Yashas Mahajan's Blog, page 19

Word of the Week #256:

Licence

People should be able to say whatever they want.

That is the point of freedom of speech, right?

People should be able to say whatever they want. I agree with it.

Now, if you want to say terrible things, say them. 

However, you can’t complain when we call you terrible for doing so.

You can’t complain if that affects our perception of everything you are and everything you do.

It’s not that you can’t say certain things you want to or used to because of “the PC police”. It’s just that if you do, there would be consequences. It’s practically Newtonian.

Sometimes, people confuse the concept of freedom of speech with freedom from consequence.

PS: When I say consequence, I don’t mean government-sanctioned vendetta. If ever something had a chilling effect… If only the government could treat its dissenting citizens the same way it treats actual enemies of state: through stern verbal denunciation.

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Word of the Week #255:

Rehabilitation

So, I have often felt that I’m not great at following through.

I’ll always come up with interesting ideas, I’ll start with something amazing, and then I just taper off.

This time, though, with my injury and the subsequent recovery process, I think I have done a good job.

5 weeks of physiotherapy went well. The 2 weeks since them went surprisingly well too.

Sure, my knees still hurt, and my back still has a weird lump where the injury had been. It’s just weird overall.

But now that I have resumed basketball while also continuing and progressing my exercises, I have begun to feel a lot more like myself, especially compared to a few weeks ago.

Hopefully, in a few more weeks, I’ll be able to reach a stage where I don’t wince with zero warning when I’m trying to climb the stairs or squat to pick up my phone off the floor or something.

Baby steps is not something I ever took, but if I can keep striding forward the way I currently am, I think I will be well.

Consistency. Fun.

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Word of the Week #254:

Mirth

So, I took a vacation.

And now I’m back.

How did it go?

I guess I only have one word to sum it up: Fun.

But, also, what do people do on a vacation? I feel like I don’t quite know. I mean, it has been a while since a had one, so I’m out of practice.

By the third evening, I was already finding ways to get work done. And I did end up working till midnight. So, yeah. Fun.

Still, I guess I should do this more often.

I wonder how often I actually would, but let’s see.

Can’t wait to have more fun.

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Word of the Week #253:

Spadework

So, as mentioned earlier this year—or was it late last year—I had resolved to take a vacation sometime this year.

Well, in planning and preparing for said vacation, I came to realise exactly why I haven’t had one in several years: It can be a nightmare to plan and execute.

Somehow or the other, something or the other KEEPS going wrong and getting in my way.

Huh… Bloody exhausting…

Still, I have managed to handle most or all of the issues that showed up, if not ideally then at least satisfactorily.

And finally, I am leaving for a hard-earned, long-overdue vacation later this week.

Will more things go wrong? Heck yeah!

Can I handle it all? Sure, I am.

But putting out fires without the comfort of knowing I’ll be back home by the end of the day is EXACTLY what I want a vacation from.

So, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best, shall we?

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Word of the Week #252:

Taciturn

I don’t wanna talk, tonight.

Hmph!

Word of the Week #251:

Plummet

Me running into a cute girl: Oh, no, I hope I don’t fall.

15 minutes into the conversation:

Word of the Week #250:

Recollection

Oh? 250? That’s a few, right?

You know what is the toughest part of continuing the blog this long?

Well, I just no longer remember what I have spoken about and what I have not.

I think I should take a look through the pages and, I don’t know, just try to remember wait I’ve already said.

But, heck, there are times when I can’t even remember what I’m about to say.

Gah… 250 is so many…

I wish I could hire an intern to just go through my blog and remember stuff before me and basically serve as my external memory.

I did have one like that, a long time ago, back in the good old days.

Ah, good times.

Anyway, I’ll just go and take a nap, now.

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Word of the Week #249:

Rend

People ask me how it feels to be 27. People ask me if it is a little scary.

In some ways, I suppose.

Well, yes, half of my friends are now engaged or married or in at least some sort of a serious relationship. I am not. Is that scary? Nah.

And yes, some of my friends are doing very, very well in their careers and are significantly more professionally and financially secure than I am. Is that scary? Nah.

Why not?

Because I’m just doing whatever the hell I want whenever and however I want. As long as I can continue to do that, I am not scared.

But how long can I continue? Therein lies the fear.

Last week, I received a grim reminder of the cruelty of time. While playing basketball, I tore a muscle in my back. Immediately, I had lost all the strength I had built over several months—years, perhaps—and was relegated to several more months of slow, painful rest and rehab before I have recovered.

I went into last week feeling indestructible. Today, I feel 27. 

And unfortunately, the two are not similar.

As we grow older, our bodies accumulate wear and tear. We grow more and more susceptible to injury, and recovery gets slower and slower.

I will still argue that I am indestructible—because I will still survive this and come back stronger—but as I grow older, I do feel more and more vulnerable.

I can no longer jump into a game without warming up or leap off the middle of the stairs and land safely.

I can no longer be reckless. And since that is what I want to be more often than not, I am scared of ageing.

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Word of the Week #248:

Entr’acte

People tend to use lofty goals as their New Year’s resolutions, right?

Me? My resolutions may seem a lot more ordinary to most people, but you know what, I find them more difficult than “finding my true passion” or “losing 5kg” or whatever. Been there, done that.

You know what I haven’t done in a really long time? Taken a vacation.

It’s weird, but the way my life is structured, the concept of a “vacation” doesn’t quite apply to me. I think I mentioned that a while back.

Well, this year, I plan to take a vacation.

I will go to a nice hotel and just lie around for… how long can I actually afford? Let’s see. It depends on how nice a hotel I end up choosing.

But, yeah, that’s the plan.

Lie around all day. Order in whatever I want. Waddle about in the pool. Maybe even try getting drunk, see what the fuss is all about.

It has been a long 7 years or so since I chose this path.

I have been a good boy and worked hard.

I have earned a break.

I plan to take it.

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Word of the Week #247:

Dilettante

“They’re the experts. You’re not. Just do what they say.”

You know who else were experts?

The makers of the Hindenburg.
The makers of the Titanic.
The makers of the financial crisis of 2007–2008.
The makers of Oxycontin.

Expertise is not infallible. It is DEFINITELY not incorruptible. Why then should it be irreproachable?

Ask questions.

Demand explanations.

Seek the truth.

It is within your grasp.

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