Momma, there's a book in my closet

I was sitting in a clinic last month waiting to see the doctor. On the phone next to me was a lady who was speaking to someone about her book. She was also furiously writing in a dairy all the time she wasn't on this call. Book on the way.

I take these evening classes on Sunday and it's all high tech as our professors are beamed from another city on our computers. In my class in front of me is a young girl and she wasn't paying attention to the professor talking about balance sheets. She was browsing a page instead on how to get a book contract.

I visit a bookstore and there are at least 5 new titles from Indian writers that I had never read of.

The lady from the waiting room. The girl from the class. The bookstore. The message is clear - there is a revolution in the making and it's been written into a book across generations.


Nnot just any book. A sweet love story or a tragic account of life as it is. Both good subjects in themselves that could be made into Bollywood (3 Idiots) or Hollywood (aka Slumdog Millionaire) movies. But there's a fat chance of that!! Then what are all these writers hoping to achieve?

As someone who works in the publishing (ok not books but publishing nevertheless) industry I can surely say that money can and should not be the main motive. There's hardly any royalty to be made and distributions costs big time and sucks not to mention.

Perhaps they are misguided by the success of one Chetan Bhagat - he of the ordinary writing, extraordinary connection with the masses. But one Chetan Bhagat does not make a revolution or inspiration. So maybe it's Arundhati Roy. Or Vikram Seth. Salman Rushie could it be? Hmm suddenly it dawns on me that we have quite a few literary celebrities.

Not so many Indian scientists or sportspersons are internationally known but between AR, VS, SR there some formidable reputation and talent we can boast of.  I'm not sure the case can be rested but it is some sort of an answer. Do you have a better one? Comment please - you are allowed to anonymously if you please. It will be nice to know.

What's your retirement plan?

It's that time of the year again....when every cubicle dweller in India and perhaps elsewhere too has to get his or her investment proofs in order and deposit them with the finance department lest for the rest two months of the fiscal the take home is smaller than the tax witheld.

While we all do diligantly what needs to be done to avoid an immediate loss I wonder how many of us are doing what should be done to secure our future.

Let's face it - we do not have the cushy (once you factor in the never ending dearness allowance linked pensions) govt jobs our parents had. And we are unlikely to have the kind of children who provided for their ageing parents (like our mom and dad did). For those who have grand delusions about ageing in an egalitarian society I would like to remind you that the Indian govt says that 32 Rs a day is all you need to be above the poverty line (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15542957) So don't expect much from the state of India given the numbers it is dealing with.

The bottomline is that if you don't plan wisely for retirement early enough you just might not be able to afford it when you get to the right age.

From all the reading I've done on the topic here is some distilled wisdom to get you started:

a) Take a go at retirement calculators - they can make a good starting point and help find out how much money you need to save so that you can maintain your current standard of living in the twilight years. Remember it's just an estimation. Don't get depressed and log off when you see the crores and crores you need to save. All said and done it's good enough if you start saving some more and definitely better than not saving at all!

b) Start early - the power of compounding should never be underestimated.....EVER...specially by the young who stand to benefit from it the most. Have a go at the various compounding calculators floating on the Internet and get dazzled and inspired. And don't fool yourself by saying you'd rather wait for the time when you have reached your peak earning potential to save. There is a peak to earning but for most of us that's also the peak for spending. Yes, you can.

c) Public Provident Fund Please -- If you stay in India and have access to PPF - open an account now!! In all the 13+ years I've been working my only consistent savings have been in the PPF. The PF - you will withdraw or forget about, the NSCs and stuff you will take as a mini lottery or reinvestment kitty, the money from insurance, infrastructure bonds etc will seem like a blip in your savings account - the one thing that's locked and hence stays stocked is the PPF. So whether you have excess cash to spare or not - max the now one lakh PPF limit every year - save every month for god's sake. Don't be swayed by people who say you can earn much more elsewhere - in reality you may or you may not -- but where ever you put the money as an alternative it's unlikely to stay put there in time for the cause that needs you the most. Yourself, 21 years down the line.

d) Stock up -  focused bit by bit. Unless you have the time and balls for day trading, zero in on a few select stocks and buy them month after month -  it's best if you have a demat accont and set up your savings accont so that some amount automatically gets transferred to this demat a/c every month like a SIP...this is your trading kitty. Your advisers are on TV and on the web (take everything but PE with a pinch of salt..maybe even PE) or you can simply turn the SIP in the favour of a trusted Mutual Fund. Personally I love tuning into TV expert shows but the best is the web with sites  like www.moneycontrol.com because you have all the tools you need to do  proper research -- from company notices to trends etc. Top up your chosen stocks or MFs when they are down and stay put in the market. In the long run if the fundas are right the stock and your net value is bound to soar. I have stocks in 3 companies - believe me on some days when they are going in opp directions on the bourses I feel 3 is too many. But overall there is a nice story building on the returns side. It takes a while in the kind of irrational years we've seen but it does happen.


e) Buy a house. Don't wait for a dream house, perfect location, mera wala blue, just go out and buy the first decent, ready to possess (preferably) house you can afford -- ideally somewhere habitable and close to commercial offices (like Gurgaon and Whitefield) so the value goes up faster. Somehow in India property is just going up, up and away from the reach of the common man. So buy your first house as soon as you can. You can always sell and trade up later. Waiting (beyond 2-3 years) may mean you are totally out of running for the property that was once within your reach and wringing your hands not to mention moaning your luck. In fact I would go a step further and advise - get debt free on the first house and go ahead and buy a second house or commercial property for a steady rental income while you are still earning a salary.

f) Get medical insurance and get the one that covers you life long or near the age you're planning to die. Because you will be between jobs sometimes. Because it's easier to when you are young. Because you are human and someday surely you will have to visit the hospital and that should be the day when your foresight makes you proud. Trust me!

g) Create a financial goals list for yourself with timelines and plan your spends and savings around it. If you're going ya ya someday dude I can only feel sad for you. From my sheet which I recently did  I know that I need to switch jobs in a year or get a handsome raise or write a bestseller or marry a millionar. That is to say I have a sense of purpose. 

Lifechanging, you can say. Quite like a good retirement plan!

A self help book that err..helps!

There is one thing about self help books you should know. If you find that you have been reading several, over a fairly decent number of years then you might have a case of short help syndrome wherein you keep saying you want to fix what you need to but never actually get around to doing it.

However the good news (coming from a person who has been there and er not done that for years) is that short help syndrome can be cured. Try "The Success Principles."

Yeah I know the title is feeble. You almost wish the author had not caricartured the whole industry by choosing a name like that. Infact I almost didn't pick up the book because of the title but then I am compulsive about wanting to improve and so....

As I casually browsed through (and I always casually browse through a book before I pick it up nowadays lest I buy and never open it post that one time when I decide it's useless) I got a feeling that what he is writing makes sense.

The "he" by the way is Jack Canfield. There is a co-author as well but I'm not sure what her role is as it seems to be entirely written in a male first person. I almost imagined a grandfatherly figure reading it out to me as a bed time activity. Yes Jack Canfield isn't quite Donald Trump but just as compelling.

If you read self-help books, Jack Canfied may ring a bell. Infact it's quite likely he may ring several bells in your head and some of them could be warning bells. He is the same guy who wrote 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' and there were so many in the series it covered practically half the developed world from teen moms to prom queens (ok I made that up but I'm sure the stories are somewhere there). The point is I wasn't quite a fan of the series so if you aren't one too....discount that.

The Success Principles is a different dip altogether. In fact I am not ashamed to admit this is the only self-help book I have re-read 2 times and plan to read yet again just to remind myself of things that need to be done.

As you leaft through the chapters you start with owning up responsiblity for your life, put your dreams together and get on an action path to achieve them one step at a time. On the way you can test out the little gems of advice and something is surely going to validate itself and have you saying "Wow, He's Right!!"

Taste "The Success Principles", it's a habit forming thing!

IPhone - To aye or not to aye?

Blame it on a moment of weakness but even though I so wanted to buy a Blackberry as my next phone for months I finally settled for an IPhone on my birthday last year.

The reasons to buy a BB were several- My de facto best friend has a BB and so wanted me to be on BB chat. Plus I could do my e-mail on the fly. And not to mention the BB Curve is a beauty to look at with the aluminium frame on the side. But my brother shrugged all of these aside with just a wave of the hand - a bit like a don dismissing the achievements of a corner peddler - and told me I just had to go for the iPhone.... I don't quite recollect the words but the promise somewhat sounded like a "life changing experience". Now how do you say no to that?


My last thoughts on the way to the decision were - Of course the BB is cool. But the IPhone in India is still a scare beast. So uber. And anyway, since my company policy doesn't really require me to check mails on my phone I can take the risk. Plus my brother's convert like passion has to count for something no. Then there was that little matter of the really good offer which sealed the deal.


Two months down the line here's what I think.


FOR
1. Design - The number 1 reason to buy this phone is that it's still an eyeball catcher.
2. The apps - I have a mini dictionary, facebook, skype on mine and that's only the free stuff. The apps are good. And you will download and use them even if you're not the type. Just try once!
3. Touch screen and some thoughtful controls like when I press on a number in a message it selects it to dial. The UI is for most part - Nice.
4. Built in ipod - the speaker sucks but put the earphones on and you can rock on(e).
5. Wi-Fi, Internet and Mail - though the latter works well for Gmail and such light stuff. I couldn't get it to work for my official mail so I wouldn't know if it's as good for that but that could have been just me.


AGAINST
1. Go figure mentality - this is why I hated Apple to begin with. The oh we're so simple you won't need a manual. But guess what - it takes ages to figure out some things on your own if you are an apple novice. IPOD controls for one!!
2. You lose some - Take Call records for example. Once new ones replace them the old ones just disappear. Unlike the Nokia Communicator which I had two years ago for example where you can access them months afterwards via records history, once your call history doesn't have them your call records are gone. Or how to edit / delete things - it's a pain sometimes. There are several such things that don't work the way they do in Nokia or Samsung or Motorola. So while you'll be happy sliding photos like you can't do on the regular phones you will also miss the other comfort features you liked on your erstwhile phone. It's bound to happen.
3. Voice recording - You can't record decent voice on this phone - live conversation is completely impossible so if someone's giving you a phone number to jot down - well you better jot down even if you are driving. And normal voice recording sucks even with some applications I downloaded.
4. No video recording mode - like why? Even my piddly Samsung that cost 1/3rd had this
5. And last but also the most important reason - It really is delicate - The Samsung phone I last had was also a touchscreen on the top. I dropped it like a zillion times with no crack. In fact hardly a scratch - ok I guess a couple barely noticeable ones. The IPhone cracks after a few drops. To be fair it may take about 6-7 side falls but you keep dropping it chances are it will land head first and crack. Mine did. My worst fear about owning the iPhone came true in 2 months of owning one. And guess what - replacing the screen "officially" costs as much as a new Blackberry!! OOUCCH.


My brother still insists iPhone is the best. But for me I'd say that if the call to own one doesn't come naturally to you go ahead and settle for a more practical option. It's cool yes. But sorry bro it's really not as life changing as say, power steering.

An idea worth spreading

After nearly 2 years in hiatus - seriously time does fly!! - I am back on my blog. Would have been back sooner but it didn't seem like someone would miss hearing from me. Much has happened since then but then again a lot is still the same. So let me not waste your time on the trivial pursuit which my life has been. Instead I'd like to share with you something that's worth sharing. TED.com : Visit it, browse through, play the videos and be inspired.

Here are a few I liked:
Steve Jobs on How to Live Before you die (Of course we have all read the article. Now hear it live from the horse's mouth)
http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html

Sean Carroll on the arrow of time (one of my favorite topics never mind that I hadn't heard of Mr Carroll before)
http://www.ted.com/talks/sean_carroll_on_the_arrow_of_time.html

David Blaine on how he held his breath for 17 minutes (just to answer the question for yourself - is it possible?)
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_blaine_how_i_held_my_breath_for_17_min.html

The only downside to this is the slow bandwidth in India. It takes forever to load and play anything. What I for do for You Tube feeds is just have the video download in the background in mute and once its done glide the play button to rewind to start. The trick is not to reload - just glide down the button back. Works pretty ok. Try it and help others do the same. Like TED it's an idea worth spreading :)

A treat for your computer screen

An important part of being a friend is to introduce your friends to experiences that will add instant delight to their life. It's not a stated rule but that's how friendship works (if it hasn't struck you so far well try noticing now). Hearing about a nice movie, restaurant, sale, new phone and so much more is best from a friend's mouth. Not to mention most believable. I've often been introduced to new concepts and things by friends, not necessarily only close buddies, and that has left me richer for the experience.

So as your suburban pal here's my little pouch of delight for you. An idea that hooks you instantly and for good - if you just go ahead and try it once.

A treat for your computer screen and you.

I'm talking about the pleasure of an awesome photograph as your desktop background.

My personal choice is

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/photo-contest/wallpaper

where pictures from some of the world's best photographs and interesting places come together. And there's a new batch to choose from every week.

I usually visit the site every couple of weeks when I'm beginning to get a little tired of the current masterpiece on my desktop. I know the new one will add a little bit of joy to my life every time I look at it.

And that's saying a lot in these troubled times isn't it?

Try it!

Change

I just had a name change operation.
For my blog.

From Single in the Suburbs to Suburban Pal.

Alright it's not a rebranding exercise on the scale of the Dhirubhai Ambani Group but this blog still has a religious following of one and to that fellowship I must explain this move.

Turns out there is BIG columnist called Sara Susannah Katz who has a column of the same name. And "Sara Susannah Katz is a divorced mother of two living in the Midwest. Read each installment of her dating diary below as she searches for love, online and off. " Yikes!!! Seems I was the last to know.

I only found out today as I was clicking Google trying to look if my blog showed up in any search (what's the technical term for it...Ego surf I think or to me more accurate it should be called Blogegoing - ok that's a 'maybe' though I'm tempted to add you heard it first from your Suburban Pal)

Anyway, on discovering Ma'am Katz's existence I decided I Kan't have a column of the same name (Sushmita Bose's Single in the City made me uncomfortable to start with and it wasn't even online) and instantly went in for a re-namkaran ceremony.

It took me less than 3 minutes - I lOVE BLOGSPOT! but the strange thing is --- post facto -- It does feel like CHANGE.
It's like some part of my online personality and the subject matter on this blog has been affected and will subsequently be molded by this new friendly name. A bit like naming your baby Happy Singh could destine him to spend a good part of his life chasing hens in a Punjab village....but then that's real life.. and this is virtual.

Even Superman didn't intrude into Clark Kent's life.

Is there a deeper reason why IBM (someone out there invented the working WWW no so they could put up scores from Olympic games!!) sounds like I be M?

Or is it just me whining about nothing?