Gathering thoughts…
A world of little thoughts.
A while back at a public event, I saw a guy with a shirt that had a design with those words (it was a cool design btw). It was one of those moments that you are like "ohhh, cool shirt" and that's it. But the phrase got stuck in my head, so much so that later on, I wrote a note on my cellphone. With everything I've…
Just had an appraisal. My Project Manager predicted I’m just going to be a senior planning engineer in 35 years. That’s crazy, I don’t think I have the time for that. What I realised is no matter how good you be at; your position will only dictate you to be at certain levels. Set clear on your goals; remember:…
A well known meme claims that Eskimo-Aleut languages have a hundred words for snow. Scholars question this, saying that these languages are polysynthetic, in which bigger words are composed of smaller parts and employ suffixes, or postbases. This makes it appear that there are more unique words than actually exist.…
While visiting Copenhagen, she asked a local man how one finds parking. The man explained the process: write the time of arrival on a sheet of paper, place it against the window facing outwards, and that way the the attendant will know that you haven't overstayed your allotted time. "But what if I just write a time…
When I write consistently for a few days, I feel smarter. When I exercise consistently for a few days, I feel stronger. Yet, I struggle to want to do both. It's not that I'm lazy. When I could be writing or exercising, I'm almost always working. Sitting at my computer, tapping, clicking, thinking. Not working makes me…
We often sign up for tasks without considering whether we'll be able to show up with full intention. We think about how fun or exciting it'll be to experience something. Soon enough, we begin to wonder - did we even think clearly? The sudden responsibility to be fully present is daunting. But we get baited by the rush…
Hateful admiration. Painful pleasure. Relaxing chaos. One of the things I want out of life is to experience the full range of emotions. Listening to music takes me close. Happiness, sadness, anger, affection, hate, angst are some of the few I've identified that I've felt, but as humans we are capable of so much more…
I always thought that I was flexible, could adapt well, and thrive in the newest of environments. But with the speed at which the entire digital landscape around us is changing, I'm not so confident anymore. Having always tied my worth to my productivity, what if I'm not relevant anymore? Another thing that worries me…
You can impose fear by not talking to anyone and people might take you seriously But the better way is to gain respect That’s the hardest To be good at your job at the same time connecting human relationship It’s hard to beat that
Voltei de uma imersão de uma semana em Brasília. Foi o encontro anual do meu trabalho. Foi bom, mas não foi. Bom pela comida, pela natureza e pela oportunidade de ver pessoalmente quem eu vejo só online. Bom pela oportunidade de aprofundar laços e dançar em conjunto. Também conversar, rememorar e celebrar. Não foi bom…
A friend once told me that her husband hates the phrase ‘diversity in a work place’. I was hooked. No one in today’s woke culture says this openly. Especially a man. This sounds wrong. She told me how hard working he is and feels let down when less deserving women get priority in promotion. This made me think. How do…
Yesterday was another day with no electricity, no internet, or cellular service. We couldn't check messages, browse Instagram, or watch TV. I read a book and went to bed at 9 pm. It made me think about how much more time we would have if we didn't have all these forms of digital entertainment. I didn’t feel like I…
I had the privilege of a very long talk with my skip boss. What started off with niceties about skiing quickly moved to discussing a major problem at work. Earlier this week we discovered a necessary change to the database required to move forward with what had been a trivial value-add in our app. The change required…
For the longest time, whenever I would be asked, "where do you see yourself in 5 years?", my mind would stray away. The beauty of human imagination is that it is unrestricted. A thought is swift enough to traverse wide enough. I would wonder if it is a luxury car, a big house, frequent travelling, ability to lay my…
(The following is a role playing diary written from the perspective of my Project Zomboid character) Days became easier once I got a working car, tools, weapons and a nice place far in the woods. I'm busy every day, yet sometimes I enjoy little moments like this more than before the outbreak. I was drowning in a badly…
I am starting a new writing journey of writing everyday for the next 30 days. I will write on musings of my mind, which I think will broadly involve topics on parenting, recent books I read, design flow, on tax and work. The idea is to write what ever I can think of; letting my mind playout and think clearly on the…
"Your only power in life is to inspire other people. And the only way to inspire them is to live the most authentic and genuine life to yourself possible." - Naval Got very inspired by this quote from Naval this morning and it made me think of a recent convo I had with ldf saying how I feel almost pressured to do a…
"...a gente quer ter voz ativa, no nosso destino mandar, mas eis que chega a roda viva e carrega o destino pra lá..." Ontem isso ficou bem claro. Mudanças de planos, surpresas nem sempre boas, algumas boas notícias, mudanças na rotina, doenças, notícias de morte. Como dizem, o homem põe e Deus dispõe. E só nos resta…
In my dream I was suddenly transported back to a very specific moment in high school: it was on a Saturday during the lunch break at my drawing class all the way on the opposite end of the city. The noodles I slurped from that 24hr Lawson were chewy, but that wasn’t where my attention lay. I was ecstatic about dating…
Supriya Roychoudhury's piece Hathi on FiftyTwo.in is clear in my memory both because it was excellent and because it was one of the few bright spots during the second wave of Covid in April-May 2021. (https://fiftytwo.in/story/hathi/) It told the touching tale of Hathi, an elephant presented by India to the Kabul Zoo…
How useless most of what we do at agencies is... When working for a friend's business, I suddenly dont think that audience segmentations or anything like that is worth it.
I write this at 8 AM on my birthday in one of my worst states of mind in a while. Ideally, it shouldn't have been this way. Courts have closed in Kolkata for summer holidays and I was to embark on a vacation abroad after more than two years. Only for my visa not to arrive in time. At this point, I am gutted. A while…
Writing like a lawyer for over twenty five years had clogged my system with literary cholesterol. I was never a fan of legal jargon - you won't get a "hereinafter" out of me - but years of legal writing made Jaitly a dull scribe. Giving legal advice, or drafting a contract, requires words to have unambiguous meanings:…
i think sheila heti is actually somewhat mainstream despite being indie in style but tao lin is still fully indie despite being published in Vice just because like i think sheila heti is spreading a mainstream message [in a groundbreaking way] but tao lin is spreading a somewhat indie message ["somewhat" meaning a…
A friend and I regularly check-in across the ocean - California, US and Vietnam - regarding activities around PKM, GTD, and solopreneurship. Two days ago, I recently shared about my on-goings - "... and lots of self-reflection - or shall I say "Self-Inflection" - I feel like I am at a transition point" Self-inflection…
You might be a lifeline in a social setup but lifeless underneath, you have a gallery full of smiling selfies but you don't have one smile for yourself everyday.You have a phone full of contacts but you don't want to dial to any one. When you try to analyse yourselves you come to conclusions like I am an introvert, I…
It’s me…again…here bc I’m wondering what will resonate if/when Twitter really does shift into a place I no longer want to be.
Today, I struggled with stomach pains, felt generally a bit unwell, and even vomited. Initially, I thought it might be food poisoning from something I ate. But as the day went on, I started to think there might be another reason. I've been pushing myself too hard lately - not regarding the workload, that's doable, but…
It seems like someone disagrees with the previous poster: === anon2080 Don't let the naysayers fool you. The Art Symposium was a success and will benefit all artists in the region. The government's role is not to dictate what kind of art should be produced or consumed but to provide the resources and support that…
Crossing the threshold into tranquility. Silence. Figures reading, learning, absorbing. You tread lighter than usual. Paces slower. A softness of the feet as a sign of respect to the literature. A wave of colour greets you. Blinding brightness, as you search for familiarity. A name, a face, a feeling. Row by row of…
Vivi a última noite numa pista cheia de gente feliz e fervida. Encontrei amigos e conhecidos que não via há tempos. A música era boa. Dancei com a Ludo, Nino, Raquel, Guima e Chiara. Os DJs Vermelho, Davis, Âme&Dixon. Entortei de vez para o techno. Dancei. Derreti. Tomei cerveja bem gelada. As luzes estavam bonitas,…
Is knowing that whatever you do is truly your own fault and accountability Whatever your life will turn out to be is purely based on you and you ONLY 保持清醒 Your own decisions to do whatever is purely based on you Just take a simple example You could’ve been early so manny times That nobody forces you to be late But…
We reset ourselves by feeling like we've reclaimed control of our environment. Most of us have learned repeatable behaviours that help us feel normal. I wrote about how a bath resets me in a piece earlier. For some, it could be cleaning or cooking for another person. Some people maintain to-do lists. I've also heard…
ahhh! today creation is hard. it frustrates me. reoccurring in my mind as an emotion, fades from top to bottom. somewhere in the gradient is the perfect colour that represents the output of my frustration
i used to think that i am a programmer. i have friends who think they are programmers or designers or editors or traders etc, and i don't think that's a great way to describe yourself. i think a better way to describe yourself is to say that you are a problem solver, and i don't mean go be an entrepreneur, just think…
I'm currently at a wellness hotel with my parents, enjoying fantastic 4-course menus for dinner. The contrast from university canteen food was high, yet by day 3, it's already starting to feel normal. This shows how quickly our reality shapes our perception, with new experiences rapidly becoming our new normal. We…
An observation I had while waiting at the international airport departure terminal in Bangalore. Picture a 40,000 square feet departure lounge. Interspersed with a mix of cafes, restaurants and plenty of lounge chairs, sleeping pods and tables. The departure gates on their part are on the outer periphery of this…
“I think you should dream the earth, As it has a heart and breathes.” — Davi Kopenawa, interview with F. Watson. Pitch, but the dark did not impede the vision, the forest brought comfort and not fear, there were many tropical flowers with the most seductive tones, the cyan ones were light and moved slowly with the…
Ahhhhhh!!! this journey excites me. then my nerves pull me back. let me try again tomorrow...
To be as close to being 100% authentically yourself as possible. It's a small observation that I've seen in any domain that I really dabbled into. When I was in cegep and was pretty big into fashion, you would always start copying others, but the goal was always to "find your own style." To know what you love wearing…
These are the first words I've written in many months. I've been thinking about why this is the case, and part of it might have to do with fear. I'm afraid of not being able to do it well. But there's something more there. I think I'm afraid because I believe I might have some type of cognitive decline. That was…
As small as it is, do as big as it can ever be. Especially the small things. The smallest detail you have to know. You need to know people - know the little details You need to put your best, even if you're booking restaurants, even if you're going out with someone... know the little details GO to the furthest Don't…
Questioning the notion of free will seems to be in fashion nowadays. So what is this idea of "free will?" I think a lot of us have an intuitive sense of what it is. It's the idea that our personal sense of agency or identity is what originates our actions. Who does what we do? Well, we do. If you're out for a walk…
running away is easy. you can run away from problems. you can run away from solutions. you can run away from reality. you can run away from delusion. you can run away from love. you can run away from hate. running away from anything is easy because you're afraid of stopping. you're afraid of stopping one day and…
My friend Shashish died on the 9th of January. We joined History honours in 1985. Sometime during the first few months of college, we became friends. With Shahid Imam, Amitabh Tripathi and Rohit Jha, we studied for exams together, smoking 25 paise Now cigarettes during our many breaks. He was smart, very smart. In our…
The only thing that bores me more than my opinion is yours. I haven't heard a new take or a hot take in more than 20 years. Most of my takes are bargain basement off the shelf opinions that I hold true -- I think? -- not because I believe them but because of some delusional image I have of myself. I am not the only…
É. Não tem pra onde fugir. Não sou negacionista e mais: acredito muito na ciência, na medicina, apesar de estar cantando a música "lenda", da céu loucamente nos últimos dias. Minha dog vai ter que operar. Mas antes, dá-lhe prediderm, dá-lhe remédio pra não ter trombose, muitos exames de sangue e do coração. Ela odeia…
Today, I met up with people from my CDTM class, an add-on study program in Munich. These are people I met just a year ago, and catching up with them, it's crazy to see how they’re all doing big things. In this circle, it seems almost normal - but it’s not. I believe a big part of this is being part of the CDTM program…
