Mediocrity - underrated?

The other day a friend of mine asked me - "When does a man know that the most he achieves in life will be mediocrity? Late 40s? Late 50s?" I thought that was a very thought provoking question. He asked it with a very muted tone sounding as if mediocrity was a sign that someone has failed in life.

I like to think otherwise. Excluding the lazy bunch who waste their talents and find pleasure in couch camping, I would say the majority of us are termed "mediocre". But is that bad? Isn't mediocrity way underrated? Yes, life is indeed a race - and considering the starting point, we have come far. Now, if the finishing point is not out of the ordinary, that does not mean we have not run a good race. All of us are born with tools to mould life. Some of us with power tools and others with just a chisel and hammer. I say we do best with the tools we have and what we build out of it is ours to own. There is only room for so many greats in this world. Besides, we are never mediocre for people who care about us. Striving for greatness is perfectly fine, but make sure that achieving greatness is not the only way you will ever be satisfied in life.

Now you may be thinking - "You will never make money as a motivational speaker". I agree. Thankfully, I did not choose that profession in life and the world is a better place to be in precisely due to that decision of mine. However, I am mediocre in most of the stuff I do, but I do give it my best shot.

Be great at achieving greatness, but if mediocrity is what you get, never let the label take away the fun of  appreciating how far in life you have travelled to reach it.

Until next time - when I meet with you at the crossroads of another mediocre article on this mediocre blog.

image courtesy: http://www.justynsmith.com/2011/03/the-mediocre-kidmin-leader-part-2/

Life, Interrupted.

"Yeah, its all over now", my brother said with a deep sigh. "He looked just as handsome as he did before all of this happened". My heart felt heavier and my eyes teared up as I looked out the window hoping to find deeper answers to life's more complex questions.
***********
Around nine months ago, I was woken up by a phone call very early in the morning. It was the weekend, so I let it ring and continued my slumber until I got my lazy butt out of bed. It was after doing my morning chores that I decided to check who had called - it was my wife's cousin. The voice mail he left threw me right out of my comfort zone. He had been having headaches, so the doctor suggested an MRI and they had discovered a tumor in his brain. I felt like slapping myself for not taking his call and letting it go to voice mail. I desperately tried to call him back, but did not get any answer. It was later on that I knew he had been hospitalized and they had started further investigations into his condition.

Fast forward a couple of weeks - I traveled to Chicago to be by his side and also receive his parents who were on their way from India. It was 3 days packed with emotions - of him, his sister and his parents. There was a mix of anxiety, despair and hope for a better future - Medical science has made so many advances - we can clone entire organs, so a tumor in the brain could not be much of a puzzle for the brightest of doctors right?

Except, it was. They ruled out surgery as it was too complex and started chemo, radiation and rehabilitation. I painfully watched as his dad helped him regain his strength to walk, assist him to the bathroom and help him with other things otherwise considered mundane in daily life. For his dad, it was as if life had progressed in reverse, when his son was a little boy, and he was holding his hands to help him get his balance.

As time passed he fought back with his strong will power and zest for living, but then all of that suffered huge blows as hope dwindled and more doctors said that there was nothing more they could do. He never complained about how life was unfair and that he was given the short end of a stick. The bounce in his talk was still there, though occasionally he would delve into long streaks of silence. He joked about the hair he had lost because of the chemo and of the weight he had put on because of all the steroids.

After putting up a brave fight, the third week of March was destined to be his last on this planet. The last few days were particularly tough - for him and everyone close to him and then he decided he had enough. The tumor eventually outgrew his willpower and took over control. I guess some dark clouds do not have a silver lining after all.
******
After that phone call from my brother after his funeral, I called and spoke to his dad the next day. It hurt deeply, and though the chatty person that I am, I was at a loss for words in all languages I knew. I told him what I felt - all he could do was to look after himself and hos wife as his son would have done and that live life as happily as he would have wanted you to. In a way, the best homage to a bright young lad.

The loss of a child is more scarring in many ways compared to the loss of parents or close relatives. It hurts you until your last breath. Many a lesson can be learned from all of this - the most important one being - never  lose the joy of living life amidst complaints about all the nitty grtty details.

Jiby was 24 at the time of his funeral. He was just beginning to enjoy life in its prime - precisely why he fought so hard against what eventually took his life at a young age. May his soul rest his peace and may his memories light up moments of people he touched.

Sleep well my friend, for you shall be forever young.

Picture courtesy - http://usagamezone.blogspot.com

Inspiration is a chain reaction

It is a universally known fact that money is always tight for a college student. (Well, at least for the majority of us). During my college days, things were no different. For the purposes of full disclosure, I have to add that my mom did send me money, but when you add the Total Cost of Living (including costs of booze, other guilty pleasures etc.), the liabilities easily outweigh assets.

It was at one of those dinners with a shoe string budget that I bore witness to a random act which would have a profound impact later in my life (though I did not realize it at the time).  It was a warm night in Chennai (Madras at the time) and I was heading for dinner towards a street stand close to where we lived. During the short walk, I was carefully calculating the amount of food I could have for the meager amount of money I was carrying with me (And all of you wonder how Asians end up better at Math!). By the time I reached there, I had a pretty good idea of what and how much I will be ordering. While I was munching down my share of street delicacies, I saw a man (who had more than his share of alcohol) walking up to the person next to me. The person next to me definitely looked like he had a job (since he had a motorcycle and was dressed decently) and was sitting on his motorcycle and slowly chowing down his dinner. The drunk then asked him  - "Can I have some money so I can eat something? I am starved!". The other man seemed to be repulsed by the smell and demeanor and quickly moved backwards, then shook his head, gesturing a firm 'No'. The street vendor shouted - "Get the hell out; don't disturb my customers!". The drunk clearly knew a "No" when he saw it as he walked away slowly and sat down on the pavement a couple of meters away from me.His head hung low, either from shame or more likely, from the effects the alcohol had on his brain.

Like a wave washing away scriptures on sand, I could see that the man on the motorcycle being overpowered by a wave of sympathy and regret washing away his earlier feelings of repulsion. He turned to the drunk and said - "Ok, come and get whatever you want to eat; I will take care of the bill!". He must have known that I was watching all of this, so he quickly turned to me and said, "I know if I give him money he will spend it on booze, this way he will at least eat to ward off his hangover."

The gesture had an impact on me enough that I stopped eating and nodded my head in agreement. I also managed a smile in between all the other thoughts that were in my head. But later on in life, this inspired me to make giving a part of my life and whenever I did that I also made sure that it went to the source rather than an agency or upfront admin - of course, it means more work, but also much more rewarding.

So the next time you get a chance, indulge in a random act of kindness. You never know who you might inspire and how much of a chain reaction that triggers.

Image courtesy : www.clamlynch.com/blog/2005/06/

Pause. Reflect. Play.

She quietly opened the door so the noise would not waker her parents and brothers. She then put down her heavy backpack on the living room floor and  tiptoed her way into the sink. She washed her face to remove all the dirt and black stuff that had found its way from the factory floor. It was after a cold shower that she realized she was starving. She never had enough time to eat properly at work. Her parents could not afford to get enough to feed all their kids, so she always ended up with leftovers. After getting her hands on what little food she could get, she sat down and gently massaged her feet which was aching from all that walking at the assembly line. After a while, as she slowly slipped into her bed, she thought to herself - "My manager did seem impressed with my ideas to improve productivity. Hopefully that promotion should come through". She fell asleep knowing that the prospects of her ambition - becoming the VP of her company - were getting better each day.
-=-=-=-=-
Quietly, she opened the door to the kitchen from the garage and cursed as it made a loud squeaking noise. She hoped that the sound had not  woken up her husband and kids. She put down her heavy briefcase on the granite kitchen counter top and tip toed her way to the sink. She quickly washed off all the heavy makeup that seemed to suffocate her pores all day. She was never a fan of too much makeup, but in her corporate world of meetings and high profile clients, she always had to present her best face forward. It was then that hunger pangs struck her, and she proceeded to see what was left over in the fridge. There was plenty of food in the fridge, but her diet only allowed her to snack on the leftover salad. After a short while, she found herself  immersed in her high-end spa, gently massaging her feet to relieve them from the constant harassment they received from her high heeled shoes. She then sipped her favorite red wine and thought to herself - "The board of directors seemed pleased with my plan of growing exponentially through acquisitions - maybe my ambition of becoming CEO is not that far away. After all, there's only a couple of steps from VP to CEO."
-=-=-=-=-

OK, so I am not much of a storyteller, but more often than not in life, the begin and end points of our ambition feels the same - it is the journey to achieve it that gives the kicks. So when you are fast forwarding through life and everything feels automated and mechanical, press pause, take a deep breath, reflect on what you have achieved, enjoy it to the fullest and then proceed to play the rest. Just sayin'.

Image Courtesy : http://trcs.wikispaces.com/Analysis+of+Poems?f=print

Deathwish

"OK, OK, I admit! I do not take life seriously enough. You happy now?" As I slammed the door behind me and walked towards my motorcycle, I murmured - "I wish I wouldn't have to come back to this place again".

I had thought life would be a breeze now that I had finished college and landed a decent programmer job. The money from one job was not enough to fulfill my materialistic splurges, so I was working 3 jobs; on 10 to 5,  6 to 10(pm) and  11 - 2(am!)  time slots. The third job was for a friend, so working and partying went hand in hand. The only glitch in my otherwise smooth rolling life? I was living with mom. I was away from home since high school - for 7 years - until I found a job in my hometown and of course, the oasis of home made food and all chores being taken care of lured me in to stay.

And then, on a perfectly normal Sunday,  a call from my manager interrupted the verbal warfare between me and my mom. You see, Sundays were special since I would be home and it would make a perfect occasion for mom to make me realize how goal-less I have been throughout my life and that I needed to man up to take up big responsibilities. Anyway, my manager wanted me to get to the office to resolve a bug in the software we were supposed to deliver the next day. "See, everyone is just taking advantage of you!, why should you be working on a  Sunday. You just don't realize the seriousness of it."  I could see that  my mom's verbal floodgates were opening - so I grabbed the keys to my motorcycle, shouted those words, slammed the door and left.

The motorcycle's throttle saw all the rage in me. I was zipping past intersections and traffic (which was very light on that Sunday). Helmets were not enforced those days, so I did not bother to wear one. The wind string on my face calmed me down a little bit. At the end of an overpass, I came up behind an ambassador car. I wanted to overtake it, but I could see that the driver was deciding whether to take an illegal turn or not. After a moment or two, he decided (or it seemed to me) to call it off. So, I gave a strong twist to the throttle, bend down with my chest close to the fuel tank to apply aerodynamics, and proceeded to go around the car.

OK, now freeze frame. Pan camera and lift up to a slight aerial shot. Start slow motion.

In a split second, the driver decided to take the turn anyway. It was too late for me to slam on the brakes. My motorcycle hit the car head on as I was screaming at the driver of the car. The impact was huge. I was thrown out of my motorcycle into the air and I flew above the car. The motorcycle having the advantage of being heavy, fell and slid under the car. As I wandered my gaze, I quickly realized I was headed for landing amidst numerous sign posts (all made of iron!). I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the inevitable. I think I even squeezed out a couple of swear words in between.

Stop slow motion. Zoom out of dust rising from the road. Zoom in to show car driver's shell shocked face. Stop narrative.

No, your whole life does not flash in front of you as they show in the movies. It all happened so freaking fast. Like a miracle, I landed right in the area that lay in middle of all the signposts. I landed on my back and therefore the lack of a helmet did not affect me much. I was bleeding profusely, but in the end, it turned out I did not have any broken bones or any serious injuries.

I guess that was the teaser trailer to my desire to have things change drastically.

So the next time you wish for things to change drastically from status quo, think twice. All it takes is a wrong turn for it to come true. That too, from a total stranger.

Photo Courtesy - http://www.electrical-res.com/motorcycle-accident-attorneys/

Is your heart a Lake or a Marsh?

It was the summer of a year that marked the beginning of this millennium. I locked up my apartment in a hurry and walked down the stairs. My heart was getting heavier with each step I took downstairs. As I walked around the block to my friend's apartment, the phone call I received from him a couple of minutes earlier was still ringing in my head.

"I got a phone call from India," he said in that call. "My Dad passed away". As he went on with more details, my brain was already processing fond memories of his dad  - a very funny, intelligent and compassionate man who also happened to be a doctor. The news sank into my heart instantly - bringing out emotions that I never thought I had in the first place. With each passing minute, the news was digging deep into me; generating a whole bunch of questions - how could this happen? How would it impact my friend, his sister and mom? Had they already found out about this? How did they react?

I lost my father at a very young age, so I knew how the loss of a father figure could affect a person's mentality. It is not just the loss of a person - it is the loss of a friend, a support system and most importantly, a brutally honest critic. All of this cocoons into something that makes you want to be a better person all your life.

As I entered my friend's apartment and hugged him, I completely lost it. I was in tears and and held him tight, looking to console him out of his sorrow(as if that was possible). He then patted on my back and said, "It's ok, It's ok". It was then I realized something - the news had not struck him yet; he was still in no man's land, coming to terms with what had happened. There were no tears, just a blank look which, to an outsider,  would give an impression that he had everything under control. But I had known my friend for sometime now and I knew that there was a void that was created which could only be filled in by accepting the dreadful fact of his loss.

After making arrangements for his trip to India, some of my other friends and I saw him off at the airport that night. This was before 9/11, so we could go all the way up to the gate. We rehashed some memories of  the man, there were complaints about the long flight and a few laughs out of my friend. I thought to myself - "Ok, he still has not grappled with the news yet, but maybe the 18 hours of flight will do it".

It has been 10 years since then, and I have to say that not only did the news sink in for him, but it has been with them since then. I get a sense of it from the conversations that I have with him, the blog posts that he writes and the off hand impromptu remark that comes out of him.

Which brings me back to the post's title (it's about time) - when it comes to your heart is it a lake or a marsh? When news comes your way in the shape of a black stone, what does your heart morph into? A lake in which the stone sinks fast, but can be easily taken out by undercurrents? or a marsh where in the stone sinks slowly, making marks along its way and hard to move around? Or a mix of both?

Let us hope that whatever shape our hearts take, it never gets a bad news stone thrown at it. I know life is not full of happiness, so if something has to be thrown at it, may it be pebbles - that skip until it crosses the lake, and are so light that they could never sink into the marsh.


Image courtesy :www.myspaceantics.com

Fireflies in a jar

Lights shone bright, music played crisp and his mood was elated. As he hummed  to the tune of the song that was being played, his hands kept going in and out of the small bag of chips he had on his lap. If he had paused for a moment and had a thought, that would have been "How could this moment get any better?".

And then, the lights went out.

Instantly, he was kicked out of his comfort zone. The bag of chips ceased to be a guilty pleasure. As he waddled through the dark corners of the room, he saw a small beam of amber light coming from a corner. He approached the source of that light swiftly, and as he turned the corner, he was delighted to find out what it was.

It was a jar of fireflies. He opened the lid and the fireflies flew out, lighting up his room. There he was, laying down again, being reminded of a night when the sky was clear and the stars shone bright. He then thought to himself - "How could this moment get any better?".

Come to think of it, isn't that how true friends are in life? They may seem insignificant or worthless when everything around you is bright and joyful. But then, when things go dark in your life, they come out and shine a light, however small, to instantly rid you of your phobias.

So get your jar if you don't have one already, and start collecting. Load up your quiver with more arrows to fight the uncertainties and unfortunate events in your life. The war of life will happen nonetheless, but you will be sufficiently armed for the onslaught. And carry the jar close to your heart as you hustle through the busy streets of life - who knows when you might need to turn the lid open? That scary dark street might be just a corner away.


P.S - I owe the conception of this thought stream to this lovely song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI4JLa0hbUw. I recommend taking a hear when you have some time to spare.

What could be the story behind..?

He was leaning against the sign post of a bus stop. Clearly, today was not a cheerful day for him. As I drove past, I noticed that he almost collapsed onto the small seat in the bus stop. Shortly thereafter, he broke down in tears and all I could see in my rear view mirror was the image of a man wiping his tears, trying to prevent an outburst of emotions. Though my car had left the scene, my brain was hooked on it. He must be in his 30s, I thought to myself; so what could be the cause of his sadness? Did he lose his job? Was he hitting the now cliched "mid life crisis"? Did he just hear some devastating news?  

Careful! A red light..I must stop thinking about strangers and their problems and concentrate on the road.

That's me - a big sucker for flashbacks. I am always interested in moments that are out of the ordinary, since they usually have an equally interesting story that culminated the moment just preceding this one. What could be the series of events that led to this? Does it have to do with how the person reacted in that situation? Or does it have to do with society and its practises? Or as many who believe in a superpower say - is it all a part of a giant play that is orchestrated

with immense precision, skill and forethought?

At the next traffic light, I saw a bunch of boxes scattered on the road.  They were small wooden boxes and their contents (which was some kind of vegetable - as you can figure out I am a carnivore, hence the lack of skill in identifying a lesser known vegetable)  had spilled out in all directions on the road. I wondered why people were not paying attention to this - perhaps they were in their own little wooden boxes trying to get through their daily grind. But my mind wandered again - Was it an accident? Did somebody knock off these boxes when their vehicle hit a bump? Or did someone forget to tie down these boxes carefully? No matter what the situation was - how did bystanders and passers by react? Were they helpful?Or did they just ignore it? The undoing of these small wooden boxes is no small matter, it requires deep afterthought and analysis. (At least, I thought so!)

This obsession for flashbacks has ruined many a good movie for me. When friends mention a scene in the movie that is particularly good, my rebuttal goes somewhat like this - "Well, he was raised in a rich family and had a good education - So I don't think the portrayal of his reaction was accurate". I would have constructed his whole life for him based on the facts mentioned in the movie - and eventually conclude that the flashback does not lead to this particular scene. I also find faults with situations that are the reverse - the flashback shown in the movie conveniently ignores some facts of the present. Well, my dear director friend - you cannot deceive me - I have identified the traits that must go in the flashback, and it should be depicted as I perceived it to be!  

I must really seek some professional help.

I parked my car at work, headed up to our floor and slowly walked to my section. The scene I saw  stopped me on my tracks and got me in the ever wondering flashback mode - a messy laptop docking station, a cup that was  half full with old coffee and an empty cube- what could be the story behind..Wait, that is my cube - and I am late for work. I better get on my tasks or else someone else could be wondering about this scene  - " A teared up version of me walking down the stairs with a pink slip in hand". 

No, I definitely would not want that. So long, wandering mind. Now go rest in peace.

Stranger(?) on a Train

The doors on the train closed right after I boarded. I guess all the running paid off! The train conductor looked at me and said - "You barely made it!". I was so breathless that I couldnt gather enough air to say "I know". So  I managed to nod my head to agree with him that he was right.

It was the summer of 1999. I had landed in the US of A a couple of months earlier and was slowly learning the ways of the land. I had learnt that a sale is not really a sale, that "how are you doing" is a form of salutation rather than a genuine interst in my health and well being and that holding hands with male friends was well - gay.

I  sat on the first empty seat I could find to catch up on all the oxygen that I had spent running. A couple of minutes later, my "blackout" was almost over and my breathing returned to normal. My mind instructed me to get to my daily routine - which was to people watch; but my brain begged to differ and was recommending me to take a nap. The party I attended the previous night had run into the wee hours of the morning and apparently, had taken a toll on me.

********************************

I was crossing the frontiers of sleep territory when I noticed a man sitting opposite to me. He looked Indian (not American Indian - an Indian from India. Sometimes I think we Indians have to makeup a lot for Columbus' mistake). He might have been in his mid thirties, definitely a techie in the valley and had a warm smile on his face. "That was a close call", he said, "you could have missed the train". I remembered my manager saying - "It is totally normal for strangers to start conversations in this country; so don't shy away from it". Well, here was my chance. "Yeah", I responded, "I am glad I was not wearing the shoes I got on sale - they would have made me run slower!".  He made a sincere effort to laugh so I would not realize how bad myjoke was. After exchanging  pleasentries, we started discussing about careeers, economy, the work culture and life in general. He said that he had been in the valley for 10 years. I was eager to crosscheck with  my "things that had to be accomplished by a software engineer in 10 years" checklist and see how well this gentleman had scored. 

"So are you a citizen now?" I asked.

"No, I never planned to stay this long here - who knows, if I stay here longer, I might be one"

"Oh, ok. Since you have been in the software field for so long, you must be a director or a manger right?"

"No, I just lead a team of engineers to build products. I provide guidance and wisdon from experience, I would say."

Hmm. So far, he's not scoring great in my checklist of "elements required for success".

Sensing that I was not impressed by his  answers, he went to to say "I do have a great team though - I guess it is your priorities that chose your career for you. My prioirty is to have a great working environment and be around smart  and talented people and to learn from them".

Nice Excuse for you lack of skills, I thought to myself. Without skipping a beat, I jumped on to my next bullet item - "So did you buy a house?"

He smiled and mildly and nodded his head to mean "No". I was sure what he was thinking  was - "This kid has planned out his entire life and has jotted down his criteria for success. I am sure the success stories of Indian software engineers making it big in the valley has got to his head. He needs to take it easy and enjoy life" - or atleast thats what his expression conveyed.

"Well, I may not be a director and may not own a house - but instead of all those board meetings and offshore calls, I get to spend time with my family and have fun with them. We can afford to go to all the fun places and have more play time with the money which would otherwise go into the mortgage. I choose to spend money and time when I am in good health, when my kids are young and when we can all have fun as a family. What will I do with all the time and money when I age and my kids no longer want to be with their parents?"

"You have a point there" I said. "Give it a little more thought", he responded and continued - "This is my stop - see you around sometime - By the way, my name is Sunil; nice meeting you, buddy".

"Oh, what a coincidence, my name is Sunil too", I replied with a surprised look on my face. I was expecting the same from him, but he remained calm and whispered - "I know -  I AM YOU, just ten years from now. Why don't you stop planning and start living? Trust me, you will have a lot of fun."

********************************

I woke up to a pat on my back - "wake up man,  it's our station! You bachelors party too hard, I tell you - You have been sleeping all the way!". It was my colleague from work who had boarded the train a couple of stations after mine. We got out of the train and walked towards the shuttle. Suddenly, I got the message from my dream. I smiled, took my "success" checklist, shredded it to pieces and threw it in the next trash can I could find. 

It is 2009 and now, I hope one of these days I will meet a man in his mid forties who will tell me how my next ten years would be like.

Life Happens...

It was a chilly August night in the millennium that gave us the y2k scare. The weekend had just rolled in. Like clockwork, a bunch of my friends and I opened bottles of rum and coke, mixed them in varying proportions and sipped them down our throats. As the night grew older, sips turned into gulps and our subject matters morphed into worldly affairs, reason of our existence and the meaning of life.

Without further ado, let me cut into the scene of interest. A close friend of mine and I had gotten into a discussion (by this time it was more like an argument) about why software engineers like us chose to immigrate to another country. "Its the technology and the exposure", said my friend to which I asked "What exposure?". Many of our buddies had withered away from our crowd by this time and our noise echoed off my not so sound proof apartment walls.

Here's the some of the conversation as I remember it.
"Exposure to technology and a different culture!"
"BS. It's just the currency exchange rate of 43 - Everyone is here to make money, that's it; and nothing else"
"So does that mean once you make enough money or the exchange rate goes down, you will be back in India?"
"No doubt about that. I am here just for 5 years, buddy. After that, I am off no matter what making my own destiny!"

If you haven't figured out yet, I am the one in the scene with the bold decision making and "my life is already planned out" attitude. After that, the discussion went on and on and my smirks and talking down finally got to my friends head. He then uttered what I have since learned never to use in an argument. Let's pick it up from there.

"Shut Up!"
I respond - "Why should I shut up? I think I am the one with the points here."
"I said, shut up"
"Last time I checked, this was still MY apartment. I have the freedom to say whatever I want!"

Yeah. He had the same reaction you are having. Disbelief. I think it even took some alcohol out of his liver. He raced to the door, and stormed out. I did not go after him - After all, his apartment was only half a mile away, he cannot drive drunk, so I figured he would come back and we could talk things down. Shortly after, my ego and I fell asleep, unaware of the fact that he decided to walk all the way back to his apartment in the cold, without his jacket.

Now, let's not rush to demonize me. The next morning, (more like noon when I woke up) I drove up to his place, surrendered my ego (hangover too) and apologized to him. He smiled and said - hereafter we are not discussing that stuff ever again. Surprisingly, we kept that promise ever since.

Slowly, Life happened. It was like being at a railroad crossing and watching a long train go by. Life's events came and went changing us in the process. We changed jobs, changed apartments, started to build our individual lives and got busy in its betterment.

Fast forward nine years - My friend decided not to accept permanent residency in the US, so he found a job in India, and now lives there with his family I found home in the bay area, and am in the process of raising a family here. Who knew back then that we were predicting each others lives instead of our own? As my tenth year in the bay area comes up this summer, this incident always makes me think of how I have changed in life, how yesterday's priorities have become today's jokes and how the past helps me put a perspective of what the future holds. Life is indeed an amazing journey.

Oversized egos and meticulous planning about the future may bark, but it is reality that bites.