Symbolism

This week has been strange - the clock virtually stopped ticking.....

Over this week all the 3 clocks in my apartment started going dead one after the other. May be I changed the batteries of all the wall clocks in my house at the same time last year......, or maybe the cold in my apartment has started affecting the clock batteries .....

But interestingly even my wrist watches stopped working.

While I am trying to figure out the symbolism of this, I now rely on my old Omega which I earlier used to ignore because it needs to be manually wound up.  I now laboriously wind it up daily.

Encounter @ Indian Restaurant in Cairo

So this weekend I legged it to the newly opened and strangely named "Maharaja-1" restaurant in my Cairo neighbourhood. Enough of my own cooking .... I was ready to be spoilt by a royal treat from the Maharaja himself.

But especially I was looking forward to meeting the Indian chef who ran the place - some kindred soul with whom I can exchange recipes and share the feelings that well up when a chap stays far away from home.  And maybe he will prepare especially for me that special dish that is not on his menu ......

Enter the place and head straight to the busy looking owner-cum-chef.  I introduce myself as another Indian, and wait for the emotional welcome and hugs expected of a person meeting another from his home country.

He looks me and up and down.  And then........

He : "So you have come to eat, or........."

I : "err .... yes, to eat"

He (looking pointedly behind me) : "and who else with you?"

I : "err .... no one else - just me - you see my family is ....."

He (obviously uninterested in my family saga) : "so you want a table for ONE?" (emphasis his)

I :"errr ....yes"

He stopped looking into my eyes from that moment.  I could empathise with the hapless cockroach that might dare enter his kitchen

He : "well, you can take the table near the entrance - that table actually seats 4, but you can sit there ...."

I (with great relief) : "oh, thank you, thank you, much appreciated ...."

Head straight to the table which seats 4 - but which will now seat only 1.  All the other tables were 8 seaters over-flowing with large Egyptian families obviously having a good time enjoying the gastronomical delights.

The table for 4 (but which now seats only 1) is the one next to the exit.  I have a good view of the pavement outside from here.

Go through the menu.  I realise suddenly that I am not so hungry after all .....

But since I have come here .... "I will have a vegetable pulav and raita" I told him.

He : "That is it?"  And he waited, his pen expectantly poised over his large notepad.

Of course, table for 4.

I : "umm - ah - Ok, I will also have a bottle of water - small one".

He : "No small one.  We only serve big bottles here"

That is called rubbing it in.

I don't recall the taste of the food - but I can vividly recall every passerby that passed by the restaurant while I ate.

Spreading Happiness through the "Like" button on fb

I initially disliked - and used to ridicule - the "Like" button on Facebook.  I thought it was superficial and  used it very very selectively, and only for content that really really impressed me.

But enlightenment struck me recently, and now I use it liberally and with a clear conscience.

The "Like" button is not merely for the post. It is much bigger than that.  When I "Like" it, it means that the person who posted it is important enough to me to read what he posted.  It is recognising his effort, and by extension acknowledging his presence in the virtual world. It has very little with whether you actually AGREED with the contents of his post, or whether or not you liked the looks of his gaudily clad heavily mascara decked wife in their honeymoon photo. And if you are delighted about it then "Comment" on it or better still post it on your own wall.

"Like" is like giving a positive stroke to an individual - in the same way in real life you go around wishing people you like, and smiling at them, and therefore acknowledging the role they play in your life even if on that particularly day they are having a bad hair day.

So go ahead and use the "Like" button liberally - you will help spread some happiness in the Virtual - and consequently - in the Real world. 

Birthday reminder on Facebook

The Birthday reminder is one of most superficial and irritating feature about Facebook.  I actually dislike the almost "automated" birthday greetings on my fb wall from friends & acquaintances as a result of Facebook reminding users on my birthday - and therefore indirectly putting social pressure on them to wish me (even if they did not want to).

I like it as it was in the pre-Facebook days when without any automated calendar reminders, friends either write to me by email or call to wish me.

Anyway I removed my birthday from Facebook so that no one gets a reminder and hence are not forced to write some automated greeting on my wall.  And neither do I send birthday greetings to people if I did not know their birthdays by heart in the first place.

I am truly becoming a relic. 

Notes To Myself - on Farewells

1. A few years ago when I was leaving an organisation I sent out a general "Farewell & Thank you" mail to the entire organisation, thanking a lot of individuals by name.  Inevitably as it happens I forget to mention a few names - either by accident or by design.  Those whose name I mentioned will not remember me for this gesture; but those who thought they deserved a mention but who I - accidentally or otherwise - forgot to mention will not forget the omission. 
2. The best thing to do - either in farewell speeches or farewell mails - is to keep it general and thank everyone without mentioning any specific individual names (except perhaps your direct manager).  If I need to thank some specific individuals, I will write to them individually or drop by their office and thank them personally.