The Paradox of Choice

The Paradox of Choice, a book by Barry Schwartz, has a line that best describes my plight.

When people have no choice, life is almost unbearable ....
But as the number of choices keeps growing, negative aspects of having a multitude of options begin to appear.

It is official now. I have quit my job again. This time for a different reason. We are moving to
Pune in August! The irony is I stayed with my first job for almost 6 years and just about 3 months in my second one! "Project Search" has to be revived again but I'm going to take it easy this time. Be clear in the head as to what I would like to do, target specific companies and then plan my move accordingly.

Clinging tenaciously to all the choices available to us contributes to bad decisions, to anxiety, stress, and dissatisfaction—even to clinical depression.

In this whole process of weighing our options and choosing the right one, letting go of one opportunity caused me a lot of sadness. This was V dropping out of IIM B's (a business school in Bangalore) PGSEM course. We were so happy when he got through and I was looking forward to him doing it. This Saturday was the first day of the course and when he didn't turn up even after paying the fees, he got a call from the course Administrator. I think that was very sweet of them.

Our culture sanctifies freedom of choice so profoundly that the benefits of infinite options seem self-evident.

Montreal Grand Prix

Schumacher and Ferrari did it! Or should I say the others did it for them? The Montreal Grand Prix on Sunday was one race worth watching live. Enough entertainment for every dollar spent for 90 minutes for all those present to watch the race live. We were so thrilled to know that Schumi will start the race at No.2. 2005 Grand Prix season hasn't been good for the Ferrari team at all - this has been a year of mechanical failures, fuming tyres and failed gear boxes. Both the men and the machine have not been in shape.
Jenson Button made an impressive comeback for BAR Honda by taking the pole position. BAR Honda was banned for the previous 2 races - Europe Grand Prix and the Monaco Grand Prix. As the 5 red lights came on flagging off the race, we witnessed the most sluggish start ever by Michael Schumacher. Jenson Button wasn't very impressive either. The Renault team of Alonso and Fisichella just flew past by that made us wonder what are button and Schumi upto. Turns out the track wasn't very good for the first 2 positions and speculation is that Schumi had a lil trouble with his gear box. Whatever the reasons were, after a reasonable start, Schumacher was careful not to make any unforced errors and resorted to a 3 pit stop strategy. He was never too fast or too slow and stayed at position 6. After lap 35, there was no doubt that position 1 was jinxed. Fisichella, Alonson, Montoya and Button (who were ahead of Schumi) dropped out for various reasons. Alonso comitted the same error as Narain. The way Button kissed the wall reminded me of Ralf's accident at the Monaco qualifying race. Button's error, advantage Ferraris. Schumi took full advantage of the safety car and bridged the time gap between him and Kimi Raikonnen. But he wasn't fast enough and finished second.
The most impressive racing was by Rubens Barichello. Having made a pitlane start - the first in his racing career, he went on to finish 3rd. Isn't that amazing? This man has got that the spirit to fight and to fight till the end. 2 Ferrari drivers to a podium finish - not bad at all! Go Ferrari! Those of you living in the proximity of Indianapolis, please do go see the Indy GP next Sunday -19th June 2005.

India and China : Direct Democracy and Communism

The two most populous countries of the world have 2 different rather extreme forms of governance. While India is the largest democratic nation, China is the largest communist ruled country. Thomas Friedman in yesterday's op-ed column of NY Times titled Bangalore: Hot and Hotter gives an interesting comparison and a totally different perspective of the two countries as an outsider sees it :

Every time I visit India, Indians always ask me to compare India with China. Lately, I have responded like this: If India and China were both highways, the Chinese highway would be a six-lane, perfectly paved road, but with a huge speed bump off in the distance labeled "Political reform: how in the world do we get from Communism to a more open society?" When 1.3 billion people going 80 miles an hour hit a speed bump, one of two things happens: Either the car flies into the air and slams down, and all the parts hold together and it keeps on moving - or the car flies into the air, slams down and all the wheels fall off. Which it will be with China, I don't know. India, by contrast, is like a highway full of potholes, with no sidewalks and half the streetlamps broken. But off in the distance, the road seems to smooth out, and if it does, this country will be a dynamo. The question is: Is that smoother road in the distance a mirage or the real thing?
At first blush, coming back to Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley, that smoother road seems like a mirage. The infrastructure here is still a total mess.

Tom is absolutely right. If you haven't visited Bangalore recently (for that matter even in the last 6 months), you will find a stark difference. And not good difference. Infrastructure is a total mess. The government elected last year has done nothing but sat on its b* for the past 1 year and eaten the public's money. Every morning you read in the newspapers of the Chief Minister hailing the efforts of his ministry to make Bangalore what it is today. Yea sure. I doubt whether these officials even live in Bangalore. For once step out of your cosy palace to see what a mess it is. Believe it or not, the city comes to a grining halt when it rains. We had such a tough time finding a cab to goto the bus stand a couple of weeks back. It can take you hours to get to your destination in Bangalore's traffic. This is one of the best examples of Direct Democracy. We elected this government. So who is to blame now? If things don't work in China they can blame the kind of rule they are forced to live in. Even if this government is ousted, there is no guarantee the next one would be good either.
Democracy with corruption is a deadly combination. By the time China builds 20 airports, Bangalore would barely have the new one. I want to visit Shanghai!

The Dollar Advantage

All Marketers Are Liars : The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World, the latest book by Seth Godin is priced at $16.29 on Amazon. I love Amazon / eBay because you have the option to buy new/used books and sell them again after reading. Indiatimes and Baazi in India aren't that good. Moreover the public library system isn't established well either here. We were just cheking the price of this book in Fabmall and it is priced at Rs.1297.50. It ships normally in 35 days -- how good is that? These are books which you would want to read just once and doesn't go into personal collection!

The reason I titled this post "The Dollar Advanatage" was because of our shopping behavior in the US and India. Contrary to the normal behavior of multiplying every dollar by 50 before purchasing, we found it was much easier to spend $20 than to spend Rs.1000 without feeling a hole in the pocket. I guess sometimes small figures are encouraging and better. (though I've never understood why prices are certain times tagged 16.99 instead of 17 - exploiting the customer's psyche?) That is the dollar advantage.

Cellphones and Water - not made for each other

It turns out that water is very hostile to Cellphones. But it was too late when I learnt my lesson that phones don't need a wash! If you promise not to call me stupid, then go ahead read the rest of the entry! Sunday afternoon I was replacing bedsheets. My month old Nokia 2660 which was on the bed went along with the soiled bedsheet to the floor. I made a mental action item that I should put the phone in my bag. A few minutes later, forgetting that the phone was still in the heap, I deposited the soiled bedsheets in the washing machine. My brother called up a little later and obviously I couldn't hear it - damn silent mode! Complaining he called on the land line and asked if I had vowed never to attend his call (I don't ever seem to pick his calls because of silent mode). Even now it didn't strike me where the phone was.

An hour later, I put 2 handfuls of Surf (a washing detergent) and filled the water in the washing machine. On second thoughts, I closed the tap and decided I would wash later. V was very kind to start it again and take the responsbility of doing the laundry that day. He started the 30 min washing cycle a few minutes later and stood gazing at the machine and commented "Don't you hear a weird noise today? Maybe our machine has trouble." Flaunting the expert I was, I said, "No thats ok. It is normal. It is just this vibrating board." The washing and rinsing cycle were over. A couple of hours later we were leaving for lunch and I groped for the cellphone in my bag. In an instant I knew what I had done and ran to the washer and fished for the phone. There it was wrangled in my bedsheet and water dripped out of it! V couldn't beleive what I had done.

Following it I did all the dont's one is supposed not to for a wet phone. Took out the battery and dried with a hair dryer and placed the battery again. It short circuited. Boom baam boom. 3 burnt circuits. I then took the post mortemed phone to the place where I bought it from. 2 days later it is still undergoing surgery. Very little hope of it making it after a tumbling detergent wash ...If it survives, then I will let you know. A Rs.5000 worth stupidity by me and am feeling soooooo bad and blogging this wasn't the wise decision either....

World Environment Day

Today is World Environment Day. Last evening, V and I were at MG Road to pick a few GMAT books. Later we stopped by at Coffee Day when a few teenagers clad in white t-shirts pulled up their SUVs by the roadside and unloaded hundreds of saplings. They were distributing plants to passers by for WED and requesting them to plant the same. Looking at V they asked "Are you studying? Will you take care of them?" Not quite confident they were very reluctant until I stepped in and these are the saplings I got. I have planted them in my pots.

In Search of the Perfect Lifestyle

We are probably moving. It is a big change for me. Where and when I can't say yet! But I do know why and here it is ( this entry inspired by the New York Times Article titled, The Five-Bedroom, Six-Figure Rootless Life.)

Double Incomes. Weekdays start at 6:00 a.m. with the high pitched sound of the doorbell. Its the maid and lucky are those days when she turns up. Packing lunch, a visit to the gym, a cup of tea, a shower followed by breakfast and scurrying off to the bus stop just in time to catch the bus. Then a busy day packed with meetings and tons of work. Good workdays end at 6:00 p.m. When the going is bad, it can stretch upto 9:00 p.m. Back home cook dinner, watch tv, have dinner and sleep. And it is the end of another day! Weekends mean paying biils, visiting family, trips to the site where your house is being built or if you already own a house, then furnishing it, doing umpteen household chores and yet another thing - socializing with people. Sometime even going on a weekend trip becomes an action item.

That is a typical lifestyle of a good percentage of working metropolitan couples in India. Now though this does sound like a busy life, I think still this percentage of couples are better off as there is one less thing to do - no kids which means no dropping to / picking from school, can eat out when needed and don't have to sit through their homework or attend parent teacher meeting. You save a few hours!

Ok now why are we moving?
Continue Reading....

I can't find an intelligent answer..so let me just say that the other job offers more opportunities, more pay package and more flexibility for the future. Now what does all this translate to ? You might say good career, good future but at the end of the day all that one looks for is a good life. If you are 30 and you made $50 million by selling a startup, wouldn't you like to sit at home and enjoy what you have always wanted to? You might still opt to work but then you work because it is your passion you don't work for a living!

I didn't intend to get philosophical. The only that bothers me is that there is no end to this rat race. As the article said, IT has made Bangalore a homogeneous economy. The wish list is almost the same - a 3 bed room apartment, a car and a good income. I find most of us running behind that something and when you have that something, you are not contented either. When you don't have a car, you want one.
When you have one, your neighbour's long car always seems better than your own. You have an apartment and now you want a villa. Your kid goes to B class school, and you want to put him in some A class one. Your neighbour goes on a vacation to Europe and you too want to plan one to South East Asia. Comparisons, comparisons and more comparisons..there is no end to it and there is no such thing as a perfect lifestyle. You have it all and yet you want more! This is the mantra of today.......

Some excerpts from the article ...

Isolated, segmented and stratified, these families are cut off from the single, the gay and the gray and, except for those tending them, anyone from lower classes.
Unlike their upper-middle-class kindred - the executives, doctors and lawyers who settle down in one place - relos forgo the old community props of their class: pedigree and family ties
"What is the American dream?" said Karen Handel, chairwoman of the Fulton County Commission in Alpharetta. "It's to have a house of your own, the biggest house you can afford, on the biggest lot you can afford, with a great school for your kids, a nice park to spend Saturday afternoon with your kids in, and deep in amenities that get into the trade-offs with traffic."

What does this change have in store for us? I guess all that the article listed ..
1. Exploring a Change ..(after having lived in Bangalore for 5 years, the thought of going elsewhere is slightly intimidating but I'm told this new place is very nice.
It can't get worse is what I think --the traffic woes for sure)
2. Unexpected Challenges
3. Adjusting to Differences

Blogger's Block

Sounds like Writer's block? I like reading more blogs than my daily dosage now, more than writing one now. I think most bloggers (except the A List bloggers) go through this lifecycle.
Initially, when one starts writing a blog, there is an enthusiasm to post diligently but isn't sure what to write and what not to. The dilemma of where to draw the line and how much personal details to reveal..There is also this slight apprehension and a tinge of hestitation on what watercooler conversations are ok to talk about and what is asking for trouble... I have often seen people keeping their identities anonymous and posting entries shrouded in secrecy that makes me look like a secret agent decoding stuff or solving a puzzle. People who exhibit this behavior also don't share their URL's or publicly list their blog. They often have code names or address their friends/co-workers by initials. Not until a while ago, I have done all of this myself. Now after 2 years of blogging and over 200 posts, I have shed all my apprehensions.
After a while when one gets used to the blogosphere, ideas pour in and you write without thinking much. It gets more exciting when you have a traffic analyzer set up. One fine day you are surprised that the number of visitors skyrocketed because of an entry you posted that seemed like an ordinary post to you. This has happened to me with Nike Shoes and Wiki. Now you are inspired to write more. But the same phenomenon rarely succeeds the next time. It gets better. When other bloggers quote or link to your post, the feeling of "being recognized" in this vast community sets in. This is the HIGH time. After this golden era, it takes a downhill trip for some. Posts not so regular and interest weaning... I'm at this stage now!

Despite wanting to write on a couple of topics for sometime now such as "Unregulated Capitalism", "China Vs India", that I would have gladly posted sometime ago, I sat here wondering what to write about. Every topic seemed boring. So this is what I did. A to-do list to revamp my blog (inspired by Secrets of the A-List Bloggers: Lots of short entries:

1. Clean up and organizing my blog - such as combining archive links and removing the quote section


2. Writing shorter entries. For longer entries, displaying just the summary and making the post expandable.


3. Writing on diverse subjects. No more of this happened at work that happened at work we met this person over weekend blah blah


4. Atleast one monthly review of a business book.

If you have any more to add, then e-mail me.

Hindenburg Explosion

I was googling for some literature on the Hindenburg Explosion when I came across NationMaster. It is a great encyclopedia site that is designed neatly. Tons of information (Can't say with surety if it is authentic though) and it is free! The chronology of events for all the years dating back to 1900 can be viewed by typing in http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/ followed by the year as http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/2004. Isn't that cool? The rollover text for images is also helpful!

Quotes

"The best way to get more productive is to probably turn off the internet for a few hours a day!"
-- Seth Godin

When a lion shows you its teeth, don’t assume that it is smiling.
-- Iraqi Proverb

If necessity is the mother of invention, then procrastination is its enemy.