Things to Do - July 2015

June was a highly unproductive month, full of ups and downs...and general lack of inclination to do more.

I didn't get anything done to completion level but took tiny baby steps forward (at super snail pace):

My Goal Analysis for June

#1 - Clothes Audit & Wardrobe Revamp - I'm pretty happy with the "Revamp" part...learning the ropes on how to mix and match - light top dark bottom...dark top light bottom - says my personal stylist!

#2 - Read 1 New Novel - Not quite done yet - 90% Completion

#3 - Complete 7 Sketches - 0% ...determinants of a good frame of mind missing

#4 - Complete 30 Day Abs Challenge - 50%...like all good things I can't hold onto...I dropped this mid-way

#5 - Write more - 4 New Blog Entries on meaningful topics - 0% 

#7 - Learn something new - drawn a blank on this one for now...still exploring the possibilities of what can be learnt

#8 - GO OUT MORE - 100% accomplished! Went out of station (Camprox @Nahan, HP) and went out 3/4 weekends in June.

#9 -  Work on making blog more meaningful - 0% - enough said

#10 - Start a personal project - 1% - writing down chapter names of a book I may/may not write isn't good enough.

JULY - MUST BE MORE PRODUCTIVE

#1 - Sketch More - 11 Sketches to be made

# 2 - Write More - blog about positivity - 8 blog posts for last month and this month

# 3 - Learn something new - this needs to be taken seriously this month round

# 4 - Spend more time outdoors - walks, exercising, anything which has a purpose and is done outdoors

# 5 - Plan for travel - spent a weekend at Himanchal and came back a different person - must travel more...set up dates and itineraries - and ofcourse save for the trip

# 6 - Spend atleast 15 mins a day exercising. The hike @Camp Roxx showed me exactly how unfit I was...Being realistic this month - no ab challenges, no unrealistic exercise goals - 15 mins of physical activity.

# 7 - Plan work - of late I have been pushing work forward due to a lack of inclination - Plan work >> Execute within set timelines >> Leave from office when work is over

Reducing the number of goals to increase the chances of achieving them!  

The Diary of an Indian Hoarder

Hello Everyone,

I am an Indian and I love to hoard things - those two might seem inherently exclusive traits but mark my words, they aren't! Growing up, my parent's taught me that I should respect books (because they are akin to Goddess Saraswati) and should not break my toys (because they are expensive to replace)...everything can be used and re-used till it's down to dust!

Old clothes which can't fit into/have worn out till their last thread should be turned into dusting cloth, hand-me-downs need to be preserved for the next generation, toys are for eternity, gift wrap needs to be re-used (because we love the environment so much)...you get the drift!

Problem : "If we have it...It must be of some use"
Solution : Accept the fact that everything can NOT be re-used, like humans, medicines and relationships - EVERYTHING has a shelf life! Once an item exceeds its expiry date - it should no longer be used/kept - no matter how dear the item might seem.

Inorder to start afresh, we need to dump the old. Memories are precious - items dating back to 1942, unless deemed antiques, ARE NOT!

I recently started auditing my clothes to get rid of things that I had not worn for 2 years or more and realised - I AM A HOARDER. I took out a section of my wardrobe and stared at it for close to an hour...trying to justify the existence of each and every worn out faded item of clothing I saw.

An hour and a half later...I decided to put everything back the way it was. The decision to part ways with my favorite tshirt from college, that skirt I used to wear when I was young, those jeans which no longer fit but remind me of "what used to be"...broke my heart! I couldn't do it...or could I?

I pushed myself against the wall and decided to give away half of my "Gone Were the Days" wardrobe and try to rebuild it with functional clothing that would neither make me look like a "wannabe teen" nor a "desperate grandma". How far I succeeded is still a grey area (this is being typed as I cling on to an old pair of one-size-too-small jeans). Apart from clothes, I hoard everything from empty Flipkart boxes to wrapping paper - with the hope that SOMEDAY I will use them to make something awesome.

That day may never come - HOARDING IS A DISEASE! We tend to stock up on useless junk with some pretext or the other - either we try to justify its functionality/recyclability or attach memories to it. I saw a recent advertisement on TV for OLX (an app used to sell old/used items) whose message was - if you don't get rid of the old how will you get new stuff? If only we all thought this way. Decluttering ones life not only heightens productivity with all the free space around but also gives you a chance to get new stuff and replace the old.

I cleared out a part of my wardrobe in an attempt to declutter - 3 jam packed shelves reduced to one! I can't begin to tell you the delight it is to open my cupboard now...not only are things NOT tumbling out and causing me injury but the mere sight of seeing all that space in the morning fills me with hope (sounds strange but its true). Inorder to overcome this disease we need to take one thing at a time - the ultimate aim remains DECLUTTERING ones life.

Ways to declutter:

1. Donate old clothes / shoes - if you haven't fit into it for the last 5 years - chances are YOU NEVER WILL - realize this and GET RID OF IT. There will be someone less fortunate than you who will be able to make use of that item.

2. Throw away old packaging / wrapping - you will not turn that old shoe box into an snazzy box to store things...you are 28, working, with no kids - ARTS AND CRAFTS IS NOT HAPPENING. Gift wrap will set you back 5-20 bucks - you aren't attending parties every day - you don't have to be prepared for an apocalypse party that would need you to recycle gift wrap

3. Old course books / notebooks - hanging on to books you used many moons ago will not be of much use - 6th grade won't repeat itself and your kids will have a completely different curriculum when they get around to it...chances are the books won't make it that far

4. Stop holding on to the past - this is something applicable both to material aswell as immaterial things - the moment we let go...we can get rid of that thing!

Would love to hear more hoarding stories - and get tips on how to overcome this deadly disease!
Lets De-molish and de-clutter!!

Things to Do - June 2015

So the month has ended, it's time to take stock of things that have/have not happened and make a new "To Do" list!

My Goal Analysis - May 2015

#1 - Grow Hair (ongoing) - getting there - this is probably a 6-10 month project going by the rate my hair is growing. Completion: 2% (I can sort of tie my hair up)

#2 - Clothes Audit - Completion: 50% - gave away a lot of my wardrobe but I still find clothes I don't wear...further Audit required

#3 - Read 1 Novel - Completion: 75% - self help books don't complete that quick

#4 - Start sketching - Completion: 25% - made just 1 sketch which quantifies as a sketch (and not a random doodle)

#5 - RUN RUN RUN - Completion: 0% - the weather is just not conducive

#6 - Drink more water - Completion: 100% - even if its forced

#7 - Write more - Completion: 100%

#8 - Learn something new - Completion: 0%

#9 - GO OUT MORE - Completion: 0%

#10 - Block out all things negative and live for ME - was a very subjective goal...not sure about completion :-/

==========================================================================

So this months goals are going to be a lot more quantifiable so I can measure completion better:

#1 - Clothes Audit & Wardrobe Revamp - get rid of a few more clothes & buy functional clothing - 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of new shoes (bellies), 2 tops...I think that should do it for now 

#2 - Read 1 New Novel & Complete Current Read - will pick up a light read this time

#3 - Complete 7 Sketches - 3 Backlogs from May, 4 for June

#4 - Complete 30 Day Abs Challenge - 2 days down, 28 to go :)

#5 - Write more - 4 New Blog Entries on meaningful topics - Psychology, Technology, Work Life, Positivity, Survival

#6 - Learn something new - drawn a blank on this one for now...still exploring the possibilities of what can be learnt

#7 - GO OUT MORE - seeing how I didn't go anywhere last month, 1 outing for this month to either of the following: Mall/Restaurant/Movie (would be nice to do all 3)

#8 -  Work on making blog more meaningful - random rands are no good...instead of writing about what I want to - I'll try writing about what people want to read

#9 - Start a personal project - Utilize my "Free Time" doing something other than watching Family Guy (which is still going to occupy a large chunk of my free time) ...!

The Clerk @ 5 LPA

Post MBA...

The Expectation:

- Step out of a shiny big car in pencil heels...crisp business suit...filofax in one hand, Blackberry in another...strutting proud to the sparkly office building while the driver parked the car.
- In office - assistant hands over a double-shot-cappuccino and rattles of the days agenda at break neck speed...meetings, presentations, town halls...
- Decisions decisions...crunch data, make excel sheets, meet people and have discussions to support that one move which would "change the world"
- Delegate work, manage people...make time for bigger more important tasks...think strategy! Be a business partner!
- Make people happy...let work speak for itself
- Assumed Salary - $$$$$$'s ...lots of them

The Reality Check:

- Step out of a dusty small car in "happy sneakers" (neon pink ones to be precise)...car keys in one hand, backpack being held by the other...crumpled clothes from the long drive in NH8 traffic...slowly amble to the office building in the heat...each step more measured than the first.
- In office - guards greet you with a smile and it all but ends there...flip on the computer and plough through 50 email, prioritizing and making a "To Do" list the length of the Great Wall of China, knowing fully well none of these things will be done before the Boss' To Do list gets checked.
- Follow orders, hold back ideas, try not to sound intelligent because intelligence gets shot down by the Boss with the odd accusation of you trying to jump the gun.
- Be the department mule - marvel at how work parks itself on your desk...be managed by your peer, who does nothing but scratch her head while staring aimlessly into the distance (she's "Figuring it out" you moron!)
- Bare the brunt of people's dissatisfaction, be labeled incompetent and still work twice as hard to prove them wrong
- Actual Salary - INR 5LPA (GROSS)...subject to all kinds of deductions

This is the life of your average Indian MBA (HR) student who has studied in a not so "A" Grade B-School. Just managed to make the grade because most of the things being taught were random and theoretical with very little practical application.

This average Indian MBA (HR) had big dreams - till the corporate jungle engulfed their spirit and spat out half the person they used to be. Hired by the company in a clerical capacity, but popularly referred to as a "Member" of the infamous "People Team". Not knowing how to be loud, or how to suck up to the boss...getting paid half as much as your peers and being made to work twice as hard was all in a days work.

Work is work...more work means better learning...NOT! This is a common misconception in the minds of most MBA students - the more we get to do, the more we learn...it may be true for the initial 1 year of your "Corporate Existence" but it holds no water beyond that stage. Quality over Quantity - ALWAYS! There is no point producing super automated excel sheet's to calculate appraisal outputs when someone else becomes the face of the project and sits in for all the meetings. Excel is a skill which is like swimming - once you learn it, you don't forget it...sitting for appraisal discussions with leaders, finding out about business plans and how to integrate human resources with those plans - is something worth learning...and re-learning.

MBA teaches you ALOT of theory about ALOT of different things - job's are meant to teach you how to put all that corporate jargon into practice...or not. It all depends on which part of the corporate jungle you land up in and how aligned you are with Darwin's Corporate theory - survival of the "smartest" (where smartness < > intelligence). When in Suckerville - learn to suck up to the Queen Bee. Whether it involves surreptitiously cringing about that b*tch who just doesn't know how to dress or complaining out loud about how you're having maid issues, making it impossible to handle the work "pressure". Turning a blind eye to the fact that your donkey clerk colleague wakes up at the brink of dawn to cook, clean, take the garbage out...gets ready to come to work (2 hrs before you), drive himself through grueling traffic, spends a better part of two hours on the road, gets to work...and GETS TO WORK.

Scenario 1 : Suck up to the Queen Bee

- Get away with not doing anything all day, except complain about how unfair life is to you
- Get paid twice as much
- Become the face of all things awesome - because the World really needs to know how hardworking and intelligent you are
- Stare blankly into oblivion and/or scratch your head and take the entire day to "figure out" how to print 5 letters
- Delegate everything except wiping your ass after you poop to the "Department Clerk"
- Come at noon and leave at 5pm...since you have such endless maid problems...1 out 3 of your maids didn't show up this morning! OMIGOSH the World might just end now!!!

Scenario 2 : Don't Suck up to the Queen Bee

- Get loaded with scut work that the other two mini Queens are too busy to do - rest assured your To Do List will be populated mostly with mundane operational tasks which will not add a milligram of value to your existence
- Get paid half of what your peers are getting paid - and be told you need to be grateful you were even hired.
- Become the "Backend" of all awesome tasks, even backstage workers in a theatre production get to come out up front at the end...and acknowledged for their contribution...but not "Backend" support workers - they just melt into oblivion
- Get yelled at for not thinking on your feet and being slow...Get yelled at for jumping the gun and thinking 10 steps ahead (whilst you had judiciously decided to intentionally skip those 10 very obvious steps) - Catch 22?
- Have everything delegated to you - from filing to getting the morning coffee - how else will you learn?
- Be expected to arrive at work before the housekeeping staff and leave after the day shift guard! You're being paid to work afterall!

One can't blame companies for hiring over priced clerks! Nor can we blame the clerks for being meek and not voicing out their displeasure. Since everything flows from the top, managers need to be wary of their teams capabilities and should try to be a GENUINE equal opportunity provider (not just in case of hiring the disabled/hiring women). Give everyone a fair chance to excel - playing favorites won't help business in the long run. Build a strong team, identify each individuals strengths - build on it...identify their weakness and empower them to overcome it. It might be painful at first saying no to your favorites but in the long run it will prove to be an excellent decision. You will end up with a team of all rounders as opposed to two 12th men and 2 wicket keepers who are made to bowl and bat while keeping wickets and fielding in general.

...Train of thoughts got derailed a little...be back in a bit with more thoughts to tickle your brain cells :)

In Pursuit of Happiness

Everyone wants to be happy - everyone likes to talk about the path of attaining eternal happiness and peace - from self help authors to the aunty who lives across from you. Everyone!

Nobody fundamentally enjoys being in a state of sorrow, unhappy people seldom enjoy their condition. How does one attain happiness? The truth is, the path to happiness is full of thorns - thorns that tear at your flesh with each passing step. How many of us are brave enough to tread that path and have our feet pierced? How many of us resign to fate and compromise with the situation we are in and tell ourselves that we are indeed HAPPY? So in general people are classified as Genuinely Happy and Pseudo Happy - usually divided in a 20:80 ratio.

So what does one need to do to be genuinely happy?

#1 - Find and pursue your passion - it may or may not be rational or practical but it will be fulfilling
#2 - Stop thinking about World Happiness and worry about your own - living for the sake of others may seem like an extremely nobel thing to do but it does not guarantee Genuine Happiness
#3 - Be proactive, move towards happiness - the path may be littered with broken glass/barbed wire but every inch towards the ultimate goal counts, happiness won't miraculously fall into your lap
#4 - Take ownership of your choices - they may not be correct in the eyes of your peers, parents, society etc but they are right for you - stick to them
#5 - Remember to find joy in small things - seeing a stray puppy roll in dirt or chase after its tail, watching birds fetch for their young...small events, which we tend to overlook, bring heaps of happiness if you search hard enough
#6 - Don't dwell on things in the past - what you did, why you did it, what will be the outcome of what you've done...the list of self loathing and sorrow is endless. What's done is done - it can't be undone till someone invents a time machine. No point destroying your present and future over it.
#7 - Learn to be your own strength - often we rely on people to give us strength through our tough times...a friend, partner, parent...they are nothing more than facilitators of happiness. Nobody can make you happy unless you want to be
#8 -  Focus on positives, be around positive people - when things go wrong, everything seems grey. At that point try to find positivity around you and soak it in...it could come from situations or people or even inanimate things
#9 - Talk about your issues! I know alot of eyebrows will be raised by conformists who feel its wrong to wash your dirty laundry in public. But the fact of the matter is that if you talk/bitch about it - it takes a burden off your chest. There are times when situations get blown out of proportion because people around you don't understand the need to vent but eventually those people will see the light. Even if they don't - it shouldn't matter to you.
#10 - Realise that the path of happiness may cause pain to people who can't see things the way you do. You need to prioritize, who's happiness matters more? Your neighborhood gossip aunty's or your own?

The bucket list of things to do could go on forever, but the point hidden beneath all these points is simple - the World is not full of clones, everyone has their own ideology and thought process which cause a hindrance to the happiness of others, directly or indirectly. People frown when a girl struts down the road baring her stomach and legs in a barely there outfit..."Slut" they murmur beneath their breath. They fail to see that she's dressing the way she wants to, the way she feels comfortable...the way that makes her happy. Similarly (in the interest of not giving a gender biased example), if a man chooses not to marry and/or have children because he values his freedom and space...people begin to assume he swings the other way or better still - there must be something wrong down South.

Hinderances to Happiness:

#1 - YOU - we are our biggest roadblocks, we get scared of treading the path of happiness because more often than not it gets perceived as rebellion
#2 - Society - be it neighbors or relatives or even the random passer by who doesn't even know your name - their idea of happiness < >  (does not equal) yours! They will continue to talk and gossip and sigh...let it not affect you
#3 - Lack of resources - more often than not, our happiness hinges on our finances - no money no happiness (again contrary to the idealist view of money can't buy happiness)
#4 - Fear of the future - Indians have a disease, they plan and plan and over plan. They plan for 3 generations (whether or not they will be around to witness those generations reaping the fruit from the tree they sowed is immaterial). They are so busy worrying about their next generations happiness, they forget that they need to be happy too
#5 - Self inflicted inhibitions - I guess this point sums up everything above. Due to society and our inherent fears we cage ourselves in a Pseudo Happy World.

Surprisingly, even I am not Genuinely Happy - atleast not completely. I have taken some rather drastic steps to get one step closer to Genuine Happiness but the path seems like a downward spiral of sorrow. The trick is to focus on the The Bigger Picture - doing something today may seem like the worst decision ever but if you believe it will make you happy - STICK TO IT!

Happiness and Sadness are both temporary states of mind...it's in your hand to make them permanent! Choose wisely!

Avengers 2 : Age of Ultron (An attempt to write a short review)

I will keep this review short. Bullet points mostly. But first a brief intro for those unfamiliar with the marvelous world of Marvel Comics:

The Old Cast (Avengers)

- Iron Man / Tony Stark - oh my god he just keeps getting hotter
- Hulk - still green and still mean (when green)
- Thor - he's godly and he knows it...and yummy
- Captain America - haven't seen winter soldier but I was told I might start respecting him as a superhero post that
- Black Widow - stupid spare part #1 who doesn't even look pretty in her (sorry Scarlett)
- Hawk Eye - stupid spare part #2 who's existence got beefed up in this flick (we get a sneak peak into his secret life - his house/kids/pregnant wife/super awesome farm house)
- War Machine - stupid spare part #3...who can sound cool at times in a lame sort of way
- Maria Hill - stupid spare part #4 in a blink and you'll miss it role
- Nick Fury - stupid spare part #5 who magically appears to save the day and re-bind the Avengers
- Erik Selvig - intelligent scientist spare part #6...God's consult him what more does one need to bump up their TRP?
- J.A.R.V.I.S - the yellow ball of awesome neuron-transmission-type-awesomeness / Tony's sidekick and Man Friday
- Loki's Scepter - ok it isn't exactly a character but by virtue of the fact that the gem has artificial intelligence and ends up powering Ultron deserves a mention

Newbies (from X Men and other places)

- Ultron - the villain, the Yin to Iron Man's Yang
- Scarlet Witch - she looks like a cross between Avril Lavigne and that chick from Twilight. who always has a pained expression throughout the movie...she's just creepy. She does a Kung Fu Panda with her blasts of energy
- Quicksilver *Drool* - he's Eastern European - ENOUGH SAID
- Vision - he's purple like a grape and he sounds like Jarvis...purple Jarvis :-S
- Helen Cho - Lucy Liu meets Professor X minus the super powers - she makes skin by putting people in a coffin :-/
- Ulysses the SOUTH AFRICAN arms dealer - his accent sent me back home...<3 p="">- Friday? - the sad temp replacement for Jarvis
- Strucker - the twisted man creating twisted things using Loki's scepter

The Story

Loki's scepter needs to be retrieved from Strucker who is using it to mutate humans (Maximoff Twins are scepter kids!). Enter the Avengers & Cool Fight Sequence #1 (of many)...Scepter retrieved, mission accomplished...almost. While retrieving the scepter Tony encounters the Scarlet Witch who makes him have a creepy nightmare of dead Avengers blaming him for utter death and destruction :-/

Tony being the genius that he is, finds a way to get Thor to delay his trip back to Asgard so he can experiment with the scepter - that thing has some serious AI sh*t going and it might help power Ultron and ensure eternal world peace! He arm twists Banner into helping him...they set about trying to harness the power of the stone and decide to take a break and celebrate...because Tony's all about partying!

While they party the Scepter-Stone-AI 'kills' Jarvis and powers up Ultron all by itself...more fight sequences ensue because Ultron may sound all cool, but he wants to kill everyone and start the world afresh (I sort of like this guy for that). He tag teams with the twins because they hate Tony for killing their parents (the Stark grenade dunnit)...Cool Fight Sequence #2 - #5 follow...everyone's going nuts because they have been touched by the Scarlet Witch and are facing their biggest fears through hallucinations. When the Avengers aren't avenging they are fighting and bickering with each other. Enter Nick-eye-patch-Fury to bind them back and get them to AVENGE!

Some stuff that happens in between:

- Ultron wants a sexy new body so he goes to Cho to use her sexy skin making coffin
- The twins turn against Ultron when SW finds out he plans to destroy the world...hey buddy you don't expect me to help you kill me do you? I wasn't born yesterday!
- We find out Jarvis never really died he was just in hiding (sneaky Jarvis)
- Vision is born (the good Ultron)...he has a mind stone...one of 6 infinity stones
- After Quicksilver dies, SW goes kukkoo and disintegrates Ultron. There is a confrontation scene between Vision and pieces of Ultron
- The Avengers kind of retire and may way for the new kids - the Hulk flees in this tiny little plane (who can stand Romanoff for that long - good he ran), everyone else Iron Man, Captain America, Thor...all have retirement plans ready


The Good

- Tony Stark - because he's ALWAYS good even when he's bad
- Quicksilver - because he's a hot Eastern European dude who runs really fast
- Fight sequences - a bit too many in number but all individually spectacular
- Ultron wants us to evolve - how will he achieve that? By levitating a city and turning it into a giant meteor ofcourse!
- Thor's sense of humor

The Bad

- The creepiness of Scarlet Witch - she just causes destruction by making your worst nightmares appear real (for a moment I was left thinking Thor was afraid of hot scantily clad chicks)
- Too many spare parts...cameo's are in but this was a bit much
- Extra footage given to Hawkeye - we DONT want to know about his secret life - he will still suck
- Too many sub plots
- Black Widows half baked character
- The Maximoff twins' fake accent
- A run time of 2.5 hrs is a bit much

The Ugly

- Hulk and Romanoff romance!?! WTF!!! #epicfail #zerochemistry #puke_worthy
- Quicksilver dies trying to save a kid and HAWKEYE...my death list would have been ANY of the spare parts but not him
- Not every arms dealer/slave trader needs to be African

This got a bit long...damn damn damn!

Things To Do - May 2015

When I was a kid I was always encouraged to write things down to remember them/complete them...the joys of ticking off things on my to do list were priceless!

Enter adulthood when my "To Do" list at work became the size of an encyclopedia volume and that became something I'd dread making...

Long story short, to make changes for the better - we need to take the bull by its horns and face our fears...and "DO MORE!" (Credit: SS)

So I've decided to set goals for the month - and push myself to achieve them! Let's see if this works...

#1 - Grow Hair (ongoing) - don't be alarmed, for someone who has sported a crew cut/really short hair forever...it's time to change!

#2 - Clothes Audit - identify stuff I haven't worn for over 1 year (or I no longer fit into or I've been hoarding because it used to be my favorite thing) - donate it to someone who needs it

#3 - Read 1 Novel - have to get back into my reading habit

#4 - Start sketching - atleast 1 sketch a week (being realistic since I am a corporate slave)

#5 - RUN RUN RUN...bought a sexy pair of neon pink running shoes that saw the light of the track just twice till now :( I have been finding excuses not to get fit...running 2km in 38 mins is pathetic beyond all measures - TARGET - run every alternate days starting tomorrow for 30 mins (however far I get)

#6 - Drink more water - very stupid target but summers are here and surviving on 1 glass of water a day just won't cut it - 2 ltrs a day it is! (or more)

#7 - Write more - atleast 1 blog post / tweet a week - losing the power of the written word is completely unacceptable

#8 - Learn something new - not sure just yet what that will be - but I will learn something new...even if it is learning to stop being so emotional about everything

#9 - GO OUT MORE - movie, trip to the mall, play/art gallery/design events/some place inspiring...will start with 2 outings a month and build from there

#10 - Block out all things negative and live for ME ... this is an ongoing process but will start now (not sure when this will get ticked)

So here are the 10 things I want to do to get my life on track...watch this space for updates :)