tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90237332003883936712024-03-19T22:00:25.716-04:00MarginoidExperiments. Experiences. Expressions.Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-38459057123313158512024-03-17T09:14:00.008-04:002024-03-17T10:51:19.918-04:00About Whereabouts<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMearR_yl5L_-zpPgdPSC0KK0WASEymRaIOPPg9Xzq4Gh6m914KUypWc2SiZRcLwPz3mZew-A16zGEvv_L7DvO5EkW311x0xcMxoPHggV4OSdx5lQS99fFgod8VZInXvMbad7evn1QUUjn446LTqfh9RvkydSlty5P2Vy4AgjuXtQg1plBl1aeJL9bALk/s2016/IMG_2856%20(1).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMearR_yl5L_-zpPgdPSC0KK0WASEymRaIOPPg9Xzq4Gh6m914KUypWc2SiZRcLwPz3mZew-A16zGEvv_L7DvO5EkW311x0xcMxoPHggV4OSdx5lQS99fFgod8VZInXvMbad7evn1QUUjn446LTqfh9RvkydSlty5P2Vy4AgjuXtQg1plBl1aeJL9bALk/s320/IMG_2856%20(1).JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reading Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri at this time feels so appropriate.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: justify;">March is Women's History Month. Here is a novel by an incredible woman author about a woman in her mid-forties!</div></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: justify;">How many times have you came across a novel/fiction where the protagonist is a middle-aged woman leading a mundane life? </div></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: justify;">We are the forgotten lot. It is always about someone else, the kids, the society, the triumphant heroes, the troublemakers, the revolutionaries, the iconoclasts and so on, but never us.</div></span><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Right there I love this book.</div></span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I also love the irony, sarcasm & cynicism that does not come from a place of bitterness. I find them quite appealing when they come from a place of owning what you feel, from refusing to get 'caught in the charade'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Many times, I chuckled while reading. For instance, </span>when she talks about how 'in spring, she suffers', how 'the light disorients & the fulminating nature overwhelms' her & how she 'dislikes feeling pushed inevitably forward'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Or when she describes the hotel lobby as a 'parking garage designed for human beings'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When she is worried about 'forgetting something crucial', as she is "about to have a perfectly forgettable day'. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">How at dawn she is 'both ablaze with energy and sapped of it'</div><div style="text-align: justify;">How the people around whom her mom 'never sulked were all the people she didn't live with'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">How 'solitude demands a precise assessment of time...you need to know how much time you need to kill'.</div></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The novel beautifully portrays the comfort of being among 'familiar strangers' in an urban cocoon. In these interactions, there is a connection but there is no obligation. </span></div><p></p></div></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-ee9f405e-7fff-96cf-7cfa-9737120ebb70"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Contrary to many reviewers, I don't think this book portrays loneliness. I don't find her solitude sad or pitiable. It seems just as perfect or just as pathetic as anyone's married life with a family & kids. It is simply another way of life, 'a road not taken' for many.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Years ago, I had watched the movie 'Pather Panchali' made by the renowned Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray, based on a novel written by another Bengali author (Jhumpa Lahiri is also a Bengali). I never felt the sadness or pity that many did. To me it was a slice of life. I have personally & fairly intimately known people that lived those lives, especially the old granny. A few of my dad's siblings had succumbed to mysterious illnesses at young ages. Over generations we have moved, migrated to seek better opportunities. I don't find anything particularly sad or pitiable about those stories. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sometimes when I share snippets of our childhood, our kids conclude that we were 'poor'! </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">We actually never felt poor, I still don't think we were. We are physically intact, we got educated, we were surrounded by people who cared a lot about one another, we experienced everything - feeling happy & sad, hopeful & disheartened, triumphant & defeated, love & loathing, pain & passion - the whole gamut. Nothing was lacking. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">[side note - I think I need to reframe my kids' definition of 'poor']</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Anyways, now back to whereabouts, I find the story strangely liberating & oddly empowering. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You feel the freedom to think your thoughts, feel your feelings, do anything you want or don't. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Your life could be as mundane as it gets - a 'banal stubborn residue of life'. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You could be 'disoriented, lost, at sea, at odds, astray, adrift, bewildered, confused, uprooted, turned around'...</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; white-space-collapse: preserve;">but you are still its "main character".</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">_______________</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><div><span style="font-size: small;">P.S: This was the first book I reached for in the pile of books the Irish Arts Center had for distribution on #IACBookDay. </span><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">I had already been fascinated by the story about this story. I am still astounded by how the author managed to pick up a new language in her adulthood, gain so much fluency and write a beautiful full-length novel in that language. This is an English translation of the original Italian novel (translated by the author herself).</span></div></span><span color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9)" style="background-color: white;"><div><br style="font-family: georgia;" /></div></span></div></span>Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-74955522676917476362024-02-02T10:32:00.015-05:002024-02-02T13:59:19.379-05:00All in a Day’s Commute<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 23px;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit0x5pvoMQcOQzXKe686oo96_v70KdCCBmltMydTIBchs9qeJKRwVB8UD9YEOIxQGbJfWipc-vOZtPIZ2C5xASf48jw4aT-pD8RydXzuOgHaM802SeSWirMTxXMqNjtzmRje7XNz5Z31B5YGVg9Y_2XaQmwxjoKPr2ktRdUBP2P8exBERHwQDe-oWjrKc/s2982/FAFAAA44-AA26-492A-A79A-8C801E139204.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2982" data-original-width="2982" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit0x5pvoMQcOQzXKe686oo96_v70KdCCBmltMydTIBchs9qeJKRwVB8UD9YEOIxQGbJfWipc-vOZtPIZ2C5xASf48jw4aT-pD8RydXzuOgHaM802SeSWirMTxXMqNjtzmRje7XNz5Z31B5YGVg9Y_2XaQmwxjoKPr2ktRdUBP2P8exBERHwQDe-oWjrKc/w320-h320/FAFAAA44-AA26-492A-A79A-8C801E139204.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chandeliers at the Grand Central Terminal</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 23px;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 23px;"><b>Bus chase</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Was so immersed in the breakfast table conversation with S about devolving social ethos, while enjoying our latest favorite bread, sourdough, with melted brie cheese and fresh blackberries. Bonus - cup of coffee made by S, especially for me. </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">In all of this, lost track of time…as usual (7:55am!). Asked S to drop me off at the bus stop, if necessary chase the bus - which we ended up doing. As luck would have it, today’s bus driver, a tiny lady, turned out to be a mean one (they tend to be kind). Even though I was at the door, she deliberately left me behind. So I got back in the car, chased her again to the next stop, went in front of her, cinematically (& dangerously) blocked her to get in to the bus - she was not happy & gave me an earful. I was in a defiant mood initially. But later, after speaking with S, thinking about people like Nando, our crossing guard & recalling my dad’s oft-repeated belief that most people are generally good (he used a more nuanced Tamil phrase. He had arrived at that conclusion after going through such unimaginable hardships in life - makes me think he must be right)…I calmed down & wished her a happy Friday while getting off. </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Upside - the commute was so fast. I got to my desk in less than an hr!! (8:50am)</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 23px;"><b>Quick Catch-up</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Ran into J’s dad (perks of taking public transit - you always run into someone). He was in a jolly mood. He was going to go on a city tour…on this rainy day, with some business visitors. Wished him too another happy Friday & went my way.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p><b style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 23px;">The Door-Holders</b></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I usually see a few people holding the doors between the port authority bus terminal & the subway stations. They hold a cup in another hand for collecting money. I have a hard time giving away cash to beggars. There is so much internal friction. Recently I had decided that once in a while I will draw out a currency note (not coins) from my purse & hand it to the door-holders. This was more of a deliberate effort to train myself to give a bit more freely. I also justified this act thinking they were in fact performing a useful service by holding these heavy doors for us, which would be a pain for someone like me to prop open every time I pass through.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The other interesting thing is there is usually a bit of competition for the door-holder job. There are only so many doors & we have many more eager holders vying for these limited spots.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">This AM though, there were no door-holders…but the door stayed open. Looks like they just stay open like that & there is no need for anyone to stand there & hold it. Wonder if the door-holders were merely touching the door, pretending to be doing something that was happening anyway 😁.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 29px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p><p><b style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 23px;">Turnstile-Jumpers</b></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 23px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">A really big guy ahead of me jumped the turnstiles only to see a cop standing right in front of him 😬…he did a quick flip & jumped back out (perhaps because it was faster than walking out) & started running. Another cop who was much shorter & smaller than the jumper swiftly chased him & grabbed him by the hoodie neck…it was such an action-packed scene - good fuel to kick start a busy day.</span></p>Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-27524325657822451102020-04-04T19:08:00.003-04:002020-04-04T21:26:33.050-04:00Narnia Festival...When Do We Celebrate Again?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmapwJLZamnc-VK2L8VGH7DvardD6kw7uTmDrHII3TVPOXIP7YIVxmTJ9_w07LnEUeZk0rWDX73lOBgTqY_uKiCeyuJA8Tfy8RT1D7W9PqoPvdw9AGvz_kOT3M9O9QehlrFN0DQ0NgXx8/s1600/NarniScenery2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="1152" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmapwJLZamnc-VK2L8VGH7DvardD6kw7uTmDrHII3TVPOXIP7YIVxmTJ9_w07LnEUeZk0rWDX73lOBgTqY_uKiCeyuJA8Tfy8RT1D7W9PqoPvdw9AGvz_kOT3M9O9QehlrFN0DQ0NgXx8/s640/NarniScenery2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scenic Vistas of Narni, Italy</td></tr>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-ad07a52a-7fff-e63a-7063-a70921eb7a50" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Co-authored with Sriram Padmanabhan</span></i><br />
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-ad07a52a-7fff-e63a-7063-a70921eb7a50" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span>I</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">t seems like a dream now. Even then, it felt like one. It was July 2019, an era before coronavirus, and we were in Narni, close to the geographical center of Italy, in the Umbria region. In this rustic setting, we found artisans who invested time and patience into perfecting their craft - makers of pasta, fine jewelry, metal artwork and of course, gelato. The cobbled streets, the relaxed and convivial people, the pizzerias, and charming coffee shops (oh, the cappuccino!) conspired to form the perfect backdrop for the town’s <a href="https://www.narniafestival.com/en/" target="_blank">annual music festival. </a></span></span></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handcrafted jewelry by Antonella</td></tr>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-5377666a-7fff-5003-7a8d-fb1f8ebcb19a" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was magical to have dozens of young artistes - some as young as seven - gather from around the world in this small medieval town. During a week of rehearsals for The Phantom of the Opera, performers got together under the curved arches of the town’s ancient Scolopi opposite the Mayor’s office. As they played as one, their sounds reverberated with a beautiful intensity. The acoustic quality and the multi-layered texture of what we heard was soul stirring, something that simply cannot be reproduced in even the highest quality recordings. </span></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-b312199b-7fff-3d81-b5f2-ec04f8c67901" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "eb garamond" , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We found pianos dotting several locations around the town center, offering plenty of opportunity for students to practice on their own between rehearsals. There was even one in the Mayor’s office! The orchestra’s performance improved each day, shaped by the energetic guidance of artistic director, <a href="http://www.cristianapegoraro.com/en/" target="_blank">Cristiana Pegoraro</a> and music director, <a href="http://www.lorenzoporzio.it/" target="_blank">Lorenzo Porzio.</a> The poignant melody of the musical, the warm afternoon sun, and the gentle breeze from the Piazza dei Priori combined to make it a sensory delight that is etched in our memories. Lorenzo didn’t just conduct the orchestra with his arms, but brought his entire self to it, his whole body swaying to the rhythms of the music. We later learned that he is an Olympic medal winner in rowing...no wonder he had such a high level of energy throughout the day. During rehearsals, Lorenzo stopped abruptly when he sensed that the musicians were losing focus, took time to bring an out-of-tune group back in harmony, or gestured to a student who was off-tempo. Even though the main language spoken was Italian, it seemed like everyone understood each other through the universal language of music. </span>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Rehearsals conducted by music director, Lorenzo.</span></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-82e08c3d-7fff-6ad5-decf-cb60237462f3" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There were ample breaks between rehearsals, just the right level of structure for a beginner pianist, enough challenge for an expert cellist, and something to stimulate every skill level in between. During the run-up to the final performance of The Phantom of the Opera, there were numerous other shows in venerable venues: one moment, we were taking in a heartfelt recital by master cellist Georgy Gusev at the Santa Maria Impensole (which was built a mere 850 years ago), another moment we were enjoying a wholesome string quartet inside the frescoed Chiesa di San Francesco (a relatively younger church, built in 1260), and at yet another time, we were tapping our feet to the beats of a Brazilian band at Vicolo Belvedere, in a quaint garden overlooking the verdant valley through which weaves the Nera river. It was nothing short of a musical feast in a region known as the Land of Saints. </span></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-2b1ae00c-7fff-99c6-c741-ce3ea24338ff" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimz49afTXtF-41jfmcyr7t_kq8Y87TnFFxiOSCEIIWbrh1B8DXMFgR9JlwuFxgUdQEAhVuo8IAawU22tQ1H1kjesC6zIP_jT02-rqHuF_pY-7-u1LGBxUy5yQUgQV-uuk5ZHP6V-Hb3Wc/s1600/Recital+new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="957" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimz49afTXtF-41jfmcyr7t_kq8Y87TnFFxiOSCEIIWbrh1B8DXMFgR9JlwuFxgUdQEAhVuo8IAawU22tQ1H1kjesC6zIP_jT02-rqHuF_pY-7-u1LGBxUy5yQUgQV-uuk5ZHP6V-Hb3Wc/s640/Recital+new.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Participants' recitals at frescoed churches</span></td></tr>
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On Sunday, August 4th, dressed in black Narnia Music Festival T-shirts, the band assembled on stage. Strings and wind, percussion and piano, voice and dance, all came together for a grand finale in San Domenico, a Romanesque church converted into a majestic auditorium, a short walk from the Scolopi. It was an awe-inspiring show and a sumptuous toast to mark the culmination of the festival.
</span></span></b><b id="docs-internal-guid-2b1ae00c-7fff-99c6-c741-ce3ea24338ff" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "eb garamond" , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-d6d77d27-7fff-e7d9-c3f2-d4f1563d76ac" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today, as we reflect on these memories, we are filled with a sense of hope and optimism. We will get together again. In groups. In near and far off places. Feeling safe and looking ahead to great adventures. This is a moment to acknowledge that experiences like the Narnia Music Festival are a privilege, a result of many minds and hearts coming together. We will celebrate again - it may not be as soon as we all want but the experience will be fonder than any of us can now imagine. </span></span></b></span></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grand finale at San Domenico</td></tr>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-90066711270470736692017-06-14T14:41:00.000-04:002018-02-10T22:28:36.188-05:00Photography Tips - Just In Time For Your Summer Vacation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Recently I put together some quick photography tips for a friend. Years ago she had purchased a nice DSLR camera which was collecting dust. She wanted to put it to use during her upcoming summer vacation. I jotted down these quick tips to help her get started. </div>
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<u>Equipment basics:</u></div>
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1. <b>Flash </b>- There are some instances where a flash is useful but in most outdoor, daytime situations, it creates ugly shadows. My suggestion is to turn it off to take pictures during your summer travels where you are likely to be spending time outdoors.</div>
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2. <b>ISO</b> - Leave it on "AUTO".</div>
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<u>Camera settings for shutter speed and aperture - the only 2 modes that you would need to get started.</u></div>
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3. <b>Shutter speed</b> - When taking pictures of moving objects e.g., kids running around, moving bus or train or a waterfall, set the camera in the "shutter priority mode" and use a high shutter speed. In a Nikon camera, it is the "S" mode. In a canon, it is usually the "Tv" mode. Refer to your camera manual to know what it is called. </div>
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Do not use this mode for taking pictures of still objects or scenery.</div>
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4. <b>Aperture </b>- Almost always use the "Aperture priority" mode. "A" mode in Nikon/the "Av" mode in a canon.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Use only the above 2 modes, "Aperture priority" 90% of the time and "shutter priority" to capture moving objects. Do not use full "auto" or full "manual". Full auto doesn't give you the best results. Full manual is too time consuming hence not suitable for everyday/travel photography.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lens settings for achieving the right depth of field (aperture and focal length)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before we get into the lens settings, I would like to touch on what is know as the <b>depth of field (DoF).</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A<b> shallow depth of field </b>gives you the "bokeh" effect where objects in the background are blurred. This is useful to get close-up photos, shoot people's face etc...basically to isolate an object. Here is an example:</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shallow DoF</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To achieve shallow depth of field you need,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;">a. <b>Maximum </b>possible <b>aperture </b>(which is the lowest possible f/stop number).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt;">b. <b>High focal length</b> - For shallow depth of field go as high<b> </b>as possible on the focal length. say 100mm. </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">If your camera has a crop sensor, multiply the focal length on the lens with a factor of 1.5 or 1.6 (1.5 for Nikon & 1.6 for Canon).</span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> i.e., 100mm focal length would now be equivalent to 150/160mm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">In essence, <b>high aperture + high focal length => shallow DoF </b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A <b>deeper depth of field</b> is great when you want to capture the details of the background. when you want to capture the beautiful scenery not just the main subject. With this you can create images of a grand landscape. Below is an image with deeper DoF.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deeper DoF</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To achieve deeper DoF, you need:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">a. <b>low aperture</b> (high f/ number)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">b. l<b>ow focal length</b>. Typically 35mm is a good focal length. The lower you go, the wider the angle.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If your camera has a crop sensor, use a factor of 1.5 or 1.6 as the case maybe. You could go as low as 18mm (equivalent to 28mm).</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Other things to keep in mind:</u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Clean the lens with a soft cloth now and then. I use the wipe we have for our regular eyeglasses. You can breathe into the lens and then wipe it off with a clean, soft cloth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lighting tips</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Overcast is way better than very sunny. Harsh sunlight makes it really difficult. Typically hours closer to sunrise and sunset are the best times of the day to take nice pictures.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Open shade provides the best lighting. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Open shade</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Window light - This is also very good. Light coming in from the windows. Position objects close to the window or perpendicular or even right across from the window.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Composition tips</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Use simple backgrounds with texture. I love tree barks & brick walls. Here is an example from one of my recent sessions..</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simple textured background</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. It is a good idea to take landscape photos rather than portrait. Usually gives you some room to crop the image.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. The famous rule of 3rds: Divide the frame into a 3x3 grid and try to position the main subject in one of those 4 intersections (red circles as shown below)</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rule of Thirds</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Avoid objects jutting out of people's heads...say a tree or a lamp post sticking out of the head.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Leading lines - Use any lines in the background to create symmetry and definition.The basic idea is to make sure the lines are placed in a symmetrical way and are leading to a point of convergence. See the example below.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Hope you find all of this easy and helpful. Happy travels!</span></div>
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Seethahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13309066844610776023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-8687159474975831732017-03-28T20:55:00.001-04:002017-03-29T07:11:38.346-04:00How I Plan And Prepare For My Photo Shoots<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Ever since I got into portrait photography, I have been consciously working on developing a repeatable process. My workflow has evolved quite a bit since I started out on this journey and continues to develop as I learn from new challenges. After every shoot, I jot down my notes in a little notebook and use it to refine my process.</div>
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I like to parse any photo shoot into three phases: Planning, Shooting and Post-Processing. Planning fills me with excitement and shooting gives me the most joy. However post-processing is a completely different story - it is my desire to get things done that gets me through this phase.</div>
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In this blog post, I would like to delve into the first phase. I follow a simple workflow to plan my shots:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">I first look at the clients’ photos they have shared on social media and look for themes. They typically tend to share the ones they like a lot. This gives me an idea of what tends to make them happy and what personal features they are proud of 😊.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">I then decide on the backdrops (indoors as well as outdoors) for the shoot. This involves physically visiting those spots and taking some test shots. Fortunately I am surrounded by very many picture perfect spots that serve as great backdrops.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">I create a board on <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/sundares/" target="_blank">Pinterest </a>for each shoot and start collecting ideas. I look for examples that are suitable for the client. For instance, I pin images that have similar hairstyle and facial features to that of my subject. If clients like to collaborate on this board, I share the board with them. If not, I keep it to myself. Some clients don't want to be bothered with all of this. They just want nice pictures and trust me to figure these things out. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Next I make a list of shots I would like to take. This list includes the subject(s), orientation (landscape vs. portrait) and backdrop for each image. I end up taking a lot more photos (roughly 4x) than what I have down in my list. This list guides me well during the shoot. In case I get stuck, run out of ideas or the subjects start getting tired, I use this list to quickly change the scene or move on to other ideas.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Last but not least, I spend some time right before the shoot to charge the camera batteries, clear the memory cards and pack the bag. I also review my list and the Pinterest board one last time before heading out.</li>
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For some reason every time as I head out for these sessions, I am completely petrified😨. I wonder what if I am not able to deliver? What if I ruin the relationship? What if I don't get a single decent picture? What if this and what if that ... It is nothing but my planning and preparation that helps me overcome my doubts. Eventually, I take that step forward with the fear still lingering...and roll with my plan! </div>
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Seethahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13309066844610776023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-29447732286714912202017-02-19T19:35:00.001-05:002018-02-10T22:31:17.624-05:00My First Writer/Illustrator Conference<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Last weekend, I attended my first children's book writers and illustrators conference. The <a href="https://www.scbwi.org/" target="_blank">SCBWI</a> (Society of Children's Books Writers & Illustrators) winter conference was held at the Grand Hyatt in New York. Well over a thousand authors, illustrators, editors, agents and bloggers congregated over two days to share, learn from and inspire one another.</div>
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Here are my observations and takeaways from the conference:<br />
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<b><u>The pursuit of creating children's books</u></b></div>
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During this conference, it became crystal clear to me that writing and publishing a book is not like executing a project. It is not even a long haul journey. It is a way of life. Most creators couldn't help themselves but create. </div>
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These children's books are being created by adults for adults! Author after author and illustrator after illustrator admitted creating the content that would please or amuse themselves. When it comes to little kids, parents or caretakers are the decision makers and book buyers. These books are written with that in mind. Kids or their viewpoints don't figure anywhere in the supply chain other than at the very end. As a result there is a tendency to create and choose content that is bit too clever. Stories that are simple & straight forward, which may actually appeal to young little minds, may be a tougher sell. </div>
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<b><u>The people and their passion</u></b></div>
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It was apparent that all of the speakers and panelists genuinely loved what they did and shared what they loved. The keynote speakers, each one of them, moved me to tears. </div>
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Almost all of the attendees were equally passionate about their pursuits. Their passion crossed over to other areas of life as well. Given the current political climate, one couldn't escape heated conversations and passionate statements. These creators were not shy about expressing their views at every available opportunity. </div>
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<b><u>The industry and its ways</u></b></div>
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It should come as no surprise that the supply of authors far outweighs the demand from publishers. However, this conference reinforced it beyond any doubt. A vast majority of the attendees were "pre-published" creators aspiring to get their book published. As some of you may know, I am one of those aspirants. The publishing industry on the other hand continues to consolidate and shrink. </div>
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Another fact also became quite apparent to me: the publishing industry is much more complex than it needs to be. There are so many players and intermediaries that it is ripe for some large scale disruption. Self publishing, while gaining in popularity, is not an option for the fainthearted because of its own unique challenges since the writer has to don the hats of a marketer, editor, accountant and so on to make the book commercially viable. The traditional approach is equally daunting because you have to knock on many doors before even getting a response. One just has to get really lucky to get that break and I am praying for mine!<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQblIE_jBcJ/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Wrapping up my first @scwbi writers/illustrators conference #ny17scbwi with an autograph from @sarapennypacker</a></div>
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A post shared by Seetha Sundaresan (@seethasundaresan) on <time datetime="2017-02-13T00:02:28+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Feb 12, 2017 at 4:02pm PST</time></div>
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Seethahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13309066844610776023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-70386352192708552992016-12-20T19:35:00.002-05:002016-12-21T12:10:11.781-05:00My First Real Camera: Nikon D750<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Nothing makes me more uncomfortable than spending big $$. But spend I did, splurge I did, on a full frame DSLR camera and a constant aperture mid-range zoom lens.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8OTyvKbLV2WO5FY__nuZ7YA7AR5irgpxC6u7Mtei-HiEC0KVS-AAFMFYuK6yPMDkkYbR4-0R3Miqug7sv0VWUZvwHdLKcmYYu_CC3CoSJitnymTGf-1tGvNc11j9Hik1rOXcFnyILkg/s1600/JPGNIKOND750+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu8OTyvKbLV2WO5FY__nuZ7YA7AR5irgpxC6u7Mtei-HiEC0KVS-AAFMFYuK6yPMDkkYbR4-0R3Miqug7sv0VWUZvwHdLKcmYYu_CC3CoSJitnymTGf-1tGvNc11j9Hik1rOXcFnyILkg/s640/JPGNIKOND750+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">My new photography gear.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0060MVLXC/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=seetha-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0060MVLXC&linkId=af69d5425937b41d92321413d32c68d1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR Lens mounted on a Nikon D750</a>. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Shopping for my camera was in and of itself an experience. A month long endeavor that included hours of online research, many conversations with friends, experts and multiple visits to the venerable New York institution - <a href="http://bhphotovideo.com/" target="_blank">The B&H mega store</a>. The B&H store is a gadget wonderland and a humongous one at that. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Folks that work there are probably the most knowledgeable and the most helpful that you can find anywhere. The more specific you are, the more helpful they are. What I gleaned from my many conversations with them in person, online & on the phone could provide enough material for a full blown course in photography!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Canon vs Nikon vs Sony</span></b></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Although I was surrounded by Canon loyalists, for some unknown reason I was drawn to Nikon. Nikon was always on my mind. When I casually mentioned my interest in photography, a generous friend of ours immediately loaned me his DSLR. To my surprise it was a crop sensor Nikon. I took that as a sign of things to come or rather a sign of cameras to come 😊.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Over the last few months, I had taken many photography courses. Almost all of the instructors were toting a Canon. Particularly, Canon 5D Mark II was omnipresent. After test handling a couple of them, I decided against that option. They were pricier and bulkier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My next option was the <a href="http://amzn.to/2hQWI0J" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sony Alpha A7</a> mirrorless full frame camera. Not one but three trusted photographers pointed me in that direction. The camera body was a pleasure to handle. So light, so small. It felt like this one was made for me. Not to mention that this was by far the cheapest full frame camera. I was sold. I started dreaming about the Alpha A7! I had almost made up my mind. So I went lens shopping for the the Alpha A7 which put me firmly back in the Nikon camp. The FE mount lenses were longer and bulkier. When I mounted them on the camera body, the weight distribution felt odd and it was uncomfortable for me to support the equipment. It didn't feel right, literally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Alpha A7 however had an interesting feature that appealed to me. It had an electronic viewfinder (EVF) that was smart enough to show the scene as it would appear once the picture is shot. You get to see what you would get. None of the other full frame cameras had an EVF. For a while I kept going back & forth between D750 & Alpha A7. Finally, when I couldn't wait anymore, I went ahead and bought the <a href="http://amzn.to/2h7zhBv" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nikon D750</a>. It had what I was looking for. It had a full frame sensor, had wifi and felt right when I held it in my hand with or without the lenses. It had some bonus features as well such as an in-built flash, free software to convert the raw files to JPG and came with a Ruggard camera bag that could hold 3 additional lenses and a flash.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lens</span></b></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I really wanted to buy a set of 2 prime lenses (50mm & 80mm) and a telephoto lens. All of them with constant aperture. My friend had earlier loaned me his camera with a zoom lens with varying aperture & I struggled with the f stop moving around. I was keen to buy one with a constant f stop. I also wanted to buy wide open lenses (i.e., have low f number, say 1.2 or 1.8 or 2). However, these were quite expensive. I really didn't have the stomach to buy multiple wide open prime lenses. So I settled for the Nikkor 24-200 mm mid range zoom lens with a constant aperture of f4. As I pursue this path, I plan to save up and buy the wide open prime lenses over time. After all, the spending journey has just begun 😉.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u>A short <b>glossary</b> to demystify some of the photography jargon</u></span></i></h4>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Full Frame</b> - refers to the sensor size. Full frame is comparable to the 35mm film format. Crop sensor a.k.a APSC or DX format in the Nikon world is a smaller sensor. Large sensors are useful for architectural photography, which is where I began my journey in photography. It also provides a shallower depth of field, which is useful for achieving the much-loved bokeh effect in my portraits. Medium & Large format DSLRs come with even larger sensors. But they are way to bulky and pricey and hence impractical. In general larger the sensor, the larger the camera.</span></i></div>
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<i><b>Mirrorless Camera </b>- Sony has come up with these new mirrorless cameras that have full frame sensors. By removing the mirror, they have made these cameras really light and small. These look & feel like your little pocket cameras but can do all that traditional full frames do.</i></span><br />
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<i><b>FE Mount lens </b>- Lens developed by Sony specifically for their full-frame, mirrorless cameras. In general they were more expensive, longer and bigger than traditional DSLR lenses. Somehow it seems like whatever size they managed to shrink in the mirrorless camera body was added back to these lenses. </i></span><br />
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<i><b>Focal Length</b> - In the most simplest terms, it determines how wide or narrow your view is. smaller the focal length, wider your view. Typically, a 35mm lens is used for wide angle landscape photos. 50mm is the closest to what you can view with you naked eye. 85mm for more close up portrait shots. </i></span><br />
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<i><b>Prime Lens </b>- These have fixed focal length. These are definitely better. You get a much sharper image. Individually, these lenses are not that expensive, but if you want to buy a few to suit your different needs, then they add up. </i></span><br />
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<i><b>Zoom Lens</b> - Provide a range of focal lengths. You can keep zooming in & out without changing lenses to suit your needs. They are versatile but not ideal. These are as they "Jack of more trades but master of none". I ended up buying one of these to get started.</i></span><br />
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<i><b>Aperture</b> - It refers to the opening in the lens through which light can pass and is measured using f/stop numbers. The lower the f/stop number, the wider the opening and also more expensive the lens. </i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Some times these lower f/stop number lenses are referred to as fast lenses. The faster the lens the better.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>More on aperture</b> - I was looking for 2 things in my lenses: I wanted to shoot wide open & I also wanted a constant aperture lens. The original lens that I got my hands on had a varying maximum aperture, where the f-stop kept monkeying around as I adjusted the focal length. This drove me crazy. Higher end zoom lenses had a fixed maximum aperture. I decided to spend on constant maximum aperture and save for wider, prime lenses. The one that I got has a maximum aperture of f/4 while I wanted something in the 2s or even lower.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Final note on lenses </b>- Essentially you can have a lens with varying focal length & varying aperture. The more variable elements there are, the worse the lens performs. Such lenses tend to be temptingly cheaper options. I went for a varying focal length (zoom lens) with constant aperture. However, I keep wondering if I should have actually gone all the way and bought the prime lens trio as I had originally desired.</span></i><br />
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<tr style="height: 40px;"><td colspan="6" data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"In a nutshell..."}" rowspan="1" style="color: #666666; font-family: Raleway; font-size: 120%; font-weight: bold; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: top;">In a nutshell...</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 32px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Camera Options"}" style="background-color: #3367d6; color: white; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Camera Options</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"More Desirable\n(more expensive)"}" style="background-color: #3367d6; color: white; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">More Desirable<br />(more expensive)</td><td style="background-color: #3367d6; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Compromise\n(less expensive)"}" style="background-color: #3367d6; color: white; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">Compromise<br />(less expensive)</td><td style="background-color: #3367d6; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"My choice"}" style="background-color: #3367d6; color: white; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">My choice</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 28px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Sensor size"}" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Sensor size</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Larger (large format, medium format and full frame in that order)"}" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">Larger (large format, medium format and full frame in that order)</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Smaller (crop sensor a.k.a apsc or DX, micro sensors)"}" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #666666; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">Smaller (crop sensor a.k.a apsc or DX, micro sensors)</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Full frame (~35mm sensor)"}" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #666666; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">Full frame (~35mm sensor)</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 28px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Lens - focal length"}" style="font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Lens - focal length</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Prime. These have fixed focal lengths. We may have to buy multiple lenses."}" style="font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">Prime. These have fixed focal lengths. We may have to buy multiple lenses.</td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Zoom lens. Have a range of focal lengths."}" style="color: #666666; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">Zoom lens. Have a range of focal lengths.</td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"24-120mm zoom lens. Although I wish I had purchased a set of 3 prime lenses."}" style="color: #666666; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">24-120mm zoom lens. Although I wish I had purchased a set of 3 prime lenses.</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 28px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Aperture"}" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Aperture</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Wide open. Low f/stop number. a.k.a fast lenses."}" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">Wide open. Low f/stop number. a.k.a fast lenses.</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Narrow. high f/stop number. slow lenses."}" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #666666; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">Narrow. high f/stop number. slow lenses.</td><td style="background-color: #f3f3f3; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"f/4 - narrower than what I would have liked."}" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; color: #666666; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">f/4 - narrower than what I would have liked.</td></tr>
<tr style="height: 28px;"><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Aperture again"}" style="font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Aperture again</td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Constant max aperture"}" style="font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">Constant max aperture</td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Varying max aperture."}" style="color: #666666; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">Varying max aperture.</td><td style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;"></td><td data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Constant max aperture."}" style="color: #666666; font-family: raleway; padding: 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom; word-wrap: break-word;">Constant max aperture.</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Shutter speed - </b>We haven't talked about shutter speed yet. It is closely related to how wide your maximum aperture is & is measured in fractions of a second. The wider the aperture, the faster you can shoot. The narrower the aperture, the more you may have to slow it down to let more light in which in turn can result in a blurry image. When using a slower lens (narrower aperture), you either get a darker image (fast shutter speed) or a blurry image (slow shutter speed). </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>ISO </b>- This refers to the light sensitivity of your sensor. I still cannot believe that the acronym actually stands for "International Organization for Standardization". I don't understand why the world of photography would use this generic acronym to refer to & measure light sensitivity. Anyways, in general more ISO results in a brighter image and also a more noisier image. If you have a narrower lens & if you are using a faster shutter speed to avoid blurring, one way to get a brighter image is to increase the ISO. </span></i><br />
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Here are some web resources that I found useful as I refined my choice</b>:</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://www.dpreview.com/" target="_blank">DPReview</a> (I always started here)</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://snapsort.com/" target="_blank">Snapsort</a> (A great site to compare and contrast your options)</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://petapixel.com/" target="_blank">PetaPixel </a>(Has some interesting tips & tutorials)</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://photographylife.com/" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">PhotographyLife</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And lastly here is a picture from my first photo-shoot using the new gear. This picture was taken as part of a holiday photo session for a mom & son duo. You can find my portfolio at <a href="http://seetha.photoshelter.com/">seetha.photoshelter.com</a>.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunv_5C5-7sV4EEKzSk2jl1pnZN2GHAgaBe0ijeBpo_TtQYYHrWSUndYYbsN8j-z2B09i4Q5x90m-LiX42sF55il8kcxArBpshrS52pB4GRyF4vZjlKDLzmNHF0AbKspTp51aDU1ySRH8/s1600/snow+throw.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunv_5C5-7sV4EEKzSk2jl1pnZN2GHAgaBe0ijeBpo_TtQYYHrWSUndYYbsN8j-z2B09i4Q5x90m-LiX42sF55il8kcxArBpshrS52pB4GRyF4vZjlKDLzmNHF0AbKspTp51aDU1ySRH8/s640/snow+throw.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowball fight along the Hudson river.<br />
Nikon D750. 92mm - 1/60th @ f/4 - ISO 1270.</td></tr>
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Seethahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13309066844610776023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-74713572370285388662016-11-30T16:33:00.003-05:002016-11-30T16:48:13.100-05:00My own “Oprah at Hermes” moment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I decided to narrate the incident to a wider audience in an effort to keep such ugliness in check. Yesterday, on my way back home, I stopped at the “Forever Flawless” store to ask about the services they offer. The lady at the store refused to answer me and looked away. When I tried to engage her by asking more questions about the specific services, she made some hand gestures and once again looked away. Just as I was wondering if she had some speech difficulties, she sees a woman walking across the walkway, about 20 or more feet away, yells at her with a smile and offers her some samples saying “ma’am would you like to try our samples?”. The woman who was in a hurry, waved a “No” and briskly walked away while I was standing right in front of the store assistant getting ignored!</div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "notonashkarabic" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 17px;"></span><span style="color: #222222; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "notonashkarabic" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">For a moment I was not sure how I should react. I wondered if I should simply forget the episode and walk away as if nothing happened or push back and challenge them to explain their behavior. My instincts propelled me to do the latter. I believed that if I questioned what they did, maybe they would think twice before repeating their actions.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
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So I very politely and calmly asked her why she did what she did. Her manager, a guy, quickly came along and much to my surprise both of them started defending their behavior saying perhaps I cannot afford their service!!! I am still in a bit of shock. The only visible difference between me and the woman walking across the hallway was my skin color. I am brown-skinned, Indian to be specific. They were certainly not interested in engaging or providing service to people who look like me. When I contacted the concierge to report this problem, I learnt that they have received a similar complaint about this exact store from another person in the past.</div>
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I have always taken a lot of pride in the diversity of our community. There is a reason why we choose to live and raise our kids in this part of the world. It is a community that celebrates people from all over the world. In particular, we have a significant number of brown-skinned people living, working & thriving here. It is a shame that we have to house a retailer of this kind amidst ourselves. It just spoils the vibe of this diverse neighborhood.</div>
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Apparently this is not the first time they have done this. It has happened before. I decided to stick my neck out and write about this with the hope that they don’t do it again. My hope is that my virtual screaming and kicking will make them take a pause and fix their attitude.</div>
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Seethahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13309066844610776023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-61247731843333918232016-05-13T10:08:00.001-04:002017-01-07T14:07:22.774-05:00Why I am concerned about Trump<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Some points to ponder for those who base their election choices mainly on how much their taxes will go up or down…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If (and I am hoping it is a very big “IF”) Mr. Trump becomes the President of the US, he is very likely to build roads, bridges, airports, big buildings and of course that beautiful tall wall. There is going to be some big time investment in public infrastructure. Where is he going to get the money for all of this? He cannot raise taxes or at least the expectation is that he won’t raise taxes like the Democrats would. Then where is the money going to come from?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The only other viable option is to issue bonds left, right and center. Given that there is a healthy demand for US bonds, it wouldn’t be surprising if he makes the most of it or even goes beyond making the most of it. It is very likely that the country will be buried in an untenable amount of debt.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">While you and I may enjoy potentially lower taxes in the next year or two, during that period of lower taxes, the country is likely to end up in a bankruptcy and collapse. And when that happens, only his extended family and friends who are in the construction business would stand to benefit as their coffers would get a good chunk of the borrowed money for building those bridges, buildings and walls.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This scenario doesn’t seem that hypothetical when you look at Trump’s ego and instinct driven business track record. For instance,</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Trump borrowed $675MM to finance the $1B Atlantic City casino construction. The Trump Taj Mahal, in spite of being the highest grossing casino in Atlantic City, in spite of buzzing with activity, went bankrupt in just one year after it was opened in 1990.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For the Plaza Hotel, another ego/instinct driven purchase that ended in a bankruptcy in ‘92, Trump actually borrowed $550MM when the purchase price was only $390MM.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Twelve years later, after the two bankruptcies in 1991 & 1992, Trump got bigger and bolder and borrowed in billions instead of millions. In 2004, after loading Trump hotels and casino resorts with $1.8B debt, ran THCR (Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts) into bankruptcy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">One year after that, THCR reemerged as TER (Trump Entertainment Resorts) after bondholders forgave $500MM debt as part of other restructuring measures such as selling some of the properties. But then the same story repeats. TER once again went bankrupt in 2009. It was saddled with roughly $1.8B in debt while the market cap in 2009 was $7.3MM! The debt was nearly 250 times the market cap. How does anyone get here, in this situation? Again and again and again...and again?!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">While his businesses repeatedly suffered his magic touch, his personal fortunes and lifestyle never showed a dent. So perhaps there is a reason why he claims these bankruptcies are actually “not failures but successes”.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There are many stories on Trump’s bankruptcies. Most of them are colored by his personality, personal claims and catch phrases. Here is one that is mainly based on facts and figures - <a href="http://dividendreference.com/articles/2015/1000637/donald-trump-bankruptcies/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">By the Numbers: Donald Trump’s $4.7Billion in Bankruptcies</a>. Another recent one that <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/us-world/index.ssf/2016/05/likely_impact_of_trump_proposa.html#comments" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">hints at his debt proposal</a> and ends with Trump saying, "I love debt. I love playing with it". </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So next time you are tempted or swayed by lower taxes, please do consider the bigger picture. </span></div>
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Seethahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13309066844610776023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-63186349446806802652016-04-08T10:59:00.001-04:002016-11-30T16:36:39.209-05:00I Defy Labels<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Like many, I too am "exhausted by labels". I too am tired of being forced to identify who I am, what I do and where I stand. I don't want to be sorted and boxed into any category. Hence, I <a href="http://www.zazzle.com/collections/noiamnot-119624757238399577?rf=238032889197540042" target="_blank">DefyLabels</a>.<br />
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I get asked many questions...why, even I have asked many of them myself...and every time I end up or come up the with the same answer, "No. I am not."<br />
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For instance,<br />
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Are you a success? "No. I am not."<br />
Are you a failure? "No. I am not."<br />
Are you mediocre? "No. I am not."<br />
Are you exceptional? "No. I am not."<br />
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Are you quitting because you are a woman? "No. I am not."<br />
Are you staying home because you are the mom? "No. I am not."<br />
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Am you too old for certain things? And too young for some other things? "No. I am not."<br />
Are you a feminist? Are you a liberal? Are you conservative? Are you progressive? "No. I am not."<br />
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I am simply me.<br />
Be you. <a href="http://marginoid.blogspot.com/p/apparel.html" target="_blank">Defy Labels</a>.<br />
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#defylabels #beyou #noiamnot<br />
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-70638063716967713942015-11-06T10:27:00.001-05:002016-12-20T16:36:13.664-05:00Takeaways from 10% happier by Dan Harris<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062265431/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0062265431&linkCode=as2&tag=seetha-20&linkId=e228b4092b642c20ebee7e2c98f13c8b" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=0062265431&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=seetha-20" width="265" /></a></div>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=seetha-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0062265431" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
Recently Sriram got this book as a gift and I devoured it! The book that I borrowed from our local library, RLS' <a href="http://amzn.to/2hQSt52" target="_blank">Treasure Island</a>, Sriram is devouring it - tit-for-tat I suppose!!</div>
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In this book 10% happier, Dan Harris mainly writes about meditation. The book is about how a skeptical TV newsman embarks on an evolving journey of exploring meditation. For me however it was also about getting a peek into the insanely intense and the intensely competitive field of TV journalism. </div>
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I never knew these anchormen & women wrote their own stories. I always thought someone else did all the grunt work for them and all they had to do was look good and read from the teleprompter. It was a revelation for me that these people, even bigwigs like Barbara Walters wrote and edited their stories. I now have a newfound respect for what they do! And also a new found appreciation for how crazily intense and competitive this profession is. The amount of travelling, scripting, editing and all the leg work that is required to produce a single segment seems to be equivalent to producing a full blown movie in the time span of a single week! and this is done week after week!! that is how crazy this business is. To make things even more insane, there is this non-stop competition for air time. Apparently every day, for every show, these anchors have to pitch their stories. Every day they battle it out to get their stories selected and aired on TV. What exactly are these people made of - those that can thrive in a job so brutal?</div>
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In any case, the book is about meditation. So back to meditation...</div>
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Interestingly, it looks like to be in the "now" we might have to go through an arduous journey of self-exploration. Years & generations of conditioning have to be worked through to get back to being in the present moment fully. Perhaps this is what coming full circle means!</div>
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The author describes his own journey in great detail describing how he evolves as his meditation practice evolved. Dan starts out as a skeptic, then becomes an inquisitive explorer to a daily practitioner of mindfulness and then goes beyond mindfulness to embrace compassion. He then learns the need to balance his personal/spiritual growth with his everyday career demands. He goes much further and even grasps the import of "non-attachment to results" (Karmanye vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana - the verse from Gita that we have heard since forever, the one which in spite of knowing the meaning I still struggle to grasp the essence). Finally he even begins to accept more esoteric concepts like karma & enlightenment. This is the point, at the very end, where he seems to move on the path of regression...he begins slipping on his daily practice! I guess here is another full circle. And the journey continues....in circles :-)</div>
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As far as practical, useful information, the book is full of them for those who are interested in pursuing meditation. Among other things it contains:</div>
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actual steps. really simple steps on how one can start meditating.</div>
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brief, practical description of a few different types of meditations - body scan, walking meditation, compassion or the loving-kindness meditation etc</div>
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references to local, current day teachers/masters. I think this is extremely useful if one is looking for guidance. </div>
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detailed description of the author's first hand experience attending a 10-day silence retreat. You get a rather good view of what this is all about.</div>
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suggestions on books one could read on this topic. </div>
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some information on scientific research and evidence that backs the many benefits of meditation.</div>
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So here's to 10% happier meditating!</div>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-84484490733267897402015-09-06T13:52:00.000-04:002016-11-30T16:36:39.214-05:00War Story of Another Kind<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This is the story of Esther, my friend's grandmother. As a mom of two who is constantly preoccupied with safeguarding our kids from danger and also safeguarding our own selves just so that we can take proper care of our kids, I found her story very compelling and worth sharing with the world. So here it is...<br />
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Esther was born in early 1936 in the city of Babrujsk in Belarus. When World War II began, Esther's Dad went to fight in the war. Other than that Esther has no memory of him. Mom Taiba, fled the war-torn country with 5 year old Esther & her 1 year old younger brother Alek. The little girl travelled eastward for about 60 kms by foot, holding on to her mom's skirt, to reach the city of Rahachow. Her mom carried baby Alek all the way. At Rahachow they boarded a cargo train bound for Kattakurgan in the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mapping the journey from Babrujsk to Rahachow to Kattakurgan. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Source: google maps</span></td></tr>
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By the time they arrived in Kattakurgan, Alek was paralyzed from hunger. Their new home was a barrack shared with several other families that were seeking refuge in Samarkand. They would sleep on dirt floor and their quarters had no kitchen. Not so surprisingly Taiba got sick. Local health officials took her away from the barracks and admitted her in a hospital. Some neighbours taught little Esther the way to go to the local bazaar where she would ask passersby for food and often ended up with scraps. Whatever little she got, she shared with her brother. On many days, bigger kids would beat her up on the way back from the bazaar and grab the precious little she managed to collect. In due course, Esther contracted Malaria. The residents of the barracks fearing infection left her outside on the street. She was also picked up by the local health workers and taken away for treatment leaving little paralyzed Alek behind in the barracks. He survived without his mom and without his sister...but not for long.</div>
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Esther recovered. Her mom recovered. Both returned to the barracks. No sooner did they return than Alek left this world. Esther & Taiba resiliently lived through the war. She was about eight years old when the war came to an end. They retraced the journey back in the same cargo train and returned to Babrujsk only to find their home completely destroyed by bombings. Somehow, they rebuilt their lives. Esther grew up to become a skilled technician who operated heavy duty machinery, a line work that is considered very masculine even now. She married, raised three children and later emigrated to the US in the '90s. In many ways her life is now complete, complete with children, grandchildren, a home and a lovely garden where she grows her own vegetables and fruits. </div>
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On the other hand, her brother Alek, and several others like him were robbed off the life they could have had. The sadder part is that even today many children around the world are reliving the same story over and over again. According to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_and_anthropogenic_disasters_by_death_toll" target="_blank">this entry</a> on Wikipedia, since 1900s, we seem to have lost anywhere between 85MM and 230MM lives in wars!! This staggering number does not include the likes of Alek, who succumbed outside the bull's-eye of war. Nor does it include many others who were disabled for life or contracted deadly diseases afterwards. Recently in June 2015, the UN refugee agency released <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/558193896.html" target="_blank">this report</a> that said that the worldwide refugee numbers are at the highest level ever recorded. And half of all refugees are children.</div>
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As we approach another 9/11 anniversary, I cannot help but think that someone, somewhere is always under attack. Some little, innocent child, somewhere is always suffering the consequences of war or war like aggressions. <br />
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While many of us who enjoy peace, are involved in raising awareness and funds to fight deadly diseases such as cancer, we barely do anything to promote peace or prevent war. There aren't that many drives to promote this cause. For instance, in 2014, according to <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/05/05/global-cancer-spending-reaches-100b" target="_blank">this article</a>, globally, we spent about $100B for cancer prevention and cure. I wonder how much the world is investing in preventing or circumventing war. Preventing war not by investing in more weapons but by investing in education and empowerment: Educating those who have not bought into the idea of resolving conflict by other means and empowering those who already have so that our children's lives are not short-circuited by an act of war. My belief is that there's got to be other ways, better ways to resolve conflict and my hope is that as years go by more and more people will see things this way.</div>
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<em>Esther's personal story was narrated to me during an in-person interview with her and her family.</em></div>
Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-47471935249972723812015-07-31T19:35:00.000-04:002016-11-30T16:36:39.202-05:00Bike Lessons...Life Lessons<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This summer, my 7 year old daughter & I have been riding our bikes a lot. A good number of these trips were not just recreational. We have been using the bike as a legitimate commute option. Most of our trips have been about 3 miles long. Our little girl has been bravely riding alongside regular commuter & speed cyclists during those trips. While she was hoping to ride alongside me and have a fun chat, I was constantly barking out road rules at her. She was trying to be my buddy and I was unsuccessful at getting out of my mom hat!!</span></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">To give you an idea, our conversation would go something like this:</span></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">N - mommy, you know, we can make a hovercraft.</span></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Me - don't look at me. look ahead.</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">N - mommy, I can show you how to make a hovercraft</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Me - let's take a break, sit at the lawn & talk.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">N - no no. Let's go. I don't want a break.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Me - But I don't want you talking to me. I want you to focus on the road. Safety first.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">N - okay okay!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">....and then she would start pedaling really fast and go way ahead of me :-(</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Picture" height="478" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/t5zh8BThar0jdk6F6MA2SEuGt1p5w2xekqnW8CMeIJnUzoVVbafYmVVfKAW-7iBCWUgy5_pIExW9kxvMZ8qyrjFocwn5zzh7B8NTirRntdT0rsrmeu3IdRVTV2UKFoHZxJV7G08" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border-image: none; border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="478" /></span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">watching kayaks on Hudson during one such trip</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In any case, just to make things crystal clear, I wrote down all the biking rules for her to read before we head out. Interestingly many of these seem like they apply very well to life in general.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Rules for bike trips</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">1. wear helmet. It makes a lot of sense to protect ourselves.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">2. get good quality equipment & take good care of it. i.e., get a good bike & maintain it well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">3. middle path is the best one. stay in the middle of your lane. leave enough moving space on either side.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">4. signal your intentions before you make a turn. alert others. use your bell, hand signs and/or your voice. don't be shy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">5. keep your eye on the road. look ahead. look where you are going.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">6. take a break before you need to. preempt exhaustion.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">7. have company. don't try to go it alone. it's good have someone with you... can help each other out in case of an emergency.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">8. don't compete with other cyclists. they may have faster bikes and may have trained a lot more than you. stay on your course.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="Picture" height="392" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Pi7lEz4WtOPy2D5Jt9V98t5NQTt_4vyemO8tgEJqWd4S2fKnoa74IZEK5RMiWpqWs2dXarWBMwKPCHJF13cGsJsa3fNP852_qrCO1jmaCsgCi9Qk_JbZgpQ8_qpKfpNMxS0-WGs" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border-image: none; border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="526" /></span></span></div>
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</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">stopping for breakfast on N's favorite spot - pier 45</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">While I was pedantically preaching all of the above rules to my little daughter, she managed to effortlessly teach me one very profound lesson even without opening her mouth. And here it is...</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Most of our trips were along the Hudson river. My original idea was to stop at a different pier each time & explore all of them one by one. I didn't want to miss out. I was keen on knowing what else is out there. However, our 7 yr old foiled my plans by choosing to stop at the exact same spot every time. She was happy the first time she saw those bagel statues & a refreshing fountain on pier 45 and that became her go-to spot everyday. She didn't quite care whenever I urged her to go see what else is out there. She was there in the moment, focused on enjoying what was in front of her. On the other hand, I was not really taking it all in & was worried about missing out on the other piers. I was so keen to check the boxes, so keen to make sure I have covered all the piers on our way and in the process was ironically missing out on that which was right in front of me.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">On a larger scale, if there is one thing I really, really want to achieve, it is this ability to completely own & cherish my current station in life, in its entirety...not having the desire to be someone else or be someplace else and yet I was struggling to do just that... even on a 5-10 minute break of no consequence.</span></span></div>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-17355125001575765902014-09-29T19:27:00.000-04:002016-11-30T16:36:39.189-05:00My recovery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Wanted to quickly share my post concussion recovery experience. I am fully aware that many many folks around me have suffered bigger injuries & are going through greater pains. (As a matter of fact my grandma has been bedridden for more than year after a head injury). My injury is fairly minor. My pain so far has been manageable. I did not have any clots, did not have any internal bleeding (only external & minor bruising of the brain). This post is not about how great my suffering is (it is not that big a deal actually). I am writing this mainly as a way to document my symptoms and also to answer questions from well wishers. Often times when people ask how am I feeling, I freeze..can't think of a few words at a stretch to coherently describe how I feel.</span></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">1. Headaches - initially had severe, sharp headaches. All I could do was wrap some long piece of cloth around my eyes & rest. Couldn't do much else. Nowadays I do not have these severe pains. These days it is more of dull chronic pain in the back of my head. It is always there in the background.</span></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">2. Vision strain - My vision starts out fine in the morning after a good night's sleep. It gets blurrier as the day progresses. By around 2 PM I am actually struggling to read the time on our digital clocks, struggling to read large menu boards, struggling to clearly recognize faces from a fairly short distance. Eyes are getting watery & vision blurry. If I rest for a couple of hours, use some eye mask, I am back to normal again. Hopefully I will start my vision rehab next week. That should take care of this issue.</span></span></b><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">3. Cognitive issues - My head actually hurts when I do simple things. It is actually funny. Never thought these little things require effort. There are 3 distinct mental tasks that cause physical pain.</span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"></span></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Recalling facts </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- I was always quite capable of forgetting things. My memory was always pretty random. However these days, if I try to jog my memory & try to recall, my head really hurts & I give up.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Making decisions</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - mainly really small simple decisions. Here are some most recent examples. Last week, we were at a friend's house. The host asked me what I wanted to drink & I was freezing right there. I struggled to come up with an answer & I helplessly looked at my dear husband who helped out by making the decision for me. Time & again I look at him in that fashion ... time & again he comes to my rescue! Couple of days back, a friend of ours asked if I wanted to join them to go the temple for navarathri. Again I froze. Earlier that day, she asked when she could stop by our home & I struggled so much & still could not give her an answer. I looked so stupid. I am capable of quite a bit stupidity on my own. But this kind, I think I can comfortably attribute it to the injury.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Switching from one task to another</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - Say for instance I am eating my lunch & the phone rings. For me to pay attention that new stimulus (phone ringing), is actually painful. My head actually hurts when I have switch from eating to answering the phone. As a result these days I am taking a couple of minutes break in between tasks to sip some water & then start the next one. Say if I have to cook dinner & fold laundry. I take a break, space out with a glass of water for a couple of minutes in between the 2 tasks. As a result things take forever to get done.</span><br />
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Luckily, thanks to my employer, I am able to take all the time that is necessary to cope & recover. And a big thanks to my family, I do not have any mood - related emotional issues. Thanks to them I feel quite alright in that sense.</span></span></span></span></b></div>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-44884727737121267972014-03-26T19:21:00.000-04:002016-11-30T16:36:39.199-05:00The double segregation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Race</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Growing up in India, I had seen a lot of black superstars & achievers represent the US of A. Images of Michael Jackson (MJ), Michael Jordan (MJ), Magic Johnson (another MJ :-)), of Oprah and numerous Olympic medalists, numerous superstars from sports, arts, media </span></b><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">& a whole lot of other fields…they all seemed black. Growing up, seeing all these flag carrying stars, I assumed that African Americans dominate the American society.</span></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And then as a grown up, I emigrated to the US in my mid-20s and saw something totally opposite on the ground. At first it was puzzling, then a bit unsettling and these days it is disturbing & bothering me enough to actually write about it. It took me a good half-a-dozen or so years to believe what I saw when I came here, to unlearn all the assumptions & impressions that were formed in my childhood years.</span><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We still have those super stars out there but by & large, the minority communities, particularly blacks & Latinos are so rarely seen in good schools, in good jobs & in the so called good neighbourhoods. What saddens me more is that I see this in the biggest melting pot of all – NYC. [</span><a href="http://t.co/kfvHHi2A5b" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">is a recent study that says NYC schools are the most segregated!]</span></span></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">More interestingly, immigrants who moved into the US from all parts of the world sometimes exacerbate the issue. One would expect them to be a lot more open minded than otherwise. But what I often see is the opposite. They are too keen to learn the way things work in the host country & rapidly assimilate all their biases. Mainly because they don’t want to risk standing out anymore than they already do. One area where I often see this play out is the neighbourhoods they choose to buy their homes & the schools they choose to send their kids.</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Income/wealth</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This is the other segregation that has been a culture shock to me since we started our research to buy a home. Again, coming from India where one can see the extremely wealthy & the extremely poor living right next each other & being comfortable with it, the concept of having neighbourhoods strictly defined by household income/wealth & home sizes baffles me. Just as how foreigners visiting India are shocked by the coexistence of wealth & poverty and the perceived apathy, I am shocked by the economic segregation of society in the Americas, particularly in the suburbia.</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have always believed that you earn what you earn, I earn what I earn. Doesn’t mean we cannot live next to each other, doesn’t mean our kids cannot play together in each other’s homes or even the neighbourhood playground. The way the societies have evolved in the US, particularly in the suburbs does not encourage or permit interaction across the different strata of the society. Each section lives in its own segregated, isolated bubble.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In this aspect though, NYC is much better than most parts of the country in breaking down these barriers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Caveats</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have been thinking about these issues long & hard for months if not years. I have been bothered by many associated issues (that I have not written or talked about yet). However, I hesitated bringing them up all these days mainly because:</span></div>
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<li><div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I don’t have a full handle of this really complicated issue. This issue in truth is beyond my ken.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And also because I feared that this might seem like an attack on the American society as well as fellow immigrants....while it is not! This is not an attack on the society. This is an attack on a particular issue in the society.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I can think of 100s of things that the US is great at. I can think of another 100 reasons why I choose to live here. But when it comes to the above mentioned double segregation, I am definitely saddened and shocked. Shocked since my impressions as an outsider (on race) & my very different worldview (on income/wealth) are at odds with what I see day-to-day.</span></div>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-56994905123207239792014-03-20T19:02:00.000-04:002016-11-30T16:36:39.204-05:00email experiment - my newest experiment at work<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the past, I have shared some of my workplace experiments such as</span><a href="http://marginoid.blogspot.com/2013/09/tips-from-my-experiments-at-work.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">this</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and</span></span></span><a href="http://marginoid.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-3-prioritization-buckets.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">this</span></span></span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. Here is one more...my newest experiment at work: The email diet!</span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The topic of emails & how they get out of control & drive us to insanity came up during year end performance reviews. I strongly believe that our workdays should flow based on some pre-determined, clearly defined priorities an not get pulled into 100 different directions by the 100s of emails coming our way. As I was lecturing on how one should </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> let the emails dictate the flow of our work day, this idea came to my mind. I decided to give it a try, have been implementing it for over a month now & am loving it! This diet has indeed made a noticeable difference to my workdays.</span></span></span></b></div>
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</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 22.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a name='more'></a>The experiment: my email diet</span></b></h2>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have designated 1hr in the AM & 1 full hr in the PM for sending emails. I do not send emails outside of those 2 windows.</span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">more details how this has been working:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I do look at emails as they come in. In some cases, I even jot down points, but I do not respond. I send out emails only during those two 1hr windows.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have 2 separate windows instead of one mainly because I engage with a lot of folks in EMEA & I use my AM window to be able to send out information when they are around. The PM window is mainly for more strategic, detailed emails.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I can send as many emails as I want as long as they are done during these 2 time slots.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I did not make a big announcement about my plan but I did discuss this with those I work closely with.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I typically block those hours in my calendar.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If for some reason I have something really urgent that needs to be addressed right away, then my timer starts at that point. For example, say I had blocked 10-11AM as my email window and something super urgent requires my response at 9AM then I shift my email hour to the 9-10AM window.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If I have to address something outside of my email window, I simply pick up the phone or walk up to a person for a face to face conversation.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And here are my reasons for embarking on this experiment:</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have come to hate how sending emails have come to define most of the "work" we do.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As mentioned at the outset, I want my work day, work week to be dictated by well-defined, pre-determined priorities.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As most of our time goes to responding to queries, not much time gets spent on more strategic, planful activities.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Very often, people don't fully read emails but respond with half-understanding causing much confusion & frenzy. And I do not want to feed this frenzy.</span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally, this self-imposed restriction forces me to have more face-to-face conversations. This needless to say has a lot of tangible & intangible benefits.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14.66px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have tried this diet for over a month. Although a month is a really short time, I already feel the difference this has made to my workday. I would definitely encourage others to try if they can.</span></div>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-44095411912493521082014-02-27T11:05:00.003-05:002016-11-30T16:36:39.197-05:00Social mobility vs social connection<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Recently a friend of mine commented how "Khmer people live with the most basic of amenities, and they are the 3rd happiest people on the planet. How is it that the rest of us have designer clothes and luxury cars and still be grumpy all the time?".</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Sentiments like these, we hear too often..</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Also recently, as I was chatting with a few other friends of mine, I saw a theme emerge in those conversations... which was the exact other side of the above coin!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Some of these friends moved in a deliberate attempt to pursue better opportunities, more professional, material success, to make it "big" and all of them were generally disappointed with the inability to make meaningful social connections wherever they landed. Some blamed it on their age/life stage and others on the culture of the new place.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Connecting the two, I have come up with a hypothesis and also a simple mathematical logic that supports the hypothesis.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">The hypothesis:</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">When someone deliberately, actively makes an effort to move up the social ladder, he/she progressively loses the ability to make meaningful social connections.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">And here is the math behind the hypothesis:</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Say I belong to top 5% and am too keen to move up to the top 3%. My mind, my attention is all focused on the top 3% because that is where I want to be. As a result I am not paying attention to the bottom 97%. The 97%'s weekend local public library trip no longer interests me. I am more interested in hearing about the 3%'s alpine ski trip & dreaming about such a lifestyle for myself. Right there, I have alienated the majority of the people I could forge strong meaningful connections with. I am left with a much smaller group of people that I am interested in - just the 3% on the top.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Now let's assume that half of the top 3% are quite eager to move up to the top 1%. This half, in turn is focused on those above them, is not going to be interested in what I have to share & offer. Net-net, I am now left with only 1.5% of the people that I started with.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">In essence, I am interested in belonging to a group where a good number of them are not interested in me. They are interested in connecting with those above them on whatever scale they use.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Going back our original scenario, it is actually sadder for someone in the top 3% who is keenly interested in moving up to the top 1%, because he is going to be alienating the 99% that are not in his zone of interest and some fraction (let's say half) of the top 1% is probably looking to move up to the top 0.1%, hence is not interested in him. This guy in effect is going to be lonelier than me.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">And hence, my hypothesis... as one actively, deliberately tries to move up the social ladder, one progressively loses the ability to make meaningful social connections.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Some necessary clarifications:</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">As I write this, I feel compelled to make some clarifications. It is not the wealth or the material success that poses the problem.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">It is actually, </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> a) our desire to seek more <strong>combined with</strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"> b) mixing up friendship and thinking of our social connections <strong>primarily </strong>(primarily being the key word) as a ticket to our prosperity</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">that causes the agony!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">To further explain (a)...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Bill Gates is really wealthy & successful. If he is not that interested in moving up, then he is not going to be uninterested in those below him and hence is not going to lose his ability to connect with those below him.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">And to elaborate on (b)...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Generally speaking, we do prosper with our connections. That is bound to happen naturally & should happen naturally. It is a side effect. When it becomes the primary criteria for seeking out friendships & relationships, then we have met condition (b).</span></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">Some possible solutions:</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">1. Try hard & get rid of all scales. Stop measuring & benchmarking. This is actually super hard. I don't think I can actually achieve this now!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">2. When meeting friends online & offline, try to share ideas, share life experiences (not lifestyles & there is a big difference!)..the idea is not to feed information for the scale!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">3. If possible seek some non-material successes. To the extent you are thinking about the non-material goals, your mind will be distracted from the material goals!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">In all honesty, I am not a big fan of this solution either. We may potentially start measuring one another using some "non-material" scale and run into the same problem as before. I actually prefer #1!!</span></div>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-57662655115737745032014-01-25T12:12:00.002-05:002016-11-30T16:36:39.207-05:00Illustrating the power of Friendship Paradox<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">It is no secret that I have come to love this theory a lot. <span class="userContent">I have been having conversations around this topic with my friends & family. While they seem to understand it, I was not sure if they share my level of appreciation for it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span class="userContent"><br /></span><span class="userContent">And hence, I have come up with an example to illustrate the exponential power & beauty of network topology - the friendship paradox. An imaginary story like illustration inspired by something I saw on TV...</span></span>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span class="userContent">Let's assume you are a small business owner. Your immediate network of friends comprises mostly of really clean & straightforward folks. Except for one Mr. ABC. ABC is the worst crook in your network. However, even he happens to be a very small time crook engaging in really benign stuff.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVTKwWv7yZfvwOC0C1g9dXVxpkBd73THc1ZVdmY4he6Jd3Pg_oh_kYsg0EHwN-NC480l-AC1Te-kYkxEX5penlkVRh3P4OQN6hwUOY_mCfeuf7dhqyQGW4TJ58_0sCTyU5GqCxfqEySE/s1600/Network+Topology+Level+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVTKwWv7yZfvwOC0C1g9dXVxpkBd73THc1ZVdmY4he6Jd3Pg_oh_kYsg0EHwN-NC480l-AC1Te-kYkxEX5penlkVRh3P4OQN6hwUOY_mCfeuf7dhqyQGW4TJ58_0sCTyU5GqCxfqEySE/s1600/Network+Topology+Level+1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span class="userContent">Now ABC being a crook (albeit a small time one), his network will not only have more crooks than yours but also have bigger crooks than yours. So let's assume XYZ is the biggest crook in ABC's network. XYZ happens to be a drug peddler.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeK-gEFDAE1T7albTMHY6JvOkmlf4GpavAaqC2Qmq0GeMxyMqNd4bzDk86VI3w7g5ngMMIC12tOtQriQBDUuPe8lM-Kgrx5L5EjirwZLnlxq9ZzAwdSBpj-VL48bi5tulIMfHWWploNLM/s1600/Network+Topology+Level+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeK-gEFDAE1T7albTMHY6JvOkmlf4GpavAaqC2Qmq0GeMxyMqNd4bzDk86VI3w7g5ngMMIC12tOtQriQBDUuPe8lM-Kgrx5L5EjirwZLnlxq9ZzAwdSBpj-VL48bi5tulIMfHWWploNLM/s1600/Network+Topology+Level+2.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">XYZ's network of crooks is now likely to bigger & badder. So let's assume the worst crook in XYZ's network is a cold blooded hitman, a murderer!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipn_H9za4TRZ3y5JMkTSOGbnzplCLA_H9spYFEI6KQw5FQABT6iN6053P6ByE4Xe0JmXIAjTI06yW91YmsMRDzTqjn17ymBp6v2LrUXfe8dcfDp_Y7FSSpKISH7620G-lXIXYyUGmr2Mk/s1600/Network+Topology+Level+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipn_H9za4TRZ3y5JMkTSOGbnzplCLA_H9spYFEI6KQw5FQABT6iN6053P6ByE4Xe0JmXIAjTI06yW91YmsMRDzTqjn17ymBp6v2LrUXfe8dcfDp_Y7FSSpKISH7620G-lXIXYyUGmr2Mk/s1600/Network+Topology+Level+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Now that we have drawn out the general topology of our friendship network, let's delve into a particular scenario. For argument's sake, lets imagine that for a while you have been thinking about some little tax evasion tactic that could help you save $$. You look at your network to see who might the best person to liaise with & determine that ABC is your best bet (given that everybody is really clean). You consult ABC & also engage him to actually get this done.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">ABC in turn casually chats about you & your little "escapade" with XYZ. In fact ABC is much closer to XYZ than yourself & you didn't even know about it. XYZ gets this really brilliant idea to use your business as a shell to peddle some drugs without your own knowledge & they actually end up doing it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">One fine day, you discover whats going on & confront ABC (still not knowing how close he is to XYZ & not fully aware of the depth of their networks). XYZ gets the help of the worst crook in his network, the hitman to take care of you. This could very well be the end of your life. End of story!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">If you think the above story is too dark, lets take a step back & stop with XYZ. Even then, you could very well end up getting arrested not just for tax fraud but also for peddling drugs!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">In any case, in short, by the exponential power of the topology of your friendship network, your actions could get amplified way beyond your imagination.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span class="userContent"><br /></span>
Here I am re-citing the original article that I had shared on facebook. This article explains the theory really beautifully...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span class="userContent"><a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/view/523566/how-the-friendship-paradox-makes-your-friends-better-than-you-are/#comments" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.technologyreview.com/view/523566/how-the-friendship-paradox-makes-your-friends-better-than-you-are</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span class="userContent">I personally want to read & re-read this concept so that hopefully every time I take an action, I am reminded that the consequences could be exponentially amplified.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span class="userContent"><br /></span><span class="userContent">Also every time I form new associations, hopefully I am reminded that it is in fact these associations that determine the magnitude & the direction of the amplification.</span></span>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span class="userContent"><br /></span><span class="userContent">I have used a rather dark example to make the point. But that same applies to nice things too. If you can think of or cook up a positive illustration, do kindly share.</span></span>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-26368518925846083042013-10-18T15:19:00.000-04:002016-11-30T16:36:39.194-05:00Workplace wisdom that comes from being a parent<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Recently at a mentoring event at work, I was asked whether being a woman gave me an edge in handling difficult inter-personal situations. I ended up steering the conversation in a slightly different direction....how being a parent gave me an edge on that front. This post is an extension of that little chat.<br />
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I have often maintained that kids have done a much better job at training us to be better individuals than what we have managed in terms of training our kids! So thanks to parenthood, thanks to all our kids, here are some tips that we can all take back to our workplaces. These tips are particularly useful when dealing with coworkers under difficult circumstances (not necessarily difficult coworkers). Being parents, we are not only made to realize & understand the value of these tactics but are also pretty much forced to practice and perfect them day in & day out!<br />
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<strong>Tell what not to do, also tell them what to do</strong><br />
Sometime back my daughter kept repeatedly banging a cup & annoying everyone else at home. I kept asking her to stop the banging but to no avail. Suddenly, I switched track and simply asked her to keep the cup on top of the counter. And it worked like magic. Which is when I realized she didn't really know what the right alternative was. I have to admit though that I have not been this successful in some other instances at home. However, at work, I have had a much better success rate with this approach - the approach of not just saying what is not working or what someone should not be doing but also adding what the right alternative is.<br />
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<strong>Proactively (or rather pre-emptively) lead</strong><br />
Kids typically have very high energy. If we let them lead & then try to keep up, then we are setting ourselves up for exhaustion. There is no way I can keep up with my kids. Instead, if we switch things around keep them on their toes. i.e., us taking the lead & making them catch up then life becomes slightly easier. What this means is proactively planning the days, making some decisions & setting the tone for them to follow. That is only way to have some control over our days. <br />
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<strong>Keep reactions under check</strong><br />
There are quite a few good reasons why we should under react or in some cases not react at all:<br />
a. If I reacted to every feedback, opinion, wish and complaint my kids have, our lives would be practically impossible. The same logic applies to my workplace.<br />
b. Half the time I have absolutely no clue what the right reaction is.<br />
c. More often than not, my reactions make the situation far worse than they were to begin with.<br />
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<strong>Give them a big (mental) hug</strong><br />
When I look at my kids late in the night, after a really long, rough day, it often strikes me that they have had as tough a day (if not tougher) as we have all had...and I end up giving them a big hug. At work too, I strongly recommend that at the end of any such particularly difficult day, do give your colleagues a big mental hug. Chances are they have had as rough a time as you have!</div>
Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-31435566316182063862013-09-14T11:15:00.000-04:002016-11-30T16:37:00.078-05:00The 3 Prioritization Buckets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Overwhelming workload and conflicting demands from multiple directions have become a way of life for many of us. In most organizations, every functional team typically boasts of their practically impossible "books of work" and their long lists of overdue items. As a result, we all end up with too much on our plates & too little in terms of opportunities to shine and have a meaningful impact.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">A few years back, after thinking long & hard through the state of my work day I came up with this simple prioritization technique. And I must say that this little trick has definitely helped me keep things under control. Over the last few years, I have rarely if ever, felt overwhelmed at work. [I actually wish I had the same level of sanity & control at home!]</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">The trick is to look at the tasks in front of you & bucket them in 3 categories:</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">1. Wow items - give them your best, give them your most</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">2. Stay out of trouble items - give them just about enough time or even a little less than enough time and rush through these</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">3. Everything else - dodge!</span><br />
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<u><span style="color: black;">1. The wow bucket</span></u><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">These are the tasks that have a "wow factor" in them. The wow factor could come from solving a real big challenge the team is struggling with or can come from the way in which you present your deliverable (taking that extra hour or two to polish & refine the presentation) or taking the initiative to get involved in a key initiative. The wows are also the tasks that I would absolutely love to do, the projects I would absolutely love to work on, things that light me up. As a matter of fact, several times I have elbowed my way into projects that I really liked even when they were outside my immediate scope of work and the results have been personally gratifying as well as professionally rewarding.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">In my mind, the wow tasks take the highest priority. I would give them my best & give them my most. Basically carve out the time to shine & make it a priority to wow people at work.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Note however that the "wow" I am talking about doesn't come from volume. It is never about volume. Say for example, you are a superhuman who could handle 10 times a normal person's workload, then you can be potentially replaced by 10 different people. On the other hand, if the "wow" happens to be a result of your unique approach, your individual style and stamp then there is no easy way to replace that.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">The wow essentially comes from the quality of the work, the level of challenge, the complexity of the problem and the elegance of your solution.</span><br />
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<u>2. The stay out of trouble bucket</u><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">These are tasks that if I don't get them done, I get into trouble! real trouble.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">I don't necessarily enjoy doing them, I may even loathe some of them but I don't necessarily have a choice. Need to get them out of my way.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">The idea is to allot just about enough time or even a little less than enough time & get through them as rapidly as you can. Why prolong the agony? Just zip through them. </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">I also like to schedule them closer to their deadlines so that I don't have the luxury of time to revisit & refine them again & again. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><u><span style="color: black;">3. The everything else bucket</span></u><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Basically, try to dodge the items in this category. See if you can get away with not tackling them at all. Chances are with ever-shifting priorities, these may completely fall out of the radar.</span><br />
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I must add though that employing this kind of prioritization day-to-day did require some practice & quite a bit of persuasion on my part!!</span></div>
Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-50862823024443760602013-09-13T09:31:00.002-04:002016-11-30T16:37:00.081-05:00Tips from my experiments at work<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Over the last decade or so I have been experimenting various tactics and approaches at work. Almost all of these experiments were designed & diligently followed by me.<br />
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Among the few that I have tried & tested over a considerable length of time, two stand out. They both proved to be quite effective. The first one which is also one of my earliest experiments could be quite helpful in staying motivated day to day at work, particularly so in the current, uncertain business environment. The second one can be a great tool to manage seemingly unmanageable workloads while creating a positive impact.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><u>Daily recollection of 3 things to stay motivated at work</u><br />
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Back in '06 just before I started my current job, I had a few weeks time to reflect on and strategize as to how I was going to approach my next gig, what should I really get out of it & how I could effectively derive satisfaction regardless of the actual nature of the job or the dynamics of the industry. This thought process led me to a little experiment that I started back then & diligently continued for years. Based on my own personal experience, I can attest that it works. The daily recollection that I am going to elaborate on has helped me stay motivated and focused at work.<br />
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Every day at the end of the day I would take a couple of minutes & jot down the following 3 things:<br />
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1. What did I learn?</div>
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2. Who did I meet?</div>
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3. What did I accomplish?</div>
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The first two questions were quite important to me as at the end of the day it is what you know & who you know that helps you find your next opportunity, your next challenge either within your current firm or outside.</div>
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The third question was however for my own personal satisfaction. Interestingly in my personal experience actual accomplishments mattered less. The actual outcome of a project or initiative typically depended on many other factors & were constrained by things beyond any one person's control. This could also very well be due to my own unique circumstances. For instance in my career spanning roughly 12 years, I have had 19 managers. Naturally I didn't have any of them closely witnessing my accomplishments for one complete year at a stretch. [as a matter of fact, I do have a few interesting anecdotes & valuable lessons just by virtue of having so many line managers during the last few years. I am going to save that for a separate post.] In any case, I needed that accomplishment question in there for my self satisfaction. The other two certainly had a more lasting effect.<br />
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If you find yourself losing focus at work, questioning the value of your job or simply complaining a lot about your workday, I would encourage you to try this simple recollection every day for a few days. Just take a few minutes to jot down:<br />
1. What you learnt?<br />
2. Who you met?<br />
3. What you accomplished?<br />
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If you happen to give it a try, do let me know if & how it worked out for you.<br />
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In my next post, I will write about my other favourite experiment in prioritization that could help bring your workload under control while managing to create a positive impact.</div>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-63101977304406346592012-07-18T11:58:00.003-04:002016-12-20T16:47:58.848-05:00Just finished reading Michael Lewis' Moneyball..<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;">...was unputdownable. Had a lot of drama.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393324818/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0393324818&linkCode=as2&tag=seetha-20&linkId=0b59a3da7ad0b4e65791504100f59dd0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=0393324818&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=seetha-20" width="267" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The book had a number of themes from Taleb's Fooled by Randomness such as "process vs outcome", "trouble with using small sample sizes" & "underplaying the luck-factor" etc. The author was also drawing parallels between Warren Buffet's/Benjamin Graham's value-investing principles and Billy Beane's strategies. However, structure-wise I feel it could have been better. After reading the book one has to make a real effort to summarize the "winning strategies of Oakland A's" (which I am going to attempt below).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The other problem was I didn't know most of the baseball lingo - had to constantly refer to online baseball glossary & still had trouble understanding them. All the characters were strangers to me. Barring the very famous ones such as A Rod, Jeter, Manny Ramirez & Jason Giambi (of course mostly Yankees!), the other names didn't mean much to me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Here's the gist of what I gleaned & liked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Draft/Selection stage</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- Billy Beane & Paul start from the end & work backwards. They determine how many games they need to win, then work out the runs they need to score in order to win that many games, and then determine what kind of stats the "team" needs to get there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- They focus on the team's aggregate stats requirements and do not get fixated on individual players. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- And then they go on to assign a quantifiable value for each of the attributes (tools as they call it) that are needed to get there. Not just absolute value but relative value. For example, they determine "on base percentage" is 3 times as important as "slugging percentage" & so on...they work out a mathematical equation to determine the relative value of these winning attributes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- Next step, they figure out which "tools" are overvalued in the market & which ones are undervalued and go after the undervalued ones. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- As it happens in every sphere of life, thanks to biases & prejudices, some totally irrelevant attributes were overvalued. Whenever scouts veer off, Billy Beane keeps them in check by asking "are we selling jeans?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- Billy Beane doesn't stop here. He also figures out when the overvalued players lose their value. Typically their price is the highest during pre-season when there is a bidding war. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Mid-season trading</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- He does not consider his job done after the initial selection process. He has big plans for trading in the middle of the season when some of the players' values drop. He has a list ready to go after. He literally waits for this second chance, takes it as seriously as the pre-season selection process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- I reckon most teams use this trading opportunity to get rid of the picks that didn't work out as planned. However Oakland A uses this as an opportunity to get the players they want at a discount.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- Billy B doesn't offer what he can for a player, instead he first gleans how low the other side is willing to go. If he can get a player for a deeper discount (than what was originally estimated), then he shrewdly capitalizes on that opportunity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">- He gets into 3-way/4-way trades to get what he wants. And in some occasions getting more than what he wanted to begin with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Overall, Moneyball is a great story about collecting data, observing patterns, using rationale to derive meaningful insights and then finally applying those insights to execute a winning strategy. The execution part, as one can imagine is no mean feat either given all the obstinate non-believers and hence this is a story of grit, conviction & persuasiveness as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Can't wait to see the movie & watch a ball game! </span><br />
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-18768326291439201562010-09-25T21:09:00.001-04:002016-11-30T16:37:00.073-05:00The Busy Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Everybody is very busy these days, regardless of</span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">what we do or don’t do. Makes me wonder why we are so busy? And of course – are we really that busy?</span></span></span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p>I got some real good answers from a recent article in NYTimes [</span></span></span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/technology/16brain.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Outdoors and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">] about a bunch of professors on a week-long trip in Utah to study the effect of “unplugging” from modern modes of communication (emails, blackberries, TVs…). A few of them explain how busy their lives were.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">I was surprised and found it hard to understand why someone engaged in researching such a casual topic should</span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">be so strapped for time. A few fireside chats would give enough material to talk & write about. These topics are not particularly time sensitive or critical. </span></span></span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">For my benefit, one of them goes on to describe why he is so busy & talks about things that keep him awake & working through midnight – these activities to my surprise were not what I expected a researcher or a professor to do primarily. Most of them were about securing his position & influence, making sure things get done, making sure that funds come in – they were all “non-core”. It was epiphanic to see how these non-core, support activities – especially, those that are borne out of various forms of insecurities have come to suck time out of our days.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">This article made me take a close look at how I spend my time & how people around me spend theirs. It was eye opening to see that in an</span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">era when the concept of “core competency” was solidified, studied & evangelized in the business world, we all spend a lot of time on “non-core” activities.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Particularly, the time sucking ones are those that stem from insecurities, from the need to protect ourselves from blame when things go wrong. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Some examples from</span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">my days are working on immigration papers over & over again just so that I can continue to work & live where I am. Responding to every query that comes my way even though I may not be the best person to handle all of them lest I appear un-cooperative. </span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">The second takeaway from the article was that the blurring lines between work &</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">“non-work” make people overestimate the amount of work they do. As I read through I felt as if they were classifying pretty much everything as work. The 5-day Utah trip, the conversations on “unplugged” life etc all these have a very high pleasure component in them.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">In several instances, it is hard to segregate work & leisure – both get embedded into the same activity. To that extent it is meaningless to count the hours we “work”.</span></span></span></div>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-61912288649632532302010-09-04T11:07:00.000-04:002016-11-30T16:37:00.087-05:00Self-Centering Routine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KqLcE50d95KlyMWE7ETox852O6LJ7WMuKHcD20iJ8gS3fZDAVhAr90fHThvXDBEDJQbykkXeTIAu1V2Q8lJ7OafY1mD2D7NyDz0epey1dbtL1iikQV4OX3ERqlv58x9E1NYrOHkcdPc/s1600/IMG_1480.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513076329218586930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3KqLcE50d95KlyMWE7ETox852O6LJ7WMuKHcD20iJ8gS3fZDAVhAr90fHThvXDBEDJQbykkXeTIAu1V2Q8lJ7OafY1mD2D7NyDz0epey1dbtL1iikQV4OX3ERqlv58x9E1NYrOHkcdPc/s320/IMG_1480.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 240px;" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Overall things are fine. In spite of that every once in a while anxiety, frustration and similar reactions rear their ugly heads. Life then feels difficult & unmanageable. I lose the balance & begin searching for the centre.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">To this end, I have begun to appreciate the usefulness of a daily routine (Not a strict minute by minute regimen).</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">However, coming up with such a routine has been a trial and error process.</span></span></span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">In my search for a suitable anchoring routine, I came across the Morita Therapy – a Japanese Psychotherapy technique developed</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">in the 30s</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">for people recovering from severe trauma. Morita Therapy Methods (MTM) is an intense process spread over several weeks or months and typically has the following phases.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">1.</span></span></span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Isolation + meditation</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">2.</span></span></span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Silent monotonous work + journal writing + long outdoor walks</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">3.</span></span></span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Intense physical work (stretch physical limits) + creative activity (writing, painting, sculpting etc)</span></span></span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Although the components of the MTM were very appealing to me, the process itself </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">was a bit too much, mainly since:</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">a)</span></span></span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">I don’t have several weeks or months to expend.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">b)</span></span></span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Haven’t really gone through any major trauma that requires such a full blown attention</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">c)</span></span></span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">And I wasn’t looking for some one time fix or a switch. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Instead I was looking for something that could become a part of my everyday life.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">Therefore, I have come up with my own milder version of the MTM for everyday use. In the morning I spend some time meditating in isolation, engage in some creative activity (writing, editing videos, working on illustrations..) & then do some stretches or exercise. At night, after I get done with the day, I do some monotonous work in silence (dishes, clean up etc), go for a walk & write my journal. I don’t quite time these activities. I rely on myself (not the clock) to signal the “enough” point. On some days, I spend as little as 10 mins on each activity & on other days I have stretched them into an hour or more.</span></span></span></div>
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<o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></span></span></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia;">So far I have found this routine enjoyable & I feel great during the day and I get the inkling that I would be able to stick to it. Looks like I found something that is going to work!!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: medium;">Here is the book on Morita Therapy for more in-depth reading..</span></div>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023733200388393671.post-67850590566122468832010-09-02T22:52:00.000-04:002016-12-20T16:45:10.727-05:00Reason Led Conundrums<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">...inspired by the first chapter in <a href="http://amzn.to/2h7s8RI" target="_blank">"How We Decide" by Jonah Lehrer</a>. The chapter that talks about NFL quarterbacks (Tom Brady & such) and also about the OFC (orbitofrontal cortex) - one of the least understood regions of the brain that integrates senses, feelings, emotions & reasoning - the part that facilitates decision making.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"> </span></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">Apparently feelings/emotions are the glue that makes sense of all the data & help people choose, make decisions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">Pure rationale or reasoning alone cannot lead to that final step. On the contrary reasoning without feelings can make one very indecisive - extremely so..</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"> </span></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">I am a prime example, a living case study of a life filled with such </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">reason</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">-</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">led</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"> & </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">reason</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">-fed conundrums.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"> </span></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">I see hundreds of options or possibilities - all of them are theoretically & even practically "possible", "viable" options. All of them have pros & cons in equal measure. All of them with potentials & pitfalls in equal measure. I am able see & I also end up considering all the sides of all the coins.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">So what do I do - what should I choose?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">For example, as a hobby should I pursue - tennis or ping pong or squash, swimming or sailing or horse riding, ballet or flamenco or bharatnatyam.....<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">To me all these are valid, viable options. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">Reason</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"> that tends to dominate me tells me that all are good & doable & that all have some level of difficulty.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"> </span></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">If only I was in touch with how I feel about any of the these options - if only I knew what excites me - what I am passionate about - life would be magical.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"> </span></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">Somewhere along the road I seem to have lost that connection with how I feel about things. With or without great effort, I have trained myself to function like a computer program - drawing my logic trees, listing options, weighting criteria, defining & following steps...all to no avail.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"> </span></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">At this point, I am all the more confused & clueless, overwhelmed & off-centred.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"> </span></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">Even as I write this, there is a part of me that is getting in to the rut of asking those familiar questions - so how do I solve this problem? What can I do to get back in touch with that fuzzy part of myself?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">I hope I don't (although it is very likely) get into the next step in sequence - listing options that would help me reconnect..drawing logic trees, analyzing pros & cons...<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;"> </span></span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3333ff;">It is just incredibly hard to let things be & let the universe express..very hard to just be & allow your inner core to bloom...now that I got addicted to intervention..</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Seetha Sundaresanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05536233202815675691noreply@blogger.com3