Trains and Toilets

So I am just back from a business trip to Tokyo. Just like many of you, I am generally mesmerized by the Japanese way of life. From their beautiful shrines, temples, zen gardens all the way to their food, electronics, umbrellas, pens, shoes, advertisements and culture, everything seems to be so extraordinary.

Anyway, after several trips to Tokyo, I have narrowed down on 2 Japanese things that I really adore - their train systems and their toilets (T&T).

Let me start with Trains. Disclaimer - I love public transit. I think it's the best means of transportation in an urban jungle and nothing can be more efficient. Every city that I go to, I always make it a point to "figure out" their public transit and use it extensively. It gives me a false sense of being a local. When I was younger in Singapore, I would always make it a point to be amongst the first ones to go visit a newly opened train station. In all the countries that I have been to, Tokyo by far, is the most complex train system that I have ever experienced. If the train system is not complex enough, their underground exits are even crazier. While I am generally proud of my sense of direction and my ability to understand complex metro systems, I still get easily lost on Japanese train stations just "looking" for the right exit.

Tokyo Subway Route Map

But, the more I have used it, I realize there are so many small things that are provided to aid commuters, that it's just amazing (For e.g. do you know that it is possible to walk underground all the way from Tokyo station to Ginza if you take the right exits!). And while most Japanese people are stoic, if you ask them for directions they go out of their way to help a random stranger? We could do a treasure hunt on the Tokyo Train system and never get bored.

Breakfast observing people

One of my favorite thing to do in Tokyo is to sit in a random small coffee shop inside a train station, sip on my coffee in the morning and see the world pass by. Every Japanese "salary man" in a suit making his way to his place of work, in a hurry, hassled by the crowd, but determined to reach his destination on time (yeah also the ladies, but if I say I observe them to - I sound like a creep - so yeah, I hardly notice them). Occasionally a cleaner or a police man making sure everything is in order would also pass by. While everyone will give you their own list of top 10 things to do in Tokyo, I would say that my list starts at "experience and assimilate the railway system".

Now let's talk about the Toilets. I think I have already dedicated a blog post to this one before. Now that I am repeating it, you can already imagine how in love I am with these works of art. I guess no where else in the world am I so fascinated to enter a public toilet just to see how amazing the toilet is. Forget about cleanliness, almost all toilets in Tokyo are amazingly clean. Depending on how old or new the toilet is you will get to experience a toilet that can do everything from bringing the seat down for you, cleaning it for you, making a loud musical tone so that you can do your business in peace without being embarrassed, to sophisticated nozzles, water jets and air driers that make sure that every bit of your backside is first cleaned with water and then dried so that you can confidently wear your pants later without any worry. Attention to detail and personal hygiene is way beyond my imagination. This is probably the only country in the world that "I look forward to" going to the toilet.

This my friends was a short summary of an otherwise tiring and uneventful trip to Tokyo. While I love the trains and toilets, I dread their work culture, the long work hours and the absolute crazy level of hard work.

Seersucker

Welcome to another fashion advice post from reverent uncle Girish. I have a very limited wardrobe. So limited that I can easily fit all my clothes (I mean absolutely every thing that I own now) in a carry-on suitcase.

I also seem to have a sort of an amnesia when I go buy new clothes. Which means, I forget what I already own and end up buying more clothes of the same color/ type and repeat my wardrobe. And then, I only shop from a very few places. Which means, I look the same most of the times.

Anyway, I recently realized that I have taken liking for this specific type of fabric called a seersucker. I realized this is when I washed 4 shirts all of the same fabric and type last week. Now, mind you, 4 is a big % of my total clothes, and if all of them happen to be of the same type, I believe I have fallen in love with that material. So this post now is hereby dedicated to the seersucker fabric.

For those of you who have forgotten, Singapore is an extremely humid and warm country. The national costume of most people (regardless of race, gender, age or class) is shorts and t-shirt. As I grow old, I moved from t-shirts to shirts, and that is where I came across seersucker! A quick Wikipedia search indicates that Seersucker is an all-cotton fabric of Indian origin that the British "found" and popularized to the western world. It is amazingly perfect for a humid weather and I can wear all day and sweat comfortably in it. Besides, you know what is the best part? It already has a "crumpled" look so you do not have to iron the shirts at all. All you have to do is - wash, dry, wear and repeat! Life can't get any simpler. So for the next few years if you see me wearing the same types of shirts - blame the British.

My Movie Choices

Long term readers of my blog know that I am heavily inclined towards minimalism. The philosophical me thinks that this endeavor to constantly reduce things in my life is what has kept me sane (so far). Reducing things also boils down to constantly downsizing options. I like my life where I don't have to choose much. This however is much difficult than what it seems.

Everyday (for me) is a constant struggle amongst numerous choices. Whether it is choosing what to eat, which movie to see, which series to start watching, which clothes to wear, where to go, the average consumer has a plethora of choices. Anyway, over a period of time, I have learnt how to restrict my choices, and limit the decision making process that I have to go through.

This blog however is specifically about - how I chose which movies to watch. Well, before I start, I need to give you some context. The only place I watch movies these days is either on a long haul flight or on Netflix. We don't have channel-subscribed television at home anymore. After struggling several years on making movie choices, I boiled down to choosing my entertainment based on the actors I like. As of this writing, here are my favorite Hollywood actors (in no particular order):

• Tom Hanks
• Jake Gyllenhall
• Christian Bale
• Keanu Reeves

This is besides the fact that I watch all Quentin Tarantino movies. But he doesn't make that many movies for me to go choose to watch them on a flight (I guess, I have already watched most of them, and the ones I haven't, aren't available on Netflix or on flights!). So if I have to see a movie, I just go through the list and search for the ones in which one of these actors are present. This has led to me seeing a bunch of weird, dark and psychological thrillers. I won't say I particularly liked them, but I feel like I have already had my fair share of demented movies. I think other than Tom Hanks, all the other actors listed above, have made some serious "art" films. The list of weird movies that I saw in the last few months because of these actors (again in no particular order):

• Siberia (Keanu) - Can't believe I saw it - if not for Keanu!
• John Wick (Keanu) - The only senseless action movie I ever liked - I am waiting for part 3
• Night Crawler (Jake) - Creepy, Jake is awesome!
• Demolition (Jake) - Weird, emotional - Jake is awesome!
• Nocturnal Animals (Jake) - Dark, emotional - Jake is awesome!
• American Psycho (Christian) - Weird, Psycho - Can't believe I saw it!
• Vice (Christian) - Awesome, loved it!
• American Hustle (Christian) - Awesome, loved it!

I have thus concluded that either my choice of actors are artsy or they just happen to be the choice for artsy films! Anyway for the superhero lovers out there, Jake is entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe as "Mysterio". So now you gonna get a taste of him too :) !!

Real-time Translation

In my line of work, I present to random people of random nationalities all the while. Sometimes they understand me and my Maharashtrian accent, sometimes they don't. And that to me (and I believe also to them) is perfectly fine. I have been in many presentations where I have had blank stares from people mainly because of language problems, and I leave it at that and move on.

So last week, I had to present in several different meetings in Shenzhen (China) to quite a few Chinese people. I was expecting to have a mute meeting where I blabber, they partially understand me, and then we part ways happily and may be go out for a dinner where they talk in their language and I sit and enjoy my food.

However, to my pleasant surprise, I noticed that they had arranged for "real-time translators" in the room. These translators were 2 women who took turns (every few minutes) to translate me, in near real-time, to Mandarin as I spoke. All participants were wearing these nifty Bluetooth ear-pieces (including me) and whatever I said in English would be translated to them in Mandarin. Also, whatever they asked back in Mandarin would instantly be translated to English into my ear. I was amazed that - not only could they translate all the technical terms like Balance Sheet/ Consolidation/ Journals/ Notes to Accounts/ Schedules etc. but they also understood the context of the situation that I was talking about.

Later during the break, I chatted with them a bit and understood that they were translators specializing in "Financial and Performance Management Software". This brings me to the fact that whenever I see foreign leaders with different languages talking to each other on TV, I always wondered what they were actually talking about. However, after experiencing real-time translation myself, I can safely assume there are translators out there specializing in "diplomacy, politics and foreign affairs"!

Getting up on time

It's funny how I have to go back to a blog post that I wrote almost 10 years ago! So this one is like a follow-up to my post about clock radios and why I love them so much!

At the beginning of this century (2000) I discovered clock radios because my parents got me a Panasonic Music system that had a function for waking up at a time I desired; with the source of music that I liked (CD/ Radio/ Cassette). Most of my engineering days I used that function to get up almost always on time without any issues. After I started working, and I moved to a different location, I bought a clock radio there and continued my morning routine. Which remained so, all the while till I completed my MBA.

Around 2010, I discovered smartphones and more or less have been using them as alarm clocks ever since. Unfortunately, being a light sleeper, an alarm clock startles me out of bed every time it goes off, however soothing a sound I keep as my alarm. Not only does it make me grouchy, but also it makes me get up with an elevated heart beat, something I don't feel comfortable with.

Towards the end of last year, I decided to go give clock radios another shot mainly because I developed the bad habit of checking my email in my bed after my alarm went off in the phone. This turned out to be a very bad way of starting my day by thinking about work (Your email is everybody's action items for you - I don't remember which celebrity said that).

Anyway, I purchased the Sony ICF-C1 (it's sad to see that the Clock radio genre is dying and there are not many options in the market anymore). It does it's job quite well, and I have been having pleasant mornings ever since. I have started getting up on time ever since, and I don't feel that grouchy and stressed the moment I get up.

So, if you are like me, I highly recommend ditching your phone (keep it far away from your bedside table) and getting a clock radio because:

1. You can get up gently (most clock radios progressively increase the sound of the music so you don't get startled)
2. You won't check Email/ Messages/ Social Media first thing in the morning
3. You will get to hear some good music early in the morning (hoping you have good soothing music radio stations in your vicinity)
4. Unlike an alarm clock, you won't feel like switching off your radio to sleep more (even if you lie in bed listening to the music for 10 more minutes), and it will gradually awaken you!

So, to conclude - it's 2019, I am not getting any younger, and I feel like a nostalgic grandpa. I am, therefore, going back to old tech that I used while I was younger!

Ciao Amigos

Hello there everyone! Hope 2019 has been good for you so far. I have been through the Gregorian new year celebrations followed by the Lunar new year celebrations. Besides celebrating and eating a lot more than I should have, I don't think I have done anything great on the personal front. Hope your resolutions are going great, and you haven't given up on any of them (yet).

I tried getting rid of my caffeine addiction beginning of this month. After a series of bad headache days (severe caffeine withdrawal symptoms), now I am at the 2 week mark and surviving without my daily coffee in the morning. I still get crazy occasional cravings for a cup of coffee (especially when I walk in front of a coffee shop and can smell the roasted coffee beans) but so far so good. I hope to reduce my coffee intake to a "reasonable" level in the near future. I never realized how much addictive coffee is! I have been to several early morning client meetings and gone around the place desperately looking for a coffee before the meeting. On such occasions even a bad coffee is better than no coffee!

Anyway, if your resolutions include fitness, I felt this comic from Oatmeal is quite apt for the feeling of helplessness I am currently going through:



While I managed to lose a bit of weight in my early 30s now it is getting increasingly difficult to hold onto it. Neither reasonable amount of diet nor exercise seems to have the desired effect. Either metabolism is slowing down or I ain't disciplined enough (or both :) !!)

Lastly I feel bad that Opportunity (the mars rover) is no longer operational. It was launched in 2003 right when I started working and all it's working life has overlapped mine. I still have to work for a lot more decades but Opportunity called it quits! Well jokes apart, I am amazed that a robot built for a 90 day mission managed to work for 15+ years.

Resolutions

I have been blogging here for more than 11 years now. So if you know the routine, every year I write a short post to wish you for the next year and give some ideas for a resolution. Half the time I don't keep any resolutions, and the ones that I do are so generic that nothing really happens and another year goes by.

2018 was a bit different for me! Just like 2017, I had a crazy professional year. But somewhere in the beginning of the year I resolved to read at least 1 book per month (12 in a year!). For a change, I managed to finish my 12th book just in time for Christmas. So, I think I finally managed to stick to a resolution. Now I know 12 books ain't a lot. But that's where I guess, resolutions (for me) are best when they are small and achievable. If I get too ambitious, I procrastinate and never make it!

So as we head into 2019, I hope you all have a happy and healthy 2019. Hope you can set S.M.A.R.T resolutions and stick to them. And in the week of 25-31 remember to do these 5 things.

Live Aid 1985

I managed to see Bohemian Rhapsody (movie) in the theater a few weeks ago. I loved it. I know they have taken some artistic freedom to re-interpret Freddie's life story and make it more dramatic. Well, it's not a documentary, so I guess I am fine with it.

Highlight of the movie (for me) was the Live Aid concert that they did in 1985. The actor's performance is amazing at impersonating Freddie. Live Aid happened when I was very young (toddler+) and though I have occasionally seen songs here and there from the concert, this is the first time I made an effort to watch most of Live Aid (Thank you YouTube).

If you are from my generation, you will love (understatement) the Live Aid concert. It features some of the biggest names in music that we grew up with. If you have a year end break and have nothing to do, stop surfing the internet and go see the Live Aid concert now. It's well worth the watch.

Being a big fan of U2, Dire Straits, Eric Clapton and Queen I would like to share some videos here if you are too lazy to click and go to YouTube.

 

U2 - Bad (Live Aid)

 

Dire Straits/ Sting - Money for Nothing (Live Aid)

 

Eric Clapton - Layla (Live Aid)

And the ultimate ....

 

Queen

Bearded Men

I am on a multi-city tour of India this time around. It's amazing how fast India is growing. The youth seems to have adopted to mobile technology just like any other youth world wide. Everyone is stuck to the phone, surfing social media, online shopping and generally not conscious of their surrounding. But well, this post ain't about that. I guess I have already spent a lot of time in my blog posts before about social media addiction and stuff.

One distinct trend that old uncle Girish noticed amongst the youth of the day is - beard. Yup, I noticed that a significant proportion of the young male population now grows a beard. My generation liked the clean shaven look, but the Indian youth this time has decided to sport their manliness with pride.

Anyway, this brings me to a generic (not scientific/ not statistical) observation of youth in Singapore (or maybe I can further generalize it to East Asia). East Asian women seem to dig the "chocolate boy", "oh-so-clean-shaven", "can't distinguish boy from girl look". The men celebrities that I see on billboards on that side of the world never seem to have any facial hair. They also seem to be very much in touch with their feminine side.

This also means that most east Asian men around me try to look like that. (Do you notice that celebrities set the trends and we unconsciously follow them?). So me looking out of place over there is an understatement. I distinctly stand out. And that's even after trying to sport a clean shaven look.

G for Gold!

After years of traveling around on random airlines to random places around Asia, I finally managed to accumulate enough frequent-flier miles on a certain airline to make it to their "Gold tier" (or whatever that means!). Well, this may sound as a bragging post, but well, the intention is not to.

Throughout my working life I have traveled with other people of similar statuses. These people made me aware of my commoner status every time I traveled with them and it always intrigued me about what the benefit actually was. Now that I have experienced it a few times let me summarize:

1) I get priority boarding and priority check-in if I travel that airline - I believe this is the biggest benefit so far that I have noticed. But this only helps if you are traveling at peak hours, are running late for your flight and have not already online checked-in and have a bag to deposit. 99% of my business travel, I check-in online and I don't have a bag to deposit.

2) I get access to lounges at most airports - This was a nice surprise in the beginning. I mean, I could go to most big airports around the world, and as long as I am traveling on that airline they give me free access to their lounges where I can relax and unwind.  However, I can also relax and unwind anywhere in any airport and in most cases I enjoy walking around airports while I am waiting to board, cause I can get some steps, see some random people and gaze at some shops. The added disadvantage of the lounge is - there is free food. However hard I try, I end up eating something and it adds to whatever food I would later have on the aircraft anyway

3) My bags come out first on the carousel at the other end - Again, this benefit is great if you have checked-in baggage and hate to wait. But the nominal waiting for baggage collection these days isn't that annoying for me.

So to summarize, I don't get the fuss. Anyway, now I can pretend to be the snobbish, frequent flying businessman who can look-down upon commoners only till he boards the plane and tucks himself into his economy class seat.