I had a very typical me conversation with a friend recently which made me think (a rare occurence and a life threatening one as such strenuous activity may likely kill the two surviving brain cells of mine)
Me: ...Dont understand anything u said...
Friend: Supposing there are X and Y, and you are good friends with person X. And dont really care abt person Y. Supposing person X kills person Z. You will be more accepting towards that scenario rather than if person Y killed Z
Me: What if i like Person Z more than person X...
Friend: Even then. You will be more accepting because X is your friend.
Me: But i have a logical question. If person X kills person Z, how can person Y kill Z as well. You cant kill a dead person, you know...
(I imaging said friend must have been driven up the wall with my flippancy)
But flippancy aside, this conversation got me thinking (yeah - the dreaded word again...One brain cell gasping for breath already).
Its all about relationships and perception. I should use the word equation, to be more apt. Coz you have equations at the work place, and relationships outside it. And my thought centred around work and the workplace. I noticed that whenever i have a "mentor", "buddy", "great dude" equation with someone, i tend to overlook their obvious unprofessional conduct at times. The exact same mistake or one of a lesser intensity committed by a person with who i share a more "duh" "uncool" "who cares about him" "what an idiot" equation, i treat like it is the biggest mistake since Bush (Sr and Jr) attacked Iraq. And i do consider that a HUGE mistake. Rather like most of the marks i score on my exams (there comes flippancy again...)
So whats so deep about all this? Nothing. I knew this even before this conversation happened. But i realised something more. In case a positive equation has turned, or is turning, negative, then i go all out to nitpick and ensure that i completely turn against the person. At least mentally. Not the greatest thing to do. But there it is. And i refuse to accept that its only me. Im pretty sure, the rate at which someone comes crashing down from a pedestral is far higher than the rate at which they got there. And more importantly, once the fall starts, it is the viewer who pushes the idol down faster.
That brings us to rebuilding: resurrecting equations which have turned sour vis-a-vis relationships that started sour is far more difficult. After all in the latter case, there is no way to go but up. And in the former case, well, disillusionment is the hardest phase of any equation to get over...
Well so much for deep thoughts. Lets go back to flippancy...
wonder why it is that when i pack my stuff, my cleanser always leaks, but my toner stays intact...
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The good ol' island life...
Salamat Pagi...
The first thing i hear from every person in this country. And of course the giggles. They giggle for everything. I think we should rename this country Gigolasia rather than Indonesia. Apparently its the most corrupt country in the world. But in the past three years (Touch Wood) i havent really had to face anything personally in my short trips here...
This is my first trip to Jakarta though. My three day jaunt in 2004 doesnt qualify. This time around i understood much more of this country which is so similar to India. I understand now what "island time" is. A concept i had read in every book that mentioned hawaii, fiji or bali. After three years, i finally understand it. Most of these guys dont hurry. They have no place to reach or no reason to be the first ones there. ALl this means 1.5 hour lunches, discussions on indian population, Shah Rukh Khan and loads of shopping.
That brings me to the next thing about this country. The most consumerist country i have seen. After including Singapore and Dubai. As a friend here says, people either are in office, or in malls.
Every conceivable brand has a presence. Its an expensive country. Newspapers cost Rp5000, which translates to Rs.10/- or 60cents. And if u convert 120 USD, u are a millionaire. Such is the exchange rate here.
What else...I dont stay in Jakarta. Stay in a place called Bekasi which is in the neighbouring province , travel to another area called Cikarang. Its an industrial area with huge industrial estates. And my driver here tells me that Bajaj and TVS are starting motor bike factories.
Indians are pretty few and far between here, as is Indian food. Vegetarian food is next to non-existent. Cap Cai (pronounced Chap Chai) and Gado-Gado are veg things u can get...
I like this country though. Coz its friendly. Coz its liberal despite being the largest Islamic nation in the world. Coz all my favorite stores are here. Coz the roads are smooth. Coz its island life...Coz im away from the usual grind. This place always makes me stop and think whether im a loner after all...or is it that i dont need the same people around me all the time. Coz i think i enjoy myself most when im travelling alone. Not that i like being alone in the country where i am. I just prefer the company of locals rather than finding "one of our own". Am sure that if i was travelling with someone from office, or home, i wouldnt have seen half the places ive seen in this country. Or eaten half the things ive eaten as well... Something to ponder about..
The first thing i hear from every person in this country. And of course the giggles. They giggle for everything. I think we should rename this country Gigolasia rather than Indonesia. Apparently its the most corrupt country in the world. But in the past three years (Touch Wood) i havent really had to face anything personally in my short trips here...
This is my first trip to Jakarta though. My three day jaunt in 2004 doesnt qualify. This time around i understood much more of this country which is so similar to India. I understand now what "island time" is. A concept i had read in every book that mentioned hawaii, fiji or bali. After three years, i finally understand it. Most of these guys dont hurry. They have no place to reach or no reason to be the first ones there. ALl this means 1.5 hour lunches, discussions on indian population, Shah Rukh Khan and loads of shopping.
That brings me to the next thing about this country. The most consumerist country i have seen. After including Singapore and Dubai. As a friend here says, people either are in office, or in malls.
Every conceivable brand has a presence. Its an expensive country. Newspapers cost Rp5000, which translates to Rs.10/- or 60cents. And if u convert 120 USD, u are a millionaire. Such is the exchange rate here.
What else...I dont stay in Jakarta. Stay in a place called Bekasi which is in the neighbouring province , travel to another area called Cikarang. Its an industrial area with huge industrial estates. And my driver here tells me that Bajaj and TVS are starting motor bike factories.
Indians are pretty few and far between here, as is Indian food. Vegetarian food is next to non-existent. Cap Cai (pronounced Chap Chai) and Gado-Gado are veg things u can get...
I like this country though. Coz its friendly. Coz its liberal despite being the largest Islamic nation in the world. Coz all my favorite stores are here. Coz the roads are smooth. Coz its island life...Coz im away from the usual grind. This place always makes me stop and think whether im a loner after all...or is it that i dont need the same people around me all the time. Coz i think i enjoy myself most when im travelling alone. Not that i like being alone in the country where i am. I just prefer the company of locals rather than finding "one of our own". Am sure that if i was travelling with someone from office, or home, i wouldnt have seen half the places ive seen in this country. Or eaten half the things ive eaten as well... Something to ponder about..
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