Anti - Condition Yourself

Yeah Yeah,

You see both sides of the coin. And all that jazz. Good. Even I do. I understand both sides. Does not mean I have 2 accept it. Sometimes you have to go to hell to fight for a heavenly cause. To fight for the right to be allowed to decide what’s wrong and what’s right.

The world will be better by this that one man scorned and covered with scars, strove till his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable star. It’s what I fight for the right to freedom to dream my own dream. I don’t want someone else to tell me what to dream. The perfect dream is always readymade for us. Its already been decided. I don’t want that dream.

It’s like that scenery painting we did in school where scenery meant mountains, house, tree and waterfall. That isn’t my scenery. The maximum scope I was allowed in that was to choose between having pointed mountains or curvy ones. That’s not freedom. That’s not how I perceive scenery. That’s what we take away from children. The freedom of thought. We put blinkers and you have been born and brought up with the same thought. That’s all that is right. Scenery cannot be something g that not visually beautiful. It has to be perfect. WHITE. If it’s not white it’s BLACK.

We are born into slavery. You and me both. It’s like those ants you see on discovery. You know these big giant ants capture the colonies of the others and kill the living and carry away the larvae. Then the larvae are born into slave ants. And they do not know they do not actually belong there. They think it’s the way of life and happily engage in becoming slave ants. And that’s what they do till they die. That’s us. Just that I refuse to be a slave. I know there is more to me than what the colony says. I know I will be shot down trying to escape. But I will keep trying till my last breath. To go beyond what is visible. We are all servants. The question is not about whether to serve or not it’s about whom to serve and I will serve my consciousness.

Like Truman did in the Truman show. Everything around is so fake and controlled. I know there is a world beyond this. Like what Frisco tells his sweetheart in atlas shrugged. And that’s what I pursue. Utopia isn’t it?

And I know if only I’ll b true to this glorious quest then my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I am laid to rest.

Melwyn Abraham venting out at a friend

Movie Review: Max Payne and Eagle Eye

Max Payne much like its name is an absolute pain to watch. Mark Wahlberg is good in the movie but the plot is absolute crap and some of the scenes make no sense and some characters simply die off after being built up well. I hope the video game is better than the movie. [4/10]

Eagle Eye was very disappointing because it is nothing more than a remake of I-robot minus the robots. I actually fell asleep during the first 10 minutes or so and had to struggle to keep myself awake. How on earth did Mr. Spielberg get involved with this movie. [4.5/10]

Dubai's Best Food

Being a total foodie, I am always on the lookout for places with great ambiance, super food and good service. I found one place that has all the necessary ingredients and is one of the best restaurants that you will ever go to in your lifetime.

Zen is the name. The setting is beautiful and I just wish that I knew more women who I could take out for a date to Zen. You can place your order and whisk your date off for a boat ride and whisper sweet nothing into her ear. It’s a family place too, simply carry along Pictionary or Taboo and you have the privacy to play the games and make as much as noise as you wish.

But the seller for Zen is the food. It’s simply amazing, and it’s not just an off the menu kind of place. Nicky [he owns the place and is a total sweetheart] will come personally and suggest, and take down your choice and make it to suit your taste. I can go on and on but you got to experience it yourself to know what I am talking about. He has won the second place at the Thai food festival if I am correct but do not go by that, simply visit Zen.

Nickys Birthday Gift

I had dinner on the house - thanks to Nicky who also prepared my food himself.
THANKS NICKY

Taxis in Dubai and Sharjah

My brother being the good one in the family never swears abuses or uses foul language. I just figured a way to make him do so – make him wait for a cab in either Dubai or Sharjah. The expletives that leave your mouth are many a time well deserved.

The usual wait for a cab is on an average an hour to an hour and a half. During that wait you are likely to encounter empty taxis that do not stop because they do not like the look of your face or your posture, taxis that stop but refuse to take you to the destination that you want to go to and others that just go past you as if you did not exist.

The other day I waited for over an hour for a taxi from Sharjah to Dubai. Nine empty taxis zoomed past me but did not stop. Three taxis stopped but the moment I told them I want to go to Dubai, he looks at me as though I was from out of space and repeats “Dubai?” “Yes Dubai,” said I. he just nodded his head as though it were impossible to go there because the economy is doing so badly and if his cab sets wheel on the ground in Dubai, the rate of the dollar will drop even more and we shall be facing the great depression before one can shout George Bush. So I asked him, “Singapore or perhaps Hong Kong?” I was so infuriated that I was thinking to myself if I ever find a man lying injured on the road and I go to help him and he turns out to be a cab driver from Dubai or Sharjah, I shall leave him unattended. That is how pissed off I was.

I finally managed to get one and we are on our way to Dubai and he starts taking all these weird routes and I ask him why and he says that it’s shorter. Needless to say we got stuck up in really bad traffic and I let out some more expletives to calm myself. So he then asks me if he should take the Salik [toll] route and I nodded in the affirmative. As soon as we passed the toll bridge he informs me that I have to pay him AED 8 for toll and I ask him why since the toll is only AED 4. Very coolly without any hesitation he says’ return toll’.
“What on earth is that” I asked him. He tell me that he does not know any other way to go home but the same route so he has to pass the toll bridge and that will cost me AED 4. “And how is that my problem I ask him?” He nonchalantly mentions that all the other customers give him the 4 bucks. I was so irritated by then I told him if he wants I will give him the fare of the next person he takes as well if he will just keep his mouth shut and take me home. I did pay him the 4 extra bucks and I knew it was no point in calling the Sharjah taxi number to complain.

I usually have to wait for an hour or two to get a cab from work to home and I do not expect the situation to change at all. If I happen to work three extra hours at work I manage to get a cab fairly easier and on one such day I did get a cab around 22.00. we had a very interesting conversation. The cab driver tells me of the girl he just dropped before me and how she got into the cab and started talking into her expensive mobile to her friend how she had got a job in the bank and would be earning a salary of 25000. after he dropped her, the fare was about 27.50 and she gave him 30. He returned AED 1 and she kept standing there waiting for him to return the remaining change. And he was so agitated that he gave her the change back. And the man was furious and told me, “See how these women are? They have 25000 dirham salaries and yet they expect the change back.” I had to control my laughter and my urge to debate with him. I face drivers like him often who just assume that they do not have to give you back the change because you have dressed well so obviously you have no need for the change. In fact they probably think that they are doing you a favor because if you had kept the change in your pocket it would cause a jingling sound and what kind of a ‘rich’ person carries coins with him.

The situation is very frustrating and it kills the productivity of the people big time because by the time I have reached work I am so infuriated that I am tempted to take out my frustration on the others as I am in a foul mood.

Wake up officials. Dubai is a wonderful place to live in but with this kind of a public transport system you are not doing yourself any favors in endearing yourself to the people who live and work here or who come visiting.

Euro Trip - Day 2

Oct 2. Paris

Happy birthday Gandhiji

A lazy morning saw me get up past eight and Bijo and Karine were off to work by then and the kids to school. Bijo lent me his magic blue book of Paris and I devoured the breakfast that Karine had left me. The metro system was amazing and it so easy to figure your way with a map in hand that is available so easily and people seemed friendly especially since I always asked, “Bonjour! Parlez vous anglais?[Meaning do you speak English or at least I hope that’s what it means]”. It’s good to buy a day pass or a pass for the number of days you are going to be in Paris because you are very likely to use the public transport a lot.

The people are usually very well dressed in Paris and it’s not just about wearing expensive clothes but they have a good fashion sense. That means knowing color combinations, styles, hairdos, shoes, importance of accessories etc. I spent loads of time on the metro staring at the local citizens with my mouth wide open. First stop Arc de Triomphe. I took many pictures and saw loads of Japanese tourists who took many snaps too but they always ensured that they were there in the snaps too. I personally must have taken over 10 pictures for them, cute couples, single smiling guys, and old people in groups. It’s very typical Japanese [at least from whatever little I know of them] to take snaps of themselves every place they visit.

From Arc de Triomphe you take a look down Champs Elysees and you know exactly in which direction you need to be headed. One of the first things you will notice is that there is a McDonalds that is full and overflowing. So I was like wow ‘familiar food’ and to my horror the only veg thing you can have is French fries. Cheeseburger is beef. You do not have to actually say French fries in Paris; you say fries and it is understood that it’s French. I guess the same goes for toast and beans as well. Anyways, so loaded with my fries, and a hair band that made me look very bad I began my walk down the Champs Elysees. Brands, brands and more brands is what you see and if you have lived in Dubai in 2008 you know all of them. So the walk was a brisk one and soon I was past the Champs Elysee.

From there on, on both sides of the road was the exhibition of the French Air Force celebrating 50 years I guess. Falcons, missiles, helicopters, engines, small planes, big planes, weird planes, landing gear, rear end of planes and the likes was on exhibit. And the place was heavily guarded as well with armed personnel who did not allow you to get too close to the exhibits. But it was an amazing display of the development of the armed forces over the years and you could actually see how technology has progressed over the years especially in the field of figuring out how to end human life.

More of day 2 later on…

Euro Trip - Day 1

Paris, Oct 1st.

It was a 7 hour flight from Dubai to Paris on Qatar Airways and I almost wished that it did not come to an end. The in-flight entertainment was superb and the service was good. No adventure getting to Paris. There were two hot European girls in my row but unfortunately they were not seated next to me. Just my luck. But anyway, with the movies and TV series that I had at my disposal it was very unlikely I would give them too much of eye time.

Landed at Paris airport and boy that was a shocker. After being at the Dubai airport I kinda expected this one to be all glorious but it was a big let down. I guess renovation work was underway but I was not prepared for the gloomy look and decade old baggage systems. It took me over an hour before the luggage did arrive and by that time the cold had gotten to me and so I had to make a trip to the john. And that’s when I realized how difficult things would be in Europe. The loos are not equipped with water sprays and you have to make do with toilet paper.

The only consolation was that since I was not going to be consuming spicy Indian curry that prevents the use of toilet paper which is likely to catch fire and necessitates the use of water, the European food may just be the change that I needed. Out of the airport and straight to Bijo’s [my cousin / uncle] [he is actually my uncle but because he is almost my age it’s easier referring to him as a cousin] place for day one of Paris.

Did not have much trouble reaching there, in fact I reached there early and walked about the place familiarizing myself with the key landmarks and grocery stores and pharmacies just in case I needed them. I then met Karine [she is French by birth and Indian by hospitality – if that makes any sense] my sister in law for the first time as well as Lavanya and Nalaini, two angelic looking kids before I was left in charge of them till Bijo returned from work. Bijo walked in a few moments later and gave me a big hug but only after entering the house shouting I have hired a Dubai nanny.

After a good dinner and enquiring about how to move about in Paris I hit the sack and was looking forward to my next day in Paris. I was given the kids room and it was so much fun to sleep on the bunk bed [I have never had one at home] and I really wished I would have had one of these growing up but then Nelson and me would have constantly fought over who gets to sleep on the balcony bed.