Jan 30, 2014

the art of working

I used to work in an office.

In most offices these days, the time you sit in the chair is automatically thought of as you being productive. You could be reading a book on your computer screen or you could be chatting with a colleague on the sly or heck, you can spend all day browsing twitter and facebook (if your office still doesn't block these two). And even if you don't have any of these habits, there are more ways to skip doing work than there are ways to do work. The majority option takes the cake here. Does it ring a bell? I am sure it does.

So, unless there is a deadline or a boss sitting on your shoulders, the chances of getting work done are, at best, minimal. And -- I love this part -- even with a boss or a deadline, there are all possible chances that you might not be giving your best to the task at hand.

Why is that so?

Because, we can only be forced to do work. If it were up to us, with our finances well settled and health in good place, we'd all just rot away because what's the motivation to do anything in such a scenario? I can imagine the whole art and craft lobby going up in arms against my last assertion. They'd say there is art and higher meaning, a wish to connect with some supernatural force, a desire to reach out to people, to do something for ourselves, to leave your name etched in the annals of history, and in totality, just be remembered.

It's all just glorified bullshit. Man wasn't born to sit in an office chair all day and reply to emails. The human animal didn't go through hundreds of years of struggle to end up where we've ended up. So, why do people continue to do all that they do.

I am going to muse on that and try to puzzle these answers.

Jan 12, 2014

What's been up?

I got married recently. After dating my wife for close to nine years. This took time and it was an incredibly emotional experience. While marriage is a sacred mad special time for everyone, for me it was an even different experience because all the ceremonies took place according to my wife's culture.

And it was beautiful. Not saying this because it's my wife and it was my wedding but it was incredibly different from the North Indian weddings where there is a lot of noise, everything is delayed and
massive amounts of food is wasted. Nothing like that. I got wed on time, in peace and no food was wasted.

It's been close to two months of marriage now and I think I like this quality of life more than my single, living like a hobo mode.

I'm going to miss many things from my previous life but I think that it's a worthy bargain.

That is on life side.

Professionally, I've quit my job of six years to be with wife and I'll have to start looking for a new job. Contrary to popular opinion I didn't have a job in hand when I quit because after working at a place for six years, doing the same work again n again, I think I deserve a month of free time. Or maybe I don't. I guess I'll realize the folly or benefits of this decision as time goes by.

So, from the lazy life of Chandigarh, i'll be living in the fast paced, brutal and angry city of delhi.

I'll report how it goes in delhi, even though I have no love for the city, going there only cuz the wife is there and heck, I needed a change from my job.

Health wise, I'm going to be taking more care of my body and mind. No more vehicle, walking or metro from now on.

That's about it. For now.

I'm posting pics on www.pallav.tumblr.com. You can check them out.

Writing from my phone, so excuse the typos. Hit me on twitter @69fubar to talk about this post.

Have fun.

Sent from my iPhone