resolution is a very passe, a "non-happening" thing to do. That it belonged to the same genre as self-help books - something I could do without, when it dawned upon me that I do make resolutions from time to time. Small ones - daily, weekly or even monthly, and I felt like a plain hypocrite.

Now that my seeming non-chalance about not having any New year resolutions has been set into place, I no longer find anything uncool about deciding to be a "little more of" something or "doing some more of" anything. In fact, I even have a few items on my list this time. Simple and easy ones like, eat one meal at home, become a better cook, play more sports, travel even more, cultivate more hobbies ... and I realised that it's fun to push yourself from time to time, esp when it's done consciously.

Beyond any logic

There is definitely a negative past life connection between me and the entire auto rickshaw community. There is no other explanation I can find for all the inconvenience I am put through when travelling by an auto.

Okay so I am in a hurry to get back home after a long and hectic day at work when my auto driver takes a detour and chooses the longest possible way. Protests, anger and threats to get off are met with excuses till it becomes too late for him to turn the auto back. So either I get off that auto in a god forsaken place, catch another auto and hope it takes me back home FAST or I keep sitting in the first auto, seething till I get back home. If I am lucky he doesn't put up too much of a fight and I pay the regular fare or if he's lucky he gets to take the extra money home. Either way, I am inconvenienced. I am bugged and even as I write this I can feel the anger building up.

It's not just about the detours, it about autos breaking down, running out of gas, stopping at petrol pumps for a refill, rash driving, getting involved in an accident, staring at me in the rear view mirror and at every other woman on the street ... the list is endless. The result - a very very angry me. The ultimate test of my patience was when I had to change 3 autos to cover 4 kms. Imagine the exasperation ! There is no logic nor reason that can explain why all these episodes happen with me. It just happens. Each time. Every time.

The easiest solution would be to quit travelling by auto and get my own vehicle. But I have this strong premonition - on my first day out, this yellow and back demon on three wheels will SURELY come hurling at me!

So now, if I have to go someplace, this is how I calculate my time to reach there: Time = Speed / Distance + Traffic allowance + Auto allowance.
I also don't loose my patience as much as I did before. Instead, I sit quietly and send a sms to my friend saying, " I struck again".

Isn't it always about winning or is it always about winning?

I know how annoying sore losers can be.

Last weekend our friends played a prank on Akshay and me, and truthfully speaking, I did not take it too well. In fact, it was the first time that I lost my temper with anybody and I lost it real bad. Chided them for being juvenile, that their prank was not at all funny and then I stormed out of their house. Took me a few seconds to regain my composure before I went back to their place again. Only this time I was laughing my head off and the stunned audience joined in.

Though I still feel that their prank deserved to be yelled at, I am not angry with them anymore.

In fact, it makes me wonder if I was angry at them or with myself, for being so gullible.

Or was I just a sore loser?

Okay, this realisation did not come to me right after this incident. There was something else as well that triggered it off.

Earlier during this week, one of my office teams did not meet their quality target for the first time in 8 months. The manager-in-charge blasted the life out of the poor guys. It did not end there. He then turned to smatter the Quality team with his tempestuous outburst, wrote a zillion mails condemning us for being so "strict" and being "guided by the rulebook". He was irked that he would now have to sit and formulate an "action plan" and come up with explanations for his superiors, something he hadn't done in almost a year.

I found this really maddening. The only thought that came to me was ' Man, is he a sore loser or what.'

And that was what made me wonder if I was one too.

I have all the streaks of becoming one (if I ain't one already). Pictionary and a round of 29 are the best examples I can think of when I say I play to win. I get really irate when people cheat and suddenly come up with new rules to suit their needs in the middle of a game. I don't hesitate in telling a close friend , " I don't trust you ," when she says "I didn't see the cards, trust me." I get really upset when somebody cuts off my card and the stakes are at 29. Akshay almost apologises before he does that (in fact, he's the sole idiot who's luck runs better than mine in a card game). I don't yell or cry at the end of a lost game but I really, really, feel bad for the next few minutes. I seethe.

And no, I don't yelp with joy when I win, I let my smug speak for itself :-)

So There. I don't want to be a sore loser but do I have the makings of being one? Or is this just some harmless disappointment which everyone faces on losing ?

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

Instead of fighting the Monday Morning Blues (MMB) every week, I decided to give in to it. And, surprisingly, it feels good.

I grew up scorning this cliché as an excuse people use to not perform at work. I would never give in to it. So I thought. Work hard for 5 days and party harder over the weekend - that's been the motto all my work life and it worked just fine. Until today.

I had a great time over the weekend with my close friends who were in town. Watched inane movies, listened to high-class ridiculous shayari, chatted, ate lots of unhealthy food, played Pictionary, Lexicon, rock-paper-scissors, nail the thumb, and sang at the top of our voices until the wee hours of the morning. It still surprises me that none of our neighbours came pounding at our door asking us to shut-up (Or maybe they did and we were too drunk to bother). It has left me thinking of ways to get our neighbours worked up.

I am still not willing to admit that this was the HILTof all excitement possible, which is why the Monday morning blues (have endless capacity for such crazy things) . Quite frankly this is how I DECIDED to feel after waking up this morning. I realised that I don't feel like working at all and instead of taking the day off, chose to come to work. Now I am in office but have not yet started working. And don't see it happening anytime in the future of this day.

I have also come up with a great thesis topic that if one really wants to relax then it can be easily done in the workplace as well. We have very comfortable chairs, a high-speed internet connection, good food and then there are people who you can completely ignore and carry on doing nothing because they understand what MMB is all about

Just read up a whole lot of stuff on the Internet on how one can cope up with MMB and what one should or shouldn't do on a Sunday evening. I also read the studies which say that close to 80% people feel or 'sometimes' feel MMB. For the first time I am glad to belong to a majority who I can relate with. My own private survey shows that of the 9 people who just walked in, 8 of them groaned a greeting, complained about the weekend getting over, have gone for a coffee break and have entered tasks in their scheduler which kick-start tomorrow!

One of my able colleagues is taking a 'power nap'. And she has just walked in. Just so that you don't get the impression, let me say with pride that I actually work with a team which is super efficient. They are the most hard-working and productive bunch of guys & gals I have ever come across .

I also read that the impact of Monday morning blues can be devastating. That more people have heart attacks on a Monday morning than on any other day of the week according to a medical research.

So why bother beat the blues? If you ask me, I am glad to have Monday as the first day of the week. It lets me go easy, allows me to "get a feel of the place", schedule work for the next day, and get geared up for the rest of the week. So when I come to work tomorrow I'll probably be working hard and maybe too busy to even remember this .

As for now, I'm feeling very good, adequately refreshed and all set to start scheduling work for tomorrow. Once I return from a coffee break.