You can do everything you can to avoid it, but sooner or later misfortune in some form or the other will find its way to you. And when it does you can either curse the daylights out of everything that comes to mind, or you can be brave and say -- You know what, I have to fight this thing. I have to move forward and get it out of the way, or else all I'm gonna be doing is standing here cursing. And nobody really gives a shit!  

***

A friend confided in me that her marriage of four years is what most people would call over. Apparently the husband loves his mother a helluva lot more than he loves her. Mommy is first priority and wifey must see to her every need. After four year of being a maid she's had it.  

My take was life is short, so dump the excess baggage and move on. She said you know, it's not easy to just up and leave. Marriage is being like super-glued to a chair: if you try to get up it will either rip your clothes off or leave a very ugly mark, in any case leaving you exposed and/or embarrassed. The stronger the glue the more the damage. 

Then there's this other friend who's doing everything humanly possible to end his marriage. The unbelievable thing is he claims he is powerless to stop. Such a bludy mess!  

***   

Have we become a generation that gives up too easily? On everything and everybody? I think so sometimes. 

Peace, love, and staying power. 

Can I start a crowd funding initiative to help me retire? My story is quite sad. The love of my life dumped me in 1998 and since then all I've done is work like a donkey to save away the little I've been able to save away. It's not a lavish retirement I seek, just the basics - food, alcohol, fuel and a little left over for clothing, travel and utilities. I reckon a crore should about cover it, so let's say a 100 bucks from 100,000 people, that shouldn't burn a hole in anybody's pocket. 

Something that has always fascinated me is what makes a person give their money away. Whether it be to a beggar on the street or to somebody whose child is suffering from a life threatening disease, what is that little device inside your head that decides if it is a cause worth giving to or not? And does it always make rational decisions? For e.g. would a sweet little beggar girl stand more of a chance of getting your money than a gruff looking chap hobbling on one leg who probably needs it more and makes less than the girl anyway?   

Apart from the impact of outward appearances, I guess people need to be convinced that their money is going to be put to good use. Plus you cannot take from them to do something they've been working hard for themselves. Like retire. So instead if I said that I needed a couple of lakhs to do a motorcycle trip across the country, their donations may be more forthcoming. Because then you get them thinking another way, as in -- Hell that's something I'm never gonna do anyway, so might as well help this poor sod do it. Here you go buddy, ride your damn motorcycle to wherever you wanna go! And post lotsa pics on Facebook. But if I had to start by saying I needed money to first buy me a big motorcycle for the trip, they'd tell me to get lost! 

***

Virat and Anushka are no longer a couple it seems. I read somewhere he blamed it on her being a 'controlling' girlfriend. What he obviously doesn't know (yet) is that deep down every woman wants to be in control, even the ones who say they don't. And they're the ones that go crazy because on the outside they have to show the world they're oh-so-cool about letting their man do his thing, but actually not having their finger on the button drives them nuts!

And this poses a problem for the next set of potential Virat girlfriends -- He dumped Anushka for being controlling, now what the hell do we do different? And how long can we keep it up?   

Celebrities are the ones who should be giving away all their damn money if you ask me. Because they waste it on stupid things anyway - like girlfriends they're gonna break up with in six months!

Which is why somebody should start a funding website focusing entirely on celebs, what say? With qualifying criteria and all that. To a point where people actually start to say -- you ain't a celeb till you've made it to Cilaap! That should get the vain bunch of bastards to part with their bucks.  

       

Peace, love, and golden handouts! 

January's gone. And so is Glenn (Frey). News of his death took me on an Eagles nostalgia trip for a couple of days. We grew up on the Eagles. It wasn't the greatest of music, it was more like a nice glass of whiskey after a long day. It made you feel peaceful. And easy. 

***

Things at work are going downhill so fast I think it's useless to even try and hold on. How battered, bruised or dead we will be at the end of it is something I'm trying not to think about. The saddest part is it was completely unnecessary. A change in management and so called strategy has taken a well oiled machine and broken it up into so many pieces nobody knows where anything fits anymore.  

It's like being one of the crew on a ship that's heading straight for an iceberg despite all the warnings. No matter how desperately you want to grab your stuff and jump overboard, the only thing you can do is wait till the inevitable happens and hope for a place in a lifeboat.       

***

I learnt a lesson this month, the hard way needless to mention: Never bring yourself in between other peoples battles. Stay neutral and keep your mouth shut or just get the hell away from them, however much you want to 'help'. Because sooner or later one party will run out of ammunition and use you instead. Which is exactly what happened. And it's a bummer. 

***

So on to February. Somethings gotta give, I keep telling myself. Just hope it isn't me.

Peace, love, and a new kid in town.