Mortgages

Over the course of the past few days, I had a chance to learn a great deal more about mortgages. ARM, FRM, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It was rather educative but the best part was an adventitious discovery of wikipedia.

People, Wikipedia rocks! It's like an interlinked knowledge repository of humongous proportion. A wonderful way to build up and retain knowledge. Links and Links and more interlinked links with lots of information. Its essentially a system where every word is a link; and therefore wherever this word might be used, you can simply click on it and get to know everything about it. Say a dictionary where, whenever you don't know the meaning, all you have to do is simply click the word and it'll tell you the meaning.

Coming back to mortgages, it has been rather interesting but it finished off rather quickly. I mean, I know the basics of how they work now and any further knowledge would require much more intense research. I am however getting a little inclined towards finding about accounting. Lets see, when do I foray into the world of accounting.

You can't handle the truth

Truth, in all truth, is a complex thing. That’s because truth may be absolute, its perception to different individuals is not. And individuals don't deal with truth, they deal with perceptions of the truth. The same coffee may be bitter for some and sweet for others. Let me get straight to the point.

In the movie "An Ideal husband", the wife throws this really huge tantrum because her husband didn’t tell her about this ugly financial deal that he did. He however at that point was a poor guy and it was not his scheme to swindle other people's money. He innocently participated in it. However, at present, he is a very honourable senator who is trying hard to get the right policies etc out. Just knowing what he is and I would expect the wife to pardon him. But even if we discount that, whats more important is , the guy didnt tell the wife because he was afraid. Afraid of what?? Of losing her. Which means he cares for her. He lies because he loves her. But the girl just screams, shouts, puts up a huge tantrum and then leaves the house and him. Her biggest problem is not that he swindled that money…but that he lied to her! BIG DEAL!! Woman…get a life!!

That’s just one of the aspects of this truth problem. Consider this one… In the movie Spiderman, Peter Parker knew that Harry Osborne’s father was Green Goblin. Harry however was not aware of the same. For him the truth was that Spiderman killed his father. There was no explanation that Spiderman offered wrt this act. And why didn’t he offer the explanation?because Mr. Osborne told Spiderman not to reveal to Harry what his father was? Woh! The guy gets honour into this. Dying man’s last wish must be respected. But the dumb guy doesn’t realize that without offering the truth, Spiderman actually drove Harry Osborne to become the next Green Goblin. Harry Osborne should have been shown the truth. He should have been offered an explanation but a dead man’s wish caused the creation of another…dead man!

Now try this. In the movie “Company”, Ajay Devgun is implored by the guy he is about to murder to let his brother live. He grants the wish to the dying man and then kills the brother nevertheless. “Agar wasim thoda khush marta hai to mera kya jaata hai” The lie was important for the dying man, the truth was important for Devgun and strangely for the both of them, both persisted!

Truth, people, is not the most honourable thing. It is generally the most convenient. There is a burden associated with the truth and you ought to know who can take that burden. For some your burden might be extra baggage – which they leave behind because they have no use for it. For others, it may break their back!

Its really about being able to judge, the merit of the lie or the truth, both for the speaker and the listener!
And then ofcourse as the wise say - "Never tell a lie, Never volunteer a truth!"

The virtue of forgetfulness!!

I can't seem to remember the exact quote but what it essentially meant was that we are able to live our lives simply because we have the gift of being able to forget. Well, if that be the case, I'd surely be one of the superior specimens in the human specie.

Infact I have started loving my forgetfulness to an extent. It indicates a little about my moving on, readjusting myself and eventually sieving in only those who matter to me the most. The others and I don't remember most about them.

Let me run you through an example here. Somewhere in March I remembered that I had forgottens somebody's birthday and I would keep telling myself.. oh how could I forget Nov 21st, How could I forget Nov 21 was the person's birthday...until a few days ago I remembered that it was not Nov 21 but September 21 which was that person's birthday.

So there, if I remember your birthday and you'd know if I had to make any efforts for the same, well then be reasonably assured, you are among those very few important people in my life :).

PS : The dates mentioned above are fictitious. The person I am talking about was not born on Sept 21. :) Therefore if I have ever forgotten your birthday, it could very well be your story that I have mentioned above. (mood : Sadistic mirthless laughter)

Wrinkle Free

I absolutely detest having to iron clothes. I mean I used to detest washing clothes just as much, but fortunately we've always had the bai and in here, we have always had the washing machine. The ironing is still a pain.

I have already thought off the ironing machine! The one that can be used in every household and it does all the ironing on its own! Just hang your clothes in the closet and by the time you are ready to wear them, they all prim and proper :)
That sure is a good business proposition. Any Venture Cap reading this? :)

Aint got no map

There is a growing restlessness because I am not acting. Lets put it this way that I know that one of the other paths lead me to my destination. But I don't know which other path so what do I do, I continue walking on the same path. I am looking for signs that may suggest which path would be the right one, except that I don't see any signs.

And now I am getting tired of keeping on the same path and not being able to find the path to my destination. I need to focus more on looking out for that signs. Maybe there are a few but I am overlooking them.

I have however decided that I am going to act, even if it looks like a reckless thing to do. I am just going to take one of these turns and then judge it all again.

What I need is a map - but I dont know where they make such maps! Oh heck! this is not the best way to go about finding your destination but well, lets just hope, and inspite of all my fervent belief that there is no such thing as luck, lets just hope I get lucky :)

I will!! I will! I know I will!

Food for thought - flavour tangerine

I have always loved the arguements, the debates, the discussions (heated and otherwise). They always fill me up with far more knowledge than most books and classes. I have learned more about Finance and Economics from my brother over constitutionals (after dinner walks aye!) than from 3 semester courses on the subject. I have been exposed to some amazing philosophies over phone conversations with my kid sisters, things which makes you smile to yourself, which make you feel that you exist at an elevated intellectual level. :) I have derived more 'kick' out of an arguements with Majhi than a what you get from a pint of vodka martini (shaken and stirred).

People, there are fewer things on this planet cooler than an intelligent conversation with someone who understands what you are speaking about. You'd agree to that! Dont you?
Now for reasons still unknown to me, I have found my extended family to be full of such people. My cousins usually have better and more potent arguements. They generally come up with certain stunner of a point which is so refreshingly devastating (pray allow me to use that combination of words) to your side of the arguement that you are left gaping in awe at the beauty of it all. And then, with some ingenuity, you counter it with an even more profound logic and this cycle continues.

Further on, you ocassionaly come across those who do not participate very actively in those discussions. Not that they are incapable of understanding that argument. Infact they are far more capable of putting forth splendid ideas because they have been there and they have done that. Its just that, they seem to have evolved past this discussion. That they have swum the currents of a rapid 17 and you are still at the turbulence level of a jacuzzi.

Oh well!! I am still grinning from this super philospohy that struck me over a phone conversation with Neha. Well, to set you forth - we don't think...humans are incapable of deriving any pleasure from thought at all or so I think... or so I feel! :)

Bharat Ek Khoj

Srushtee se pehle sat nahin thaa,
asat bhi nahinAntariksh bhi nahin,
aakaash bhin nahin thaa
chhipaa thaa kyaa kahaan, kisne dekhaa thaa
us pal to agam, atal jal bhi kahaan thaa

Shushtee kaa kaun hain kartaa
Kartaa hain yeh vaa akartaa
Oonche aasmaan mein rahtaa
Sadaaa adhyaksh banaa rahtaa
Wohin sach much mein jaantaa..Yaa nahin bhi jaanataa
Hain kisi ko nahin pataa Nahin pataa

Voh tha hiranya garbh srishti se pehle vidyamaan
Vohi to saare bhoot jaat ka swami mahaan
jo hai astitvamaana dharti aasmaan dhaaran kar
Aise kis devta ki upasana kare hum avi dekar

Jis ke bal par tejomay hai ambar
Prithvi hari bhari sthapit sthir
Swarg aour sooraj bhi sthir
Aise kis devta ki upasana kare hum avi dekar

Garbh mein apne agni dhaaran kar paida kar
Vyapa tha jal idhar udhar neeche upar
Jagaa chuke vo ka ekameva pran bankar
Aise kis devta ki upasana kare hum avi dekar

Om ! Srishti nirmata swarg rachayta purvaj rakhsa kar
Satya dharma palak atul jal niyamak raksha kar
Phaili hain dishayen bahu jaisi uski sab mein sab par
Aisi hi devta ki upasana kare hum avi dekar

Aisi hi devta ki upasana kare hum avi dekar