The other side of 26
-
I can no longer call myself 25 :) Four days in Coimbatore, with just my parents and the dog (my brother is in Delhi), and I also watched the Ashes (no TV here in Madras). I now have a slightly heightened sense of urgency - figure out a good direction for my career, should be getting married in a couple of years, buy a house roughly within the same timeframe. Lots more to do, lots more to read, perhaps learn a foreign language. Must travel to see a few places (Bhutan stands out) - difficult to do that with 'da boyz' after marriage. Read the Gita. Expand my culinary horizons beyond competency. I'm also going to book my GMAT date for mid-Oct. What was it like when turned 25 or 26? What long-term goals do you have now? :)
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
-
I can no longer call myself 25 :) Four days in Coimbatore, with just my parents and the dog (my brother is in Delhi), and I also watched the Ashes (no TV here in Madras). I now have a slightly heightened sense of urgency - figure out a good direction for my career, should be getting married in a couple of years, buy a house roughly within the same timeframe. Lots more to do, lots more to read, perhaps learn a foreign language. Must travel to see a few places (Bhutan stands out) - difficult to do that with 'da boyz' after marriage. Read the Gita. Expand my culinary horizons beyond competency. I'm also going to book my GMAT date for mid-Oct. What was it like when turned 25 or 26? What long-term goals do you have now? :)
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
26 wasn't any particular milestone for me. I was in New York playing in large rock & roll bars, chasing cute girls, drinking lots of whiskey and ingesting substances of dubious medicinal value. As I recall, my primary goals had to do with eating on a regular basis (not as simple as you might think when you're a professional musician) and meeting more cute girls. I didn't get into programming until I was 32. Being new to the game, my primary goals had to do with finding work and eating on a regular basis (I'm sensing a pattern here). By the way, if you think about getting married because "it's time for you to get married," you're quite likely going to end up with a really substandard relationship because you'll take whatever girl seems to fit the bill at the point in time when you feel like you should be married. If you instead let marraige come whenever it comes and concentrate on finding the girl you simply can't live without, your marraige will be an inspiration to your life instead of a burden. And if you haven't read the Gita by now, you really need to hit Amazon today. Put a copy in the bathroom and you'll get through it. That's more appropriate than you may think, as the Gita is meant to promote introspection. Read a bit and reflect rather than trying to sit down and read it cover to cover, and you'll get much more out of the experience. [edit] Since it's been pointed out a couple of times, I felt it worth mentioning that no disrespect was intended in my remarks about putting a copy of the Gita in the bathroom. It's simply my ignorance of Indian culture (see my comments on this in the reply to Vikram below). Where I come from, doing the reading is more important that where you do it, but I understand that not everyone sees the world through my eyes, and of course would never intentionally offer comments that were offensive to someone's beliefs. [/edit]
Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes In the US? Explore our Career Coaching.
modified on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 1:32 PM
-
26 wasn't any particular milestone for me. I was in New York playing in large rock & roll bars, chasing cute girls, drinking lots of whiskey and ingesting substances of dubious medicinal value. As I recall, my primary goals had to do with eating on a regular basis (not as simple as you might think when you're a professional musician) and meeting more cute girls. I didn't get into programming until I was 32. Being new to the game, my primary goals had to do with finding work and eating on a regular basis (I'm sensing a pattern here). By the way, if you think about getting married because "it's time for you to get married," you're quite likely going to end up with a really substandard relationship because you'll take whatever girl seems to fit the bill at the point in time when you feel like you should be married. If you instead let marraige come whenever it comes and concentrate on finding the girl you simply can't live without, your marraige will be an inspiration to your life instead of a burden. And if you haven't read the Gita by now, you really need to hit Amazon today. Put a copy in the bathroom and you'll get through it. That's more appropriate than you may think, as the Gita is meant to promote introspection. Read a bit and reflect rather than trying to sit down and read it cover to cover, and you'll get much more out of the experience. [edit] Since it's been pointed out a couple of times, I felt it worth mentioning that no disrespect was intended in my remarks about putting a copy of the Gita in the bathroom. It's simply my ignorance of Indian culture (see my comments on this in the reply to Vikram below). Where I come from, doing the reading is more important that where you do it, but I understand that not everyone sees the world through my eyes, and of course would never intentionally offer comments that were offensive to someone's beliefs. [/edit]
Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes In the US? Explore our Career Coaching.
modified on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 1:32 PM
Christopher Duncan wrote:
if you think about getting married because "it's time for you to get married,"
Nope :)
Christopher Duncan wrote:
And if you haven't read the Gita by now, you really need to hit Amazon today. Put a copy in the bathroom
Wow, I am discovering people from all over the world singing praises about the Gita :) I realise there is a cultural gap, and take no offence, but never suggest putting a Gita in the bathroom. Amazon doesn't deliver to India and I have a copy already anyway. I'm curious, which version did you read? Did you read only the English translation, or the original Sanskrit as well?
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
-
Christopher Duncan wrote:
if you think about getting married because "it's time for you to get married,"
Nope :)
Christopher Duncan wrote:
And if you haven't read the Gita by now, you really need to hit Amazon today. Put a copy in the bathroom
Wow, I am discovering people from all over the world singing praises about the Gita :) I realise there is a cultural gap, and take no offence, but never suggest putting a Gita in the bathroom. Amazon doesn't deliver to India and I have a copy already anyway. I'm curious, which version did you read? Did you read only the English translation, or the original Sanskrit as well?
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
Cultural differences, to be sure. In the US, many people read in the bathroom, which is a perfectly clean and respectable part of the house(unless you live in a shady and run down part of town). In fact, it's often nicknamed, "The Library." My literacy is limited to English, so I read a translation that's still sitting on my bookshelf somewhere, along with the Tao Te Ching, the Bible, the Koran, writings on Zen and many, many other such things. I mention this only to illustrate that my respect for the Gita is not due to any religious affiliation (I seek truth wherever I can find it), but simply because I thought it said many worthwhile things, and said them well.
Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes In the US? Explore our Career Coaching.
-
I can no longer call myself 25 :) Four days in Coimbatore, with just my parents and the dog (my brother is in Delhi), and I also watched the Ashes (no TV here in Madras). I now have a slightly heightened sense of urgency - figure out a good direction for my career, should be getting married in a couple of years, buy a house roughly within the same timeframe. Lots more to do, lots more to read, perhaps learn a foreign language. Must travel to see a few places (Bhutan stands out) - difficult to do that with 'da boyz' after marriage. Read the Gita. Expand my culinary horizons beyond competency. I'm also going to book my GMAT date for mid-Oct. What was it like when turned 25 or 26? What long-term goals do you have now? :)
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
-
26 wasn't any particular milestone for me. I was in New York playing in large rock & roll bars, chasing cute girls, drinking lots of whiskey and ingesting substances of dubious medicinal value. As I recall, my primary goals had to do with eating on a regular basis (not as simple as you might think when you're a professional musician) and meeting more cute girls. I didn't get into programming until I was 32. Being new to the game, my primary goals had to do with finding work and eating on a regular basis (I'm sensing a pattern here). By the way, if you think about getting married because "it's time for you to get married," you're quite likely going to end up with a really substandard relationship because you'll take whatever girl seems to fit the bill at the point in time when you feel like you should be married. If you instead let marraige come whenever it comes and concentrate on finding the girl you simply can't live without, your marraige will be an inspiration to your life instead of a burden. And if you haven't read the Gita by now, you really need to hit Amazon today. Put a copy in the bathroom and you'll get through it. That's more appropriate than you may think, as the Gita is meant to promote introspection. Read a bit and reflect rather than trying to sit down and read it cover to cover, and you'll get much more out of the experience. [edit] Since it's been pointed out a couple of times, I felt it worth mentioning that no disrespect was intended in my remarks about putting a copy of the Gita in the bathroom. It's simply my ignorance of Indian culture (see my comments on this in the reply to Vikram below). Where I come from, doing the reading is more important that where you do it, but I understand that not everyone sees the world through my eyes, and of course would never intentionally offer comments that were offensive to someone's beliefs. [/edit]
Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes In the US? Explore our Career Coaching.
modified on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 1:32 PM
Christopher Duncan wrote:
Put a copy in the bathroom and you'll get through it.
Refrain stating this again in front of Indians. It is considered a Holy book and bathroom is a highly inappropriate place.
Christopher Duncan wrote:
And if you haven't read the Gita by now, you really need to hit Amazon today.
Its a shame that people all over the World are reading it and I haven't.
-
I can no longer call myself 25 :) Four days in Coimbatore, with just my parents and the dog (my brother is in Delhi), and I also watched the Ashes (no TV here in Madras). I now have a slightly heightened sense of urgency - figure out a good direction for my career, should be getting married in a couple of years, buy a house roughly within the same timeframe. Lots more to do, lots more to read, perhaps learn a foreign language. Must travel to see a few places (Bhutan stands out) - difficult to do that with 'da boyz' after marriage. Read the Gita. Expand my culinary horizons beyond competency. I'm also going to book my GMAT date for mid-Oct. What was it like when turned 25 or 26? What long-term goals do you have now? :)
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
Happy Birthday!!! Being on the better side of 26(24 :cool:), the figure looks scary. Seriously scary.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
Expand my culinary horizons beyond competency
What's the current status? Can you boil water?
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
What long-term goals do you have now?
I have to visit Arunachal Pradesh[^], watch a ManU match at Old Trafford, bungee jumping, sky diving and....
-
Congratulations and happy birthday, Vikram! :rose: /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
Thanks, Ravi!
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
-
26 wasn't any particular milestone for me. I was in New York playing in large rock & roll bars, chasing cute girls, drinking lots of whiskey and ingesting substances of dubious medicinal value. As I recall, my primary goals had to do with eating on a regular basis (not as simple as you might think when you're a professional musician) and meeting more cute girls. I didn't get into programming until I was 32. Being new to the game, my primary goals had to do with finding work and eating on a regular basis (I'm sensing a pattern here). By the way, if you think about getting married because "it's time for you to get married," you're quite likely going to end up with a really substandard relationship because you'll take whatever girl seems to fit the bill at the point in time when you feel like you should be married. If you instead let marraige come whenever it comes and concentrate on finding the girl you simply can't live without, your marraige will be an inspiration to your life instead of a burden. And if you haven't read the Gita by now, you really need to hit Amazon today. Put a copy in the bathroom and you'll get through it. That's more appropriate than you may think, as the Gita is meant to promote introspection. Read a bit and reflect rather than trying to sit down and read it cover to cover, and you'll get much more out of the experience. [edit] Since it's been pointed out a couple of times, I felt it worth mentioning that no disrespect was intended in my remarks about putting a copy of the Gita in the bathroom. It's simply my ignorance of Indian culture (see my comments on this in the reply to Vikram below). Where I come from, doing the reading is more important that where you do it, but I understand that not everyone sees the world through my eyes, and of course would never intentionally offer comments that were offensive to someone's beliefs. [/edit]
Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes In the US? Explore our Career Coaching.
modified on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 1:32 PM
Christopher Duncan wrote:
And if you haven't read the Gita by now, you really need to hit Amazon today. Put a copy in the bathroom and you'll get through it. That's more appropriate than you may think, as the Gita is meant to promote introspection. Read a bit and reflect rather than trying to sit down and read it cover to cover, and you'll get much more out of the experience.
Like hemorrhoids! ;P
-
Happy Birthday!!! Being on the better side of 26(24 :cool:), the figure looks scary. Seriously scary.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
Expand my culinary horizons beyond competency
What's the current status? Can you boil water?
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
What long-term goals do you have now?
I have to visit Arunachal Pradesh[^], watch a ManU match at Old Trafford, bungee jumping, sky diving and....
Land of the dawn-lit mountains - me too! :-D Maybe we can plan a trip together? Vegetarian food might be a problem.... :~ Count me out of the rest though, except perhaps sky diving.
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
-
Christopher Duncan wrote:
Put a copy in the bathroom and you'll get through it.
Refrain stating this again in front of Indians. It is considered a Holy book and bathroom is a highly inappropriate place.
Christopher Duncan wrote:
And if you haven't read the Gita by now, you really need to hit Amazon today.
Its a shame that people all over the World are reading it and I haven't.
I've edited my post above with this in mind. Thanks for letting me know.
Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes In the US? Explore our Career Coaching.
-
Land of the dawn-lit mountains - me too! :-D Maybe we can plan a trip together? Vegetarian food might be a problem.... :~ Count me out of the rest though, except perhaps sky diving.
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
-
I can no longer call myself 25 :) Four days in Coimbatore, with just my parents and the dog (my brother is in Delhi), and I also watched the Ashes (no TV here in Madras). I now have a slightly heightened sense of urgency - figure out a good direction for my career, should be getting married in a couple of years, buy a house roughly within the same timeframe. Lots more to do, lots more to read, perhaps learn a foreign language. Must travel to see a few places (Bhutan stands out) - difficult to do that with 'da boyz' after marriage. Read the Gita. Expand my culinary horizons beyond competency. I'm also going to book my GMAT date for mid-Oct. What was it like when turned 25 or 26? What long-term goals do you have now? :)
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
Hi, Yes read the Gita, this is my favorite version: http://www.archive.org/details/bhagavadgitaorlo00besa[^] And congratulations with your birthday!
With friendly greetings,:) Eric Goedhart
-
Hi, Yes read the Gita, this is my favorite version: http://www.archive.org/details/bhagavadgitaorlo00besa[^] And congratulations with your birthday!
With friendly greetings,:) Eric Goedhart
Yep, I downloaded it when you posted it the other day :) And thanks for the wishes!
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
-
I can no longer call myself 25 :) Four days in Coimbatore, with just my parents and the dog (my brother is in Delhi), and I also watched the Ashes (no TV here in Madras). I now have a slightly heightened sense of urgency - figure out a good direction for my career, should be getting married in a couple of years, buy a house roughly within the same timeframe. Lots more to do, lots more to read, perhaps learn a foreign language. Must travel to see a few places (Bhutan stands out) - difficult to do that with 'da boyz' after marriage. Read the Gita. Expand my culinary horizons beyond competency. I'm also going to book my GMAT date for mid-Oct. What was it like when turned 25 or 26? What long-term goals do you have now? :)
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
-
26 wasn't any particular milestone for me. I was in New York playing in large rock & roll bars, chasing cute girls, drinking lots of whiskey and ingesting substances of dubious medicinal value. As I recall, my primary goals had to do with eating on a regular basis (not as simple as you might think when you're a professional musician) and meeting more cute girls. I didn't get into programming until I was 32. Being new to the game, my primary goals had to do with finding work and eating on a regular basis (I'm sensing a pattern here). By the way, if you think about getting married because "it's time for you to get married," you're quite likely going to end up with a really substandard relationship because you'll take whatever girl seems to fit the bill at the point in time when you feel like you should be married. If you instead let marraige come whenever it comes and concentrate on finding the girl you simply can't live without, your marraige will be an inspiration to your life instead of a burden. And if you haven't read the Gita by now, you really need to hit Amazon today. Put a copy in the bathroom and you'll get through it. That's more appropriate than you may think, as the Gita is meant to promote introspection. Read a bit and reflect rather than trying to sit down and read it cover to cover, and you'll get much more out of the experience. [edit] Since it's been pointed out a couple of times, I felt it worth mentioning that no disrespect was intended in my remarks about putting a copy of the Gita in the bathroom. It's simply my ignorance of Indian culture (see my comments on this in the reply to Vikram below). Where I come from, doing the reading is more important that where you do it, but I understand that not everyone sees the world through my eyes, and of course would never intentionally offer comments that were offensive to someone's beliefs. [/edit]
Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes In the US? Explore our Career Coaching.
modified on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 1:32 PM
-
Happy Birthday!!! Being on the better side of 26(24 :cool:), the figure looks scary. Seriously scary.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
Expand my culinary horizons beyond competency
What's the current status? Can you boil water?
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
What long-term goals do you have now?
I have to visit Arunachal Pradesh[^], watch a ManU match at Old Trafford, bungee jumping, sky diving and....
d@nish wrote:
What's the current status? Can you boil water?
Wise guy - boiling water won't make you competent in my book. I can make rice, sambar, saar/chaar/rasam, many sabjis, chutneys, and some tiffin items (upeet/upma, idli, dosa, chapati). And of course, noodles ;P
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
-
d@nish wrote:
What's the current status? Can you boil water?
Wise guy - boiling water won't make you competent in my book. I can make rice, sambar, saar/chaar/rasam, many sabjis, chutneys, and some tiffin items (upeet/upma, idli, dosa, chapati). And of course, noodles ;P
Cheers, Vikram. (Proud to have finally cracked a CCC!)
Recent activities: TV series: Friends, season 10 Books: Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Carpe Diem.
-
Wow! From playing in large rock & roll bars, chasing cute girls, drinking lots of whiskey and ingesting substances of dubious medicinal value to programming and Tao Te Ching, the Bible, the Koran, writings on Zen.
That's just a small part of the story. It's been an interesting life thus far... :-D
Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes In the US? Explore our Career Coaching.
-
That's just a small part of the story. It's been an interesting life thus far... :-D
Christopher Duncan www.PracticalUSA.com Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes In the US? Explore our Career Coaching.
