Fun 2.0

It was a much needed break for the project team. A mismanaged project with unrealistic client expectations has taken its toll on every member of the team. If not work then rework has dictated terms for over a year & still counting. Milestones have come and gone but something which has remained constant is... stretched timelines, meeting unexpected deadlines, night-outs, weekend official hours. As gladiators, people in the team are fighting. Many have abandoned. Many like me have been replaced but the fight for completion still rages on. The rubber been stretched to maximum! The fatigue is now well visible!! A break was much needed...

The "Comic" of a Dream!!!

The story telling was unique. The colorful graphics was unparallel. It gave wings to imagination. The villain getting thrashed by the hero... Dhisum, Tadaak, Boom, Bang!!! Color, Graphics, Story, Fights... Is there anything better to catch a child's imagination? No, I am not talking of times of today. Today the avenues of fun for children are unlimited.. Social Networking, Internet, Cable TV, XBox, Videogames, Movies, Story Books, Sports and many more.  But back then, in my growing up days; when facebook and orkut were names unheard of, when internet was a child in the womb and when only Doordarshan ruled prime-time... the fun was limited to socks ball cricket in the by-lanes, watching sunday cartoons on DD national, listening to granny's stories and nevertheless the Comics.

"HEARTache" - I wonder why?

Tears!!!! I have seldom found them on my eyes. Not even when mom & dad left me at the boarding school or when I got beaten by hockey sticks as punishment or when I failed to clear IIT after a year's relentless effort . It's not even when my sweet & lovely granny passed away. I may have been sad but the tears never found their way to the corners of my eyes. But that day I could not hold back the tears anymore. It was so very unnatural but it came naturally. I was so chocked with emotions that I could only manage to say "Bye" to her before I left.

One Night @ CG

"It's going to be a long night". That's what I wrote on my office communicator to a colleague after going through the email in my inbox. The email was marked important and was signed off by my project manager. The body has the bold marking in blue: "We need to finish of all our pending work before we close off for the day". In short, brace yourself for... A NIGHT-OUT. My first one in my four years of professional career. Though my work clock had somedays stretched to a max of 2AM in the night but a night-out was sort of folklore for me. But now as I sit in-front of the computer and try to punch in my laptop keys; and try to re-live the moments, I sum the moments with one word... FUN!!!.

Next Time

"Better luck Next Time..."

We keep postponing things that are important in life be it fun, family, work to some “Next Time”. Ever wondered WHY? Check out your palm. What you see… A long life line. Damn!!!

The answer to the why is because we believe we will be living to have wrinkles on our face to do all those pending jobs. Who the hell is going to die tomorrow!!!! So was the thought of the  unlucky ones who died in yesterday’s earthquake.  Some of them would have also postponed things to “Next Time” like you. Their time was too small for the Next Time… 

A million dollar $ Question $

 Po, the panda; the dragon warrior asks his goose father "Who am I?" To which there was no answer. He asks the same question to the furious five of Tigress, Monkey, Viper, Crane and Mantis. The question remained unanswered. After being defeated and lying wounded, Po asks the same question to Soothsayer,the fortune teller; and the answer flows... "Your story may not have such a happy beginning, But that doesn't make you who you are !!! It is the rest of the story, who you choose to be. So who are you Panda??" To this Po recollects his childhood, his goose father, his struggle to learn kung fu, his friends the furious five, learning from Master Sifu, his earlier fights and love of his people and answers with vengeance..."I am Po."

Ohh, this post is not a review of the latest animated movie Kung Fu Panda 2, but a build up to what lies ahead. If you have not seen the movie, no worries!! if you have got what's written above, I would say you have done a good job. A high five to that. (But do catch the flick when you get time. It's good :)) 

Angel Heart

The sun was setting down behind a row of high rise buildings. The evening was coming to its usual cool terms after a hot day. It being a weekend, people have flocked to the city center in hordes. There were people shopping, snacking, gossiping, roaming, children running, hawkers shouting, horns blowing.... as if a MAD RUSH has set in and I was part of the mad rush too...

"Cool Joint"; the restaurant, round the corner appeared to be the most happening place. From children to young to old, everyone seems to be having a gala time enjoying snacks. I reached over the counter and ordered my favorite butterscotch ice cream. Finding no place inside due to the heavy rush, I came out to the sidewalk and started savoring the cold scoops. From the sidewalk, I was watching over the traffic signal checking out nothing as such but the lights changing from green to orange to red.