the science or the art or decision making

Decision making.. is it mathematical solving equation or decision making backed with scientific tools? or is plain guess work.
in the past few days I have been contemplating this thought. Before I head any further let me settle some dust out here. to me decision making is not the question and answer module to derive the outcome which will tell me what action I need to do. like I don't have to involve my self in making decision between choosing at kick start or self start my bike.

Decision making is about selecting the best action that I need to do, to do a task, or maneuver my self, the result of such action would be futuristic, and outcome of the decision that I make or the road that I travel may affect me and ppl around me.

I am told it’s a science fused with mathematical calculation, which can help you to understand the best option. I am told that it also gives me options and the risk factor attached with each option
Alright I am pretty crude at this, I have had no formal training nor have I read any books for decision making, however of what I have been able to learn from ppl is that I have to pin down all the factors that may affect the course of action that I am contemplating about, and then I need to draw a road map and attach all the possible outcome and the factors on the flip side. I am also told that I can work on the risk factor for each of these outcomes. And then I come down to the calculation, based upon the investment, returns, and risk factors of each of the outcome I pick the best.

However despite the convincing argument I believe that it not the way decisions are made. If I were to believe the scientific tool, then I am unable to answer the argument “why is that we fail in lot many decision that we make” if science and math are the best of the tools that I can use, and I fail despite using them, then what is the X factor that is vital in decision making.

This post of mine carries no conclusion, because by now you may have guessed, I have no conclusion to make, rather it’s an attempt to understand what it is. Looking fd to understand form you, the science or the art or decision making.

Give ppl what they wann?

what struck me reading a blog is that we all are good marketers who give their customers what they want...."We often give ppl what they want"..... but then the second thought blew me down, leaving me cold and thinking are we actually this? do we give ppl only what they want. Apparently what the same sentence also speaks is that we do not give ppl what we can, i.e. if I am an individual who can deliver more than what ppl expect out of me, do I ever deliver that extra.
may be what ppl are looking for is a trivial..... to make it worst i would be elated to find that ppl appreciate what I have delivered, instead of rottening i would accept that, and also consider what i have delivered to be good.
what leaves me cold is that i have always believed ppl when they appreciated me, and my work, however i have never marked and checked if i have hit the bulls eye.

21 Economic Models Explained

Ofcourse this is copy-paste, some are old, some are new, still funny.

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk
away.

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyze why the cow has dropped dead.

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND VENTURE CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of
credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four
cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a
Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells
the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an op tion on one
more.
You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you
with nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike, organize a riot, and block the roads, because you want
three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and
produce twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called ‘Cowkimon’ and market it
worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk
themselves.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don’t know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 2 cows.
You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the crap out of you and invade your
country.
You still have no cows, but at least you are now a Democracy.

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows.
The one on the left looks very attractive.

Missing India

Feeling little homesick today, so thought of sharing these two amazing videos with you. Turn your speakers volume way up!!

Book Review : Family Planning by Karan Mahajan

I got tired of reading non-fiction books. In last couple of years I read several books about personality development, leadership and personal finance. I finished reading some and gave up on others. So finally I decided to take a break from those books and read something different. So yesterday after doing 15 minutes of research in our small town library, I found Family Planning by a young author, Karan Mahajan.

I am glad this was my first fictional novel ( in my adult life). This short book is about a big, middle-class Indian family living in Delhi. The main character, Mr Ahuja is into politics ( ministry of urban development to be specific). Yet, the book is more about his personal life than his work life. Mr and Mrs Ahuja have 13 kids. The eldest is sixteen some years old. Mainly the story revolves around Mr Ahuja and his son. These are the main characters in the book. The book is bold and witty. Its content includes everything from sex-lives of Indian couples to the lives of urban Indian teenagers who start a rock band. There are several good laughs. It was very good and refreshing break to read this novel. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. It was sort of abrupt or may be it sneaked up on me because I read the entire book in less than 24 hours!

My rating : 4 out of 5.

Coffee Party

Last Friday, all the HYD cousins met up for a late night coffee party at my place. it was fun. We missed sarvesh bhayya n bhabhi as they were in Jaipur then. There were varieties of coffee we made- hot, cold, cold with ice cream, hot with ice cream served with brownies and pineapple cake which Abhi had baked especially for deepajiji. then we also had a round of yummy hot brownies with ice cream and chocolate sauce...it was cheer joy to have met all so relaxed. There was a constant chatter for 3 hrs or so that we were together. The baccha party were busy with their discussions, so were the men.. the baby team- Diva n Siddhi were very busy pulling each others cheeks and pinching ..hehehe...

Its was a very happy meeting.. we got to catch up with each other. I guess we had taken a few pics.. shall upload them soon.

We should plan for such short meetings in a couple of months...
so the next time most of the cousins are in HYD..lets plan another coffee party at the GUPTA's

Stanly Kubric's Movies

Been some time since a post by anyone .. thought that i need to make the post to keep the blog running.

Its not a new post .. something i had written some time ago (has some edits to update the content) , anyways reproducing it here

I have seen Spartacus, Full Metal Jacket, 2001 a Space Odyssey, Lolita, Eyes wide shut, Dr Strange Love, A Clockwork Orange.

Something that i noticed in all the above movies and i guess is also part of the few movies that i have not seen  is the method of the director. All the movies have a theme that is portrays one or more character in a deeply dark  form; as much is possible (as compared from a normal human perspective)  within the boundaries of the story.

The use of the camera is unique when compared to other movies of similar periods, the director makes use of the camera to zoom into the main character to show emotions that would be difficult to catch from a normal angle or view. Most of the zoom in and zoom out is part of a longer sequence that moves the story forward, unlike a cut in the action that is employed by a lot of directors. The movie flows….

Am almost a fan of the format of presentation that he employed.. 

There is not much more to  see

1. The Shining
2. Barry Lyndon
   

And a couple more.. I think he did 10 or 12 films and was supposed to do AI. Something Steven Spielberg did and was dedicated to his memory.

All in all a great director who did the most controversial films of his time

C

ps: wont recommend seeing any of the movies with kids around. (the only one you can see with the kids is 2001 space ...)

Salutation to the Dawn

Hi All

I am curently reading a book in which I have found this interesting poem. Just thought of sharing it with you all.

Title : Saluation to the Dawn

Look to this day
For it is life, the very life of life.
In its brief course,
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence.
The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendour of achievement
Are but experiences of time.

For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision;
But today well-lived, makes yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well therefore to this day;
Such is the salutation to the ever-new dawn!

Read it over and over again, take some time to digest it and think over it. It is the essence of solution to all our worries. I would never have guessed it was written by a great Indian poet.
Any takers? It was Kalidas. He wrote this masterpiece several hundred years ago and yet till today, we fail to live by it.

Food for thought.

Stress

Hi All 

Couple of days ago i was stressed to breaking point .. to much work preasure. I happened to chat with a very good friend who forwarded me a letter that he wrote to himself some time ago. 

I can tell you guys this .. after reading the letter i felt better, it was almost as if i should have written the letter myself. 

Well not wasting any more time. Copy is pasted below

Take Care

C

Dear Stress,
I know I ignore you a lot. It's my coping mechanism or whatever, and it's gotten me through many a tight spot, which would be a good thing if I dealt with you afterwards, but mostly I don't. Which is bad? For one thing, your effects, combined with those of boredom, often leave me crushingly depressed, which is probably a topic for another letter. Lately, however, I've been becoming more aware of the fact that when I tune you out with my mind, my body takes a beating.
Headaches, sometimes even migraines, nausea, upset stomach, diarrhea, and most recently diabetes the likes of which I hadn't ever expected. I just finished a notebook, which meant rereading it, which in turn meant revisiting all my health complaints of the past four and a half years. And with the exception of a particularly wretched bout of stomach flu, just about all the health problems I complained about coincided neatly with the times I had the most to complain about stress wise.
Usually work was the culprit. But whatever. I mostly don't have to work with the guy who it turns out literally makes me sick anymore, and I've started a new job that's much more mellow and self-directed, with coworkers who are at once friendlier and less immediately involved with what I'm doing. Somehow it's easier when I'm responsible for everything, which I guess makes me a control freak. No big surprises there.
But meanwhile, stress, you haven't been getting as much attention as you deserve. It'd be one thing if I wasn't paying attention because you weren't around, but you're definitely out in force, and I'm probably building you up in my mind even as I pretend you're not there. And it's not like you can advise me on how to deal with you better, though that sure would be great if you could (while I'm dreaming). My head-in-the-sand habits might make more sense if you were always a bad thing, but you're not, and while I'm acknowledging that, thanks for all the fight endorphins. They've come in handy from time to time, even if I suspect they've got something to do with why my body hates me so much sometimes. You're really not to blame here; my response to you is. So I'm going to have to learn to recognize you instead of ignoring you, and deal with you in a more responsible way than pretending you're not there and getting sick later.
Exercise might help. It's good for all kinds of things, and there's far worse ways to burn off those fight hormones I thanked you for earlier. I'm thinking of taking a yoga class, maybe even learning to meditate. Writing letters like this one, letters I can't send but need to address, seems to be good for my heart and my head, which I hope will translate into fewer headaches and less physical trouble on the whole.
Can we work together, stress? I hope so. Because making myself mentally and sick for lack of a better way to cope with you is pretty miserable.
Love,
AA

What would you do with an extra hour?

Reader’s Digest did this worldwide survey asking people what they would do if they had an extra hour in the day (i.e, if there were 25 hours in a day). The choices were – family time, work, exercise and sleep. Here are the results. I am surprised that 50% Indian voters said they would work. I would have said family time for sure. Out of all the countries listed, India is a country where families are closely-tied. Everything revolves around family in India. But I guess, in our daily running around after upgrading the life-style and wanting to make more money, we are choosing to work an extra hour. As it is Indians have a long work day and long work week. I am guessing on average, people are working 10 hours a day and 6 days a week = 60 hours a week! (Except IT folks, majority of the country is still working 6 days a week, right?) A typical US / UK work week is 8 Hrs X 5 Days = 40 hours. So, what is your choice?

whats the next big thing?

If we look back at the evolution of humane beings I believe that the last 100 odd years were the best of our evolution, in the last 100 yrs we have learnt to fly, to use energy out of fossil flues, and other alternative flues. Then came in the atom and the nuclear energy.. Yes the good and ugly part of it, then we have invented and equipped our self with the computers, more importantly discovered and learnt the art of using computing in our daily chores of life, internet was the next big thing to happen, which has actually shrunk the world. Biotechnology has shows us what promising future can be by answering the problems of reducing food production. The mobile phone, which has made humans more humans by easing the means of communication.

May be I have not listed all the important events and discovery, yet I believe that it was electricity, which has been the common thread that has woven all the industries, its been the OS of all the industries. Electricity has propelled the entire revolution, and has changed the life that we live today. Come to think of it we would not have been this smart a species if electricity was unknown to us. Without electricity how would have used computers and internet, which today is a huge source of learning, with out the Television the would have been mere geographical divide, and the knowledge of one society or a country would remain only with it.
It’s been a combine drive of electricity and petrol / diesel which has given the world the concept of transportation.

I wonder what would be next big thing that we would reinvent the human species, the next big thing which will be as potent as electricity and fuel, the next big thing that will be omnipresent, and drive the future economies.

testimony of humanity

This post carries a narrative of an event and follows by two pictures. Would request you not to jump to the attachment directly, plz spent some time reading the narrative and then read the text in the attachment. I have a small story to be told, about an incident that happened with my family.In the mid of December, my parents, my sis and Bro in law and I had been to Shilparamam, it's an annual art and craft exhibition at Hyderabad, with a objective to promote the rural art and craft, and this idea had been sold very well over years. Being appreciators of such art we had been to the Shilparamam exhibition on a Sunday evening, though I am unable to recollect the date I guess it was December 14,08. around 1900 hrs my mom realized that she was unable to locate rs 3000, which she candidly remembers putting in her purse, after a few mins of search we had to accept that she had lost it, may be some one had flicked it from her purse. That evening mom was lost in the pain that she had lost her 3000 bugs. Rubbing things away we went ahead with the exhibition, bought other articles and left the place by around 2300 hrs. That night was uncomfortable for her, she was still in the grief and could not sleep the night long. Now read the text in the scan attachment labeled "scan 01"And scan 02 is the testimony

Non-traditional ideas to celebrate Valentine's day

1. Go for a long drive at 6:00 AM in the morning and stop for continental breakfast. Do the opposite of romantic dinner! Enjoy the most important meal of the day together.

2. If you are in outdoor adventures, take a long hike and camp. Take a small grill and cook. May be a bon-fire?

3. If you like pets, get one on Valentine’s day instead of buying each other gifts. A small fish or a cute bird.

4. Cook your favorite restaurant meal at home from scratch. Prepare some nice cocktails and a dessert to go with.

5. Join a gym or start playing a sport (pledge to start living a healthy life). If you love your partner a lot and want to grow old with them, start living a fit life today.

6. Surprise an elderly couple (or parents) by visiting them. These days when most of us live away from our parents, it will be nice to surprise them and take them out for dinner.

7. Spend the whole day volunteering for your favorite charity. At the end of the day, stop to pick-up some take out and a bottle of wine to reward yourselves for the great work.

8. Make a small movie featuring your favorite spots in town where you shared special moments. You will be surprised how good this will feel 10 or 20 years later. Share the video with your close family and friends.

9. Book a fancy hotel room in your own city and order in champagne and food thru room-service. Treat yourself like a celebrity!

10. Rent 2-3 movies. Switch off cell-phones and laptops for the whole day and get a pint of ice-cream. Tip – drop off the kids at a relative :)

Consumer Complaints

Came across this website, where one can voice their concerns and complaints about any service, product they use. Not sure if this is a government thing.. but it looks very active..
http://www.consumercomplaints.in
so go ahead and pour ur complaints...

Questions to ask of myself

After putting a comment to Sumeets last post (edit... Every one needs to read Sumeets last post and the comments to understand where I am coming from ...) 

here is the link  http://elevencousins.blogspot.com/2009/02/other-person-inside-me.html#comments

I realised for my self that there are questions that most are afraid to ask. Difficult answers to difficult questions that might throw a persons life out of gear.

I call these questions .....

Simple questions that could help define the meaning and purpose of life. (I am putting them down randomly)

1. What am I doing that will further my knowledge of life?

2. What do experiences teach me?

3. How do I help my self learn about my self?

4. How true am I to my self?

5. What if any are the problems that I face that reduce my knowledge

6. What knowledge must I share with people I know?

7. Why am I on this planet in this space and time?

8. Where do ideas come from? Does an Idea have a right or wrong associated with it?

9. What would I tell my self if I could travel back in time or what questions would I ask if I can travel forward in time?

10. What is God? Are rituals associated with God necessary? Do I ask god to help me or do I Thank god for what I have?

11. Does a sage/seer know more than I do or is the sage/seer struggling with the same questions that I am struggling with? And if so have I taken a more difficult path to learning about life?

12. What are ethics, morals, and values? What teaches me these things?

13. What do I do if ethically or morally I was proved to be wrong?

14. Where do I find the answers to all my questions?

………..

The list is endless.

I am stuck for words as there are questions I have put down that I ask myself very often even though I know what my answer is going to be. (May be it is to reassure my self and also to take time out to review what i have learnt and un-learnt during the time when i asked my self the question last)

What I can tell you is that my answers are true only for me, not for meghna, ishan, simmone, mom, dad, papa, mummy or darshana or extended family or my friends. They will find their own questions and answers. As a parent I can teach my kids how to think but not think for them. As a husband I can help Meghna ask the questions but i cant answer for her, She can help me ask questions that i might have not thought about but will not be able to answer them for me. As a son/brother i can learn about questions that i might have overlooked but will not be able to answer their questions.

I can also tell you this – start asking questions like this list and more and give your self truthful answers and you will be taking small steps to discovering your self and your purpose.

Purpose is what gives meaning to human life.

C

the other person inside me

More often than not we live our lives for the other person who lives in us, we fail to figure out our self, and yet pamper the other person in us. most people are other persons, there thoughts are someone’s else's opinion, their lives are others mimicry, their passion are quotations.
Wondering if all of us live by the other person inside us.

King of Clay Vs Master of Grass

These last few years might be easily some of the best years in the history of tennis. The top 2 seeds in the world Roger Federer and Rafal Nadal – have played so many thrilling matches against each other including the 5+ hours, nail-biter from 2008 Wimbledon championship. They are going to meet again in yet another grand slam final – Australian Open – this weekend! What a feast for tennis lovers. These two players are respected, admired and loved in every country by every tennis fan. It’s just hard to hate either one of them. They have lot of respect for each other as well. Both are classic gentlemen and extraordinary athletes. Although Rafa is very tired from today’s five setter and has less time to rest as compared to Roger for the big game on Sunday, I think it will still be a great match.

May the best man win!

What Do You Think Of the the following Lines

Hi All

Currently reading 4 Books (I Know, I Know .. I must be nuts to read them together) Found a couple of intresting lines. Thought that i should share them with ya'll

1. The Point of life is not to get anywhere - It is to notice that you are, and have allways been, already there . You are, always and forever, in the moment of pure creation. The point of life is therefore to create - who and what you are, and then to exprience that.

2. You cannot resist something to which you grant to reality. The act of resisting a thing is the act of granting it life. When you resist an energy, you place it there. the more you resist, the more you make it real - whatever it is you are resisting.

Will let you guys know the names of the books later

Take Care

C

Movie Review : Slumdog Millionaire

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Although I have been watching promos of this movie since last 4 months, I never got around watching it until last night. After all, I had to see what all the buzz is about. Every now and then a low-budget movie comes around that no one has ever heard of which ends up winning several international awards. Slumdog Millionaire is one of those movies.

Slumdog is a brilliantly directed movie with a great screenplay. If you didn’t know, the movie is based on the novel ‘Q & A’ by Vikas Swarup and directed by Danny Boyle. I have never heard of either of these names. Neither have I heard of the main characters in the movie Dev Patel and Freida Pinto. But still, this movie will entertain you till the end.

In spite of being a common bollywood love-story ( a boy, a girl, a villain, struggling life from rags to riches and a cheesy love song at the end), Slumdog doesn’t have the typical non-sense masala that you see in most of the bollywood movies. Jamal Malik's life starts in the filthy slums of Mumbai along with his elder brother Saleem and a friend Latika. They go through a series of unfortunate events and eventually the lovers get separated. In order to get his love back, Jamal decides to go on the famous TV show; Kaun Bangea Cororepati (fine performance by the host Anil Kapoor) because he knows Latika likes to watch that show. That’s where Jamal gets surprise of his lifetime when he discovers that all the questions on the show are somehow connected to story of his life. As he cruises through the questions, everybody on the show including the host starts to doubt that how does this kid from the slums possibly know answers to all these questions. Irfan Khan plays a cop who interrogates Jamal because they all think he cheated. The end of the movie is predictable. A R Rehman’s magical music adds a desi flavor to the movie.

Had this movie been directed by an Indian director, I don’t think it would have achieved anywhere close to the success that it has achieved today. Directory Danny Boyle has done an excellent job in giving an international platform to this film. Personally, I think except the people directly involved with this project, nobody (I mean no Indians) deserve to beat their chest about the success of the movie.

The only reason I am giving it three stars because we have seen the slums and the love stories several times. I just want someone to make a movie about modern India. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely don’t have problem in accepting the fact that such slums and child-abuse scandals still exists in India. That is a fact.

Go see this one. Not for kids due to some foul language.

The best job in the world ( literally)

This is hard to believe. An Australian island has opened up a position titled as Island Caretaker, which is being described as the best job in the world. Here are some of the highlights of this job.

• The length of the employment is 6 months.


• The main responsibility of the Island Caretaker is exploring and blogging about the activities of the island on the internet.


• It’s open to everyone in the whole entire world.


• Free ticket from your home country, housing on the beach, meals, traveling will be provided by the employer – Queensland Tourism.


• This is the best part - The salary is US $100,000 or Rs 50 Lakhs.
  
  This is no joke guys! Australia wants to promote tourism on the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Not to mention already hundreds of thousands of people have applied for the job. The deadline is January 22nd. First they will short-list 50 candidates, which will be eventually cut down to the 11 (just like Eleven Cousins). These 11 candidates will be called for an on-site interview on the island. One lucky person will be awarded the job on May 6th.
  
  This island has already gained so much popularity. What a unique way to promote tourism. So are you all ready to apply? Click here.
  

Indi Movies worth watching

Hi All

here are a few movies that everyone should watch, esp if you have a philosophical bend. 

1. Waking Life (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243017/)

The movie is about a young dude in a lucid dream state, in the dream he has philosophical disscussions, and tries very hard to wake up.
Some of the discussions pose important questions about humanity.

The movie is a must see for anyone who is trying to discover themselves

2. The Man from Earth (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/)

wont say anything about this movie .. See it Period.

3.  The Fountain (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414993/)

A difficult to comprehend if you miss even a dialog Love Story. I was almost in tears at the end. Fantastic. ( I know lot of people that did not understand the flick at all)

btw i do have all three with me .. Trying to get HD versions (Blue Ray or DVD)

Have fun watching them .. Not recomended for children as the content may not make any sense to them (no nudity or anything of that sort in all three.. Its just that the content is not suitable for any one under 15.)

Regards

C

Is your life recession-proof?

A few weeks ago I was talking to an individual inside my industry and he was proudly saying that their business is recession-proof. It was the first time I had heard this word. What he really meant was this global economic meltdown is having no effect on his business. I was little bit surprised, but I said hey, good for him. This week, I talked to the same person and his opinion has changed. He was complaining about the economy and how it’s affecting their business.

In last few months we all have read and heard lots of news about recession and how you can make your job or business recession proof. But why just focus on job? I think it affects more than just your job. I want to divide this in the following categories


1. Job and Career
This is an obvious issue and most likely the recession has affected all of us in one way or another. My company is running at 80% of what we were doing a year ago! We lost a good 20% of so business to slowness in economy and overall decline in the market. Although this does not affect my monthly paycheck, this will affect the bonus and other perks. The yearly raise is already out of the question. Not to mention the fretfulness regarding the job security. So far our company has handled the recession very well, because we are owned by a very big company. For small business owners, it gets worst. On the other side, there are certain businesses which have no effect of recession or better yet, are thriving due to recession.

2. Health and Fitness
I was on a roll about a month ago! I was hitting gym 3-4 times a week, eating healthy and was in line with my weight loss goal. All of a sudden, the recession hit me! No folks, I am just kidding!! My reason to discontinue all that has nothing to do with recession. (I thought I might as well blame this on economy!) But it definitely has to do with the extreme cold weather we are having and the holidays. I need to stop being so lazy and get back on the track.

But seriously, I am sure there are some people whose health is affected by recession. There could be several reasons like not being able to afford the gym membership because you want to save money, or unable to continue the sports activity because you spend more hours at work to improve job security or not able to afford eating organic and fresh food because you are keeping money for other necessary expenses. It could be just plain mental depression.


3. Family and Friends
Recession has not affected this area of my life either. Fortunately, I don’t know anybody who has lost a job or a business due to recession. I don’t want to know.

You hear everyday that unemployment rates are going up. In US it has sneaked up to 7%. That means there is a chance that every 1 out of 14 people you know is out of work! That is scary. One more way it can affect your life is people who lose jobs might move away from your neighborhood or even your city, eventually you may lose contact with them.

The flip side of recession in this area of your life is, now that people don’t have cash to spend on vacations and other activities, they may want to socialize more. I mean just hang out at home and spend more time with close family and friends. So did the recession bring you close to your loved ones?


4. Dreams and Goals
This area of my life is definitely affected by recession. I am 30 years old and still have about 30 more years before retiring, that means as compared to some older folks (over 50) out there, my long term dreams are still intact and I will have several chances to make those come true. I feel bad for people who are very close to the retirement and have lost so much money recently that they will have to push out their retirement by few more years. However, some of my short term goals of savings and investments have definitely had an impact. I am not a big investor, but whatever little money I had in stocks is down by more than 50%!! I know I am in the same boat as most of the people. One of my other goals is to take a cruise or a foreign vacation, but slowly it looks like I am going to have to sacrifice this one. I just don’t feel financially secured anymore to justify this vacation.


5. Others
I can think of some unique ways in which recession can hit your life. Family extension plans, marriage, renovating your house, donations and charity contributions, taking care of chronic health issues, desires of higher education etc. At this time, there is no other part of my life which has had a significant impact due to recession.

So, how is recession affecting your life? Would you categorize the issues any differently? I am curious to know if your life truly is recession-proof or not.

Luck? what is it anyways

Have been thinking about this for some time now.. what is LUCK? Why are some people always or most of the time lucky and some are constantly unlucky in life. Why do a set of things 'happen' to just a selected bunch!

After brainstorming for a while I am beginning to think that there is nothing like 'LUCK'. It’s more of set of decisions one makes all through his life, is aware of opportunities around him and grabs the one at right time.

I invite all to share their views on this.. what is luck for each of us and what is 'right time' or ‘timing’ as we call it!

An interesting read about 90/10 principle. It about how the decisions we make.. make our day...

My 5 favorite readings of the week

Hi All

Every week, I will be posting 5 of my favorite posts from various bloggers. If at all possible, spend few minutes of your time to read them. It’s good stuff.

# 1 We deal with this issue on a regular basis.
http://moneysmartlife.com/lending-money-to-family-and-friends/

# 2 Some great tips to kick-off 2009.
http://www.lazymanandmoney.com/how-to-be-successful-in-the-new-year/

# 3 You are most productive when working with deadlines or under time pressure.
http://www.bripblap.com/2009/free-time-does-not-translate-to-massive-productivity/

# 4 From time to time we all need a reminder of these small things.
http://livingmyrichlife.wordpress.com/2008/12/31/why-im-already-rich/

# 5 Lastly, my favorite PF blogger JD has an excellent post – how much money would it take for you to compromise your principles?
www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/01/09/how-much-money-would-it-take-for-you-to-compromise-your-principles/

Have a good weekend!

shopping......yes

though men in general find boring ....not ladies but shopping , whether for themselves or for family or for girlfriend. But there are exceptions too here as well..... i am in that exception category of men .....i love shopping with my wife . Give me amount as much as you can ..take care of my kids ( which is practically impossible) and i love....I have patience , energy , and what not. I would love to for shopping for any thing under the sun. Love to shop decorative piecses.

My shopping style.

Shopping is what every woman loves to do and most of the men hate.
I too love shopping but at the same time it is a big dilemma for me because I am always confused about buying stuff when there is too much choice. Here in the US, November-December is the best time to shop around to look for good deals. I usually get caught in the gift items, kitchen gadgets, and cosmetics sections. I just spend hours in looking around in these sections and of course end up buying something small.

When I was new in US, I used to always convert Dollars into Rupees while shopping! As a result of this, at the end, I would come out of a store with nothing. Slowly I am changing this habit.

I love to go to shopping with my husband but sometimes I prefer to go alone. I want to go with the husband because then I don’t have to pay from my pocket and his choice is better than mine. Sometimes I prefer to go alone because he is always in rush and he looks for branded stuff, which is more expensive and me being a housewife, have to compromise with brands and get some generic, cheap stuff. I am one of those people who don’t want to pay full price for any item. I will wait for good deals. For day-to-day items also I buy them in bulk if found on sale, even though I have stock at home.

Shopping doesn’t mean you have to go to malls or stores. You can shop online also. It may happen sometime that the particular item you look in the store is available at a lower price on internet. However, don’t always look for lower price, as there are other things to consider as well for example, shipping and handling, insurance, warranty and return policy. Another disadvantage of online shopping is the risk of identity theft and fraud if you buy from an unreliable website.

I don’t prefer to buy jewelry, handbags or clothes online because although the presentation of these items is very good and attractive, when you actually receive them, you find them not so great and often of cheap quality. I have to touch and feel these things before buying.

One thing I was not in big favor of was using coupons while shopping for grocery and some household items. Recently, I learned from some friends that you can actually save a lot of money by using such coupons, so I am planning to use them religiously going forward! My other weakness is to buy things just because they are on sale, even though I don’t NEED them. I am slowly overcoming this problem by deciding between WANTS and NEEDS.

How do you shop?

do and dont

like all place are meant to be what they are meant to .... so is a blog... if we are serious about the blog stuff and keen in using this for the k share forum, lets restrict the blog to being just a blog.
Lets understand what is a blog, and what we can and cant do on it..... not all of us are born with the hint of technology, and the mannerism of it.... which in due course of time we need to learn...
so lets browse around and find what it is.... and be sacrosanct about the blog, this done not have any reference to any topic being posted, or theme of the blog.

Hi all

welcome all. i am the first person all the time ........i think i have ample time on hand ... anyways so whts the topic of the day. Aushotoshji ask sumeet to write the blog in hindi.

The first post

The first post..

would wann to welcome each of the 11 cousins to the blog... lets use this space to talk out brains out... lets share knowledge, lets try to learn. lets use this to for the K factor..

lets not brag in our emotions out here. this space is ment to share what we think .. and as agreed there is no right or worng way to think... in fact thinking is the most individual activity that we as humans can do .... and its thinking that has shaped the world as we see...

so lets start a new edition out there...

would also request each of you to plz blog what you wann this space to be and not to...
looking fd for a real exciting blog to hang out on.