Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Ballad of John and Mojo

And as another lonely Valentine's day goes past,
John is all alone, wishing this one alone would be the last.
He will find someone special, and all will be well,
by next year, and the year hence, we will hear the wedding bell

His mojo though is not so patient, and soon encounters John,
"What are you doing with me, Sir, and why am I a victim of your con?
You - and I - are already touching thirty, and all my friends make fun of me,
I havent had my fair share of women, and a worst thing for my confidence couldn't be"

John tries to console his mojo, as he has consoled his brain,
"There is a special one, somewhere, and let me make it plain,
I am going to find her this year, and the next Valentine's day,
I will not be alone then, and Mr. Mojo, you will then have your way"

"But, that is what you have been telling me for the last ten years,
and its been a long time coming, and now its too much to bear,
I want a woman and I want her soon - I don't understand why are you like that,
when most of your friends are making love, what makes you so alone and aghast?"

John ponders for a while, about an issue he has tried hard to skirt
"I don't really know, Mr. Mojo, but I think its because I cant flirt,
And even if I like a girl, I am unable to put up a decent propose,
for I have a strong inferiority complex, and think I will lose."

His mojo tries to give him hope, and make him see reason,
"Come on Mr. John, don't you be so pessimistic, for you are a man of all seasons,
You are intelligent, and caring, and can talk pretty well - and girls like that,
While you are also pretty rich and your only fault is that you are a bit fat"

John says, "Yes I guess that is true, but I am also maybe a little too proud
And if I love a girl, she should like me too, otherwise there is always some doubt,
I am not ready to fall in love, and then take the sack
because the pain is too much to take, and that is what keeps me back"

"But, Mr. John, this is no reason for me to suffer, and feel bad
there are places like Amsterdam and Bangkok for me to be glad,
So lets go there, and relive Amsterdam of two years back,
Enjoy with the girls there - without any fear of a sack."

And so John decided, on that fateful Valentines day,
that to every girl he is interested in, "I love you" would he say,
or if that would not work, and if girls would still keep him in the dark clouds,
he would like to take a trip to Amsterdam and Bangkok and make Mr. Mojo proud.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Of the left brain of the right brained people and vice versa

1) I am a right brained person, according to the test I took at a training at my company. It was a pretty useless test, if you ask me, because the test only checked what I liked to do, and not what I am good at. Those two are entirely different things although people often confuse them as similar. I like doing the right brained stuff but I am good at the left brained stuff. So what am I?
2) The 3 Idiots, which is entertainment mixed with a lot of gyaan - a LOT of gyaan, which killed it for me - gave fundaes about finding your true calling in life. Now what exactly does it mean by "the true calling in life?" Is it the thing you genuinely like doing the most or the thing you are the best at? The movie, while being good, is definitely not a masterpiece, and after a Hirani classic like Lagre Raho Munnabhai you are actually let down. Moreover, the way that it has looked down on achievers and praised the under-achievers is actually pretty naive. And ignorant of some basic facts about under-achievers. And the irony is, the movie is more appreciated by the achievers and those who were not meant to achieve :). But more rant about the movie later.
3) I owe a lot to the left part of my brain, and that is what actually made me graduate from the best colleges in the country. And everything I am today - which is not much, I have to admit - is because of the left part of my brain. Infact, the right part of my brain is responsible for my poor showing at both IIT and IIM. I could have probably topped there too if I really wanted to and allowed my left part of the brain to take over. But then again, it is the right part of the brain which really makes me happy- and there is nothing I can do about it. So while I do have the potential to be a Rancho or a Chatur, my right brain and my quest for following my dreams has made me a Farhan - or a Hari - or whatever the name of those two losers in 3Idiots was. But it has also made me happy, happy than I ever could be by being a topper or anything. And this is where 3 Idiots fails for me - a character representing me.
4) Remembered the venn diagram representation of the ideal job (Courtesy: Bud Cadell). Imagine three venn circles representing work you like to do, work you are good at and work that pays good money. See the diagram below. This is a great way to reflect on your work and are you doing what you are actually doing in your life. And what should you do to be really happy.



I tried putting my own perspective on the venn diagram and the results were not positive. These were the results
a) My current job was probably outside the Venn Diagram: I am not very good at it, I definitely don't like it much and it does not pay good money. Well, it pays okay but not good money.
b) The work I was good at was mostly left brained things like number crunching, quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis etc etc while the things I liked doing were creative writing, chattering aimlessly, playing sports, doing plays, and the like. Almost a certain mismatch between the two. Except probably for solving probability puzzles and cryptic crosswords. But the best was thinking about what are the jobs that actually pay money. These skills include cock sucking and ass licking of your boss across the different industries. Whatever you do and your other skills become totally useless. So my venn diagram became the following.



And now I am totally confused. My left brained skills and my right brained passions have left me little choice, about what to do. The venn diagram leaves me with only the following options then:
a) Open a Sports Analytics Company
b) Go Around Philosophising
c) Become a Creative Writer
However, being a left brained person, I am also try being a bit practical. And that practical aspect of me is afraid to take the next big step. Of quitting the current job, and doing something I like. A step towards being happier. At work. :)