Right Place ... Right Time ...

I ve heard it a million times. Okay not a million, many times.

In order to be successful, you have to be at the right place at the right time.

Recently, I was just told by someone I respect that I have been lucky to have been at the right place at the right time.

I may not be a Ph.D. on mathematics but I can add those 2 things up to indicate that I am successful. Coming to that deduction, I smiled. But only for a little while. Cos the pessimistic person that I naturally am made me question...Am I really successful?

Okay so I was at the right place at the right time when my wife was thinking..."Maybe I should get married... but where is the guy?" and PLOP!! I had dropped from the sky and on to her feet on my knees.."Will you marry me?"

I didn't actually know where I was at the time but that's how it happened. I have many more versions of that to tell to our younger ones as bedtime stories. I guess I was in the right place at the right time in that case. I couldn't say otherwise even if I wasn't. This blog has an eye being kept by yours truly's wife. So lets leave it that.

On the professional front, I think I have NOT been in the right place at most times cos I may have done lots of good things professionally but not really getting the money's worth for it. So if you say successful means rich as well, this doesn't count. If successful means making a difference to the organization one works for, well yeah ok, I am successful. Why don't organizations understand that money is important too? That is the best form of appreciation and motivation.

What else? I have been lucky, yes. But that's only when I am in an optimistic mood. On a day with pessimism lurking, I have not been that lucky. Its just about perspective in such life evaluations. Like I could have been born in a real rich family and would never have to work to make a living. Why wasn't I there? That was a right time and place to be, isn't it?

One elderly person in the family once told me, one generation earns and the next one spends and the next one earns again and so forth. That was supposed to make me take a different perspective of life. Too bad, it didn't work. In fact I curse myself on some days for not being part of that generation that was supposed to spend what the earlier one earned.

I think being at the right place at the right time is just another one of those coined phrases to try and explain "FATE". Whether you believe in it or not, it's there. Some things just have to happen in a particular way at a particular time. So if something good happens just know that it wasn't you who was there to make it happen. There were forces to ensure that you were there and you did what you were supposed to do to make it happen.

If something bad happens it doesn't mean that you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's those same forces that ensured that you were there at the time and did what you were supposed to do. You were still in the right place at the right time but for someone else to have his moment of success.

We humans have been trying to understand life since many years and trying to explain things like luck, fate,  and trying to find explanations through astrology, lucky stones, palmistry, fortune cookies etc etc. Its just a simple one if you ask me. Fate. Its all already written whether its in your fate or not for something to happen or not.

Everybody has to do a few things in life which just have to happen in a particular way at a particular time. This is because somebody else's fate is linked with that. Its all a well-written script that just keeps playing and we being the actors keep making our entrance and exit, play our part, say our lines and go and wait for the next scene.

There are 2 ways to digest the above post. From the perspective of optimism or pessimism. Its on you. Everybody has to live this life in a particular way. It's on you how you want to live it.

Inspired by a dialogue from the movie, Men in Black...

The only difference between you and me, I ll make this look good.

Falling feels like Flying

I had a good weekend this last one. Enjoyed a great movie. Crazy Heart. The one that fetched Jeff Bridges his Oscar. The title is from one of the songs from the movie which Jeff Bridges performed.

The story is about Otis 'BAD' Blake, an alcoholic country singer on the other end of his career. Creative genius who can write songs like anything but the drink is killing him and his career, whatever is left of it. Its a fight between his ego and his drink to come through and become the sober person that the world needed. Some great country music

Country music is more about meaningful lyrics and every song is like a story. I have loved country music since I heard some gospels and then the modern form from Shania Twain and Carrie Underwood. But this movie brought me closer to the true country music.

Its a movie about the human spirit being able to do anything it wants to do only if it wants it that bad. All one needs is inspiration and then everything's possible. So that's what we all need, find the drive and the possibilities are endless.

Crazy Heart - The harder the life, the sweeter the song...Beautiful.

Leave you with my favorite song from the movie...

I was goin’ where I shouldn’t go
seein’ who I shouldn’t see
doin’ what I shouldn’t do
and bein’ who I shouldn’t be

a little voice told me it’s all wrong
another voice told me it’s alright
I used to think I was strong
but lately I just lost the fight

funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while
funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while

I got tired of bein’ good
started missing that old feeling free
stop actin’ like I thought I should
and went on back to bein’ me

I never meant to hurt no one
I just had to have my way
if there is such a thing as too much fun
this must be the price you pay

funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while
funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while

you never see it comin’ till it’s gone
it all happens for a reason
even when it’s wrong
especially when it’s wrong

funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while
funny how fallin’ feels like flyin’
for a little while

I was goin’ where I shouldn’t go
seein’ who I shouldn’t see
doin’ what I shouldn’t do
and bein’ who I shouldn’t be

Getting Over the Writer's Block

I have been staring at the "Add New Post" screen for the weekend which will end in a few more hours. I have being wanting to write something but just can't seem to get myself to write. One of my fellow blogger had said once that this is the typical situation called "the writer's block". There is a cure and that is to get the fingers talking without any peer pressure.

This means write out whatever you think without thinking of the "perfect" topic to write on. Sometimes there aren't any topics around and it doesnt have to always make sense when you write. The best thing about writing is that even if you feel you are not making sense, you are. Thats the amazing thing about writing.... and reading for that matter.

The same line could mean different for different people. Hence the most nonsensical piece of writing still has the probability of making sense for someone out there. The probability is freakishly low considering firstly that somebody has to come read this post and secondly he/she needs to make sense out of it. Considering the no. of hits I am getting these days, I wouldn't count on it.

But thats the second point to remember when trying to come out of the writer's block. You dont need to worry about the audience or the reader. You just write for the love of it. I think I realize what I am doing. I am just writing and letting the words just get completed into a phrase and into a sentence to a paragraph and I already have 4 para-blogpost in place. I feel like writing more. Maybe another blog-post after this one.

I think a blogger needs to remind himself consistently that he didn't start blogging for the sake of somebody else. He started writing for himself and we are back in business. So, this one is for myself and for all those fellow bloggers who can just realize from this post, how easy it is to get out of a writer's block.

From the Land of the Pharoah

The ongoing project which took me to Frankfurt in February, took me to the land of the Pharaoh this time. Yes readers, it is true. UTP was in Cairo, Egypt these past few weeks and boy it was a trip.

Cairo known for history older than 4000 years and maybe more, owning the wonders of the world in the Great Pyramids of Giza and the River Nile, I was looking forward to this one. While work was the same, hectic and pretty much busy for the whole day, it didn't stop me from roaming around a bit.

On the first outlook, it looks nothing different from Karachi only worse when it comes to traffic. It was an eye-opener cos I couldnt imagine any place with worse traffic than Karachi. I was proven wrong. Cairo has a major infrastructure problem with 2 or 3-lane roads and many more cars compared to that with the increasing population. Wages are low and tipping very common on the streets for pretty much anything you want to get done.

However, that was the only bad thing I could find in Cairo. Its a great city with the atmosphere of history lurking nearby. About an hour from the office, we were standing next to the pyramids. I couldn't fulfill my wish of actually stepping into a pyramid but a little appetizer was the laser show which was based in the vicinity. The story of how the pharaoh wanted immortality and how the pyramids were built etc. Good stuff. However, as I said this was an appetizer. I'll be going back to finish the meal in the future whenever possible.

The other places to go was the Cairo Museum which was also a good idea as we went through the history and how Egypt had evolved over the years. One could see from the monuments kept how ancient civilization matured into sophistication at the time. It was also interesting to see how being ruled by different societies, Greeks, Romans, Muslims etc left a great mixture of culture while holding their history intact.

Our hotel was right next to the Nile which was a treat. Every morning, one could just step out of the balcony and see the great wonder that God had created. The never-ending Nile is a great source of pride for the Egyptians and why not. In the morning it shines the sunlight crossing through the country and in the night with the lights and cruises on it, it holds it peace still swaying with the wind.

We were lucky to be taken on a Nile Cruise by a colleague and it was a treat. Great food and good performances by a Belly Dancer and this crazy Sufi guy who was just turning circles in meditation and performing jugglery at the same time for around 15-20 minutes non-stop. Crazy but unique stuff.

Overall it was a successful trip work-wise so have memories to cherish both work and pleasure-wise. But its a destination I am certainly not done with. Need to go again, this time with no work, only explore and understand their history. Lets see when that happens.