Another Week in Utopia!!

If the world is a funny place, the stock market is where all the jokes are made!! This week - if a kid was taught alphabets, it would be like this:

A for American
B for Bailout
C for Credit (Crunch)
D for Depression
E for Emergency
F for Fannie Mae
H for Henry (Paulson)
...

The impact of the big American collapse was also felt in my study. I got to learn a lot about the sub-prime loans, how securitization processes worked and what kind of controls or the lack of it existed. This is really heavy duty stuff for the engineering (read IT) processors in my brain. ( I think I have it!!)

The scare reached some private banks in India too. Not sure how that would unfold in the months to come. Also in the limelight, in my country, the usual terror bombs, suspected terrorists arrested and communal violence. Sometimes I dont understand if they teach "National Integration" as a subject in schools anymore!

Cricket is again on the fore, thanks to the kangaroos who have come to the sub-continent to roost or roast (lets see what the series ends like). Its a relatively cooler period.. October - November.. but also to be noted that their famed squad is cut by more than 50%. Ageing bones or a lot of wrinkes are the typical characteristics of this team. Have to say, some of the younger players dont know clearly what their role is and how to go about it.

In the middle of a chaotic place called Chennai, neither do I. Have been putting on a lot of experience (read "weight") - its becoming difficult to recognize myself in the mirror at times. Blame it all on the lack of cricket or of any other sport like squash. If you are tied in to your laptop most of the hours in a day, where is the opportunity to play a game and slim down.

"GM Diet" suddenly became the mantra and I started it yesterday morning. The first day apparently has to do with fruits. For the swipe card in my mouth (my tongue) anything non-masala will not be permitted. It can come in any size shape or color, but the indian masala topping is essential, else it will be rejected. The programmed taste buds, instantly realised something was amiss and in entirety and umpteen escalations were needed to escort the fruits, safely inside. Day 1 was spent eating fruits (I dont quite like them even on a normal day when the moon rises in the morning) and somehow I heard myself say its all going to be great and fabulous, at the end of the dieting period!

I slept pretty early yesterday nite as I didnt quite have the energy to sustain. Woke up at mid night (5:30 AM) and wondered what to do! The whole family is sleeping and here I am.... fresh and most importantly "half dead"!! The idiot box came to my rescue. Soon the moon - I mean the sun - rose. Some horrible cooked vegetables entered my system. Again there was a distinct sense or lack of sense of energy in me for a second day. At nearly 50% battery, I couldnt really hold on too long. By 4 PM today, I called it quits. Went to Ratna Cafe and really ate like my usual self.

The funny thing in this whole episode was on day 1, when I was thinking of toasted bread, fresh from the toaster, right in front of my hands, some white butter to go with it - a slight touch of it spread unformingly - the time comes to bite it and when you do, the crust of the bread makes a very suttle pleasing sound. ( This kind of hallucination will indeed happen to anyone who suddenly realises that D is for Diet and not Dinner! ) Reminded me of the Disney cartoons when they would think of food and the mouth would be full of saliva waiting to work on the edible matter!!

With a profusely thankful tongue, I am slowly returning back to normalcy. Only two options remain to slim down now - Cricket "again" or Gym "For Once".
(Time to thank you for reading till here.)

This is all that has happened in the recent days in my Utopian world.
Until the next time, pls ensure that you respect your bread and butter, while you have it.
God knows, when YOUR turn to diet will come!