Everyday at work or wherever it maybe we are at that time… we come across situations where people bend the rules… it can be as trivial as cutting the line in a candy store or pulling your car into a spot that someone had put their lights for or letting your buddies cut into a line or it could be a little less than trivial stuff like fudging accounts, hiding stuff, not revealing the whole truth when its needed or over-stating your experience on your resume or producing documents proving your credibility even though you only saw them 10 minutes back yourself…
Where do you draw the line.. as to what constitutes an acceptable bend of the rule and what constitutes a down right no-no breaking the rule. Is it down to perception, is it interpretation, is it down to your own courteous attitude, is it your conscience, is it your patience or a personal score card you have that says your can commit 5 wrongs for every 10 rights that you do in life…
Is it crazy to think about such stuff.. I mean do people who bend the rules really think about what they did, say there’s a 20 head count line at a local post office with a min 5 minute processing time per customer, what if your manager walks in, are you obligated to let him cut into your line? If you do let him cut in, is it because you are afraid of him or is it because you like him, is it fair on the hefty number of people standing behind your for the last several minutes.. Does your manager thank his good luck or does he take a minute to feel sorry for the guys he cut infront of, does he feel sorry he put you in such a spot..
I think the simplest answer is that, people who cut in don’t give a rat’s rear.. if they did they wont even think twice about standing in the order they walked into the place. It’s a sad truth, it’s a world of not what you know, but, who you know. At work you can see people who kiss up to the management get the right assignment over someone who talks sense. It happens all the time. I think the only people who think about this is those who are caught in the middle. A guy who always follows the rules doesn’t even notice that a guy cut infront of him, infact he wont care one bit, the guy who cuts in doesn’t care one bit either. It’s the people who follow the rules reluctantly and immediately that get tempted when someone bends it that feel wronged.
They go, “well, that’s what I wanted to do.. but look at him.. he did that… I cant believe the others didn’t notice it..” This is a trivial example. I chuckled today, when I overheard a couple of guys talk this… Dude1.. “Hey did you pay the registration tax for the car” Dude2 “yeah” Dude 1 “How much?” Dude 2 “X” Dude1 “I hope you understated the value of the purchase” Dude2” No, why ?” Dude1”to pay lower taxes.. I did it.. everyone does it” Dude2 “Not me, I wanna sleep well” Dude1 “You are hopeless man”. Crazy right?.. well, for most its not that crazy. A guy who not only understated his car value to pay lesser taxes, mentions to the other guy what an idiot he was for following the rules. The world has turned pale my friends, you can see it everywhere, there’s no place that’s not vulnerable to rule-bending… I fall in the middle group, you know someone who hates when others break the rules or bend the rules but don’t have the guts or the heart to do it myself.
Once a rental car company forgot to charge me for an insurance package I used, it was quite a lot of money for someone like me who lives paycheck to paycheck, I thought for 10 seconds and told them they charged me less. I felt good for about 2 minutes, not good forever because I didn’t tell them immediately.. I thought about “not telling” them… but I did after wrestling with myself. I got a big thank you… that’s it… but how many people do that, what if the cash register guy gives 50 bucks extra, does everyone of you return it. What if they charge you only once for 2 cartons of milk do you go back and pay ? I don’t claim I do it often or everytime… but these are situations that fascinate me.
Then there’s the whole big bad ballgame of politics that people play at work, fudging resumes, fudging tax breaks and misstating information to get more money back. No place is beyond limit for these people, infact I personally know a few friends who invented “teams that they managed” offshore to get quicker green card processing in the US. How crazy is that? Well, not real crazy is they are always used to cutting infront of lines, or stealing parking spots or fudging account information. When you start fudging a little , you just don’t stop. And the crazy part both of those guys are getting their residency approved next week….
At times I laugh at my inability to be like them, at times I cant believe I stick to the rules while others bend it without issues and laugh at us for being incapable to do the same, at times I feel like a moron… the only thing I have going at those times? I get a good night’s sleep, because I can getup in the morning and say, I didn’t cheat a single person till yesterday.. I have a clear conscience..
It’s painful to be an incapable rule bender… but then not.. it feels far better to be a reluctant rule follower and am a proud one at that…
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
The Economy Bandaid - lets stimulate
The world was abuzz, the messiah had spoken, the savior has arrived, your problems will be transformed into nuisances and your nuisances will melt when this savior aggrandizes the house that the Americans built. Well, I am not crazy, err.. not yet anyway.. but that’s how I translated all the post-Obama electoral victory news coverage. I feel very sorry for him, lets scan what is about to confront the new US president in the coming days… a couple of wars going nowhere, an enemy dispersed, strong and diverse, an economy that’s in the maddest of all tailspins, a health care system that reeks with stale ideals, an education system that’s been downgraded, a housing market that’s looking like a mazy abyss than a green pasture with an azure embellishment and a disgruntled group of denizens desperate for some good news and ready to be waken from the nightmare of endless negative missives in the name of news reports.
Welcome President Obama, no pressure there… we re considerate…. once you are done fixing everything that everyone has drawn up in their list, you can cure melanoma, achieve the drug for immortality without aging and find a world where everyone sits on their fanny and makes a million bucks a day.
I think among the million bytes of digits that scanned the globe as the US election run-up ratcheted one question stuck that was asked by a reported struck a chord in me … “ Senators Obama and McCain, do you for even a minute think, do I want to win and inherit this mess” .. Ofcourse they said the right answers but the kind of mess they are inheriting is unfathomable, really historical and deadly in its cocktail of complication and consequences.
The most famous rallying cry “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country” galvanized then Americans, Obama is no stranger to catch phrases, he apparently is an eloquent talker, but walking the walk and talking the talk are two different things. The economy rightfully has taken center stage and is sucking all the resources into working in this issue, but there are 100 other ones that are as scary as the economy, not the least of which is the security threats.
How do you not feel obligated to help the President Obama in every single way, he is trying to patch and fix on the go one of the most epic financial collapses a once-a-lifetime – hopefully – event for us. Now, this issue is not isolated to US or even Europe, the way every economy in the globe is structured we are mostly a house of cards, every single failure has a cascade effect, be it a bank going kaput or a insurance company going broke or a car manufacture going insolvent. Sometime I do feel angry, I mean a few thousand ineligible borrowers have rocked everyone’s boat and we are all swimming or trying to anyway upstream. Its time to hold hands and help each other out. The stimulus package will be a nightmare – any final version that gets approved – because of the burden its going to impose on coming generations, but there is no choice.
The mark of a true fighter is when his wound is exposed and his salt is down, are we gonna stand up and do something about this or not. I like every other Joe Smith, do want certain assurances of how these gargantuan bailout money is being spent. I need assurances, checks, double-checks, reports, status, insight and every damn nickel accounted for. But, lets also get smart. Lets not eat out if we don’t have to, lets not buy every single ipod that comes on the market, lets save some money and spend smartly. Don’t switch off your AC or heater but do switch off your TV. Take the public transport, donate to charity than going on a ski trip. Keep your resumes current, stay sharp and focused. Watch your leaders, whether what they say is what they do, watch yourself and your family and finally realize.
It didn’t take one bad decision to lead us to this rut, it took a series of hidden debacles to get here, it took turning a blind eye when a sore spot is spotted, so there is no silver bullet. No one decision can create the 2 plus million jobs last year or the ones that are gonna be lost this year. But we each can have a personal motto, spend wisely, be prepared and do your part to stimulate the economy. Every one wants to be part of the party but not everyone likes to clean up the dishes, you may not have wrecked every thing but lets be part of a solution. Support President Obama in his trials, his hits and misses, we need call him out if he proposes something unworkable. But lets also be reasonable, the man is under the spot like no other for the reason he inhibited something, not procreated, so lets cut him some slack and remain hopeful and work hard.
Welcome President Obama, no pressure there… we re considerate…. once you are done fixing everything that everyone has drawn up in their list, you can cure melanoma, achieve the drug for immortality without aging and find a world where everyone sits on their fanny and makes a million bucks a day.
I think among the million bytes of digits that scanned the globe as the US election run-up ratcheted one question stuck that was asked by a reported struck a chord in me … “ Senators Obama and McCain, do you for even a minute think, do I want to win and inherit this mess” .. Ofcourse they said the right answers but the kind of mess they are inheriting is unfathomable, really historical and deadly in its cocktail of complication and consequences.
The most famous rallying cry “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country” galvanized then Americans, Obama is no stranger to catch phrases, he apparently is an eloquent talker, but walking the walk and talking the talk are two different things. The economy rightfully has taken center stage and is sucking all the resources into working in this issue, but there are 100 other ones that are as scary as the economy, not the least of which is the security threats.
How do you not feel obligated to help the President Obama in every single way, he is trying to patch and fix on the go one of the most epic financial collapses a once-a-lifetime – hopefully – event for us. Now, this issue is not isolated to US or even Europe, the way every economy in the globe is structured we are mostly a house of cards, every single failure has a cascade effect, be it a bank going kaput or a insurance company going broke or a car manufacture going insolvent. Sometime I do feel angry, I mean a few thousand ineligible borrowers have rocked everyone’s boat and we are all swimming or trying to anyway upstream. Its time to hold hands and help each other out. The stimulus package will be a nightmare – any final version that gets approved – because of the burden its going to impose on coming generations, but there is no choice.
The mark of a true fighter is when his wound is exposed and his salt is down, are we gonna stand up and do something about this or not. I like every other Joe Smith, do want certain assurances of how these gargantuan bailout money is being spent. I need assurances, checks, double-checks, reports, status, insight and every damn nickel accounted for. But, lets also get smart. Lets not eat out if we don’t have to, lets not buy every single ipod that comes on the market, lets save some money and spend smartly. Don’t switch off your AC or heater but do switch off your TV. Take the public transport, donate to charity than going on a ski trip. Keep your resumes current, stay sharp and focused. Watch your leaders, whether what they say is what they do, watch yourself and your family and finally realize.
It didn’t take one bad decision to lead us to this rut, it took a series of hidden debacles to get here, it took turning a blind eye when a sore spot is spotted, so there is no silver bullet. No one decision can create the 2 plus million jobs last year or the ones that are gonna be lost this year. But we each can have a personal motto, spend wisely, be prepared and do your part to stimulate the economy. Every one wants to be part of the party but not everyone likes to clean up the dishes, you may not have wrecked every thing but lets be part of a solution. Support President Obama in his trials, his hits and misses, we need call him out if he proposes something unworkable. But lets also be reasonable, the man is under the spot like no other for the reason he inhibited something, not procreated, so lets cut him some slack and remain hopeful and work hard.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Zooming out of Gloom... hopefully
When 2008 was about to roll in, the numerology department was working overtime... the significance of the total 2+0+0+8 had them in a dizzy... its a great year or so they said... 12 months later... don't we all think 2008 as one of the most dramatic, impact-ful, draining, eye-opening, gut-wrenching times of most living beings' lifetime.. from the economy that was in a tailspin and the violence that wouldn't stop around the world and the melting glaciers and the deficit in most countries' budget and the increase in hunger deaths and the loss of jobs and the rise in crimes and the .... too many bad headlines...
10 years from now - when, hopefully we are out of this crisis - we will recall 2008 as the year that had too many bad headlines, the year that doomed many a savings account, the year where we started saving on fast food, electricity, gas and anything that can be saved... History will equate 2008 with 1931 the most comparable and deadly ogre of a cousin.... the great depression... History will by then have all things we did wrong in 19 titles on newsstands, of what we should learn, what we missed and how to avoid... and someone will make money on it too...
Human race... we are funny... we commit the mistake , we avoid the reactions, we sidestep the repercussions until it hits us in the face, we smart from it because we have no other choice, some try and stand up, like water off a duck's back we march on and commit the next series of blunders...
2008 was not all that bad... in fact 2008 was the ugly bill for all the sins of 2001 to 2007, the sins also called as failed policies, missed warning signs and general lack of concern for the future... 2008 was the ugly product of all that was wrong in the previous years... 2008 was needed, it was important the human race gets hit on the face with reality.... its a splash of cold water...
No one needs a million dollar home, no one needs a 4 bedroom home, no one needs 3 cars, no one needs 2 cellphones... but almost everyone wants them all and thats how we ended up with 2008... if we only keep paying the interest on a loan the primary never disappears, if we only look 2 days ahead in our life, the deadlines in the next week never shows up early, if we remain short sighted with a head bigger than the stomach we all only deserve 2008...
No one knows which one policy will take us out of this rut and deliver us to the next one... we are all as excited as can be... for what did we get from 2008 that we cant let go off ... other than a pile of bills, a rack of empty headache bottles, a few broken glasses that bore the brunt of our anger as the stock indexes went for a swim-dive.... its a fallacy to expect one policy to be the silver bullet a series of policies are necessary ..
As individuals we need to step up and distinguish our needs from our wants... in times like these we don't need what we want... we should want what we need... the more we realize the difference and cater to our needs... the better we are all off...
Can 2009 be as bad as 2008, well who knows... but every individual can command what happens with them, as more individuals get smart... with a concerted effort to keep ourselves better prepared we will sail through it... and we can even live to describe it to the next generation... of how we learnt WANT, NEED, GREED, PURPOSE and PERSPECTIVE from the year 2008.... Happy New Year
10 years from now - when, hopefully we are out of this crisis - we will recall 2008 as the year that had too many bad headlines, the year that doomed many a savings account, the year where we started saving on fast food, electricity, gas and anything that can be saved... History will equate 2008 with 1931 the most comparable and deadly ogre of a cousin.... the great depression... History will by then have all things we did wrong in 19 titles on newsstands, of what we should learn, what we missed and how to avoid... and someone will make money on it too...
Human race... we are funny... we commit the mistake , we avoid the reactions, we sidestep the repercussions until it hits us in the face, we smart from it because we have no other choice, some try and stand up, like water off a duck's back we march on and commit the next series of blunders...
2008 was not all that bad... in fact 2008 was the ugly bill for all the sins of 2001 to 2007, the sins also called as failed policies, missed warning signs and general lack of concern for the future... 2008 was the ugly product of all that was wrong in the previous years... 2008 was needed, it was important the human race gets hit on the face with reality.... its a splash of cold water...
No one needs a million dollar home, no one needs a 4 bedroom home, no one needs 3 cars, no one needs 2 cellphones... but almost everyone wants them all and thats how we ended up with 2008... if we only keep paying the interest on a loan the primary never disappears, if we only look 2 days ahead in our life, the deadlines in the next week never shows up early, if we remain short sighted with a head bigger than the stomach we all only deserve 2008...
No one knows which one policy will take us out of this rut and deliver us to the next one... we are all as excited as can be... for what did we get from 2008 that we cant let go off ... other than a pile of bills, a rack of empty headache bottles, a few broken glasses that bore the brunt of our anger as the stock indexes went for a swim-dive.... its a fallacy to expect one policy to be the silver bullet a series of policies are necessary ..
As individuals we need to step up and distinguish our needs from our wants... in times like these we don't need what we want... we should want what we need... the more we realize the difference and cater to our needs... the better we are all off...
Can 2009 be as bad as 2008, well who knows... but every individual can command what happens with them, as more individuals get smart... with a concerted effort to keep ourselves better prepared we will sail through it... and we can even live to describe it to the next generation... of how we learnt WANT, NEED, GREED, PURPOSE and PERSPECTIVE from the year 2008.... Happy New Year
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Obama Nation
Nov 4 was a red letter day. Simple. Sweet. Refreshing. I think for the first time in a million years the voting denizens and the onlooking political voyeurs look forward with hope and trepedity the oncoming change. Never before has the world stopped in awe and wondered aloud what one nation is teaching the others... change the eventual constant can happen anywhere. Can change be instant, is change the begining or the end. Is Change a destination or a pitstop.. is change a game-changer or is it a curveball/googly.
Change is what we want it to be. In an economy that seems to crack a little bit more each day, that seems to enjoy its own masochist orgy.. change is welcome. The only caveat is that we hope this change is for the better.
Minorities everywhere believe one thing, they are disadvantaged and cant win. Well a minority candidate won. The one shocking thing this is that it took so long even in the US of A. Is the American vote a reflection of the desire for unity or a vote for policy. I would love to believe that the vote for President-elect Barack Obama is a vote for mere unity. I would really love to. But, I believe its a convenient by-product. It's his policy that garnered the votes and thats the best part. We dont want a winner because we have sympathy for his melanin content, that would be cruel. I bet none of us want to win a victory thats conceded to us due to lack of competition or sympathy. Thankfully Obama won it, he wasnt given the presidency, McCain didnt concede it or lose it, Obama won it .
Obama won because he appeared articulate, knowledgable, coached, simple and mostly because he came across as someone who gets it. Oh the constant blaming of the Oil companies and the multi-millionaires didnt hurt.
Lets get one thing straight, he is not one of us. He was one among us who didnt deserve to be just another number in the population. He claims to be one among us, he just happens to be from among us.. now he is really in his league. Democracy or not.. Joe the plumber or Pat the soccer-mom cant get more than 15 minutes of fame.
It shows the guts of the American denizens to vote for a man who was recluse until one fine spring day a couple of years back when he provided the response to President Bush's budget. Obama represents a chance not a change. It will become a change if something really does change. Until then he is an opportunity, he is the dawn, let dusk come before we declare something changed during daylight.
Obama couldnt walk into a more complex chaos, its more pungent than a Pei-Wei exhaust, its as numbing as losing large toe. This economic climate is complex. We got out of one rut with some bandaid in the name of homeloans to an even more complex canyon. The thing that we cant afford to do is espouse another old wine of a policy, more often than not these policies of the past are sour milk.
I couldnt tell you how this is going to end up, i cannot fathom a chance that this will resolve in months. It doesnt matter who supported Obama or not, it doesnt matter who voted for him or not, it doesnt matter whether you like him or not, it doesnt matter if you think he can or not, it matters you provide him the chance. It matters you remain confidant in the choice of the majority, it matters you trust democracy and its fruits, it matters you contribute from the benches, it matters you provide him your voice of support, it matters you trust we stand to gain from this. Some people may not like him because of his skin, but lets find out whether we should rather shun him based on his results.
I am ready to follow the steps of the President-elect in the hope that he uses this chance to bring in change. Change didnt stop on the day he got elected, change just got born the day he got elected, change can die a quick death if he is not ready or is incompeteant... but lets wait, lets wait to see what he does with the chance. In the meantime make solid decisions for your life, your bank accounts and community. Think, Act, Work Hard and we will all thrive.
Lets hope Obama does that too, for we all need that change from up-top.
Change is what we want it to be. In an economy that seems to crack a little bit more each day, that seems to enjoy its own masochist orgy.. change is welcome. The only caveat is that we hope this change is for the better.
Minorities everywhere believe one thing, they are disadvantaged and cant win. Well a minority candidate won. The one shocking thing this is that it took so long even in the US of A. Is the American vote a reflection of the desire for unity or a vote for policy. I would love to believe that the vote for President-elect Barack Obama is a vote for mere unity. I would really love to. But, I believe its a convenient by-product. It's his policy that garnered the votes and thats the best part. We dont want a winner because we have sympathy for his melanin content, that would be cruel. I bet none of us want to win a victory thats conceded to us due to lack of competition or sympathy. Thankfully Obama won it, he wasnt given the presidency, McCain didnt concede it or lose it, Obama won it .
Obama won because he appeared articulate, knowledgable, coached, simple and mostly because he came across as someone who gets it. Oh the constant blaming of the Oil companies and the multi-millionaires didnt hurt.
Lets get one thing straight, he is not one of us. He was one among us who didnt deserve to be just another number in the population. He claims to be one among us, he just happens to be from among us.. now he is really in his league. Democracy or not.. Joe the plumber or Pat the soccer-mom cant get more than 15 minutes of fame.
It shows the guts of the American denizens to vote for a man who was recluse until one fine spring day a couple of years back when he provided the response to President Bush's budget. Obama represents a chance not a change. It will become a change if something really does change. Until then he is an opportunity, he is the dawn, let dusk come before we declare something changed during daylight.
Obama couldnt walk into a more complex chaos, its more pungent than a Pei-Wei exhaust, its as numbing as losing large toe. This economic climate is complex. We got out of one rut with some bandaid in the name of homeloans to an even more complex canyon. The thing that we cant afford to do is espouse another old wine of a policy, more often than not these policies of the past are sour milk.
I couldnt tell you how this is going to end up, i cannot fathom a chance that this will resolve in months. It doesnt matter who supported Obama or not, it doesnt matter who voted for him or not, it doesnt matter whether you like him or not, it doesnt matter if you think he can or not, it matters you provide him the chance. It matters you remain confidant in the choice of the majority, it matters you trust democracy and its fruits, it matters you contribute from the benches, it matters you provide him your voice of support, it matters you trust we stand to gain from this. Some people may not like him because of his skin, but lets find out whether we should rather shun him based on his results.
I am ready to follow the steps of the President-elect in the hope that he uses this chance to bring in change. Change didnt stop on the day he got elected, change just got born the day he got elected, change can die a quick death if he is not ready or is incompeteant... but lets wait, lets wait to see what he does with the chance. In the meantime make solid decisions for your life, your bank accounts and community. Think, Act, Work Hard and we will all thrive.
Lets hope Obama does that too, for we all need that change from up-top.
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