On intros, plans and expectations...

Well, so now that the decision has been made and I've taken up the onerous task of blogging, let me get down to the task right away.

Each person has his own style of getting down to a task. The old warrior would've lifted the reins and shouted'dhuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrraaaaahhhhhhhh" upon which the horses would've raised their forelegs, snorted and started charging. Old uncle Tom would've folded his sleeves at the crack of dawn and lifted his axe to cut the wood.

But no, not that zeal to spring on the task and see it to completion right away for me. I prefer to enjoy doing it. And for this task of writing and reading, I believe introductions are first warranted. Ideally would've liked to sit with you across a table, slapped you on the back, said "hey buddy" or "howd'ya doin? , but since the net does not permit all that, I'll just say "Hey Buddy, howdy'a doin?!"

So civilities completed...now introductions. I don't know if you folks have read that forward about what's in a name and why Subbu Swaminathan and Jose Babykutty find it tougher to find a girl friend than their north indian counterpart Vijay Singh, but I believe it held merit. These names ain't cool!!

My name as you see, with the surname expanded, crosses the 24 boxes that are usually provided for 'name' in any application form, and even without the surname would serve as a short primer on Hinduism to anyone unaware of this religion. And I think that explains why dear parents had to step in to achieve what a well written matrimonial profile could not! But what the heck, I like it! Afterall, it's not like Bill or Jack, where twentyfive heads turn when Amanda or Jane (respectively) calls her boy-friend!!! And then, this is the name that I hope, will see fame as "The best blogger in the world"!!

My age...well, I just attended a b'day party y'day and realized age isn't a nice thing to talk about either, especially at my age...so shall skip that!

My education - anyone who has studied what I have studied would be able to guess what I have studied. I've gone through two wonderful courses that shape the way you think. Engineering which first makes you think simple and straight and then an MBA that teaches you the words "it depends" and sends the listener going in loops, trying to grasp your simple, straight thought.My background - Lived and studied mostly in Hyderabad (India - had to clarify this to a very well read American who knew enough to know there are two towns with this name in teh world!), did my MBA in Lucknow and now working in B'lore. In consulting so travelling a bit.

PLANS - To write. And think about what to write. Not necessarily in any order. So you may catch me writing on "The Weather in Wisconsin" today and about "The Teetotaller at the Toddy Shop" tomorrow. Might throw in a story about where I went last weekend, if I'm in the mood for it. And the next one might be well about that book on Philosophy I bought two years back and have sworn to myself to finish sometime. So some Atman and Brahman coming up soon too!

EXPECTATIONS: While my plans above may sound grandoise, my expectations are simple. That I'll write and you'll read. And together we'll make the world a better place. If you don't know what I mean by that, go back to the ending of my previous blog. And please...save that "What the @#$@!!~" for the next blogger!

To blog or not to blog...that is the question!

Contemplating on "being", I admit, is a bigger contemplation than contemplating on 'blogging'...and in that sense, I cannot compete with Senor Hamlet. But with all due respect to him, his problem was his, and my problem is mine. And I care more about mine than his!

If your question is "To be or not to be..." may I suggest that you keep an inspirational book and a dagger at hand (one of them is bound to be useful, depending on whether you decide ‘to be’ or ‘not to be’) and google for Hamlet’s blog-page? If not, read on…

So good, to stop the digression…do I blog, or don't I? I've been contemplating on this for quite some time now. Ever since I read the blog journal of this dude to be precise. No I'm not going to name the dude lest it affect his pride. I may go on stage to collect the "Best blogger in the world" trophy, hold it up and say "Dude (with name), you were my inspiration", but till then, will hold his name. For now, suffice to state he (dude) started off this contemplation.

Can I, is a different question. I never addressed that. I always knew I could. After all, I’ve been writing my own essays on 'The Cow' and 'How I spent my Christmas Vacations' since Class VI. Prior to that, my mom wrote my essays, but still, mine were the best in class -and that's what matters right? I had even written a short story once, based on the school-time crush of a dear friend, and had almost published it - stopped at the last moment, when my aunt told me she could've suppressed that yawn if (a)I'd made it one third as long OR (b) I'd made her a flaskful of caffeine - but what the heck, I could write a short story, even if it wasn’t exactly short.

Darn it, I had even written my own matrimonial profile and managed to get married too a few months back!!! (Different matter that dear parents had to step in and take things in their hands to get things going, but like I already said, the result is what matters, right?)

So "CAN I BLOG?" was not a question I even considered worth considering. "SHOULD I?" seemed more pertinent. Some of the considerations that went into it were:

1) Is the world up to appreciating my blog?

2) Can I keep the quality?

3) Was my aunt really serious about that yawn?

I moved from Que 1-3 as my mood-index slid down from to-of-the-world to apprehensive to despondent.

There were three hundred and seventy eight other considerations that went into it to be precise, but I'm a sensitive writer. I can 'feel the pulse' of my audience. I can smell when their interest is waning, as I do so now, so I shall end by only touching upon the FIRST FIFTY of them. Or…NO, WAIT!! Don’t GO!!! I shall skip ALL the considerations and just tell you how I decided.

PHILOSOPHY. Strangely, that's what decided the question. “Reward all effort” – that’s been my philosophy in life (at least with respect to my effort). That's the nice way of putting it. ("Damn, if I've taken the trouble of writing it, you might as well read it" is the not so nice way.)

And so, if my effort on this contemplation is to be rewarded, I MUST BLOG. That answers my question. And look! Even before you realized, you've already read my first blog, haven't you??? Didn't I tell you I'm a good writer? Keep coming back to read more!!! Thou’s effort shalt be rewarded!

How frequently depends on my answer to Que2 above. But a note before I end. I once read "It takes nice thoughts to make a nice world". So if your reaction after reading this is nice, do express your thought in liberal terms. But if it goes like "What the @#$@#@!@#$?" the best thing to do would be to hit the delete button on the top right corner. After all, we all want the world to be a better place, don't we???