Everyone's Free .....

Chanced upon a track by Baz Luhrmann, called "Everyone's Free - To Wear Sunscreen".

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '99.....Wear Sunscreen

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience...

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth;
Oh never mind; you will not understand the power of beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at the photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked...

You're not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future;
or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss
Don't waste your time on jealousy;
sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind...the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.


Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life... the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium

Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary...


Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either- your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.


Enjoy your body, use it every way you can... don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance... even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
(:-))

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time it's 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen...

The video of the song can be viewed here ....

Video Courtesy : You Tube

A neat one .. i must say ... ... :-)

Simmering beneath the ground .....

Change, the universal truth is constant too!

What happens when this truth begins to experiment in a relationship? All of us, have a comfort zone and do not like to be miffed in that zone. The zone is where "you" are "YOU"! Most of us resist change, even though, sometimes that change is just for our betterment! We just want to be left the way we are .......


In one of our discussions, I remember Vasanth mentioning, "every individual is like a religion" . Pretty profound statement. Every individual has his/her own code of conduct. This conduct has evolved over time, based on the upbringing, culture, experiences that individual has been exposed to. What may be holy to some may be satanic to others. To make matters worse, there is no absolute of what's right or what's wrong! Whenever, one individual tries to manipulate others, in supporting his/her school of thought, there would be resistance.


Matters, which seem trivial on the exterior, sometimes, are the ones that cause devastating effects. When the individual is "driven" to change , he/she may not be able to reisist it instantly as there could be multiple layers of pressure on them. It could be peer pressure, attempt at sounding neanderthal, being conservative, being flamboyant, being brash ..... and so on .......... Though at that point the individual, seems to accept the situation, it has indeed scarred him/her. The individual already has begun to feel that he/she has "compromised" to a certain degree! Further acts .. of change would result in more scars and induce wounds on almost healed scars ....... Till the point that it is no longer acceptable by one of the individuals ........... and then ...... before you know it ........ the relationship begins to collapse. Soon, it's all over!


A discussion in time and identifying the changes that seem to be affecting a relationship .... and taking corrective action early on seems the only solution to it. If individuals 'agree to disagree' , it would solve most such issues. Simmering beneath the ground, change always exists in a molten state. It's upto the individuals to realize the same and plan accordingly.

On a day like .......

A few days back, was probably my "bad" day! No, it was not "bad" like, "hey that movie is 'bad'" , but more of ..... "hey , this parachute dosen't seem to open up!" ... "OH THAT"S BAAAD".


Well, yeah like all good day's, that day too began well, and progressed to getting better, till i revved up my bike and picked up some pace. Cruised along Airport road, Inner ring road and lo .. there began a traffic jam. A good samaritan informed me the vehicle's back wheels' tyre was deflated. Now, that's bad! That's because, Hosur road, is hell for even the best of bikers and fittest of the bikes. My bike on the other hand ..... was crippled! Inflating, the tyres, seemed a hotfix and i carried on.

I wouldn't normally recommend biking on Hosur road (HR). Lorry and Bus drivers, consider HR as Suzuka during the testing weekend! They outsmart each other, find innovative means to drive, cause accidents, touch max speeds, check braking skills, slingshot, bring down barricades and pretty much do stuff, which would have disqualified them their licensce, if done during the test. (Or would it?! ) My friend had an interview appointment and thus, i had to bike.

All seemed well and good, till about quarter to four, when i left office heading towards HR. At the parking lot, the back tyre was flat! At my organisation, we boast of a self sufficient, Multi layer parking lot, whose air pump had to give way just that day! Pushing along, for another kilometer, I found a puncture repair shop in the service lane. After some examination and testing, the guy there came up with the theory that it was not a puncture, and i had parked the vehicle in the "heat'' (??!) for long! He also suggested, that i needn't change it right away! I tugged along joining the procession, on HR. Well, procession, that's how the traffic tugs along!


Just a few kilometers, on that road, the tyre gave way! On a National Highway, where people fly past, i was tugging a vehicle with a flat tyre! Luckily, i spotted , a petrol bunk where i thought i could just inflate it and continue along! That was not to be. The tube has given way and i was now forced to change it! One respite was a puncture shop close by. The owner of this puncture shop seemed a thug. He was looking around for cops and pushing a set of lorrt tyre (?) into his mini truck to be taken out! I had to get a new tyre. My bike was in its most vulnerable state, with a tyre removed and i was suppossed to get a tyre, leaving the bike with these thugs! Universe was having a blast that day! At my expense !


I had to get to the other side, of HR. Now, vehicles on HR do not show, any mercy to pedestrians. Once, you cross that road, you feel, you are the ONE! Well, that's how Neo should have felt when he dodged bullets! But, you do have a few vehicles, that speak to us in the same tone, Trinity, spoke to an Agent, "Dodge this ..... "! Well , nevertheless, with just my bike and its state, in mind, i wanted to get back ASAP . There was just one Hero Honda showroom! My luck seemed running out! My bike was a Bajaj! :-|. Also, i was out of cash and only my debit card to my rescue. The guy in the store seemed understanding and i was more than happy that they accepted the card. But his assistant din't. She seemed to have run out of paper roll for the card swiper! After 20 minutes, she managed to locate it! Damn! My mind, had all the worst case scenarios worked out ..... my bike wouldn't be there. It's all over kinds. Anyway, i rushed back. Yeah, my vehicle was there and the thug had stayed back to just fix my bike!


Then for the last of the surprises, the tyre sizes did not match! Although, this guy did manage to put accross the tyre finally! I tugged along joined the procession and reached home at 7 30 pm!

My friend's interview appointment had to be cancelled. Traffic jams. Tyre puntures. Sidy shop. Assistant running out of paper rolls. Hosur road. Misfit tyre ..... Could the day have been any better ......?