teevee sheevee

I can tell you one thing for sure. Cable TV is amongst the greatest evils that are there in this world. for many years we lived without cable and all our friends wondered how we did that. I can say that after our experience atlas two of our close friends followed suit and banished it from their lives… to good effect. You then have more time for each other and you have more time for yourselves.

We took a cable connection some time back as it was important for me to watch the kabaddi matches. I was the guy who practically midwifed the Pune team and I still have roots attached to the team. I help them and am involved with them. It has been a rewarding experience personally. I learnt so much about the players and the sports and the stupid administration. The administrators are an authority into themselves and lack of press interest has led them to become complete and absolute authorities. But thats a story for another day.

So we took cable for the kabaddi season and then let it lapse. The next kabaddi season we renewed our cable connection. And this time - Jasmine started to watch the TV series 24. Its as perfect - the matches would end at 10 and her series would start at 10. I watch d a couple of episodes but I think I quickly realized that this is the DEVIL!

It is something that quickly sucks away your time and you don't know what to show for it at the end of it all. No improvement in knowledge or even entertainment value. I completely abhor it. Jasmine points out to instances where I sit to watch the series with her. Sure I saw the first series but then afterwards, sleeping at 11 after the series is something that I was not going to do. That would mean sleeping less and killing my work hours, especially in the afternoon.

I am not going to do that. But basically we then renewed our subscription. Soon enough Jispa started watching TV. She would pick up the remote and see whats there for her to watch. She started watching TV along with her food in the afternoon. There goes more family time. 

When the month of subscription got over - We renew it again as the world cup T20 is on and friends (who removed the cable thanks to us) came over and wanted to watch the match at our house.

Today morning we did not have swimming so Jispa decided to watch her movie yesterday at 9 pm. Jasmine had told her that her series will start at 10 pm so whatever she was watching wouldn't count. I left them at that and decided to sleep as I was going for my badminton game no matter what these jokers wanted to do. Sure enough at 10 Jispa walks in as she is banished from the TV. She come stop sleep next to me and she says she is mighty angry. Mom took control of the TV and chased her out. She was seeing her series and power won. Jispa was pissed as hell.

Now how do you placate a 13 year old girl who has her TV remote snatched from her. The answer - you don’t. So i decided to talk and distract her. We started discussing what all she remembered from her baby days. She remembered her first day ta school and then iI was recollecting her early days and then we tossed around a few memories. 

Memories - I think happy people, largely have happy memories. They are happy because they remember happy things that happened to them. Sad people are sad because they remember the sad things that happen to them. I think that Jispa is happy person. We recollected  bunch of stuff and then at some point, I told her that I am too sleepy and went to sleep. I think it put her in a good mood and now I am sure - TV is evil. TV destroys households and families. They stop people from interacting with each other! and this - was a classic case of control fights that we see. 

My brother and me always fought for the control of the TV. I remember bitter fights for control of the remote. It isn't pleasant. As india became richer, people started getting their own TVs in their own rooms. One the biggest fights I would have with my mom would be over her TV viewing habits. Not that I fought with her on which show to watch but more in terms of, please don't watch so much and keep the volume of these freaking irritating soaps so high. After Jispa was born I did not want to raise her watching these stupid irritating soaps and mindless cartoons.

Jasmine watches 24 - the first season was fun. I watched another season with her - that was ok. After this it just got repetitive. The plot was essentially the same. The same things happen and the same hero keeps doing the same things. The same office always has a man on the inside, there will be two big climaxes and there is an assassination attempt. How can you keep watching this shit!

I don’t have problems with entertainment. I love movies. Movies give us great joy and an escape and we love stories. I just have two huge problems with cable - one - its on a tap. Whenever you have nothing to do, you will take the remote and keep juggling. Second - it decides your time and not the other way around. In a DVD set up, you decide when you are going to watch the particular movie and not the other way around.

This is a social evil. This is a family evil. Read sleep walk. Anything but watch TV. I don't know right now what to do. I don't want to be the authority figure who refuses to renew the subscription. Jasmine will play her classic - i don't mind whatever you do but if you renew, I will definitely watch. Jispa will say whatever and I wonder if she will grow up to reprimand me - you never let us watch TV - you old fart!

So its weird. I hate this TV and I am angry, very angry that its there. But I guess people have to now grow up and make their own choices about what they want or don't want to do. Make your own mistakes and learn from it. 

parents are evil. period

When I ditched my nice cushy job at a large financial services firm to join the start up lives, I knew that I would be required to put in long hours and push the boundaries of what I knew or what I thought I could perform. What I did not know or anticipate, was the emotional involvement that the start up life takes out of you. I was ready for fast paced work, long hours, stupid young green horns, great tech guys, amazingly hardworking people, lack of processes, long nights of parties… but what I was completely not ready for - was this emotional involvement. This deep emotional feeling to see this succeed and be connected to. At my previous job, I was emotionally involved with my team but not with my job. I had no qualms leaving my job, but i had pangs of separation leaving my team. The team that I had taken 5 years to build perform. Handpicked, trained, emotionally invested in. Here - its right now the opposite. The team is still emotionally distant - obviously given the time, but the emotional connection with the company is off the charts. Last week I had gone to Delhi to attend a wedding in the family. As a policy I never ever take work on vacations, but this time I worked on both days, attended meetings and took calls. Happily and willingly. I guess my call was right in one respect at least. At 40, this is the right time to get into start up mode. Physically and mentally its a demanding role and getting to do these experiments will get tougher as I grow older. Right now, I have both the mental and physical ability to push the bar on this and push hard. I think one good call I have taken is, not to come to office on any Saturdays. 

Saturdays is something I have held sacrosanct. It was first while working at Hiranandani where I had all Saturdays working. That was a tough thing. As a young employee I remember working 6 day weeks and feeling the pressure on the Sunday. I remember feeling like sitting at home and relaxing on Sunday and Jasmine telling me - that she got only one day and she wanted to go out. That time I had told her that I will never ever tell her that I am tired to go out on any holiday. i have kept my word now for 16 odd years. From then on I have always lobbied for holidays on Saturday. In my previous firm, the different divisions oscillated between keeping two to three Saturdays working for half days and I lobbied against it. Its painful. So here when I joined I was clear, I don't work Saturdays. I am the only employee who bunks Saturdays and openly.

I think this passed off smoothly as often I am the first guy to come to office at around 8 - 830 am and amongst the late leaving guys at around 730 - 800 pm. This demonstration of willingness to work late has put me in a position so far where I am not yet questioned. I am not sure how long that would last but I know that if I want to save my Saturdays, I will have to work hard through the week and push the bar.

In this emotional roller coaster ride of a start up, my poor blog has received less attention than usual. Jispa though hasn't been getting less attention.Her grueling schedule means that we get some overlap time in the evenings. As she grows older I am trying hard, really trying hard to give her some space and freedom. She has been doing decently well. I was so proud that she finished at second place in the Khar swim Marathon! She swam for around 70 mins to swim around 5 or 6 kms. She decided on her own that this was the race she wanted to take part in and she enjoyed it. None of her friends participated in the race. But she swam well. Then came the stressful exam time and the stupid thing called Math. I think Jispa will drop math as soon as she can. I don't know what to do - encourage her or not. Math is important but then - I want her to be happy. As a teen she needs to just enjoy her career whatever she chooses. Math or no math! I think I will encourage her to do anything she wants! Just that keeping math keeps her options open, but we will let that matter rest till the decision time comes.

In the end, her grades just came in and I was happy with her grades. She did well. Of course she is not first in her class but I told Jasmine, for a Mumbai Swimmer with a grueling schedule and a marathon medal winner - these results are top class. If I don't take these results and be happy then I am an ass. Jispa - I am happy! officially. These are good results.

She has gone out for a camp and She will be back tomorrow. I would like to celebrate with her. She is getting a cell phone tomorrow. I repaired my cell phone (not so old a phone) which I discarded after I broke the screen twice. Its a cool phone. This also is I think something I pushed Jasmine. Not that she protested too much. But I think now 8th standard is good enough for a cell phone. But we are doing a cheap trick on this. We are giving phone but not yet giving data. She will get that at home and at friends place through wifi. hehehe. Jasmine and me are evil. We will burn in hell!