My unemployment shows no sign of
abating. Mindlogics at Bangalore in May
felt tantalizing close. SRMC on 28/6 felt like death as they made me wait for 5
hours for the interview and upon seeing my resume said, “We are looking for
someone from Elsevier for medical writing.”
The
entire June was spent in DUBAI MOONLIGHTING. Uma of Horizon arranged interviews at Al
Futtaim and Bab Al Shams in the first week. I was supposed to fly in, meet
these folks and hoping one of these two clicks. Then came the EID holidays
before Al Futtaim made an offer: 10,000 AED and office accommodation for a
three months’ work permit.
Given
the penurious circumstances of the last 12 months – my last drawn pay was 20 k
at Abhiyan and that came to an end in July kinds – I felt reasonably satisfied.
This is the exactly ADLINE terms and my heart wished and prayed for a 15 K AED
and accommodation. Both Shyam and Mani Sir advised me not to negotiate, instead
agree straightaway.
I
paid the 500 AED fees for the work permit and then came the news of a UAE ban
which can be revoked by Adline or Al Futtaim or by myself by going through a
court process. So another Rs. 60,000 goes into this and I have reached the very
bottom end of my savings. If Dubai does not fructify then I HAVE TO SELL this place
by July end and that is the extent of my bankruptcy. The five lac loan in
December was perfect but I hardly earned a thing after except for Smita’s 52 k.
I
heard the news of this ban on 27/6 the twentieth anniversary of my heart
surgery. I immediately unwrapped the Subha Drishti Ganapathy that Ramji had
presented and offered prayers. Then on
28/6 when I was at SRMC this news of court procedures was told to me and I paid
up 60 k after prematurely closing the 1 lac FD. This now looks a movie climax and could go
either way. Uma Gayathri has been a real blessing as she goes out of the way to
bail me out. I am reduced to chanting Om Shrim Hrim Klim Glaum Gao….
I
read Deepak Mehra’s Ready, Steady, Go and it is a gold mine. I realized that
pUsHpA said the same thing in a succinct form.
I have been guilty of violating so many office norms at Adline that
should avoid anywhere:
a)
First no personal work during office hours
b)
No to music and social media during the 9 to 5
c)
The boss is always right. Never give a negative feedback even when
asked
d)
No arguments, no debates in the office space
e)
Don’t gossip about others; nor rush to fill your personal stories
to others (I don’t need to explain why I am a bachelor to others even when
coerced to answer. Definitely don’t go to town on the BIG BAD FOUR)
f)
Always dress to work; a big NO to sneakers
g)
Close Damienbosses and Dauntlesssathya immediately
h)
An office is no place for emotions
i)
Don’t judge instead serve unconditionally
j)
Always SMILE and show COURTESIS with greetings.
k)
Never speak excitedly on any topic at work
l)
Respect colleagues even if they are barbaric from the Stone ages.
m)
Be careful of what you put on Facebook and blogs
I start the
day with LAUGHTER YOGA at the beach; thanks to Chitra and company. There is a VP Singh who brings a lot of boisterous laughter and Chitra observes, “You
laughter is artificial.”
I am still prone to a lot of nightmares.
That sense of insecurity and extreme vulnerability shows itself at slumber
time. Then there is this DOG NUISANCE and now this fool of a Kalpagam must have
fed something on the first floor. Now the dog feels emboldened to sleep just
outside my door; a promotion from the staircase. This dog is very determined and keeps coming
back despite throwing mug fulls of water many times a day. For tenacity this dog offers a
perfect lesson; like that Bangladeshi peon serving coffee at Adline on
pleasing.
Satish the actor served another lesson
couple of days back, “You fool, you don’t have to go about town telling your
sob stories. If your mother killed your father; then my mother eloped with a
cousin ten years younger upon my dad’s death in an accident. The entire society
would call us BASTARDS. Even the captain’s girlfriend ditched him during the
college days and he has had three bypass surgeries after that.” Another friendly face is Bharat who graciously
gave a fake employee letter for VISA purposes; Gopalan is another friendly
face.
When I heard the UAE ban I mentally wrote
this thing off. I burnt a couple of smokes and booked for Dhamma Seva at
Kolhapur centre and even booked the tickets. Only the next day, Uma came with
this procedure of revoking it myself.
I do speak to Viji and predictably does
not give any peace or comfort even through words. When I told her that I must
buy Uma a gift if this ban is revoked and I get to catch the flight, Viji said,
“Show it through your hard work.” I instantly retorted, “First you don’t seem
to understand from reality even if the events are played right before your
eyes. You live your life from an obsolete book that neither serves you or
others.” She also has this irritating habit of SHUTTING OUT OTHER”S MOUTH when
she spots the thinnest criticism in the air. Even Latha has this affliction and
it gets impossible to converse with such hyper-sensitive and closed minds.
Though Viji speaks like Vashishta, a trait inherited from Paati and Athai, she
is just as much a fool as Amma and Latha.
This is a tribal and non-serving and negative conditioning of the mind
where she sees everything as We versus THEM and that she is the sole protector
of her interests kinds. Silly.
As for me, my fate will be known today and
tomorrow kinds. I give it a 95% odds on
favourite but then I got MINDLOGICS wrong too. Mani Sir has been the most reliable of friends
in these times; I also get a lot of solace talking to Shyam and Ramesh.
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