"A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner."
- English Proverb

When the chance of an event happening is one in a million and it happens, is it fate/destiny? It feels so.

I haven't worn a costume for Halloween in a few years. I've just decided to dress up as Alex from Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" (1971). I've never actually seen someone dress up as a character from this film. It's a powerful, shocking, profound and controversial film (which was banned in some countries when it was released). I hope no one assumes I'm ready for "a bit of the old ultraviolence." I wonder if I'll hear any Ludwig Van this weekend. Except for the eye makeup I already have everything I need for this costume.

"Forever" is a word for children and idealists.

The tallest candle will burn to an end. The walls of a building don't usually last a thousand years.

It's undeniable...

During one of my last flights I was thinking about a scenario (which may likely have had something to do with the fact there was some bad turbulence).

Imagine you are on a plane that was going to crash and the pilot announced that there are 5 parachutes on board. What would you do? Would there be a process for deciding who gets to use them? Is there any kind of policy that is completely fair and rational? Who gets priority? Would you fight for one?

My views about this are quite dark, I don't really want to publish them.

"Killing young men makes heaven more beautiful."

- from Danger Man, a play my friend was in

Here's a new way of looking at our age -
We are all between 7 and 10 years old.

Our cells keep renewing. If you pick a random cell in your body it's most likely between 7 and 10 years old.

"Be my son in the next birth."

Truth is stranger than fiction.

"When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there's no need at all to understand what's happening, because everything happens within you, and even men can turn themselves into wind."

- Santiago in The Alchemist

"That's a really ugly cat."

"... it's a dog."

I was told that only 3% of arranged marriages fail. What does it mean when a marriage fails though? When it ends in divorce? I think a marriage can fail much before a divorce happens, and before divorce even enters the picture. There can be many dysfunctional, maladaptive relationships. For example, someone can be dependent on and clinging to an abusive or adulterous spouse.

If marriages can fail before divorce enters the picture, then it's not possible to gauge whether arranged marriages are more "successful" than love marriages. Comparing the efficacy of both types of marriage is meaningless.

Most items of clothing have a label with washing instructions. Do you own any items that have funny instructions? This was on the label of one of my t-shirts -

Hand wash separately in bucket. Use gentle suds. Do not beat the sh** out of the garment. Beware of "Dhobi". Never iron directly on plastic prints. Buy more Tantra... support hungry artists.

I asked around and found out that a dhobi is an Indian washman. He's like a laundromat. You give your clothes to him, but instead of using machines he beats the clothes on rocks to wash and dry them. The image just cracks me up...

Isn't it tragic to see a job ad for an "entry level" position and read that they are looking for someone with at least 10 years of work experience?

I'm facing a lot of "glass doors" (my personal spin on the idea of "glass ceilings").

"Submission" is the literal translation of "Islam"

The pleasure of a dream is the fantasy. If it happens, it was never a dream.

Why do many people treat their dreams as goals? Dreams are fleeting and should elude us.

The best goals are SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic and with Time-boundaries. I believe a dream runs counter to these principles, with maybe the exception of ambitious.

The Ancient Mayans chewed a sapota tree resin called chicle, which is the basis for modern chewing gum.

Only birds fly first class.