Desperately seeking....

"I have never loved anyone as much as I loved him" she says. 

I scratch myself wondering how to respond?

This is not the first time I have heard her say this. 

And I doubt this is not the last. 

How can someone fall in love with someone you have never met?

Whose just an image on a computer screen? 

Yes you talk to that person. You spend time. You share emotions. 

But a hug is just an emoticon. And a touch is something you can only dream of. 

Then I suddenly realise I should not be too critical of her. 

Because I too have been in a similar situation. 

An emotional connection with someone who there was never a chance of meeting. 

Fortunately I did not let it destroy me. 

Sadly that is not what I see. 

All I can see is a desperate lonely soul. Drowning in a sea of misery created by longing.

Clutching at every straw of affection thrown at her. 

Hoping to save herself....

Sadly she will not listen when I say happiness is within and not without.

Prob-ලෙ-m

Remember the band KISS?
They said it was an acronym for Knights in Satan's Service.
Or Stair ways to heaven by Led Zeppelin? They said it has lyrics worshiping Satan when back-masked (Playing it backwards).
If you haven't heard of either of these bands - after all they were bands of my youth - I am sure you would have heard "Hotel California" by Eagles? Well it is said that this song is about witchcraft, demons and human sacrifice.
A lot people and organisations protested vehemently about this.
What did all this negative publicity and public outcry create?
These bands became even more successful!
It helped to create a new wave of popularity. So much so record companies loved it as all the negativity helped to sell more records.
I remember someone mentioning a similar case in Sri Lanka. Not to do with music but to do with drugs.
Where an anti-drug campaign actually contributed to the increased use of heroin by creating awareness and making people curious.
I can see something similar happening these days once again with the new group who is consuming our attention in this post BBS era.
I can't seem to escape all the "down with racism" posts featuring their symbol. Especially in the online landscape.
I wonder if they realize that all this hue and cry is actually helping their cause instead of harming it?
The stronger our opposition. The more vociferous our criticism. The more we feed the monster. Helping it to become bigger and more dangerous.
It is we, who are against them that are making them heroes in the eyes of the others.
In fact what that started out as a simple tattoo on some guys chest would not have become a movement today if not for all of us who have vehemently opposed it..
This is why I am not even mentioning the name of the group here.
Sometimes the best form of defense is to do nothing.

Three circles of blessings!

Three circles of blessings converged in the last week to bring me an absolutely wonderful experience.
It started with a walk outside my office and stepping in to a store to check out the price of a phone. To my amazement they had special deal through which they were giving a 30% discount. A price too good to ignore. And so I am the owner of a brand new phablet with a HD screen.
The second circle of blessing was to wake up one day and discover Netflix is accessible in Sri Lanka. And with the help of a cost effective VPN softwear one can access the USA Netflix feed whose line up is even better than the Netflix one enjoys in Asia. It is not just movies one has access to but also a huge amount documentaries and TV series. Including loads of programs by my favorite celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.
And thirdly I realised the new phone was 4G which was quite a welcome surprise. Also much to my delight I realised that using 4G does not drain my battery as much as I had thought it would.
So now where ever I go I am never bored. Watching Netflix on 4G on a HD screen is as good as looking at Blue Ray movie. And much to my amazement the Dialog 4G coverage and reliability is damn great. And to think all this time I thought otherwise.
I know in the larger scheme of things this is something insignificant and inconsequential. But it has made a world of difference to me. And it is always wonderful to go about your day feeling blessed!

Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons

It was a innocent face book question which caught my attention. What would you do if you were pulled over by a cop for a traffic violation?
1. Explore the possibility of paying a bribe.
2. Leave your license with the cop and pay the fine and collect the license later.
3. Don't know.
For me I always would chose the first route. Not only because it is the most fast and hassle free solution. But also because I would rather give my money to a hard working cop any day than contribute to the upkeep of the fat cats in the government. Yes at first glance paying a bribe seems wrong.
However I cannot help but feel sorry for the traffic cops - or for any Police Constable (pc) for that matter - who stands on duty by the roadside for as much as 6 hours at a stretch. The average traffic cop has far higher probability of having some kind of lung infection than the average citizen thanks to all the vehicle fumes he inhales. I also know a senior company driver would be getting more money than one of these guysl. They too have to provide for their families. They too have to buy books, give milk and pay their children's fees.
Isn't it better to have your hard earned money go to ease a life like this than to grease the pocket a of an already rich, fat politician?
To me the answer was always yes. But I still felt troubled by it. Once I made my comment I turned a page on the book I was reading - Shantharam - and saw the phrase "doing the wrong thing for the right reason". Somehow I thought this summed up my situation perfectly and it was sign from fate telling me not to sweat the small stuff. I don't think it was a coincidence that I read this part right after my anxious moment. But I am just amazed how two parallel paths in my life converged to give me a sense of peace and clarity without ever touching each other.

Sco(r)ned!!!!

I was shaking with anticipation in a beautiful tea house in Vienna. Maybe it was lust?

I was going to be eating my first scone!
The fact that they were serving scones triggered a flood of memories. Of me devouring Enid Blyton books and thinking how delicious this thing called scones must be. Be it fantastic four. Or famous five or the secret seven scones was a delicacy which was featured in every volume. So much so that I had created a mental image - the phrase mental fantasy would be more apt here - of hot scones with cream and strawberry jam as something heavenly. Something so delicious that it would melt in my mouth and make me quiver with its delightful tastes.
My excitement grew to fever pitch when they brought the scones ensconced in a crisp white napkin. I was quite literally shivering in anticipation as I felt it's warmth in my hand while applying a dollop of cream and Jam on it.
As my hands lifted this morsel of divine goodness to my lips I closed my eyes in anticipation of the closest thing to a food orgasm I was going to experience.
What an anticlimax it was.
It tasted nothing like I expected it to be. It was dry and hard and clumpy and if not for the cream and jam completely unpalatable.
Thinking this negative experience was a one off I have tried scones at several other places but everyone of them could be described as eating brittle cardboard with cream and jam.
What a buzz kill. Guess certain fantasies should remain just that... A fantasy.

Bra-vo!

Wow! It has been over a month since I have posted something on here. As far as I am concerned there is no better way to start my first post for the new year with a subject which has been titillating the entire country for far too longer than necessary.
The dark cloud of global negative publicity which seemed to have spread to each and every corner of the world concerning our presidents statement about bras and whipping with sting ray tails seems to have a silver lining after all. I was talking to a gentleman whose business is contracting A list performers the other day.He told me that suddenly Sri Lanka is on the radar of these performers. All thanks to this negative publicity. In fact someone from JLO's management team had expressed interest in performing in Sri Lanka as a direct result of this situation.
Bra-vo Mr President! Bra-vo!
I must confess I went for the concert because I was the lucky recipient of two VIP tickets. Yes the organizing of the event could have been done much better and the security could have been tighter. My heart bleeds for those who paid 35,000 bucks for their tickets to have their privileged position usurped by a bung of ruffians.
Yes I don't think Live events deserves the kind of beating they are getting from all of sundry. Which to me is taking the shape of a witch hunt.
I have contacts in the entertainment industry and what my trusted sources tell me was that the late start was beyond their control. One was because some of the sound equipment was flown in only that morning. And the other because the entire lighting and stage set up had to be reassembled as the specs the local crew were working with was different to what the advance crew had with them.
Also this entire furore over taxes: it is standard industry practice! You never give 100% of your tickets to the CMC for stamping. Firstly you don't know how many tickets you will sell. Secondly it is going to affect your cash flows significantly since you have to pay. And most importantly thirdly no one wants to be faced with the challenge of trying to get money out of an absolutely corrupt government institution.
My sincere hope is that this will not be the final nail in coffin of Live Events. They deserve another chance.