Sunday, June 17, 2007

Thinking of you dad, on father's day

As a child my father's diabolical personality always fascinated me.

His famous temper threatened to bury everyone in its fury. The slightest facial manifestation of a temper trouble - a menacing nerve twitching with raw emotion, angry furrows, and pursed lips, made me and my sister run for cover. My mother was also insightful enough not to ruffle his feathers when he appeared "negatively charged".

However, his temper was not the only trait which defined his personality.

His sense of humor deliciously peppered with measured doses of cynicism, wit, sarcasm and raciness, could knock out even the most bland and straight faced person.

Just yesterday, after waking up from his mid-afternoon siesta he hatched a very productive plan of creating a "unique" Orkut profile for my mother. The shrill enthusiam in his voice reeked of treacherous intentions. Once I gave an appreciative nod of a person "in the know", Dad set about his business.

The "Personal" page of my mother's faceless profile had the following details punched in, much to every pervert scrapper's delight...

Ideal Match - Rajkumar (with all due respect to the deceased star - Maa what were you thinking???)

First thing you notice about me - My five feet nothing frame

Build - A few extra pounds (now my mother is not exactly a "yummy mummy", know what I mean...a few extra pounds is a very modest comment....this was added after some evil chuckles and Hi-5's)

Body Art - Strategically placed tattoo (Well I love my mum like the rest of her brood....I swear I do...but honestly all tattoo parlours would shut shop if she ever decides to get a tattoo ....and a strategically placed one at that!!!)

My idea of a perfect first date - Too late in the day

Turn Ons - tattoos (not again!!), candlelight and wealth (makes my mother sound like a gold digger)

Passions - Nagging my husband and children (way to go Papa, you finally did it!)

Sports - The only one's I've played is Chiti Dhap and Kho Kho (now hide-n-seek on my profile doesn't sound as bad...now does it???)

Living - with partner, friends visit often, party every night (The last time my parent's partied was when my sister finally passed high school with "respectable" marks, a decade ago!)

Good for gags....Isn't it?

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Internal Upheaval

Hassled me: Why 710? Why dear Lord? Why couldn't I break into the elite 750+ club?

Somewhat Unflappable me: Take a deep breadth...Clear your mind and let the rational thoughts prevail...

Rational Thought 1 : Even though you didn't break previous records (read 800!!!) held by some imaginary moderator on your study forum, 710 is a handsome score which fits well in the larger scheme of things

Hassled me (interrupting) : but 710 does not commensurate with my efforts and expectations (more importantly the latter, rather than the former!).
Somewhat unflappable me (cooing pacifyingly): Honey...the score is pretty much in line with your "originally hatched" expectations (remember when you were all starry eyed about breaking the 700 barrier!!)...They might however not be in line with your revised expectations...Remember expectations are a function of thoughts, peer-generated benchmarks (real and imaginary) and past laurels ...which unfortunately renders them dynamic.....which effectively means that you might have felt cheated with a score of 800, in a deliriously optimistic moment!!!!

Hassled me (refusing to let go): But I still don't feel satisfied with the outcome...

Somewhat unflappable me: Satisfaction like optimism is a practised art and not an inborn trait...you need to cultivate these feelings consciously

Hassled me: But doesn't an overdose of optimism breed complacence?

Somewhat (un)flappable me: Being optimistic does not mean that you should allow complacence to feast on your hard-working spirit...It means breathing realism into your expectations, staying miles away from self-deprecation and most importantly learning to let-go.....Put in your best efforts, and clip the umbilical cord, detaching yourself from the pain/pleasure of your performance....Gloating over your success for too long, steals your focus...Likewise obsessing with failure robs you of your confidence....So in the end you see it's all about the power of balance!!!