Friday 15 August 2008

Quick retorts by single blokes

Married people, please move on. This post is not for you.

Single folk, especially those under immense pressure from their families to jump into something that you don’t want to contemplate right now, please stand by… we may be able to help each other out.

Given that I have had a lot of time on my hands (see previous post), I decided to call my parents over to Hyderabad. And since I knew I was going to be home pretty much all the time, I asked them to come over on an extended stay. Exactly five hours before my parents arrived, it hit me that I could have a repeat of all the conversations I have had with them about marriage and how I’m not particularly thrilled by the idea of arranged marriages.

My scared self wishes to put together a collection of well-reasoned retorts that are sure to terminate any such conversation around arranged marriages, in favour of the single bloke. If you can add on to this list that I’m putting together, you would be helping out more than one poor soul:
  • Parents: We would like you to get married to someone all of us are comfortable with
    Single bloke: Are you thinking of my car?
  • Parents: What’s wrong with an arranged marriage?
    Single bloke: You cannot arrange a marriage; you can only arrange a wedding. Ergo …
  • Parents: We’ve found a lovely girl for you
    Single bloke: I’ve found a red apple for you
  • Parents: Even your friend X was OK with an arranged marriage. Why was it OK with him?
    Single bloke: Information Asymmetry? -- raise your eyebrows as you say this
  • Parents: Do you know how many good offers you have been getting?
    Single bloke: A good offer in a bad system still counts as a bad offer
  • Parents: Don’t you want a wife who can cook?
    Single bloke: You know, I bought this microwave oven last month and I still haven’t figured out how it works…

Thursday 14 August 2008

Some career news

I’ve quit my job of over a year. Nothing went wrong, but nothing went seriously right either. As of now, I’m in the market looking for a job. Actually not just yet – I plan to take some time off to think about myself, life, and everything that comes with it. Perhaps in a few weeks I’ll freak out about unemployment, and get serious about the third draft of my resume. In the meantime, Chi has more time to dedicate to his blog :-)

Friday 8 August 2008

I'm only human
I seek what I love
I chase what I seek
I may affront what I chase
'Tis a chance I have to take

Wednesday 6 August 2008

Noble

There is the language that we read, and then there's language that we speak. The two are completely different animals: often, we come across words that we read but never use.

What if we could speak the way our favourite authors write? Would that show what our true character really is? If I used the word "noble" in a conversation, does that truly mean what I was describing was indeed noble?