Feb 18, 2021 - Of (Exponential) Money in IPL

My husband is a huge fan of IPL - in that he doesn't watch all the matches - but appreciates certain matches and teams. Today, he was watching the IPL auction taking place.

I want to write about a particular bid - it was for Chris Morris. I had not heard of him until today. There were three teams bidding for him - and every few seconds, the bid price rose by 25 lakhs. 25 lakhs is higher than the average annual salary of most Indians. It is an amount some people will take a year to save - though closer to three to five years for most other people. Chris Morris was getting it by the second.

From starting at a base price of 75 lakhs to Rajasthan Royals winning him for 16 Cr - what a terrific journey of exponential growth in 10 minutes. Such is the money in IPL.

SS

Feb 17, 2021 - Dreaming of Wild Scotland

Everyday, when I have a bowl of cereal or eggs or whatever it is that I eat for breakfast, I switch on my 76" TV, go to YouTube and search for beautiful travel videos - be it of hikes, of aerial footage, cycling, forest hopping (yes it's a thing), camping and the like. I realized, most often than not, I land up dreaming about Scotland, and occasionally about UK. There is a channel that I have to mention that is not related to Scotland/UK - Jonna Jinton's Sweden videos.

But otherwise I always land up watching a video on Scotland. I am so in awe of the cliffs and landscape. It's raw, green with an endless expanse of the ocean - I never tire of watching the waves crashing over stunningly rugged cliffs. Yesterday I came across a channel that I am now hooked on to. Going the Whole Hogg - run by a couple - they seem so calm and seem like lovely people - and this is the video that got me addicted. The editing of the videos is top notch - along with a great choice of background music.

I sometimes ask myself why I write. I like to write, and I want to be able to come back and read my thoughts decades from now. And I want to remember this moment, sitting on my couch and being mesmerized at how beautiful Wild Scotland is.

SS

Feb 15, 2021 - Of Being a Manager

Ever since I realized that multiple choice questions (MCQs as the cool people who are good at it call it) was not my forte, my dreams of getting an MBA became a mirage. With that, my dreams of becoming a young manager.

So it took me a good decade to earn that title. Phew, it's been a long and relentless journey - a journey where I wanted to make multiple stops but couldn't on fear of losing time or being outpaced. But this happened yesterday. It doesn't feel as good as it should have - seeing that it was a long standing dream. Maybe because I am still craving for those stops? Maybe because I'm now older and wiser, and that my goal post has changed?

SS

Feb 14, 2021 - Valentine's Day in the Nursery

A day before Feb 14, I realized I could no longer hold in the surprise. I told my partner I was getting him a fully paid holiday and his reaction was unexpected. He was the opposite of elated. I immediately told him I had not yet paid for it, that I'll find another gift. I foresee it'll take a few months to search for the perfect gift - so perhaps his birthday?

Subsequently, he told me he's planning on getting me an Apple watch. My initial excitement faded quickly, I realized I did not want any more material things in my life, let alone one that reads time and sends notifications. I told him I'd like plants instead. We drove to the nursery instead of the electronic store.

So, neither of us got what we planned. But I got something I shall cherish forever. A Monstera and a Birds of Paradise. I dare say he likes plants too. So win-win?

SS

Feb 5, 2021 - Fear of Old Age.

I think the old age problem is not small. Nor is it confined to a specific race, gender, country. Who's going to take care of you when you grow old? Who's going to take care of your parents when they get old, now that you have a plush job in a swanky city far away from your parents? I think about this a lot.

If I'm so scared, I can only imagine how paranoid my folks are. And extrapolating this to other families, I'm almost certain this dilemma plays out to its full potential. Old age homes are frowned upon - which is really sad because I feel like they are great solutions. A community of similar folks living together, doing gardening (or that's just the way I picture it?) surrounded by gardens and trees. With nurses, attendants, cleaners and a doctor on call. How can this be bad? 

Maybe the fact that your children do not have the time or space to take care of their parents? Parents want for their kids to do well in life, go to a big city, earn the big bucks but then somehow give all that up and come back to take care of the parents. Or find another solution. Such irony.

SS

Feb 4, 2021 - Of Second Apartments.

A childhood friend of mine recently signed to buy her second apartment. I think I was happy and flustered. It's not that I don't have money to buy an apartment - but I feel like it's inertia. Once you've bought one property, it gets so much easier to buy your second one, and then some. I've been going on and about like a hamster on his wheel. I've been intending to buy some property - as an investment, just something that seems like a financially smart person would do. But it just seems like it's not straight forward.

• Taxes.
• Hidden fees.
• How do you know if it is a good locality?
• How do you know if it is disputed land?
• How do you know if the apartment is built on legally okay land (I can think of a case in India a few years ago - where in after years of residents living in the building, the court came out with a ruling that the land on which the apartment was built, was not legally okay - the land worsened the impact of floods and was not environmentally fit for construction). The building was demolished. Hundreds of residents lost their home in a matter of hours.
• Which real estate agent do you trust?
• How do you know if the construction quality is good?
• How do you know if it is good value for money?
• Phew - it's a lot - ain't it?

So I applaud my friend for her 2nd apartment.

SS

3 Feb, 2021 - Of Bite Sized News

Every morning, once I fire up my laptop, the first thing I do is delete promotional emails - this includes newsletters I am lazy to unsubscribe from, mails from banks, coffee shops and airline companies, event notifications from around the city etc. To me, clearing my mailbox is uncluttering. 

Lately, there is an email that I have started to read daily. The Ascend - bite sized news - that takes 2 minutes to read. It's got easy to read language and highlights the most important news you need to know.

I believe brief summaries like this email would be the future. Newspapers and news on TV have their audience, I'm not denying it. But, and there is a but, as attention spans continue to shrink, maybe, 2 minutes/day for reading curated news for an ordinary person like me seems future proof.

SS