Goodbye 2007!

Someone once said, “People often worry about what they eat between Christmas and New Year when they should actually worry about what they eat between New Year and Christmas”. Hopefully all you people doing the binge eating (and drinking) should learn from this! ;-)

The year 2007. The year that was. At least for me! Those of you who know me well probably know I'm not one to send cheesy e-greeting cards via email. I believe in the sanctity of the written (in this case typed) word. So I thought I'd just put some of my thoughts on cyberspace as this year comes to a close. and this is a little different because it's my first blogging year!

As we ponder upon the year that's just passed us, we think about how we could have done things differently. We think about how we could have made better decisions and altered our fate. We think about what we want to achieve in the coming year and the rest of our lives. As for this year, some things went wrong, some things went right and some things simply happened. We partied till morning, we drank all night, we got raises, we got promotions, we got married and we got children. We got chicken pox, the flu, diarrhea and some new strain of virus that got our bowels doing a different dance! But we survived! At least those of us reading this did. Those of us that didn’t are probably in a better place where there’s no need to file your tax returns, no need to think about entertaining surprise guests and no worry in the world (and more importantly they do not have to listen to Himesh Reshamiya and Lindsay Lohan sing anymore!).
As for me I always believed even numbers were good for me. The 2s, 4s, 6s and 8s were usually good for me. But this year was different. A lot happened in 2007. I got a new perspective at work after sorting out some stuff (and some people). I got a new perspective on my love life. I realized I'd finally found the woman of my dreams and proposed to her. For those of you wanting to make a trip to Goa, India next year, the wedding's tentatively set for the 8th of November 2008. And finally, I got a new perspective on life!

I'm thoroughly happy with myself (those of you with naughty thoughts, it's not what you think). I'm just happy with the way things have turned out. While we all give thanks to God (or whoever you think is responsible for the great big jig we call life), here's raising our glasses and cheering on the New Year; a year filled with new hope and promise. A year filled with joy and pleasant surprises. A year that will hopefully be – the best one of our lives!

Here’s wishing you all a Happy New Year!

PS - Special New Year greetings to my homies - Lord Raj, Rubick, Rayboy and a few anonymous characters for keeping this blog alive.

Merry Christmas!!!

A little poetic banter from BarryUno for the people of the bloggin world:

Christmas is more than just a festival,
It's more than having lots of fun and merriment.
It's more than exchanging presents and gift giving,
It's more than kissing under the mistletoe with sentiment.

Christmas is about celebrating life with new spirit,
It's about trying to make all wrongs right.
It's about taking it to the next level,
In this great big journey called life!

Wishing you and your loved ones a fun-filled and blessed Christmas!

Peace!

People and cars!

I have made an astute observation. The car you drive speaks about your personality. For the most part it does........and definitely more-so in this country!

For someone to drive a Toyota Echo or Nissan Sunny simply means that he or she has absolutely no knowledge about cars and couldn't give a damn! He or she wants to get from point A to point B and couldn't care how that trip is made. The interiors are shabby and cheap. Albeit all the improvements and additional accessories Nissan has introduced in the new Sunny, it still feels like driving a gypsy caravan without prizefighter Mickey O'Neil in Snatch!

The same goes for people that drive the Echo. Looking at the instrument panel is like looking at a cheap Casio calculator. Needless to say the shape of the car is a complete turn-off. It's like a frog made of fiber! Or maybe something you'd get if a Corolla spat out a car! I'm glad they stopped making it. The replacement - the Yaris also has a lot to be desired but at least it looks better than its predecessor!

The people that drive these cars; what can we say about them? According to my observation, these are the people that do 80 kmph on a 120 lane! They're the ones who'll wait for an eternity to cross an intersection. And they'll drive so defensively that you get the feeling they're driving like everyone else on the road wants to kill them. Pisses the hell out of me!

Bottom line; if you can't afford anything else, wait. Get a used Lancer, Corolla or Peugeot 207 but don't buy an Echo or Sunny!

Full Circle!

Life is a full circle! Of course most of you know that already and for those of you who don't.....I'm sorry, you've got to either read more Buddhist philosophy or marry Richard Gere!

I have noticed of late that I keep bumping into people I used to hang out with in school and college. I randomly meet people I first started working with. I even meet people I've pulled nasty pranks on when I was growing up! Which brought me to thinking last night......about what Baz Lurhman said in his rant Sunscreen a few years ago. "The more older you get, the more you'll run into people you knew when you were younger" or something to that effect. And this is so true!

I'm probably reflecting on this cos I turned a year older last month and it's the end of the year etc etc. But it is something that hits home nonetheless. And as I grow older/younger and wiser I look forward to seeing more of the people I knew. Talking about the good old days when we used to blow up condoms thinking they were balloons and set them across the village river about 2 decades ago (we couldn't possibly have known what they were actually meant for).

Have you fine people experienced this?

The "Yesterday" syndrome!

I'm perplexed by the "yesterday" syndrome. What do you do when your boss or one of your colleagues from another department comes over and asks you to do something? Most of us decide to take the project on and start preparing for it. It's only when the person who assigns you the project says "I want it yesterday" that you start doubting your decision of joining your present company.

Let's face it; the whole "I want it yesterday" syndrome was pretty cool back in the day when it was first made popular. It showed passion and determination. It was used sparingly and with meaning and you sort of respected the people who asked you for stuff yesterday. Nowadays about a decade after it was made popular, a lot of the people at work use that phrase a lot. I want that report on my desk yesterday. I want my car serviced yesterday. I want to be able to fly to the moon and back after going to a tanning salon on Jupiter and a gambling trip to Las Venus – yesterday! Come on people, give it a break!

It's bad enough that we've got so many things to in so little time at work because our superiors keep dumping work on us like we're a sate-of-the-art food processing plant in France. Now we have to deal with morons who ask us to time travel to the past and get stuff done. What initially was seen as passion has been transformed into a rabid joke that is taking over every office. What does that mean in one line? Our bosses are procrastinators. If you think the task had to be completed yesterday, you should have given it to me the day before! It's as simple as that! Why wait until today to assign it to me? What it proves is that these people are not good managers and collaborators and they're even worse at planning!

Do you people have any such gripes about the "yesterday" syndrome?

Winter in Kuwait!

Kuwait isn't that charming to begin with. I mean I like it here to a certain extent (this is a fact clearly visible in my previous post) but sometimes it does get a little too drab. When I say drab I mean the landscape, the people etc. It lacks color! And excitement!

However come winter and I tend to get a little excited. Perhaps it's because of the winter fashion. I'd like to think that I'm quite trendy and that's one thing I like about winters. Albeit there aren't any opportunities for snowball fights and sleighing but at least we get to experience fashion and ever-changing trends. Winter in Kuwait always gives you a chance to dress up and exhibit your sweaters, jumpers, cardigans and what not!

Another thing that excites me is Christmas! Allright so it isn't as big as it is in the US or even India but there is a certain charm to it here in Kuwait as well. People decorating their Christmas trees at home, putting up their hangings and banners.....it's a cute little sight if you know what I mean. The fact that it isn't as commercial is what makes it special. It is because there aren't many or any official events associated with Christmas here in Kuwait apart from a few X'Mas balls (the dancing variety not the kicking ones) that makes it more personal. All there is to do is visit your relatives, eat christmas savouries and get drunk while eating (in some cases while cooking) your turkey lunch! I find this scene quite charming.

Finally, it's the last month of the year so most people I know are in a very contemplative mood. Should I have accepted that job offer, should I have asked for a raise instead, should I have boinked that chick without protection......are only a few of the many questions they ask themselves! And so they make new year's resolutions - I will accept the next best offer that comes my way or I will aim for a higher salary this year or I will make it a point to carry a box of Durex Play at all times! ;-) Needless to say, it's quite a sight listening to them tell you their resolutions. All in all a very interesting month!

What excites you about December? Does it excite you at all?

Why do we live here?

I just got back from a vacation in London a week ago. If you're wondering why I didn't post anything on this blog since then it's because I proposed to my girl in London, she said yes and I was just reveling in the joy of being engaged! Now that the effect has worn off (to a certain extent) I am back to my blogging ways!

For the most part of my travels in the past, I didn't really bother about coming back to Kuwait from a vacation. Probably because it didn't matter that much at the time. On this return journey however, I just got this sinking feeling as soon as I landed into Kuwait. Partially because I was missing my fiancee. But more than anything else, it was because I was back in the land of the rude. In a country where the phrases "please" and "excuse me" have as much value as a screaming nun in a cemetary! I was transported from a land where people (although snooty) are polite, to a land where people are snooty, impolite and to a certain extent downright dumb. I refer to the people at immigration desks (including the women). Does it really cost them to be polite? Maybe smiling is something they reserve for weddings or hitting on people of the opposite sex and think it is wasted on travelers coming into the country but at least be civil instead of yelling out orders.

Makes you wonder doesn't it? If it wasn't for the money, we'd be long gone from here! Damn shame!