The few years just out of college

Read this somewhere and thought it sums up a collection of thoughts/conversations I've had over the past year with friends :)

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn't know and may or may not like.

You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones.

What you do not realize is that they are realizing that too and are not really cold or catty or mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared.

You miss the comforts of college, of groups, of socializing with the same people on a constant basis. But then you realize that maybe they weren't so great after all.

You are insecure and then secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life; You feel alone and scared and confused; Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you or you lay in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough to get to know better; All this while you had been convincing yourself that you didn't want to be tied down to any person; Now suddenly you have moments of self-doubt when you wonder if you waited too long and let someone special get away. You love someone but maybe love someone else too, and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you are not a bad person! Random hook ups start to look cheap and getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic;

You want to be independent but suddenly, the idea of having the stability of a special someone to trust and lean on doesn't seem all that bad. You want to be your own person and yet be taken care of at the same time.

You go through the same emotions and questions over and over and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision.

You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for yourself and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender.

We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.

Time flies - FACT

I stumbled upon yimings blog just now which brought back so many great memories from university.. Reading this i instantly felt wiser than i was just an year and half ago.. I miss her and all the others I met the last 2 years to a point where i would do anything just to go back to those days. It's funny how the human mind works. When i had exams and 10 papers to study for i would wish i was past all this, now i really miss the exams and the pressure that came with it.

I miss the King Edwards Road girls and all the late night drama, parties, meaningless gossip and yes in general the useful things we did that year. An eventful, successful, busy and DRAMATIC 2 years of some real experience never to be forgotten.

                                           View just outside our house in Wales - Breath Taking..

Truth - Never take things for granted and Live in the moment because this moment never comes back and you don't want regrets.

Yimings blog : http://solepeaceful.wordpress.com

Quit Early, Quit Often..

I just finished watching Prof Deepak Malhotras speech to the Graduating Class of Harvard MBAs. He mentioned 5 distinct points and backed them up with sound life experience. One thing that stuck in my mind was when he said Quit Early, Quit Often.. It's quite the contrary to what we have been told all our life. 'Never Give Up' - something my dad repeatedly chanted when i thought things were not going my way or lost confidence. 

How can you Quit and Never give up one would ask. They are two different things altogether?  I'd like to think Never Give up on Chasing your dream in the process you can quit all you want. Sounds easy right? What happens if you dont know what your dream is? What happens if you haven't figured out what you are meant to do with your life? When i was in high school i would look at all these girls who said "Oh i want to be this and that and what not" When someone asked me what i wanted to do, i would say "Oh well something that involves mathematics - that is all i know".. I didn't want to become a teacher, nor wanted to be a mathematician. I just wanted to do a subject with a significant math component. I hadn't figured out what i wanted to do then. I don't think i still have.. :S 

I can relate to a huge number of things i quit from but a significant portion of quitting, saying NO or refusing came together in June/July 2011 - The year of my graduation. More on this later.. :) 

At the end of his speech a graduate walked up to him and said "Well you say QUIT when you don't find that this is not what you want to do. It's easy when you are in your 20s to quit and do something else because you have no responsibilities and all you need to care about is your life. But as you age you have responsibilities, children, family, parents and quitting just may not be an option".. For which the professor replied that he lives a simple life. He doesn't invest in fancy things and has a whole lot of money deposited in the bank which he finds no use for. He did mention that this was the best gift he has given himself. The financial freedom to do what he wants without fearing that he will put his family in jeopardy. 

If you ask me if i will quit early or quit often - I say NO. I do not have the courage to do that now and will not do it.. But maybe some day i will.. :) 

Planking - Owling - Milking - Coneing - Harlem Shaking, Where did thinking go...

Do you remember Planking? Well just to refresh your memory, it was one of those things that went viral some time ago where people lie down on the ground, face down, in unusual places - took pictures of themselves and posted them on facebook and other social channels. People were suspended from work for doing this during work hours and people died in the process of trying to be popular.

Then came Owling. Basically this involved you sitting crouched down, again on random places staring into thin air. You take pics of yourself in this position and post it where ever the hell you want and sit by your computer counting the number of views/likes to measure your self worth.

and then Cone-ing : You buy a cone of ice Cream and eat it by holding the ice-cream, video you making a fool of yourself and yet again sit and wait for random strangers, to enjoy you enjoying your cone. :P

Promptly followed by Milking. That's right. You buy a bottle of semi-skimmed milk and pour it on yourself head first.  Brownie points for capturing the shocked or bewildered reactions of the on lookers.

So now there is the all new Harlem Shaking. I for one think that this by far beats its predecessors so I did not complain until i came across this ridiculous video of an Obese man doing the harlem shake. I mean seriously, WHAT WAS HE THINKING?

However on a more serious note, this gives reason for people who sit on their arse the entire day a chance to be active. I hear that a mouse click can burn upto 1.4 calories - which is great news for all gamers out there!

Id be happiest when the time comes for thinking. :D - Maybe i should start the trend :P

On that note, ill leave you with Nyan Cat - nyannyannyannyan. 

BBS is a BBS

'Bodhu Bala Sena' is a Bunch of Bullshit! To give you some context, BBS is an anti-muslim organisation that

This is the "Ides of March" for the muslim population in Sri Lanka just two days after the assassination of Julius Caesar by a roman cabal including Cassius and his Best Friend Brutus.


As aptly put by 

Social Etiquette

I called the Department Of Education In Sri Lanka today to clarify something about my O/L and A/L results. I needed this information for jobs/post graduate studies. The first time some person answered the phone and I politely greeted him and he didn't say anything. Then i went on to state my case and tell him why i was calling. After a few moments the call goes blank. I'm guessing he hung up. I was very cross since I was making a foreign call and the call charges are so high and he keeps the phone with no mention. After which I called again, and I think it was the same person that answered the call. I said I was calling from the UK and that this was important. He didn't say anything for a while and then asked something from another person which if I heard right was an extension number to someone else. A few seconds passed and the call goes blank again. Sigh. Now I got really tired of this but i did need the information. So I called again and this time politely greeted him in Sinhala and asked him if i can speak to him in English. For which he requested me to speak to him in Sinhala hence in my very broken Sinhala skills I asked him about how I could get the information I required. He replied which after a lot of difficulty I understood that I had to call on Monday after 9. Phew. I emphasise again here that even when i did speak to him in a language he understood his replies weren't polite and I really felt like boxing him right on his face.

I am not asking for a piece of land in my home country. However all I want is to be able to speak in a language that I understand and get things done within the governmental departments. The good thing amongst many bad things in the west is that the law at least is a little more people oriented. For instance if a certain part of the country consists mainly of people speaking French then the local post office/ other departments in that area will be able to speak and assist customers in French or a language they know. Also if you call a government service and tell them you don't understand they will try and put you through to someone who speaks a language that you do. Above all that in which ever language they speak for starters they are fairly polite. I've noticed that almost all governmental organizations in Sri Lanka ever since employs people who are unfriendly, rude and obnoxious to answer calls/handle matters. Thankfully the competition in private sectors has made them employ people who are more polite and nice to customers. Little things like saying thank you, sorry etc go a long way. A common majority of Sri Lankans especially from non-urban areas lack a lot of these simple manners. I must admit Sri Lankans are very nice people and every place I've been to in this island the people have been more than welcoming even if they don't know us. However I think something is really wrong with every person who works in departments owned by the government. Maybe they have frustrating private lives with low incomes and what not or maybe they take their future with this job secure so they no longer want to work towards making peoples lives better or maybe they just aren't mannered. I'd suggest we introduce a school subject under the name of 'Social Etiquette' in schools so people who aren't taught manners at home can at least learn at school?  and also when interviewing people for customer facing roles they might want to employ someone with more peoples skills? 

Life as I see it

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that. I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful.Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes – Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark – don’t take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said – don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

             "This is an excerpt from a speach given by Chatan Bhagat to a new batch of MBA Students at Symbiosis, Pune"