reflections of fall...

as i sit here on this fine fall morning, i am getting all itchy feet and a bit reflective. all that looking forward to being in US and enjoying the calm and quietness and following a steady and predictable routine is wearing off. there has to be more to life than just stability, serenity, and safe sex.

teaching the router gurus the basics of routing and the finance gurus the basics of math has its temporary satisfaction, but these efforts are merely a drop of water on this overwhelming brush fire of incompetence that is engulfing this great nation. And then one day you wake up and you see all these little arundathi roys and shakespeares, captive in the bodies of code coolies, and you know you have seen it all.

i learned yesterday that every japanese is a "tight fit" in his society. to deviate is to get ostracized and marginalized. but this man did everything that was contrary to the norm. at 20 he got married to his sweetheart and moved in with her family. his father wanted him to become doctor but he decided to "listen to music", and for the next 10 years thats what he did by working in a jazz club. at 30, while watching a baseball game, he decided to write. now at 70, he is one of the best known writers in Japan (hey, where am i going with this anecdote?)

anyways, the advent of fall, the season of dying leaves, brings a wave of reflection. my advice to chowkies, especially those living in the northeast, is to logoff from chowk for one weekend and take a solitary drive through vermont and maine. its not exactly singapore, but it may just be the talisman to give some answers to your life.