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Soul and Freedom

I found a sentence by the writer Chitra Fernando, which I think applies very nicely to myself as well.

“India gave me my soul, but the US gave me my freedom”, and added: “Without that freedom my soul would have shrivelled”. With apologies to Chitra Fernando.

81. Freakonomics





In Borders (or Barnes & Noble) I stumble upon a lot of good books, which I then try to read. Today, the title caught my eye within seconds of walking in. I picked it up, found it a compelling read and finished a whole chapter on a comfortable couch.

Surprisingly, the authors seem to have an active blog going:
http://www.freakonomics.com/


I read a chapter titled "Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?" Fascinating view into a world I wouldn't have a window into.

Check out the book.

80. 05-05-05

Three years, three months and three days ago, when I was younger and naiver, I thought that I would resign in 2002. But here I am, still pulling an 8-9 hour stint. Can't give up a supply that easily.

On this Cinco de Mayo, I was reminded of that date. I didn't do anything, but it serves as a shameful reminder of what I didn't do. Sometimes it seems that the biggest disappointments are when we let ourselves down.

79. Honeymoon with my Brother

Finished reading this book. May not be a literary gem, but was very good. Found the sincerity of writer Franz moving. (They are making a movie of it soon.)

Here are 2 essays that I really liked

running with the pack
you can count on it

The other essays (which are also very good) can be found in honeymoonwithmybrother.com

78. Being a Tenant

My current apartment lease has a new clause. My landlord can give us a 90-day notice and ask us to leave. The apartment office has been showing our apartment to prospective buyers, who may want to buy the unit.

I really like the apartment, the rent and the proximity to work. Also, now that it's November, getting a notice would mean that we would have to pack and move in the Winter, in February.

Therefore, every day, I walk up to the apartment with some anxiety. If there is no envelope shoved under our door, that means that we have earned one more day wherein we can stay. Tomorrow, well, we will worry about tomorrow tomorrow.

77. Connecting with mother

Two posts in one day, yes. I called my mother since it was my anniversary, and she wanted to wish us. Today, all these 1000s of miles apart, we just connected. It happens once in a while.
It is not as if we normally fight about things. Usually, I quickly tell her a few things about my life and work, and she does the same.
Today, she spent a good deal of time talking about my brother's marriage. My parents are looking for a bride for him. It sometimes takes time. She was telling her that all the neighbors kept asking her why it was taking time. I told her he was still younger than my father was, when he got married.
I then told her that I was thinking of quitting work. I told her I was tired. She seemed to understand. I told her that I wanted to travel around, take it easy for a few months.
She asked about my wife, who is equally eager to quit.
Well, both of you are highly qualified, so you shouldn't have any problems getting a job if you want one, she said. I assured her that that was probably true.
Secretly, I hope never to go back to a 9-5 job, at least not for too long.

76. Cooking for Anniversary

This really happened. Because our wedding anniversary fell on a Sunday, we slept in till 9 am. I was woken up by my wife, saying she wanted to prepare a great lunch for us. I mumbled okay and went back to sleep.
A few minutes later, she woke me up again, asking if she could use the eggplant curry that I had made into a dish she was preparing. (Apparently, she needed eggplant as an ingredient but there was none in the house.) I was not too happy about her using my already prepared dish as an ingredient, but I said "Go right ahead" and went back to sleep.

She then woke me up one more time to ask if there were any favorite things I wanted her to prepare. Honestly, all I wanted to do was to sleep some more. I was determined not to show my annoyance, this being our anniv and all, and so I said go ahead make whatever you do best. By this time I decided that I wasn't getting any more sleep and so I woke up.

Lying sound asleep next to me was my wife. I had dreamt the entire thing about her cooking. Like I said, this really happened.