Happy Birthday, pd29june!

Lemme tell you a story. The kinds that is only possible on the Internet. 

The year is 2003 (I thought it was 2001 but thanks to my obsession with not deleting anything ever, I discovered it was 2003). The age od chain emails and Orkut and coming of age, of people my age. The time is Diwali when everyone in India is in this cheerful and all that. And I am being the way I am - frivolous, enthusiastic, and trying hard at being funny.

Some friend sends an email to some 100 people and I reply to that with something apparently funny, which I don't recall now. And someone responds to that email with among the most unique Diwali greetings ever. 

And I reply to that. 

And then she replies. 

And then I reply to her reply.

And then she replies. 

And before we know it, we become penpals. 

Of course, back then I did not know what pen pals were. But we became friends. And close! As close you can imagine two friends to be. Even though we hadn't met each other. 

I would share my deepest feelings with her. I guess this is what anonymity offered by the Internet did. She was in the US, some saat samandar paar and there was no way she was going to rat on me. And how would she? And if she did, why would she? I guess she was the first person with which I let my guard down (apart from this blog ;P). 

She of course shared updates on her days at her college. I remember pining for a life abroad when I read her mails. 

And like with such things, our friendship relationship started with josh unparalleled to any. And then got milder with time. To a time now, where we hardly speak. 

Which is cool. Not complaining. Such is life. 

But this person is among the most special parts of my growing up. If I were to ever write a biography, she's getting a chapter for sure. I may even dig out some of the emails and publish those. I hope they are not too embarrassing ;P 

So to cut the long story short, she and I would exchange long emails. At some point in time, it got flirty and yet not crass. I had still not seen her, she hadn't seen me (we did exchange photos). All we knew was each other's letters. Mind you, this was the time before Whatsapp and other IM tools. The email letters were our connection. And those became increasingly rare with time. Like others, we had some really cool and interesting inside jokes and chats. Can't make those public. Yet ;P 

While this was happening, I moved from Delhi to Gurgoan to then to Mumbai and then back to Delhi. I don't recall what all cities she lived in the US. And despite all this flux, we stayed in touch. We'd make plans to catch up if we were ever in the same city. But every time she'd come to India, for some reason, we 'd not be able to meet. Apart from her letters and photos, she remained an enigma to me. I don't know what I was to her. 

This changed in 2010, 7 years after that fateful Diwali. My parents and I were in the US and she and I happened to be in the same city at that time (I think we were in LA if my memory serves me right). And we met! After 7 years of penpalship. We went to grab, well Chinese. And there was this joke that we often shared - that I know how to use chopsticks and I failed at it and she had told me she was learning but she was as pro at em as Kung-Fu Panda is! And I, of course, made a mess of it! Random trivia - To date, I don't know how to use chopsticks. And I have had multiple bets with multiple people that I would learn how to use em! 

And that's that. 

End of story. 

Been 13 years since that hour-long lunch or dinner or something (can't recall but I do remember that it was Chinese). We have remained in intermitted contact. She has moved on with life. More than her, I think I have moved on. Rather thrown around. 

No point there. 

Just that, thanks to emails and Diwali, I found this really cool friend that I wish I had stayed in contact with! And no, there is no special ending to this one. Just a record of how some people come into your life by accident and you want those accidents to keep happening again and again. 

Oh, if you are reading this (at a time you were the only regular reader of this blog; now there are none), happy birthday! May you live long and prosper :). And in case you've forgotten, here is some blast from the past from our jawani wale din.

Untitled - 16Jun20

I slept off early last night. I was on my bed by 930. And then drifted off to sleep at around 1030 or something. No, it's not the earliest to be honest. I would love to sleep every day by 9 and then get up at 4 (yes I am a morning person). But I think till I reach a time where I can control my time fully (I can control a large part of my time, but not all the time) it would be tough. Lets see when that happens.

It is 730 AM. I have been up since 7 at least and I have been puttering around. The neck is a tad sore (I need to get new pillows, I think) and there is general bodily discomfort that people my age typically have but apart from that I am ok, I think.

So a Tuesday, past the middle of June. The year was supposed to be when I would slay it and get a ton of money and all that but it is proving to be anything but that. I am sure this will pass. 

Ok. Here's the thing. I don't really have anything specific to say. I just want someone to talk to at this hour. Previously, I would be at a Starbucks at this hour (if not earlier). And to reach there, I would've had Poha from this lady that had a tiny kiosk on the roadside near Starbucks. And I would've had my small-talk with her. And at Starbucks, I would talk to the Baristas that were gearing up for their day. And then I would settle down with an Americano and read a long essay, or watch a TED talk before I started the day. I would write for a while, get things done till about 10, 1030, and then get on with the day. 

Of course, that is gone. And I don't think it is coming back anytime soon. 

Honestly, I am thinking, if this continues till after Diwali, I'd move to a small city, may be even Goa for that matter. Something where I have access to a beach. I am sure the world would have woken to the wonders of working from home (which I detest if I can be honest). I am assuming I would have figured out the next career (unless events make a comeback) and the small cities would offer a network of creative, enterprising people that actually do not mean to lay low. Of course, in the long run, I want to live at a thriving hub of activity, you know like a Mumbai. Unless life changes altogether and these hubs stop existing. I refuse to believe that these would not. Time shall tell. 

No one knows where we are headed and how fast. 

Coming back, it's 735. Took me all of 5 minutes to write these few lines but I think I am ready to kick-start my day! Yay! 

Time to get some coffee and get going. Hope you have a great day ahead :) 

Day 81 of Lockdown

Day 81.

Not lockdown per se but seclusion for sure. 

Yet another day where minutes blurred into hours and that made the day flow past by like crazy. I started at 9 AM and before I got the time it was 4 PM. And then I blinked next, it was 8 PM and here I am, trying to make sense of what and how and why. 

These days the highlight of my day is this couple of times when I make myself some coffee. I mean I don't really make coffee per se - I just boil water in an electric kettle and pour it over a coffee bad. But these two times during the day are the ones when I get into this meditative trance-like thing. Apart from that, it is a whirlwind of mindless activity. There is no work "work" per se but there is a lot of madness around things! 

So the day goes past in a blur. Without a lot of action. But the day does pass by none the less. With each passing day, there are less and less of these moments that I want to cherish and save and remember once I grow old. 

Except flashes of brilliance once in a while. 

Like this song that a stranger shared with me on Instagram. Its called Baagey and a modern rendition of Jagjit Ji and Chitra Ji's Tappe. Listen to Hari and Sukhmani. It is on Spotify here and I've been tripping on it since morning! And it is becoming an earworm and I can't get enough of it! 

That's it. That's all I had to say today.

Over and out. 

Previous posts that I wrote during the lockdown are - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 19, 30, 32, 34, 35, 37, 39, 45, 47, 57, 63, 64, 69, 74, 80

Day 80 of Lockdown

713. Necks hurting. I need to stop using the pillows. There's some soreness in my back. This could either be all the sitting I do throughout the day or may be because I've just woken up. The eyes are tad blurry - I am yet to wash my face. The legs are stiff, as you'd expect an old man's after he's just woken up from fitful sleep. I font know if fitful is the right expression. I do remember that I saw some dream, no, I don't recall that. But I did have a dream. And that means I was in REM and that means I was rested. 

All these would fade away without me even noticing as I start waking up. I'll wash my face, down a liter of water, take a cold shower and like I said, I will stop noticing these bodily signs! The signs that I am growing old. I am getting weary. That I am not what I used to be. I mean I don't really recall how I was as a kid when I'd wake up back then. Now, I do remember there are days when I'd wake up feeling like a million dollars, and then there are days when I wake up with this cold dark cloud (the kinds they talked about when they talk about knocking on heaven's doors) hanging over me. 

The point, these little things that you take for granted, things that you often miss and ignore once you get into the humdrum of the day? Well, these things matter. For that fleeting instant of time, if not in the large scheme of things. And that's the point of this short post. I wanted to capture this feeling. This thought. This soreness in my back and the stiffness in my legs and blurriness in my eyes. 

With this, over and out. See you guys on the other side. Oh, it's 728. Took me 15 minutes to come up with these 100-odd words. Slowest I would've ever written! Old age ;)

Previous posts that I wrote during the lockdown are - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 19, 30, 32, 34, 35, 37, 39, 45, 47, 57, 63, 64, 69, 74

Hello Jun / Monthly Review - Apr - May 2020

Good Morning, ladies and gents! 

Trust you and your loved ones are safe and well-taken care of! Here's the recap for April and May of 2020.

To jog your memory, I do this bi-monthly review and I track progress on to my yearly goals, life plan, and goals. And for the record, three large goals for 2020 are Book 2, a sub-5-hours marathon, a topline of 50 crores. 

Of course, these two months were spent indoors. To set the record straights, apart from my building watchmen and the delivery guys (and on order a woman), I have met Vivek, Ankit, Mrs. & Mr. Anubhab Goel. Vivek and Ankit came over to give me cash (there is no ATM nearby) and Goels came to pick something that no one else seemed to have the stock of :D

So, a total of 4 people. The least number of people I've ever met ina month! The human connection was super minimal. Yes yes, I had a million Zoom, Meet, Teams, and I don't know what all software-led meetings. To me, those are not really real interactions. I don't like the idea of meeting people virtually. Come to think of it, I did record a few podcast conversations with some marketers for The Podium. But again they were from behind a screen. 

I can't wait for this phase to get over. But if I am right (I hope I am proven wrong), with the opening, the cases will shoot up dramatically and that would mean yet another lockdown. You could call it the second wave if we had contained the first one. But I am not sure if we did. 

The worst part? When we got into the lockdown, people would religiously track the number of cases and with time the interest in new cases seems to have waned off. Which is ok - humans are adaptable and all that. Plus, now that some semblance of un-lock that has been announced, and if recent photos are any indication, people have started to throng outdoors like there is no tomorrow! 

The ones that can afford to stay indoors and choose to venture out, well, Mr. Darwin is watching you! 

Anyhow. Let's get to business. 

So here's a recap for April and May 2020

I would use the regular sections of fails, wins, inbetweens, lessons, and plans for the next two months. And a reminder that each thing I do this year must help me reach three large goals - Publish Book 2, Complete a full marathon in < 5 hours and create a business that has a topline of 50 crores. I wrote a longish post about this is here, in case. 

#fails 

The only documented goal for April and May 2020 was that I will have 25K words on book2. And I have failed at it. I am nowhere close to it :( 

Apart from that, things that I could have better are... 

• Work out! I had all the time in the world. And yet I could not do anything about it (except two 40-hour fasts). So that sucks. I've realized that I may not be able to work out but I can easily manage time-restricted eating. So I need to find a way to optimize running and not eating! 
• Missed deadlines. I don't have a large excuse but I did miss on a lot of deadlines these two months. I wish I could blame it on my mental state. But the thing is, I have been super ok and I've just whiled away time. Need to fix this. 

#wins

• Attended sessions on Screenwriting from Satyanshu Singh and Anjum Rajabali. They are among the best teachers of the trade ever! I am grateful to this lockdown that I could attend these sessions. If I have learned anything, it is that it's a long and tough road and would be fun to tread. I took reams of notes and in case you'd like to read those, please do let me know and I will be happy to share. 
• In partnership with AD, finally launched Podium. We aim to be a network of premium podcasts. Hired a team. Released Founder Thesis (we talk to some of the most celebrated entrepreneurs in the country) and Kahaniyon Ka Guccha (stories from the life of the famous Saadat Hasan Manto; thank you, Mudit, and Anamika). Recorded Marketing Matters (we talk to some CMOs are large consumer brands in India) and 1Up Your Career (to help the Class of 2020 navigate their way in these times). Getting ready for India Booked (thank you, Ayushi and Prakruti). Cracked a few deals. Oh, you can find us on your favorite podcast player! 
• Started publishing on SaurabhGarg.com. I really really would like you to read this piece on taking notes and tell me what you think.
• My #aPicADay has reached 160+ days! w00t! To date, I have NOT missed a single day. Considering how fickle I could be, this is a BIG BIG win! 

#inBetweens (these are neither wins / nor losses)

Three things. 

A. 

I use Rescue Time to track how I spend my time and the chart below reveals that I spend a LOT of time in communicating. I guess I am being a lot more manager than a maker. Which is ok. I know that I am not brilliant at one thing but I am better at getting things done :) 

B. 

I have also stuck to taking notes on the notepad and indexing those for posterity. It's a habit that took a long time but I am glad I got it. I am hooked onto this PKM / Digital Gardening bandwagon and I can not stop organizing my information. To what end, I don't know! I'll discover it in due time. Let's see. 

C. 

Started and quit a project with a friend. I am sure she is sore about it. And I of course blame her for it. To be honest, it sucked to pull the plug like that. But had to be done. Time is limited and I don't know if I am not ruthless, what would I be with it. Plus I want to be able to choose myself over others. So that. 

#miscNotes / What did I learn this month?

Two lessons.

A. 

Thanks to MK's continual reinforcement that all of us need a personal brand as of yesterday, I have started to take action. The thing is, in the connected world we live in, disproportionate opportunities would come to people that have a disproportionately large network in multiple niches (beyond the regular ones like college, neighbors, relatives, etc). I have done literally nothing to grow my personal brand. I need to work on it. Ideally, networks need to be tribes but then networks are a great place to start! 

In fact, a few days ago, I heard a podcast and for no reason pushed a twitter thread about it and that allowed me access to an opportunity that I would not have dreamt of. No, it did not convert. But I got access for sure! I saw the value of the network in action! 

B.

I have stayed off Diet Coke for almost 4 weeks now! Last I called for a case of Diet Coke was on April 25th. And last documented consumption of coke is on 3rd May when I had three cans. Yes, I record all these things :D.

#inJun-Jul20
What do I plan to do in Jun and Jul of 2020?

Two things. 

A. 

Inspired by the lesson I learned about personal branding from MK, I plan to get more social and create a community of sorts on one of the large social networks. 

For example, get to a 20K follower number on twitter (SUPER lofty goal). You may argue that the numbers are vain but the thing is, they work! Plus, I think this is important as places like twitter allow for serendipitous connections and opportunities. And I have seen the power in action already. 

Let's see how I go about it. If you are on Twitter, please follow me at https://twitter.com/saurabh. 

B. 

And this is important! 

Like I said last time, events is gone. A lot of event agencies have moved to digital events but I am not sure those would work. See this tweet (it sucks that I can no longer embed things in this new version of blogger. Time to move on from blogger, I guess). Plus a lot of other clients that I was consulting with as a digital strategy and brand planning consultant, work has dried up from there. Can't blame them. I never wanted to get married to them and good times had to come to an end. 

So I am looking for a new career. 

There are three options that I am considering. Lemme know what you think works... 

• Writer for hire. Thanks to Satyanshu and Anjum Sir's sessions, I am a tad more confident. Plus, I did acquire a new client in the last two months that's paying me to write for them. So that's a possibility.
• A podcaster. All of us know that there is no money to be made as a podcaster (we found out as a result of a study that AD and I did; that eventually helped us create Podium). But there is definitely an opportunity in creating a network of podcasts. I can probably do that? 
• Keep hustling. The way I have rumbled down whatever road promised the shiniest reward at the end of it, I can continue to chase it. This has served me well and I don't see a reason to change (except that there is far fewer opportunities now).

The trouble is, the first two are long-haul ideas. And not sure if I have the resources to tide through till then. The third is unpredictable. Which I am ok with. So there. 

What do you think I could do? And if you know of any interesting opportunities where I could be a mutual fit, please point me to those. 

***

So, that's about it for the update. As always, thank you for your time and attention. Please stay safe! 

Oh, last time around I had written that I actually like this lockdown. I think I'd like to revisit it. I do like it (I can control time better and all that) but I would love to have some freedom to walk around (while keeping a safe distance, of course) and meet people and hug them and all that. If we are all contained in our homes, we'd better live in the matrix! No? 

Over and out!
@saurabh
09 06 2020

FEEDBACK. Should you want to give me anonymous feedback on this email or anything else under the sun, please use this form - https://forms.gle/28bVP8DYz2WGdHdp8. And yes I do get not-so-kind inputs. Brutal and honest feedback is the best feedback.

PREVIOUS UPDATES are here...
2019 - Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2020 - Annual Goals, Jan, Feb-Mar, Apr-May

Thank you for your patience. It is not an easy task to survive these long emails! 

Time flies...

Hello! Been a while since I last wrote. Last I wrote was on the last day of the last month.

Time is flying so fast it's not funny. Last I remember I was sitting down for a session with Anjum Sir to learn about screenwriting (this was on last Sunday) and when I looked at the calendar, I realized its Friday morning! 5 days flew as it if were riding on a HummingBird or whatever is the fastest bird that you know of! I did not move an inch on things that I was supposed to work on. I did not read a damn thing. I did not listen to a single podcast. I did not write the logline for #book2. I did not try to eat less or workout more. I was fucking vegetating.

I know time goes by faster if you are old but I did not know it would be this fast. No wonder old age sucks! You have less time left to live and that too goes past by fast! As double a whammy as you can imagine. 

I think its also a function of the state of mind you are in. And the last few days have been anything but good. There's just way too much happening and there's way too much inaction at the same time. The two ought to be in this harmonious tension if you have to spiral up in life. But in my case, there is no harmony and a lot of tension! And I don't know what to do to get out of this whirlwind. And you know that pride that I hold dear to me? That is letting me not seek help. The thing is, I dont know what help I need! 

Anyhow. Sob story. 

Let's talk of more urgent matters. Health. So, if you are a reader here, you would know of my ambitions to do things like climb the Mt. Everest, run Marathons and all that. I want to add a few things to the list. To start with, I want to be able to do a few push-ups or chin-ups. Right now, I am unable to do even one. Like other things, it's a function of time, practice, and persistence. The three things that I don't have. Plus health is a function of a lot of other things - sleep, diet, discipline et al. Again, I am not the best case study when it comes to these. I have started a million times in the past and failed at each attempt. To a point that I've even ended up unwell as a result of these trials. 

The point? Starting today I am going to try all over again. The fitness bit I mean. The easy things are diet and sleep. I will get back to low-carb, IF today on. And try for a 7-hour sleep routine. Lemme report back in a week and see if I see any change in myself. 

Till then, over and out :) 

Previous posts that I wrote during the lockdown are - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 19, 30, 32, 34, 35, 37, 39, 45, 47, 57, 63, 64, 69