Tagged! and back to some roots..

whats this I've been tagged by DeeCee to write about my weekend? Argh! well one has to have a certain degree of respect for these customs of cyberspace i suppose.. first time i have been tagged though. It feels like i have been initiated into society or something and it gave me a kinda warm feeling inside to be so thoughtfully remembered...

Ok so...

Last weekend I decided to go visit my grandma. Don’t do that often. And I think it’s the first time I’m going by myself to see her. She's 81. And still the coolest lady i ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Took the bus to the hill country where I was born and spent the first few toddling years of my life ever so long ago. Reached my hometown around 8 on Friday after taking my own cool time getting there. The air was that fresh dampness you get when it has just ceased raining a little while ago and it is cool and inviting and just seemed to electrify my lungs. I breathed it in as I walked across the bridge. The landscape loomed dark and green in the dusk. I removed my earphones from my ears and let the silence wash over a screaming Marylin Manson song. And I again remembered how wonderful it is to come home.

Umma greeted me with her usual enthusiasm. 'Anee my patiya!’ I had initially planned on surprising her but then I found out that she wouldn’t be able to cook me any dinner if I went late so that was that for the surprise plan. Because if you tasted her food even once you wouldn’t dream of eating out.

Well the weekend that followed was a mix bag of relaxation, emotion, tears and laughter. Learned a lot of family history during the chats we had just me and her. Sometimes morbid. Sometimes sad. Sometimes happy and sometimes downright hilarious. My uncle, the former alcoholic turned Japanese chef and one of my grandmas favorites, my uncle the cop who passed away tragically in 2004, my uncle the womanizing ballroom dancer turned uber-religious preacher, my uncle the control freak who is lovingly known as 'Boss' (whenever he is not in hearing range that is) in family circles etc. Stories unfolded with the slow deliberateness and patience of years of endurance and I listened on the edge of my seat. Sometimes with glee. Sometimes in sorrow but always with unwavering interest.

She told me stories of prosperity lost. Fortune found. Treachery, disappointments, misunderstandings, love and happiness. Of a time when infants died during births which were simply done at home with the aid of midwives. She told me of her father, who was an extremely wealthy man and fathered 21 children from 3 wives during the course of his life!

Her mother died when she was six and she was brought up by her grandma while her father re-married. And married again when his second wife passed away as well. Each of his 21 children, as was the norm in those times, went on to have at least 7 or 8 children of their own. And by now their children and grandchildren have spread across the country and the globe.

What a massive family. I probably don’t even know 5% of them. And that’s only from one of my grandparent’s side. An I had 3 more whom I never had fortune of knowing so well!

I love the way she speaks to me. She patronizes me of course (as I suppose she is entitled to), but she really opens up and speaks about a lot of stuff. I ask her once again to move in with us. Like my mom does all the time. Like my other uncles and aunts and cousins do every day. Endearing her to come and stay. But no, she says. She doesn’t like the weather. It's too warm. She wants to be independent. She has her own house, she has her pastimes, why should she leave and be a burden on others? She says. I understand. But still I am worried. I am worried about how much more time I would get to spend with her.

She gave me a generous dose of pocket money when I left, tucking it into my wallet before I noticed and literally slammed the door on my protestations that I am working now and in reality should be helping her out. I conceded eventually, so she came out one last time and gave me one last hug before I left. That’s my grandma. Always cool. Always composed. Extremely loving. Sometimes stubborn but always sensible.

So much for my weekend.

Impossible is Nothing and the Egg of Columbus

No, this is not a pro-Adidas post (but I am a big fan btw). And this is not one of those despicable self help Guruji rantings either.

The word Impossible should not exist except to be used in a situational context. Because theoretically speaking, anything is possible. So if anything is theoretically possible then we are looking at infinite possibility which would abolish the concept of impossibility at least in our theoretical universe.

To start with.

The Impossible as we know it is a state of mind. Or a superficial concept. It exists due to barriers such as lack of knowledge, lack of resources, lack of intellect, lack of this, lack of that lack of foresight, lack of money, power, LACK of SOMETHING.

So given that we have anything and everything that we need to make something happen, it should happen because all we would need then is to just make it happen.

It irks me when people say this is impossible, or that is impossible, this is crazy, that won’t work. Some weird perfectionist part of me wants them to always say it Properly. I mean say; ‘This is not impossible. Be we can’t do it because of these and these reasons’

I’m kinda pricky when it comes to that. I don’t know why.

Anyways, getting a bit practical about it, the biggest lack that stands in the way of infinite possibility is human intellect. It seems to only be a gifted few who seem to have the ability to think around problems and discover new ways of doing things. Change is brought about by innovative thinking. And there is a potential revolution just waiting to be unleashed in all of our heads i guess, because it's only After the idea has come out that the genius is recognized.

So there is a genius waiting to break out in all of us! now doesnt that thought make you happy? :)

And if you haven’t heard about the Columbus Egg, It really is an interesting story.

Columbus was dining with many Spanish nobles when one of them said: 'Sir Christopher, even if your lordship had not discovered the Indies, there would have been, here in Spain which is a country abundant with great men knowledgeable in cosmography and literature, one who would have started a similar adventure with the same result.' Columbus did not respond to these words but asked for a whole egg to be brought to him. He placed it on the table and said: 'My lords, I will lay a wager with any of you that you are unable to make this egg stand on its end like I will do without any kind of help or aid.' They all tried without success and when the egg returned to Columbus, he tapped it gently on the table breaking it slightly and, with this, the egg stood on its end. All those present were confounded and understood what he meant: that once the feat has been done, anyone knows how to do it.

And hey, I just thought of something. ‘Pro-Adidas’ post? maybe a new source of blogger revenue? Granted it’ll probably have too much of a press release ring to it but subtly done? Hmmm. Or are they doing it already? Are we reading blogs that are subtly putting signals in our subconscious telling us to buy this and buy that on a daily basis? Like those extremely (blink and you will miss) things you see in the movies these days. Take The Incredible Hulk for exempli gratia, I was watching it yesterday and noticed a little pack of Pringles in a motel room and Norton antivirus on a PC (See of you can spot it).

Hmmm. Maybe I’ll write a post about it lol.

Winners take chances

Winners take chances. Like everyone else they fear falling, but they refuse to let fear control them. Winners don’t give up. When life gets tough they hang in until the going gets better. Winners are flexible. They realise there is more than one way and are willing to try others. Winners know they are not perfect. They respect their weaknesses while making the most of their strengths. Winners fall, but they don’t stay down. They stubbornly refuse to let a fall keep them from climbing. Winners don’t blame fate for their failures, nor luck for their successes. Winners accept responsibility for their lives. Winners are positive thinkers who see good in all things. From the ordinary, they make the extraordinary. Winners believe in the path they have chosen even when it’s hard even when others can’t see where they are going. Winners are patient. They know a goal is only as worthy as the effort that’s required to achieve it. Winners are people like you. They make this world a better place.

written by Nancye Sims