Make or Break

Well...Here we are again...that time of the year...

Looking back and wondering...was that crazy or what???!

Looking forward with lessons learnt...plans and promises made.

....mostly to ourselves....but made nonetheless.

2009 has been a rollercoaster ride and I'm all charged up for another one.

There's an Optimist inside me thats smiling at the Sceptic.

Strange as it seems......I plan to play safe and take risks at the same time.

To keep pushing myself while making sure that I stay focused in the right direction.

With my cynical illusions fading to give way to positive possibilities.

Realizing the difference between knowledge and it's illusions.

That thinking that we "know" something is a greater ignorance than not knowing something.

That Respect goes a long way in getting things done.

That letting go...is sometimes the best way to to hold on to something.

That hard work and sincerity are a combination that seldom fails......

..........whether or not you are a genius.

I realized that I can love someone without expecting something in return.

I learnt that my perspective can affect peoples' lives.....not just my own.

I learnt that pushing yourself to excel......adds more value and endurance than success itself.....

Funny I should feel this way..but I've learnt quite a lot by watching our film and TV Stars and their amusing antics......2009 has had quite a few of them.

Resolutions made....Resolutions broken.....all said and done.....and a year well spent...  :-).

As we walk through towards a New Year and a New Decade...I pray that we put our lessons learnt to good use and work not just for ourselves but for all that is sustained and is a consequence of our actions and inactions.

Hi Sneha.. :-)

I pray for you and  hope you get all that You wish for......in this year and the years to come.

You mean more to me with each passing day.....You are the strongest reason for me to be.

Bless You....Have a Rocking Year !

Love,

Arthur :-)

Wishful Thinking....

Merry Christmas to one and all !

May the festive season Ring in Joy,Celebration and Peace :-)

EcoSystem Vs EcoSystem

The first being the system that we all have been learning about since we were 7 years old.The second being the Economic system that gets the last word in everything.COP 15 is more a summit of economies than a summit of nations that are concerned about the future of our planet.Following the conference,one can clearly sense the air of  heated political debate in the place of diplomacy or consensus.With everything in question....from the right of  developed nations to direct the developing ones.....to the issue of climate change data being compromised,the Climate Change Summit has dark clouds looming all over it.

Greenpeace has been a whistle blower for years about the effects of global warming and climate experts have busted the "myth" that it's just speculation.Its ironic that "An Inconvenient Truth" took home an Oscar for best documentary,while the very message that it delivered was left in the loom.While we find it  shocking to see polar bears cannibalize each other in the north pole,it still doesn't ring the bell for most of us.The oceans'  ability to hold GH gases has waned,while the clouds of smoke over cities get thicker every 6 months.Brazil is doing what it can to control illegal logging of its priceless rain forests but it's population needs somewhere to go and needs farmland to feed it's hordes.With all the bells ringing, a compromise on climate changing (read industrial and progressive) activity is a huge political and economic challenge.Leaders must make difficult decisions keeping in mind the interests of their own people for whom they are most directly responsible.

One has to admit, reduction in the carbon footprint has direct implications on the economies that bring them about.To put a cap on green house gas emissions would mean that a government would have to enforce new regulations on emission, reduce or halt the construction of new plants and pump more money into clean energy and public transport.The effects of these measures would radically affect  developing countries like ours and the Chinese.Thermal Power(Coal Based)  generators still stand as the primary energy infrastructure in these two countries.Not to mention the sizable population that is employed in coal mines and Thermal Plants. Enforcing regulations on these plants would naturally have a domino effect on the productive capacity of virtually all industries which again will affect prices without a proportional inflow of funds(unless our "friends" who are already recuperating from a financial collapse decide to play Santa).

Watching activists getting batoned and arrested is an unpleasant sight.But is trivial compared to the sights that we will have to see if the issue of climate change remains unaddressed.It's about time we stepped up and did something while we have a chance and while it's still a lot less expensive than it will be should we fail.
A collapse of the summit would put all nations and their economies in a situation where everyone would be right and yet, every one would lose.

City Interrupted

It's been 10 days since the TRS stir began.
With it's leader going off and on like a flickering city light....
A strange world shows itself in flashes...
A world with a helpless system....doing just enough to show all it's citizens that it still exists.

Not knowing enough about the sentiment that drives it's activists,
makes many like me, a curious bystander watching from the sidelines.
For their earnest...the movement paints a picture of their new world dawning.
...while for the larger madness...its the same as a dog chasing cars...
not knowing what to do even if it caught one.

For me...time seems to have come alive....
Whispering the words that I failed to listen while they were being screamed.
It has passed through the prism of the mind and shown it's manifold.
It's priceless and yet slips by your fingers...with nothing but memories to hold on to.

We have everything but time....

I'm glad that my work's still going on schedule.
It's a little risky....having to drive through a rally almost everyday,
...but the work draws me towards it.
Understanding the insides of FaceBook is something that totally works for me.
The best thing about it are not it's technical intricacies....
but the simple yet strong social values that that are implemented through them.

A lot has happened this week that has worked both for and against my plans.
From my exams being postponed....
...to a greedy graphics firm trying to charge in Pounds instead of Rupees.
Made some deals...dropped some.....but learned a ton and that is never a loss.

With so much having come to a stand still....
I have a long awaited opportunity to get organized
and bring a system into the way I do things.....
Will wrap some things up and head for Kurnool...
....where the need of the hour is a lot more clear.

Mayhem's 11

Gave my first exam yesterday..was pretty good.
Nov 27th to Dec 8th are a crucial and testing set of 11 days.
My schedule is packed with a dozen things..
and I keep working them as they come..
Had just 3 hours of sleep yesterday....gonna Crash after this Post !

Working day in and day out to ensure that both the project and my revision are on schedule is hard.
But there's a certain satisfaction in the feeling that it's being done in spite of everything.

It would have been a lot easier if a Certain Someone I adore...
....hadn't chosen to go underground . :-)
But I guess it's Okay...Priorities do take Precedence.
I of all people.....am pretty aware of that.


Started the FB project a day before the exams.....it's Awesome !
Both as a Project and an Experience.
It's a little intimidating to work among people who created things that I use everyday.
I have to be twice as good as I thought I was..if I have to meet even half of their expectations.
Not to mention I have another 10 days of exams.
It's also pretty humbling to see people with brains like theirs just being 'people'.

It opens me up to a whole new dimension and perspective on how things really work.
Smart and Bright and all that I thought I was.....I realize that it means nothing.
The world cares about Results and that's all there is to it.
"It's not who we are...but what we do that defines us..."..a line I remember from a movie that I can't remember.
But that's my new driving line.

There are people on that floor who have already done the things that I consider the big goals of my life
and to them..it's just the start.
Chris runs two companies in London and  an orphanage in Guntur...The man is down to earth and balanced in attitude.
He's put a lesson in place that I hope I never forget no matter where I am.
A lesson that I learnt a little late...but not too late.

It's gonna be an enriching experience to work with these people and I pray.....
That by the time we're done....by the time I'm done...
I'll be taking home something that will last me a lifetime.
The values and perspective are all that matter.
More than the ephemeral ecstasy of a material existence.

Chewing Hard.....

I've done it before....risked a lot and barely pulled through.
I told(swore to) myself that I wouldn't mess around again....
The last time was fun and paid well too...
but it put me in a spot where my academics were on the edge.
There were mixed feelings of accomplishment and nervousness.
Nevertheless I pulled through......

Funny thing about the the way my life turns out ...
Is that the best opportunities always come when my hands are already full.
But I've piled them on and never regretted it.
A Development Project during my Pre-Finals.... a trip to Goa in between my Finals.
A Set of Mid-Sems just after a College festival or a Theater Workshop during my Finals.

They never come with a warning and they're always too precious to let go.
So when Chris Evans told me he had a Facebook Project for me......It was Deja Vu and a lot more.

I've got a couple of things on my list that I need to get done.
Running my own company and my very own NGO are two of the most important.
But it takes a lot more than a 'wish' to run a company and a lot more than 'good intentions' to run an NGO.
So this opportunity is some what of a Big Fish and a step in the direction that I know I had always been looking for.

The tricky part is ...I got my exams all of this month and the next ....they are my last set in the course.
They are not something a night-out can cater to..
and FaceBook is not something that hits you early one Morning.
So I gotta take the plunge and keep my fingers crossed....Gotta Go the Distance and keep it from going sideways.

I've done it before and it did pay off...but I've never put so much at stake.
I got exams to pull through and a client to impress...I mess up one and it tolls my focus on the other.
To anyone but moi.....the saying "Bitten more than one can Chew" would be an apt title for this post.
Could weather this gracefully or fail miserably...either way I'll still have my sense of humor !

But come to think of it.......the less I 'think' about the mess I'm in........the better my chances of gettin through it.

Perpetuate in Your Own Direction

When You've realized that there's more than one side to something....or everything....
It means You get the Bigger Picture of things......
and also means......that you have the ability paint the Bigger Picture.

You mean the World to Someone.....and when the time comes.... you will mean more than just 'Someone' to the World.

Realize that the world is your canvass.....
and now that you know...how bout you paint us something amazing ?? :-)

Looking forward to the Beautiful Things that will stem from this Realization....:-)

.....and God Bless all those who give us amazing Blogs ! :-)