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The dream house quicksand !

Mr.X is busy at work and suddenly an email notification ( “ting!!” ) appears on the right corner of the screen. The subject reads “Sweets at my desk, FCFS” from Mr.Y. We all know how the word FCFS ( First Come First Serve ) creates some kinda panic attack on a few. Who has the time to read the mail now, it’s a race to grab those sweets.

Puffing and panting Mr.X reaches the cubicle only to find a bunch of people surrounding the sweets like a swarm of bees near a beehive. All buzzing and mumbling about something awesome. Mr.X tries to analyze all the possibilities and tries to infer something. An avid fan of Sherlock Holmes stories, he looks around to find Watson to bounce off his ideas with, but no luck as everyone has their mouth stuffed with sweets.

“It’s not Mr Y’s birthday nor did he contribute to the ever-shrinking Indian Population. He was a proud father to a poop machine 6 months back”. 

“Was there a promotion?” ( if so, every security guard would have known by now ). So unlikely. 

I used to buy sweets in very limited quantities and send out an email with FCFS ( First Come First Served ) in the subject line. Works like a charm if you have a huge team & want to save on the expenses :). People who arrive late would curse their luck and assume the goodies run out fast ! Dont judge me , this was during my life as a fresher . I used to get peanuts as salary. I was not kanjoos in any way !

Usually, the sweets brought into the workplace are the cheapest quality possible. Some even dump mishaps that went on in their kitchen in the name of sweets on their naive colleagues. But Mr Y had got the king/queen of sweets, Kaju Roll to coincide with his equally important drum roll!!

Mr.X lost in his thoughts wondering what could be the big news that warranted Kaju Roll’s arrival into the scene!! Just then, Mr Y greets him with 32 teeth grin ( imagine Raavan showing his teeth 🙂 ) and narrates the close to fairy tale story and the reason behind the generous sweets distribution. It has been one of the greatest days in Mr.Y’s life to finally own a dream house in a locality of choice, super close to work.

Never understood the logic of house super close to work , work is usually on the outskirts of the city. Due to the population density going out to a restaurant for example can be a nightmare. One is stuck in traffic jams even on weekends. There are hardly any facilities available at walking distance. One has to walk a mile to reach the main gate and the playground is usually occupied by a zillion kids who have no clue what they are doing. Keep in mind that the company might move and if close to work was the only reason you bought that house, you are in soup.

Like a honey trap, the shiny brochure of the apartment is strategically sitting right next to the box of sweets. The dream house has a huge playground with Tennis court, swimming pool and of course, there are a million trees in the vicinity. (Why not, the digital artist was too generous painting them in).

Some builders also turn their clients into agents , promising a rebate if they get more bakras. So all that helpful gesture might have a deep hidden agenda !

Mr.X goes home that day with a copy of an apartment brochure and narrates the story to his spouse/family ( a big mistake ). How his friend at work, who is not that bright in general, but somehow was able to grab on to this once in a lifetime deal. The thought of buying and owning a dream house starts haunting him, like a brain under the influence of drugs. Deep down, he knows something is not right, but the thought of his friend Mr Y living in a dream house and him on rent gets on his nerves. It’s a roller coaster ride of envy, desperation and self-esteem. After several weeks of torture from a combination of inner voice and family, he gives in and announces the world about his plans to own a house of his own. The funds needed to buy one aren’t there, but Home Loan will magically provide for it. Soon, Mr.X  is looking forward to buy an apartment of his own.And just like that, Debt has welcomed Mr.X into its open arms.

How many of us have been bit by the Photography bug?

it all starts with the admiration of great pictures on Social Media taken by my distant relatives and friends. The feeling that great pics are captured only through expensive camera takes over your soul.

Most of us have spoilt our vacations trying to capture that perfect moment in camera , instead of enjoying them.

I remember a friend who had brought his shiny new DSLR camera to a wild Safari trip in Dandeli, Karnataka. He kept on reminding us about the different lenses and what they did. Each lens was insanely expensive and was to be used for a specific scenario based on time of the day and whatnot. The funny part was he kept on zooming and focusing on the animals and by the time he was with his shenanigans, the animal would move on. Plenty of pics on his DSLR digital camera captured just the tails, ears :p. Cant ask an animal to stand and pose for you, can you? While you are busy changing lens and trying to set that Focal length and aperture :D.

The nature photographer in me lasted only for 6 months. I used to capture spiders with my camera and these days spiders are capturing the camera. Luckily I bought a relatively cheap point and shoot camera and was done with it.

The only lesson to learn through this is to save first and then spend on your short-lived hobbies or commitments. All of them can wait. And if you feel life will be easy financially considering what you are taking home as salary is currently huge, think again. What goes up , has to come down.

Think of the recent turmoil that has been created due to Corona Pandemic in 2020. Most people are not even lasting a month without jobs. In America, I see everyone owns an iPhone that costs a $1000+, but cant last a month without a paycheck. That’s a sad state of financial literacy. Only if they had invested that money wisely, it would have come to their aid in these tough times.

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