Yes, yes. I am guilty. The title is lifted from ‘The Week That Wasn’t’ hosted by Cyrus, but the content is original. So I can safely term it as an inspiration. As the title suggests, I am trying to do a brief round up on the year which is about to give way to it’s succesor.
We entered this year when the world was suffering from one of the worst recessions, fearing if we will become one of the unfortunate victims. But the spirits were high as I had one of the best nights partying with friends.
It was a year which saw me taking a short break from Orkut to try and do something good, but found myself giving in to the temptation and coming back to online social jungle in few months. It was a year which saw me hosting my mom for the first time ever in B’lore in last 6 years.
A year which was one of the most significant ones for me till date. A year in which I transformed myself for one more time. From growing my hair long to learning a few guitar notes and changing my attitude towards people/life. It was time when I decided to do some tidy up and got rid of some things/habits/people which were never fruitful to me. Better late then never..lol.
This was a year when India screwed up their T20 title, only to find themselves reaching the top spot in tests later. A year When chief of a nation involved in 2 endless wars got Nobel peace prize. It was a year which saw companies cutting down on salaries and increasing work hours, only to find sky rocketting attrition rates towards the end of the year. :p
2009 cemented my firm believe in power of money and my lust for it. As I find myself 6K Kms away from home, I am looking forward to explore the powers of mighty piece of papers a bit more. As the year comes to an end, it’s time to renew old resolutions, as most of us never succeed to honor them anyway. So once again my most important resolution is to shed some weight in early 2010.
Well, music is my lifeline and I could not wrap up without writing something around it. Once again we have seen a masterpiece Studio EP coming from Coldplay. Prospekts’ March . The single ‘Life in Technicolor II’ and its video are front runners for this year’s Grammy.
Being a Coldplay fan, I am backing “Life In Technicolor II” till the end. I will leave you with the video of the song to enjoy. I’m sure you will love it.
To wrap up, it rarely snows in Worthing. But it did this time, and allowed me to witness the first snowfall of my life.
You can enjoy some the pics I clicked while I will enjoy the last few chilly days of this year roaming in and around London.
I am kind of a WebLogger who basically prefers writing things which are directly affect or in some way linked to him. So naturally, you would normally find me writing on discrete topics which are very much independent of others. Obviously it helps me avoid any confrontation on touchy issues. ( a smarta** that I am)
But for a change, I have picked one of the very controversial topics of all times “Relationships”. Ohh, yes, I have plans to become the most hated person of 2009 :p.
I am sure you would have definitely asked this question to your conscience sometime “After all, what are these relationships I have all around myself, and why do I need them. What ifffff…I lose them all !!!..”
So tonight (I should rather say morning), I am going to make a lame attempt to try and understand relationships around me, around all of us.
We have so many forms of relationships around us, and that too in so many forms, that most of times we simply fail to acknowledge the very existence of one. So let me ask you, have you ever realized that you experience a relationship as soon as you get up every day. You get out of your bed, go to you balcony and you find that your Paperwallah has already thrown daily dose of news for you. As soon as you open your main door you realize that your Doodhwallah has put packet(s) of Milk for you. Suddenly the maid shows up and cleans all you dirt followed by a possible entry of Cook who feeds you with those delicious curries. You get ready, get down and find a cabbie waiting to take you to your office.
Just keep on counting.
Peon in office cleans your desk. Office cafeteria serves you lunch and snacks. Your cable operator, mobile operator, your ISP, electricity and gas suppliers. You are in midst of an ocean of Relationships. An ocean, which you build and grow along with you. But we fail to acknowledge them all. Isn’t it.
the condition or fact of being related; connection or association.
3.
connection between persons by blood or marriage.
4.
an emotional or other connection between people: e.g. the relationship between teachers and students.
5.
a sexual involvement; affair.
I will try to define some of the relationships which I have already mentioned before and some of the new ones with these Five.
Yesterday you hit a cyclist with your posh BMW and he suffered a major injury. I would say your relation to the mishap falls under First definition.
All the relationships I mentioned before would fall under the Second definition, as there is an association between you and the organization/people who provide you various services. Remember, Vodafone quotes your ‘Relationship Number’ on the monthly post-paid bill they send you.
The relationship you share with your parents, siblings, cousins, uncle, aunts, spouse and in laws goes under the Third definition.
The Fourth definition is easy to understand as well. Isn’t it? Your relationship with your friends, is there a better way to define it?
Fifth one is probably the most risky to touch I would say. A layman like me would think that the very first reason someone would like to get into a Relationship with a complete stranger of opposite (nowdays same as well) sex is very much explained here.
So why do we have all these relationships? I say NEED. In My Arrogant Opinion (IMAO :p), it’s the NEED which creates all relationships, it’s the NEED which drives them all and it’s the absence of NEED which kills them in the END. I was good friends with a music store owner as I used to buy at least one music cassette from him every week and he used to give me discount. One day, I switched to digital media, the NEED was gone and so was my little relationship with the music store.
It holds so true with, well everything I can think of. If I suddenly decide to go into exile at Himalayas, I won’t need any of the relationships said before. Same holds valid for a relation between 2 or more individuals. I am not trying to be rude or grateless, but I need parents as I would not have survived on my own, I need friends as life would be so boring without them, I need Internet as I can’t do without browsing, chatting, music, movies and obviously some uncensored stuff. And so I have a relation with all of them.
Given I have almost uncovered the origin and reason of existence of relationships, it’s time to do some analysis around that WHAT IFF part. What if, I lose one or more relationships I am currently into?
Well, I see two possibilities:
I would crib for few minutes/hour/days/months depending on how important it was to me and then:
1. Search and find an alternate if I can’t do without it. 2. Forget it and carry on with my life, as it didn’t mean much to me anyway.
Few examples lifted from my own life.
I am so much addicted to computers that I got myself a new laptop in the very first month I arrived in The UK. I did get one from my employer, but obviously I don’t like working under restrictions and I had no other option than to get a personal one. Obviously computer was something which I could not have lived without (option 1) and went for an Alternate when my desktop was no more accessible to me. One relation gone, another created as a replacement. Simple? Not so I say.
On a similar note I don’t remember more than half of my school and college friends as their friendships were anyway not a lifeline for me and I was so cool moving on without taking them along.
Now comes the complexities. What if I am presented with more than one relationship to choose from, or I am able to find a better alternative to the current relationship I am having.
Relationships are more like a business process, where it should be profitable and advantageous to everyone involved. If anyone feels he is not getting what he expects, or if there is a better option around, he will switch. Don’t tell me you have never changed you preferred hang out place; your telephone operator, your house, your roommates. If you don’t get something fruitful from a relationship, you just GET OUT of it… Plain.
It’s a natural process and we should not be offended if our partner left us for something which was better to him/her. In the course of our lives we will come across situations where we will find people moving out of our lives as well, for their own good, without thinking about us. But it’s fine, because obviously they won’t be able to do something better for themselves if they start thinking of you. You see, they could get sunk in a guilt feeling.
So personally IMAO, I find myself in the best possible situation when I take Relationships as nothing more than a Scheme of Arrangement. An arrangement created to fulfil my NEEDS and it’s always better to either Find a Replacement or Learn to Live without it rather than cribbing. To add, I have never seen someone dying for a lost relationship.
After all, Life is more like a Multiple Choice Question where more than one options are correct. You have to choose the most accurate of them all, or else FAIL the test. As simple as that.
Your invaluable comments are welcome and please excuse any eshhpelling mishtakes, if present. They are bound to occur when someone is typing half asleep.
P.S–> This useless thread was written in my complete consciousness on early morning of 29-Nov-09 (GMT), and I was not intoxicated at all while writing it … LOL. ROTFL
