March 2021 | Page 3 of 4

130321 – Morning Pages

Update on what’s on the top of my mind. Guess what?

6:35. Thane. Ashi and Parry’s place.

I am in Thane. At Ashima and Parry’s place. I had a meeting this side of the world and I decided to stay back. Ashima is by far the best ~~cook~~ chef I know and if I want to eat good food, I make the trek to Thane to get fed. That’s as far as my indulgence with food takes me. Oh, yesterday I decided that I would fast for 48 hours and reset my gut. I had forgotten that I am going to Ashi’s place. I can’t eat when am with her. Plus the weekend typically is a time when I get to meet friends and that means that I am forced to have something or the other. So it’s impossible to not eat on the weekends. I will try the gut-reset, 48-hour fast from Sunday evening onward. So that.

This is the shot from her window.

In other news, my father got the COVID vaccine. To be honest I did not want them to take the vaccine. For multiple reasons. A, the vaccine is still in the clinical trial and no one knows the long-term effect of the same. B, the shoddiness around the way it is managed in India (the announcements, production, etc) was disheartening. But when I spoke to Kunal and Ashima (the two ports of call for everything medical), both of them affirmed that we must take it. And that’s when I consented. No, my parents don’t really need my consent. They are far more intelligent and aware than I. Plus they know a lot more people and their advisors are even more learned. So that.

This is around the same time that pandemic hit us last year. I remember the biggest thing that came out of the pandemic to me was that I could attend Anjum Sir‘s session on writing. Even though it was on Zoom, I really learned a lot about the process of screenwriting. This piece on Hero’s Journey came as a result of that and the piece made me make friends with so many people!

He’s doing those again but I am unable to attend those this time as I have a lot happening and films need to take the backseat.

Which is ok. I need to consolidate how things are going. I know that all the work I am getting is a knee-jerk response to all the pent-up demand in the businesses. I just need to capitalize and deliver a great output so that these could translate into long-term gigs. I just hate that there’s just 24 hours in the day.

I am also gonna change the way I live and work. I don’t want to talk a lot about work but lately, it’s on the top of my mind these days. So here it goes. Since I am working literally all the time now, I will have to get even more particular with how I spend my time. There’s not a single minute to waste. I have to figure an office space (my productivity goes 100X when I am not working from home and Starbucks tend to get noisy for all the calls that I am supposed to be on). The thing is, a large part of my work is now attending calls (because no in-person meetings) and I often speak and make presentations. Most days I do good with those. That’s not a challenge at all.

The problem is that if there’s some background noise when I speak, it becomes tough to get the point across. There’s anyway a lag imposed by the internet. On top, there’s the speed at which I talk. So I need to find a quiet place where I can talk from.

If I could predict these meetings and other things, I could get into the Maker and Manager (by Paul Graham) zones but most of these are ad-hoc and thus it’s impossible to plan time. This is against the very principle with which I have lived my life. I want nothing more than the independence of time. The gigs that I am on, there’s some flexibility but I’d want more. Lol. When I did not have work, I wanted work. Now that I have work, I want flexibility. 😀

So that. Let’s see what I decide. Maybe I’ll just get a fancy house (now that I can afford it) and turn one of the bedrooms into a co-working space! Or get some bungalow in Aram Nagar and convert it into a cafe. Lol. Wishful thinking ka raaja! I really have hazaron khwahishen. And that, ladies and gents, is the track of the day. Here!

Track of the day?

So, as I end this post, in terms of streaks, I did all but the walking one. I had a busy day and hence I could not walk a lot. Here’s the list.

Morning Pages – 91
#aPicADay – XX (will count at some later date)
10K steps a day – 0
OMAD – 2
#noCoffee – 4
#noCoke – 4
10 mins of meditation – 0 (adding this from today on)
#book2 – 0 (I REALLY need to start on this!)

That’s about it. Over and out. See you guys tomorrow.

120321 – Morning Pages

Nothing special to report but I did not want to break the streak. Here we go.

6:39 AM. Andheri. Just woke up. Eyes are groggy and my neck hurts. Old age is a bitch! Yesterday was like any other day. Work. Walk. Dreams. Life has seemed to find a groove. It’s funny that life always does. When the lockdown happened, life was disrupted but it took a few days to get settled in the new reality. When I went to Goa, took me a few days to get in the groove. But I got into it. Now that I am here for 2 weeks, I think I am beginning to fall into the routine. Life’s amazing. Love it! Even if I am delt raw hands once in a while, it’s cool.

Onto morning pages. There’s nothing that I want to write today, for a change. May be I will take a break and write something in a bit?

Ok, so now I am at Starbucks at Powai. Had to come here because I had a meeting on this side of the town and I want to avoid all the traffic in Mumbai. Plus, I am wearing pants. And a shirt. I am literally spilling out of both of these. I have to do something about my size and weight. Plus, I am feeling bloated. I dont know why. I mean I eat all sort of crap but when I was a kid, I would never have these issues. Damn, old age!

I think an easy way to fix this is to reset the gut. A cursory glance at the Internet tells me that I can reset it simply by fasting for 72 hours and then eating things like probiotics, kombuchas, leafy veggies, and all that.

I am not sure if I can do 72, especially since I am supposed to be at Ashima’s tonight. Maybe 48? The last thing I ate was at 4 PMish yesterday. Let’s see if I can manage to not eat till at least 2 PM tomorrow (am a guest at Ashi’s place and I can’t force my shenanigans onto her family)!

Oh, I am also supposed to wear shoes (which I am dutifully carrying in a bag and will wear 10 minutes before the meeting) and thankfully I can’t spill out of those. Phew. Some silver lining at least. Chalo, let’s see how a day goes when am wearing legit clothes! The kinds normal people wear on normal days.

I think that’s about it. More ideas are not happening. Will probably take a break and come back tomorrow. Lemme report on the streaks. Here we go…

Morning Pages – 90
#aPicADay – XX (will count at some later date)
10K steps a day – 3
OMAD – 1
#noCoffee – 3
#noCoke – 3
#book2 – 0 (I REALLY need to start on this!)

That’s about it. Over and out. See you guys tomorrow.

110321 – Morning Pages

Wore pants and shirt yesterday. Here’s a report card. And of course, chats about other things.

8:26. Andheri. So, I wore pants yesterday. Which was as terrible as it sounds. It sucked like mad. Worse was that I wore a shirt to go with it. And that shirt did not fit me. I could not breathe in it. And that’s the shirt that was like a baggy fit for me. You know, loose. The kinds where I could stuff one more person in and still stay sane. I am that unfit. To a point that even Instagram is showing me ads of fitness clubs and gyms and all that. Kya hoga mera?

Anyhow. Morning Pages.

Yesterday was fun. I recorded my second ever video conversation ever (the first was I think with Mihir (Karkare) that we never released; thank God for that). This one was with Sheba Maini. She is brilliant. She made me talk about things that I never thought I was capable of saying out loud on the Internet. And she made me agree to come on a video. Wow.

If you guys need someone to coach you and give you direction, Sheba is it! Her Linkedin profile is here. When I first spoke to her, in the 3rd minute of our chat, she could point out what afflicted me and what I need to do to get out of that. I was dumbfounded by how well she could read my mind. Over a Zoom call. In less than 5 minutes. You must consider her.

PS: Sheba is a client at Podium and a mentor so I may be biased.
PPS: If you are curious what is my problem, read this one and specifically, point #5.

Next. I met this young kid (JS) that I know from TRS days. We met for dinner (see streaks below). He is now onto his own business and set up and he seems to be on this amazing path that excites, inspires, and scares me. At 21, he’s sure where he wants to. And he’s acting on it. At 21, I did not know how to tie my shoelaces. The future is bright. Reminded me that I need to hang out with more such people. I think I am at my happiest when I see that I am making a difference in other people’s lives, especially when it comes to their work. I am a nincompoop if the conversations are around relationships and all that. I often can’t relate to what they are talking about and how to help with things. I even zone about when people talk about their lives and relationships. But when they talk work, ooh, la, la! I need to find a way to accelerate this and do this for more people.

In other news, Anjum Rajabali Sir’s next film, Toofan was just announced yesterday. This is one film that I cant wait to watch. For multiple reasons. For starters, it’s Anjum Sir’s film. Then this is about sports. Then its mass-market entertainer. Plus it has Farhan Akhtar, a guy that I look up to for his work (and nothing else). What else could you ask for? And this is EXACTLY the kind of films I want to make! Let’s see when that happens.

PSA: he’s taking sessions for aspiring screenwriters these days. See if you can attend.

So that’s the large updates from me on yesterday.

On streaks (that I started to track publicly since yesterday)…

Morning Pages – 89! Wow! I am surprised at myself!
#aPicADay – XX (will count at some later date)
10K steps a day – 2
OMAD – 0. Had dinner yesterday with JS. Was not hungry per se but then I gave in to the temptation. Restarting the counter.
#noCoffee – 2
#noCoke – 2
#book2 – 0 (I REALLY need to start on this!)

I also have a sheet where I track my actions on day to day basis. Have been lapsing on it. Will get back to it. #note2self

I think this is about it. Not a lot to share. Lot of work though. Chalo, over and out. See you guys tomorrow.

100321 – Morning Pages

Personal-ish update about a couple of people that are important to me and are on two extremes. And other inane riffs.

7:33. Andheri. Woke up groggy. I don’t know why I am tired. Maybe it’s the exhaustion from all the work. Or from the stress. I can’t figure it out. But whatever it is, there is no cloud per se on my head, except the bodily exhaustion. So I think I am ok.

Wait. Maybe it’s because someone close, someone I care about is struggling with depression and I am unable to help. Every trick in my bag seems to have failed. Of course, professional help is being sought and I am sure things will be ok soon but I feel so helpless that I don’t know what to do. These are the times when I wish I had a magic potion that would just make the pain go away at the snap of a finger.

So that.

Coming to how I spent yesterday. Went and met AR and it was amazing to see the progress he’s made with his work. When I first met him, he was a two-person hack-shop that could do anything and manage everything. Now he’s got a team of 12 people that he can’t seem to fit in one office and is growing on a daily basis. And, he does good work! Really. Funny, on one side I have someone struggling to even eat right. And on the other, I have another that’s growing on a daily basis. Life is funny. I just hope I can keep my head sane. I thought I was the anchor for everyone that I am close to. But I now realize that I am anything but that. In neither case – when they’re not doing good they don’t come to cry with me; when they’re doing great, they don’t come to celebrate with me.

I hope the point am trying to make is clear. I am not cribbing that people don’t want me around in their lives. The point is, I am unable to contribute, help

So in terms of good things, I managed OMAD yet another day. And I managed more than 10K steps for yet another day. So, yay!

I just need to keep going. I am reminded of that thing about streaks (I think it was popularised by Seinfeld) where all you do is ensure that you don’t break the streak. Maybe starting today, I will add that to the morning pages As of today, here is where I stand on things that I want to track…

Morning Pages – XX (will count at some later date)
#aPicADay – XX (will count at some later date). See altsaurabh
10K steps a day – 1
OMAD – 1
#noCoffee – 1 (even though I haven’t had in a while)
#noCoke -1 (even though I haven’t had in a while)
#book2 – 0 (I need to start on this!)

I am resetting the counter on Coke / Coffee, even though I havent had for a while.

So that. Oh, the track of the day is Billy Joel and his magic with Piano Man.

More than the music, singing, and performance (in this video’s case), I think the lyrics of the song is what makes it immortal. There’s so so so deep and such a clear articulation of the human condition that I can’t find anything else that comes close. It talks of things that people do, think, fake, dream, imagine, and more. It talks to me about people and their real, hidden lives that they are afraid to bring out. It talks about people on the sidelines (like the Piano Man) that are silent observers that can see through the BS that we make up in our heads.

The track to me is an inspiration. That I don’t want to become any of those people in the bar where the Piano Man is playing. That I want to be able to write as well as that. That I want one of my pieces to go out in the world and create a lot more impact. When I heard this for the first time, I thought I can kill myself if I could write and release a piece like that. In fact, I have a lot of similar tracks that I am so inspired by that I want to create and then hang my boots.

So that! Phew! That was fun to belt out.

***

So I think this is it for the day. I am supposed to wear pants today. And tomorrow for that matter. Hope I can survive the heat and muck in Mumbai. Will report tomorrow.

Over and out.

090321 – Morning Pages

Yet another update on how I spent yesterday. No large revelations, discourses etc. Read if you want to.

08:19. Starbucks, Borivali. Here to meet a friend / mentee / client / supplier and everything else rolled into one.

So, while I wait for the meeting to start at 1:15 PM (yeah yeah, I tend to travel at ungodly hours to save time and money and park myself at Starbucks), here’s the morning pages. Have a few things to talk about but time is also of essence. So let’s see how it goes.

Actually lemme make a list.

Return to a plain old pen and paper notepad
Fitness – OMAD – check; 10K Steps – check!
Misc rants

3/ Lemme go in the reverse order and start with misc rants.

Here’s one on Women’s Day.
So, just after a day, the world seems to be over the tokenism around women’s day. A million companies released a billion videos around that when on every other day they dont seem to care about what’s happening around them. It’s plain sad. Plus, as a marketer, while I try to push the envelope, there’s a limit to what I can move the needle on. The cynic in me just dies. I mean there’s a limit to tokenism and I dont know what to do about it 🙁

While people like me may scorn on it, I think it is needed. The ones like you and me that have access to the Internet are still ok when it comes to treating women but the ones that are not here, I cant imagine the horrors that must be inflicted on women. These initiatives, if communicated strongly about, tend to work. Look at Swachh Bharat. We are far far cleaner, at least the trains and stations that I have been to lately (Dadar, Thivim) have been super super clean. Thats another matter altogether that right outside the station, there’s filth all around. The point is, tokenism is helpful. Especially if it comes from right places. And the right noise is made.

Another rant on Goa
I miss Goa. The simple life where you have no pressure to do anything, where people want to take it east, where things move at their own pace. Sigh.

Clubhouse Session
On insistence of Daksh, I was a panelist at a CH session yesterday. It was fun to be honest to hear people speak. While it may not sustain but it was interesting for sure. It’s exactly like the early days of twitter where interesting people would talk random things and connect with each other.

I think I will get more active on it with time. Instead of listening to music, I will play it as background noise and see what I pick. Plus since Clubhouse happened, I am consuming less and less of podcasts. So that!

Track of the day?
This is not a rant per se but I did not know where else to include this.

So, the track is Jagjit Singh’s Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. To be honest, this is not just the track for the day but also the theme for my life. I have a million things that I want to do in life and there’s no way I can find time, energy, resources to do all of those. I know I will die a deeply unhappy man. I just hope that by the time it’s my time to die, people find a solution to morality. Amen.

Here’s the track…

2/ Fitness. Lol!

So, yesterday I decided that I would try and do OMAD. Ladies and gents, I am happy to report that I managed it. I ate at 1:30 PM and then at 2:30 PM and then nothing else. And no, I did not have any coffee. Or cola. Or anything that may have carbs. I did consume a lot of soda though.

I also walked 10K+ steps.

I think the trick is simple. Slot all non-important / non-urgent calls post 9 and then walk around as you take those calls. Simple. You no longer have to take out time to walk. I did that yesterday. I will probably try it again today.

Let’s see how it goes.

The thing is, when all goes well, I am more or less able to manage things when things go well. But when shit starts to hit the roof, I am unable to cope up. I have realised that I need to have access to finer things to even breathe in peace. Like they said, nawabon wale shauk!

1/ Return to a notepad

Yesterday, after I don’t know how many months, I went back to a physical notepad and a pencil. And I have to say it was liberating! I did not really get a lot done but I definitely felt lot more in control of my tasks and life. Today on, I am moving back to it. I dont care if I look like a stupid fuck with a notepad and a pencil in my hand as I move around.

I like the idea of capturing thoughts and ideas as they come in. I like to refer back to those. I know I am not good at remembering things. Whatever capability I had to remember things, I have killed that faculty by relying more and more on notes. Plus when I was actively reading about notes and productivity (and when I launched notesForGrowth.com), I think I was doing very well in terms of managing all the projects and things.

I need to get back to it.

So that.

***

Guess this is about it. Had a busy day yesterday with I dont know how many calls. And I am staring at a busy day today as well. With multiple calls and meetings. As long as things are moving, I am ok 🙂

Time to get on with the day and get some work done.

Till tomorrow, over and out.

080321 – Morning Pages

An inane update about how I spent my Sunday. Nothing interesting here. You can skip if you want to.

6:27 AM. Woke up 15 minutes ago. Took my time to figure out the music I want to listen to. Settled on Aahatein by Agnee. Here. I got hooked on this track pretty late in life. I mean this was a big rage for a long while and I did not know that this even existed. That’s the thing with my music. I don’t consume these music pieces immediately. I hear an old track after few years and then I rave about it as if I have found a new thing! That’s my kind of weird. Lol.

So it’s a Monday. And that means a new work week is starting where I need to do a lot of things. And now that I am in Mumbai for at least three months, I will also initiate the hunt for a new house this week. Something that is airy and large and open and new. I may even move to Thane, as recommended by Parijat. Things are cheap there and I need the money for the time being. But then I have this bias against moving away from ecosystems! Let’s see what I decide.

Apart from this Sunday was pretty uneventful. I did meet some old friends to talk about new things (photography and films). I liked the idea of a day spent just meeting people and picking brains about things that could be done. This is what I think gives me happiness and pleasure. Jamming on ideas, thinking of possibilities. What I suck at is doing those. I need to find someone like Akshay that’s brilliant with execution. So that.

Going forward, I will silo my time and dedicate certain chunks to just meet people. Its the people that make things happen. I know I am the ideas guy and I need others to work alongside. So let’s see.

What else?

Need to start writing this “dear diary” and start on ideas and other things.

Oh, I am starting on OMAD from today. The last meal I had was last night at around 10. And I will eat around 2 today. And then nothing till 2 tomorrow. I know these are tall, lofty claims but let’s see how this goes. This week I will also add some kind of workout to my regimen. I am thinking walking / jogging and some yoga. Need to find time for it.

So that’s about it. Short and sweet. I don’t really have a lot to write. And I don’t really have a lot of time either. So that. Wait. Lemme fix. I have the time, just that it’s not on top of my priority list! More later. Abhi gotta go.

070321 – Morning Pages

I talk about various things clouding my head. These include a car, search for a more spacious house and chess! Read on.

6:45 AM. Morning. Let’s dive head on. On things that are in my head. In bullet points.

A. Car.
Just woke up and for some reason, I am pining for a car. For some reason, been pining for the last few ~~days~~ years. I know I can’t afford one. Not for at least the next few quarters. But the thing is, there’s nothing that gives me more pleasure than a drive.

I think I know what’s the trigger here. A very old friend that I have sort of lost touch with called and asked if I’d want to drive out to Lonavala. Last I knew, he had a Volkswagen Polo and is among those few that share my love for drives. All these years, VG has been a constant companion for drives but then life happened and the drives dried down. This old friend, when he asked for a drive, like a druggie, I was salivating even before he mentioned Lonavala. I wanted it at that instant. Like now. But the dude asked me for a thing on the weekend. And when the weekend came, he bailed on me. Damn! Imagine you tell a coke-addict that he’d get a lifeline but when he doesn’t how would he feel? That! I wanted to scream out loud! It was like someone snatched candy from a kid that wants nothing but that. Like I said, I am the happiest when I am behind a steering wheel and I am on a road. I should’ve become an uber driver ;P

Unrelated. May be I am pining so much cos a couple of friends bought new cars in the last few days? I dont think so. I am definitely not jealous, rather, happy for them for these step-ups in life.

See this…

Got an autorickshaw guy to take me for a spin.

Closest I think I can get to a drive for quite some time.

Sigh. https://t.co/RugfdyJhjj
— Saurabh Garg / SG (@saurabh) March 6, 2021

B. Aram Nagar
Finally made some progress on the Aram Nagar project. In the week that’s gone by, have had a couple of meetings already with Mudit on it. Oh, Mudit is a writer, director and has agreed to come on board and help. We have started to jam and see where it goes. We aim to shoot a few photos next week to see what we get. Idea is to capture the richness of the place that probably has the single largest contribution to the film industry. Let’s see how it goes. This is not a major project per se but I would like to see it happen. With Mudit on board, I hope it gets on a fast track.

C. Chess.
I am embarrassed to report that I just can’t seem to win anymore at chess. In the last 30 days, I’ve lost almost every game I’ve played. No, I don’t want to be a grandmaster. And I am very very average. But I don’t like the idea of a losing streak.

See this chart…

Do you see the slippery slope to the right? The fuck! I don’t know what to do about it. No, I don’t want to take tutorials. I don’t plan to play for a living and it will remain a hobby (and that too a non-serious one) for sure. I just need to end this streak.

D. Better House
So, I have decided that I want to be in Mumbai for the next few months (till I get some stability in life), I need to find a better place to live. The one I live in is not bad, to be honest. Just that it’s like a pigeonhole. I’ve not had fancy houses but whatever ones I had, they were always spacious and airy. Even in Mumbai. The ones that were not spacious, I made space by throwing away furniture. I like the idea of sleeping on a mattress. This one is neither spacious, not airy. And has so much furniture in it that I keep bumping into things even if I stretch my arms. So I need to change. Especially if I am going to WFH for the new few months.

The thing is, I am ok to change but I hate the idea of paying the exorbitant brokerage each time I want to move. But then the damn brokers do add value, to be honest. They rely on information asymmetry and give you numerous options that are otherwise impossible to find.

Plus moving comes with its own stress. You sort of leave a place and then if you are unable to find a place fast, you tend to make a hasty decision. I got lucky with the one before this. I loved the location and the space and the fact that it was a new building. Wait. That’s the thing. I don’t like those old houses that have been lived in. I like new constructions where I am either the first or the second tenant. This is for two reasons. A, since these are modern constructions, these tend to have a little better planned architecture. And B, since these are new, these places are cleaner and have lesser issues.

So that. Need to get started with househunting.

E. Jake Peralta and Gina Linetti.
I don’t know who told me about Brooklyn Nine-Nine. But the way I can’t stop winning at chess, I can’t quit seeing this. I mean this is as close to binge-watching things as I have been in the last three years. I don’t consume a lot of TV content and I am surprised at myself that I love this so much.

The two characters that stand out for me are Jake and Gina.

Jake, well, I want to be him. Lol. Goofy and funny and irreverent to authority and best part? Brilliant at what he does!

Gina, I want to date a Gina! Funny, opinionated, exuberant, outspoken and all that.

So that.

F. Fucking Book2
Lol. Book2 has taken the backseat for the time being. There are other larger issues to tackle.

With this, it’s over and out. See you guys tom!

060321 – Morning Pages

Update on new projects, personal board, irrational attempts at finding peace in religion, chase of fame and more. Read on.

4:42 AM. Yeah. That early. I just woke up. Eyes are still groggy. I am yet to even wash my face. I slept early last night. Actually not slept. I forced myself to sleep. There’s a lot on my head but I am not sure I want to write about it here. I know I promised to live in public but there are a few things that I am still not ready to share with the world. There are other things that I can talk about. Let’s go!

So I have decided that am going to be in Mumbai for the next three months. At least. So the Goa experiment is done for the time being. Unless I can do things from here. Not sure if that’s meaningful. Or may be I will travel there on this weekends as I stabilize things. Let’s see. For the time being, I need to get some stability in life in terms of money (not career) and that may not happen when I am in Goa. So, Mumbai.

At a new project level, I have started to work two things. I’ve been working on these for a while now but made a promise in my head over the last few days about these and then actioned baby steps on these.

A, An anthology film project. If there’s anyone that wants to contribute, happy to share more details. I will need to hustle like mad to get it going. Let’s see what I do. I am giving myself this year for it.
B, The Investor Thesis Podcast where I plan to record with investors and see what they’re up to.

050321 – Morning Pages

A quick rant on how I was made to feel at a meeting yesterday.

5:30. AM.
I am up! And on it. Listening to Khawabon Key Parinde. I’ve always been a king of wishful thinking. I’ve even written about it on my blog once. Here.

So, today I get to meet one of my newer clients. I have been working for him since Oct last year and everytime I have spoken to him, I have left the (zoom) room inspired. This is my first IRL meeting with him. Lets see how it goes.

Yesterday was a mixed bag. Largely, took it easy. I had a few calls and I was a silent observer at most of those places. I don’t like to play a passive role but I think it’s ok to not want to run the show all the time. I think my fly as high as the Icarus needs taming and these meetings are sobering me up. Just that I don’t like when I am interrupted and cut in the middle by people. Or when I am taken for granted. Or when I am shrugged like a flunky in the white shirt. I remember I wrote about this 10 years ago and I am yet to get over it. This is not my ego per se. This is more about being treated as an equal human. That sucks. Someone told me a few days back that you rather work with someone that respects you than someone who pays you a lot. But then that’s naukri. If you want to win the world and become like Elon, Jeff, and others, you need to do what Guru Bhai tells us!

Anyhow. Moving on.

I was with someone else yesterday when they reminded me that I am a published author. Lol. Must move my ass and write more. The battle between making ends meet and chasing the dreams is a neverending one. Days like this I wish I had picked a comfortable job that would have given me the weekends to do whatever I wanted to. Or I had a rich father. Or a rich wife. Anyone wants to adopt? Or marry me? You need to have 10 odd crores to giveaway to me. Or maybe I can put my head down and write. Lol!

So that.

I guess that’s about it. Short post but at least poured out what gave me a sleepless night. Over and out.

PS: Funny that I am 38, I am triggered and affected by these trangressions of people that I work with. And this is when I want to change the world and impact a billion lives and make a billion dollars and all that. Sigh. At my age, people are making the world go around and I am cribbing about such tiny things. Damn, Mr. Garg!

040321 – Morning Pages

A note on trains, a third-party realization about how I work and a rant.

7:56 AM. Mumbai.

Yeah, I came here last night. On a train. I have now taken more trains this year than I have taken in the last 10 years. Except for the locals. And the metro. I hate train travel that much. But then thanks to COVID and the ridiculous inconvenience imposed on air travel, I had to do this.

But then, despite my hatred, I have to say, trains are awesome. Each person in the train is a story. Each person is there for a reason. And is going to someone. Or away from someone. Like last night, there was this old man (who the Ticket Checker told me was 75) who was drunk out of his wits and was picking a random bone with a co-passenger. To a point that he called cops!

I also have to say that the quality of train travel has grown leaps and bounds. I could order from a menu of a million dishes from Chinese, Indian, Fast Food cuisines and there were fresh fruits and snacks from all parts of the country. It was amazing. The compartments were clean. The toilets remained filthy but I think that’s more to do with travelers than the railways. Good job, Indian Railways.
So, am in Mumbai. Had to come here for a meeting that could not be pushed. I still want to be back in Goa. Or at least have a foot there. But then, I have to chase money before other things.

Anyhow. So, yesterday, I was talking to Akshay (my partner at Podium). He said a couple of very interesting things (which I knew intuitively but was amazing to hear from someone else). He said one, I perform the best when I am juggling multiple things. And two, when I sniff that money is around the corner.

Of course I kind of knew both these things but I never thought AD would be so good to be able to figure it from a distance. Or may be he’s not good, I am merely so visible with these actions that any intelligent person would be able to spot those. Lol.

The point is, he’s right. And I need to play to the “strength”. If I can call this strength. And how do I play? Well, simple. Find so many opportunities that I am unable to handle, as long as each of those has the potential to throw money at me. So going forward, that would be the mantra. Do you know any such opportunities?

What else?

Oh yeah. That old person from the train. I have to have to have to do whatever it takes to not go senile when I am old. It just sucks that people want to respect you because you are old and because you are senile, you lose the respect, and to make matters worse, they pity you. The worst thing that can happen is people pitying you. I will rather walk into the jungle. I hope some of my younger friends would help me retain the sanity. And if not that, push me in a jungle. I may not have been able to do a lot in life but I will not become someone that people pity!

Guess this is it. I have a fairly long day. Need to move the butt.

No, nothing on book2 :(. Dunno when I will be back.

Let’s see.