THE ANTI-DOLLAR

For years now, US dollar has lived a decorated life. It has been the globe’s reserve currency and nearly the whole world has had tremendous faith in the value of the US dollar. It has been considered a powerful currency to possess and its demand has always been very high. But the latest financial crisis has struck the dollar a devastating blow and has sent it on a downward spiral. The US debt scenario doesn’t help the cause either. The government has to borrow about half of what it spends. And printing more money is definitely not the solution even if policy makers manage to find fancy names like “Quantitative Easing”. As a result, over the last 4 years, dollar has been slowly but steadily depreciating against many currencies and hence faces the predicament of losing its cult status.

You may ask: “How does that matter to me?” Well, if you are earning in dollars or any of the other depreciating currencies, then it does! As dollar depreciates your purchasing power becomes lesser and lesser and so does the value of your savings. What can you do? One solution is you can identify stronger currencies and starting investing in them.

Now this leads us to the interesting concept of anti-dollar. These are currencies that are stronger and are going up in value while the dollar depreciates. For long, gold has been considered an anti-dollar as it has a value trajectory exactly opposite to the dollar. But gold is a low risk and more importantly low return investment. It is just for the safety lockers and fancy weddings.

Naturally you will instantly think about the world’s second largest economy. China! The Chinese might not even know that the world is coming out of a recession. Such is the growth of this country. But sadly this growth doesn’t show up in its currency. The Chinese have defied laws of monetary physics and have smartly managed to peg their currency to the dollar and have managed to keep American imports of Chinese goods relatively cheap. Alas, this is bad news to you as an investor because you have just lost the biggest potential anti-dollar. The Swiss Franc comes to my mind next. It has been a steady and safe currency for years. No wonder Swiss banks are so famous (notoriously!) But I feel that it has lived its upside potential and hence can be a safe investment but not a highly profitable one.

That brings me to the Singaporean dollar. This is a currency that has steadily and stealthily appreciated against the dollar significantly over the last 5 years and is going strong. If you don’t believe me take a look at the chart below which shows SD’s appreciation against USD over time! 1 Singapore dollar has appreciated from $0.59 in 2004 to $0.81 in 2010.

Well, how is this possible? One word: Governance! Singapore has an open business environment, is relatively corruption free and has one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world. It has a highly developed state capitalist mixed economy (famously known as “Singapore Model”) that combines economic planning with a free market to position Singapore as the fastest growing economy in the world. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Singapore grew by 22.5% in the first quarter of 2011 over the previous quarter in stark contrast to America’s 2.3%. It easily surpassed China’s impressive GDP growth of 9.7% too. From 2007 until 2010, Singapore's average quarterly GDP Growth was 6.09% reaching an historical high of 44.50% in March of 2010.

With its challenges as one the smallest sovereigns in terms of the area and lack of natural resources, Singapore relies on something called “Entrepot” trade: purchase raw goods and refine them for re-export (wafer fabrication and oil refining). Having the busiest port in the world and a skilled workforce form the icing on the cake! And who can forget that Singapore is becoming the Financial hub of the world. The business supportive environment and political stability has attracted many multi-national banking and investment firms and almost all of these have their Asian headquarters in Singapore.

Singapore is also a country that lives within its means with the Government promoting high levels of savings and investment. If the US is characterized by borrowing and spending, then Singapore with earning and saving is its polar opposite. A wonderful measure to consider is the current account balance. It is the difference between the country’s savings and its investment. Singapore has a current account surplus of $26 billion while US has a deficit of $420 billion. Now you know why the US debt crisis is not a far-fetched thought! Singapore on the contrary has very low debt, high government revenues and its foreign exchange reserves work out to approximately $40,000 for every person which is a pretty good piggy bank for a rainy day.

But beyond all this, Singapore’s biggest advantage is that it sits in the middle of the busiest shipping lane in the world: Asia which has many many years of rapid economic growth ahead of it. All this means that the Singapore dollar would continue to gain value against the US dollar and hence promises to be a wonderful currency to invest in. And who knows, it might soon take its place as the elusive “Anti-Dollar”!

TEXAS SAVE'EM

In the last 2 years of my MBA life, I have had the good fortune of having so many wonderful friends and I won’t even attempt to count the number of times we have gotten together and have had an absolute blast. But food and games are always at the center of every such fun evening. (Arpana and Abhijit would want to include gossip as well though!). Several games come to my mind: Taboo has always been a favorite (especially after Manny gave it a cult status); Mafia has recently become popular (with Ayushman’s basic instincts, Abhijit’s persuasion skills and Shalini’s silent killer cameo); and who can forget Garima’s obsession (and Sid’s helpless look) with Truth or Dare and Ganesh’s proposal to Ayushman. But one game has become a rage off late and has aroused the gambler in all of us: POKER.

When we got the poker set, we had no idea it would become such a hit. We started playing it on random occasions and with all our amateurish inputs we customized it into good evening fun. Shine then gave some final touches to it (well he basically corrected some of the rules which I had made of my own) and it has now turned into an addiction which keeps us awake at nights providing us with moments which we will all remember for a very long long time.  

Poker has created some interesting characters among us. Introducing Mr.Ayushman Dutta aka James Bond. Nowadays he is seen walking with the poker brief case and is even pursuing alternative careers in Bollywood. Don-3 might see a new star! He is the official dealer and is more often not, cursed by Swati for bad if not horrible cards. Swati is the “chupa rustam” who is expert in silently accumulating wealth while she is busy killing pigs simultaneously!

Shine comes in as the official Poker expert. He knows every nuance of the game and is extremely canny. Sometimes he too succumbs to the daredevil risk takers we have in our group. But he is the master enticer who quietly folds most of the time and focuses all his energy into coaxing people to go ALL-IN and in the process manages to create Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers out of Chases and Bank of Americas.  

Shalini is the surprise package in every game. She is the ultimate risk taker who can even bet on nothing and manages to catch many a bluff in the process. She can be a Brazil in a recession and at the very next moment do a Greece too!  But beware: Don’t give your money to her after dinner as she believes in wealth redistribution if you know what I mean.

Arpana adds a new dimension to the game with a complete grasp of all the rules! She is the one who refused to look at her own cards because she thought it was a new rule that Shine suggested. She can fold when she is the little blind and do check when the person before had bet a 100. She also takes a long look at the rule book to check the best winning combinations and then think for long before eventually saying: “I fold”. Alas, everyone just thought you had a straight flush!

Monica will be remembered as the one who only deals in 100s even if she was the big blind and the minimum bet was 20. Who else will raise bets by 50 in first 2 rounds and fold in the third? She is the self-proclaimed confidence player!

Neha and Abhijit complete the pack as the “UNPREDICTABLES” and add to the excitement of the game. They bluff with ease and play high stakes. Abhijit has the proverbial “bring it on” look and he gets into interesting duels with Neha who always thinks he is bluffing! Neha also has the Poker best line (To Abhijit of course) till date to her credit: “I will do a 9/11 on your Poker chip towers”! That is some serious threat! Poker is so much fun when you have such diverse skillsets on the table. All in all, it is Paisa Vasool!

But the best part is that we are always treated to some mouth-watering delicacies by Neha or Monica. Ayushman chips in with his delicious cakes. This last time, Abhijit’s mom was the co-conspirer in giving us all a food coma. We hog and then we go again. Of course, food calms some nerves while it pushes the adrenalin levels high in others who end up losing not only their money but also others’. But whether someone gets a straight or a flush, it is always a FULL HOUSE!

Starring in Alphabetical Order: Abhijit, Arpana, Ayushman, Monica, Neha, Shalini, Shine, Swati et Moi (Raj).

Cameos (not in any order): Wake up Sid, Garima, Abhijit’s mom, Mani Singh

XMU3 PSPICE!

My graduation cap and gown are here but it still hasn’t sunk in. I don’t know if and when it will happen. But while I was ruminating about the past 2 years of my MBA life, my memory pushed the rewind button a little further and took me to a time that could probably be called as the best phase in most of our lives: COLLEGE DAYS. There are some moments that remain in our hearts forever and there are a few people who however distant they are will still be part of our lives. This post is about one such happy bunch of friends.

Almost 12 years ago (seems like yesterday), we came to BITS Pilani with different motives, ambitions and dreams but with an anxiety and excitement deep inside. We were all put to test immediately in different ways: some missed their loved ones, some cracked to ragging, some couldn’t take the heat of classes and others couldn’t stand the cold outside. But all of us responded in our own unique ways: some made 2 phone calls a day to their moms, while others switched to gate-calls. Some did night outs and others skipped classes for a chai. Some bathed at 6 in the morning while others went 31 days without a shower. Some fell in love, some thought they were in love and others didn’t know Meera Bhavan existed. But one thing we all did: we made friends; we all came together. We bunked classes together, we tried to study together, couldn’t and hence ended up crashing together. We sledged each other in a game of cricket and then bonded over a “sam-chat”. Classes were empty while ANC’s cash registers and Nagar Redi’s account receivables shot up thanks to us. We became friends for life. We became inseparable.

About 10 years ago, we decided to call ourselves: “XMU3 PSPICE”. That might be the geekiest name you would have ever heard, but we are still the coolest bunch you could ever imagine. We had cricket stars, a rock star, sheer entertainers, a could have been politician, an electrician, an artist, an architect, a compere, a director, an orator, some prolific singers, many bathroom singers, geniuses and an Albert Einstein. And all of us had the time of our life. 4 years flew by and there was never a dull moment. Well, all good things come to an end. Words cannot describe the emotions that engulfed me when we parted. I wondered will life ever be the same again.

All of us left college to make a mark in this world and are still at it. Some became what they wanted to be and others loved what they became. Some settled down, some are still looking to mingle while others prefer to keep their status top secret. Spread all over the world, we do different things and have different lives, but not a single day goes by without a small thought or a quick chat or a long yap with one another. And every time we meet, we reminisce and relive those wonderful days of our lives all over again. Life is not the same anymore and it won’t be. But I am sure we will all have time to share each other’s little moments of joy or grief, chat on a Saturday afternoon about the ridiculous things we did in college or catch a movie together. That is all we need to take a trip down memory lane!

Ant, Bogsie, Chicken, Dino, Dipon, Dobhi, Ganda, Harish, Jaggi, Jty, Kaluvi, Karadi, Kath, Keetu, Kela, Kuja, Malli, Pku, Rangu, Rbha, Rod, Saip, Sesh, Shaathu, Shanki, Sprayee, SSS, Truc – This is for you guys. Love you all!

Zimp.

RAINY DAYS!

What does rain mean to us? Well, different things to different people and nothing to a select few. I think rain reminds us of our very existence. No, I am not trying to be dramatic or poetic here. It detaches us from our frenzy lives and makes us enjoy the smaller joys in life to which we have become ignorant of. It makes some of us bunk school or work to sit next to the window and gaze for hours. It makes a few of us (the crazier bunch) go out in the rain, come back absolutely drenched, change and then head out again.

I knew I was missing something. Filter coffee! (Okay… the not so lucky ones can go to Coffee Day or Starbucks). Sipping filter coffee on a rainy day is pure bliss. And it is damn simple. All you need is a coffee filter and some finely ground fresh coffee roast (45% chicory!). Put 3 spoons of coffee powder into the filter and add 1 glass of hot boiling water to it. Once it filters, add the decoction to a cup of milk and throw in a generous dose of sugar. (Diet watchers use sugar free and diabetics make sure that your spouse is not around!) And voila! Elixir for a rainy morning is ready. For people in love: make one cup, head to your balcony, hold hands, sip some coffee, experience rain and celebrate life!

When rain comes, the earth wears cologne, sun takes a nap, clouds clap to celebrate and trees dance in joy to a composition of the wind. A rabbit makes a run to its hole. Then it changes its mind and slowly pops its head out to enjoy the rain in installations. A peacock shows its moves. The deer looks impressed. Flowers turn greedy and try to collect as many rain drops as possible. Leaves beneath them take the left overs. Everybody seems to want a piece of rain. So, why exactly do you hide in your living room or run for an umbrella? Come out and watch the leaves share a kiss with the rain drops.

I cannot tell you enough about rain. Nobody can. But I just have a few parting words:

Rain lovers, have you tried having ice cream in rain? It is divine. Try it the next time Mr.Rain comes to visit.

And skeptics, try the 1 minute rule! Shed your fears or inhibitions or whatever it is, go out in the rain, close your eyes, spread your arms and let the water droplets shower you with kisses for a minute. I am sure you will thank me after that. You may think it is insanity. I agree. But trust me; it is the most beautiful form of insanity you could ever imagine!

REVOLUTIONS IN THE MAKING: PART II

Gaddafi may the biggest story right now. But we will soon realize that there will be more sequels to follow. After Asia, Africa might be the next logical step for an economic take off. But for that to be possible, Africa must rid itself from its many Gaddafis. And Robert Mugabe sure makes that list!

Obama’s popularity ratings might not be high any more, but Mr. Mugabe is flying high as he was ranked as the World’s Top (Worst, of course) Dictator. He could have been another Nelson Mandela that Africa desperately needed. He was the torchbearer of the liberation movement against minority white rule and he emerged as a hero in the minds of many Africans in 1979 when Zimbabwe was finally independent. In 1980 Mugabe was overwhelmingly elected to power and this is where the similarities end. Mugabe seemed to like Hitler more than Mandela. Mugabe steered his country through a period of early decline (1980 – 1999) whose major highlights were union struggles, torturing any opposition, increasing autocracy in public sector and a weakening economy.

Then Mugabe felt that the pace was not enough. So he decided to unleash the period of deep decline (1999 – 2008) on Zimbabwe. And the star this time was “Land Issues”. Mugabe redistributed land as if he was playing a game of Monopoly. Hyperinflation, fuel shortage, drought, food crisis and epidemic also made their presence felt. While life expectancy declined since 1990 from 60 to 42 years, Mugabe was going strong at 84. Inflation in Zimbabwe is so bad that the Government recently released a 50 billion (Zimbabwe dollars!) note just enough to buy 2 loaves of bread. Unemployment rate has gone beyond 85%. Mugabe finally agreed to hold an election in 2008 (how very generous of him). Well you wish! Apparently, he would accept the result only if he won. His supporters killed 163 in the opposition and tortured 5000 and after a “recount”, Mugabe miraculously assumed power again.

But now problems in Zimbabwe have reached such crisis proportions in the areas of living standards and public health that has caught lot of international attention and is causing internal uprisings. Mugabe was first forced so share power with the opposition in late 2008 which might be the first signal that the end may be near. He is up for elections again now and the opposition is so strong now that it can no longer be suppressed by torture. Mugabe has to be more creative than that.

His continued hold on power is a testament to his own wiles and the “mind your elders” deference the international community once showed him. But the people of Zimbabwe have made no such assurances. Mr. Mugabe: I think that there is a difference in being “old” and being “wise”. You can still choose to be “wise”. But you must hurry or you will be too “old” for that!

CORE REVISITED - ONE LAST TIME!

There is a reason why we equate our teachers to Gods. They are more intelligent and talented than most of the icons and stalwarts in the corporate world and yet they are proud and content to be churning out more of them! The Kelley MBA program is gifted with some of the best teaching minds in the country. Today we had one last chance to listen to them again. But this time they were teaching us the lesson of life!

It was Rockney who first Mo Mo’ed his way into the classroom. He said he had no agenda. I think he was not supposed to. Today we just wanted to listen! He started off with an accounting concept. (btw.. he teaches Marketing!) Has anyone heard of FILO? I hope Jamie Pratt doesn’t hear that! Sure marketers don’t know their numbers! Well, what he meant was that we should be the first one to enter the office and the last one to leave. He had more advise but the gist was to go out and have fun. I just love him for what he is: an absolute blast! Life is so simple when you are happy!

Phil Powell was at his animated best. I had one last time to see him go airborne. For an American, he was quite candid as to how America is no more the place for big opportunities and how by 2016 China would become the biggest economy while still being in a phase of Economic Takeoff. Unbelievable! I was really thrilled (and happy with myself) when he laid out his prediction of where the next biggest growth opportunities would be: AFRICA! Bingo! I guessed it right. (unless he is wrong as well!) It is time to embrace the emerging markets.

But his best advice was: “Don’t blow away your signing bonus and buy a brand new car”. I totally agree. The beast depreciates by about 15% the moment you drive it out of the showroom! I love economists!

It was shocking to see Shockley get emotional. Ironical (but very sweet!) for a guy who is generally stoic and doesn’t believe in farewells and that kind of stuff. Think about it. I have had just 8 core professors while he would have probably had more than 800 students by now. But by the end of his speech, he had a tear in his eye while I didn’t which reminded me of how insensitive I had become. I was ashamed at myself for a moment. For a guy, who taught the most complex concepts in the simplest and most elegant way, he deserved more than a drop of my tear!

Finally it was Cattani who helped me with glycerin. I was able to peep inside the heart of a guy who revels in Dilbert cartoons. I was able to feel the pain and anguish of 10 years of hard work and perseverance reduced to ashes by one word: “tenure”. But more than that I was rendered speechless by his spirit to brave it all and be what he is today. Life is a battle which you never lose unless you choose to!

Next up was Mr. Devil Duck! That by the way is Matt Semadeni. He had the last word for us and it was fitting in every respect. “I want all of you to be successful. But more than that, I want you to be happy”. Simple but powerful!

These guys gave us the toughest and best 4 months of our MBA lives. And today they left us with wisdom for the rest of our lives. Love you! Miss you!

THE PERFECT EVENING!

A gorgeous landscape, a breathtaking forest, jolly trees wrapping their arms around one another, cute flowers decorating the trees, a serene lake, gentle rain showering kisses generously to one and all! To top it all: a bunch of lovely friends. You have all the ingredients in the making for a wonderful Sunday evening. Add some adventure and fun to this and you get to trek through some dangerous terrain, climb trees (confirming our ancestral roots!), do a group dance, research on algae, fall flat on your back, enjoy watching others’ fall, get people to believe that you can actually walk on water and amidst all this strike some lovely poses for the shutterbugs! Priceless!

As if this was not enough, if you can add some fine hot tea and mouthwatering pakodas (Courtesy: Neha) to the equation, then it should easily qualify as the “Perfect Evening”. And today was indeed one of those days. And if you don’t believe it: See it for yourself.

Now you may wonder: “All this sounds great! But I don’t see you in the picture”. Some may go: “Ohh… okay… I get it”. No... I am not the photographer either (That's Ayushman btw!). You see. I had a difficult choice (in hindsight the choice was so obvious!) between correcting 190 accounting exam papers and losing myself to the beauty of Lake Griffy. Lo behold. I chose to sacrifice my happiness for the sake of 190 studious souls! Abhijit, Shalini, Ayushman, Neha and Arpana: I envy you guys. (I meant that in a good way!)

But as they say: Life gives you second chances and I did manage to grab mine. You guessed it right! The pakodas didn’t miss me too much. But I did miss a lot tonight. But I know I don’t have to regret it for long because another perfect evening is just round the corner!

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT GADDAFI? REVOLUTIONS IN THE MAKING: PART I

For long, Africa has been the continent that could have been. Abundance of natural resources was always neutered by the presence of monarchy and corruption which have successfully exploited the world’s largest continent and left it hungry, poor and most importantly: Angry! Libya, Tunisia, Syria and Egypt now certainly testify a continent that could be.

Before you jump into the conclusion that this post is my take on these revolutions, let me introduce you to “King Mswati III”. You may go: “Who the heck is this guy?” He is the absolute (one of the last of his kind) monarch of Swaziland. Some of you may wonder: “Is that a country by any chance?” Sure it is!! Finally if you have lost your patience and wondering what I am getting at, I am trying to point you to the next “Muammar Gaddafi”. And Mswati III sure is one of them!

Mswati III who has ruled Swaziland for 25 years received the throne from his father who apparently ruled for 60 years (Well…that’s some job security!) He practices polygamy (maybe he thinks that it is in vogue!) and at least two of his wives were appointed by the state (wow... State seems to keep itself quite busy). He is a connoisseur and luxury monger in the true sense as he spends lavishly on yachts and bling while 40 percent of his population is unemployed and a quarter lives with HIV or AIDS. Can’t blame the poor guy completely. He has so many wives to take care of!

Mswati III exercises absolute power on one of the world’s poorest nations and what are his policies focused on: “Strengthening and perpetuating the traditional order”. In 2004, he reportedly spent about $5 million to build palaces for each of his 11 wives! While he was busy juggling his wives and buying expensive cars, Swaziland quietly surpassed Botswana as the country with the highest AIDS prevalence rate. Political parties have been banned for 40 years now (helps to be an “absolute” monarch after all) and he has a history of crushing any opposition before it gains any significance.

All this sounds like a great recipe for: You guessed it right - REVOLUTION. Africa has no shortage of forests and the African revolution is sure spreading like wild fire. Next stop might be Swaziland! Public unrest in Swaziland is at its all-time high. Students are at their wits’ end about the lack of freedom in their homeland. Perfect stimulus for a country for which happiness is long due. Mswati III better watch out, it may be difficult to count your wives but your days are numbered!

BRCKS SUMMIT

So when did Kenya replace India as the emerging superpower? Well.. no.. this is not an Emerging Economies Global Summit. Our very own Chetan Bhagat has decided that is high time he rehashed his best seller book “5 point someone” and decides to call 4 superpower stars to an island (should be a costly book!!) for conceptualizing his new story. Here he is hosting our swashbuckling celebrities: Barack Obama, Rajnikant, M.Karunanidhi and Shah Rukh Khan.

Chetan: Woww… This is great. It is an honor to be among such stalwarts. More so to be in this gorgeous island!! I am going to write a book about the 4 of you meeting in college and revolutionizing a whole nation!

Obama: Oh…. That is easy! I can bring a lot of change! Change and Hope!

Karuna: oh wow.. I could do with some change! Can’t get that if I am not in power!! Looks like my dream of dying as a Chief Minister might not come true!!

SRK: I am not missing out this time. I need the copyrights to make a movie out of that. How does “4 Idiots” sound?

Obama: Where did you learn your grammar? It should be: “How do 4 idiots sound”!!

Rajni: I think I already know!

Chetan: Okay.. Letzzz get into this. So which college do you guys want to go to?

Karunanidhi: I am too old for college. I can provide free laptops though!

Rajni: Kannaa… I am too young for college. Ha haa haaa!!

Chetan: We should have a theme! So what do you guys want to stand up for and fight against in college?

Barack Obama: hmm….. I have to think!!

Rajni: Corruption!!

Karunai: Corruption!!!

SRK: Piracy.

Rajni: haa haaa haa.. for that kanna, you will have to talk to Johnny Depp. Suuuuper movie paa!!

Chetan: Mr. Obama?

Obama: hmm…. I need more time to think! I should have an answer in my next Presidential campaign!

Chetan: Mr.Karuna, I can understand Rajni standing up for corruption. But why you?

Karuna: I have had enough of 2G! I need to upgrade to 3GS!!

Chetan: Ahh… Now I get it! You stand FOR corruption!

SRK: Let him stand first! Then we will see!

Chetan: So Rajni, what are your plans against corruption?

Rajni: I support Anna!

Karuna: I support Anna too!

Rajni: Wot a nonsense of the stupid of the English!! I said Anna Hazare.

Chetan: Wow… how and when do you plan to do that?

Rajni: Kannaa… naan engae eppo epdi varuvennu yarukum theriyathu.. aana vara vendiya nerathula corrictaaa varuven… ha haa haa… (Nobody knows when and where I will come but when time comes I will!)

SRK: I can use that dialogue for my next movie!

Chetan: So Rajni.. what is your first plan?

Rajni: I am on my way to Himalayas kannaaa…

Obama: Can I find Osama Bin Laden there?

Rajni points his fingers skyward!!

Obama jumps out of his chair and hides himself under the table. “Missile Attack!! I should have known that Bin Laden will find me here!!”

Chetan: Okay.. thatzz it!! I am heading to the beach! Catch you all later!!!

SRK: Time for Twitter! I should follow Sourav Ganguly!!

HOW TO CRACK A CAR WINDOW WITH A THUMB DRIVE!!

Well... before you guys let your imagination run wild let me know tell you this is not a laser emitting uber-cool 22^nd century pen drive that I have. It is much simpler than that. Well… it is one of those days where nothing goes right and you get to see how a set of insignificant events (read: “mistakes of the past”) string together and wreak havoc. I am sure you have been there before!

It was yesterday evening and here I was wondering about my fast paced (relatively!!) and eventful MBA life! And more importantly which genius came up with the idea of having a vending machine for lobsters!! Thankfully my phone rings and Siva wakes me up from slumber land. We start talking about old friends and I invite myself to his house. But then I make my second (trivial yet) mistake. I decide to return his thumb drive which he insisted twice that he absolutely does not need. I park my car outside his house and after struggling for 5 minutes, I manage to locate the thumb drive in my bag.

We have a great time until I see him glancing towards the clock. So I walk back to the car only to realize my third mistake (not trivial anymore) of safely securing my car key in my bag which by the way is also secure inside the trunk. Now we have a problem!

Siva says: Now surely you must be having a spare key!! Ahh… Now I remember! Mistake No. 1!!! Guess what... the spare key is also in my bag!! Genius!!! I guess Siva would have thought: “Well... at least I got my thumb drive!!”

It didn’t look that bad since Siddharth, Abhijit, Shalini, Neha and Siva (wow... I have so many great friends) all help me out and AAA roadside assistance is on the way. Now all of a sudden, Mr. Tornado decides to visit town. Perfect timing!! Btw….. Mr. Tornado? Did you like Bloomington? Beautiful, isn’t it? I heard you are coming again tonight!!

Well… it happens to be that Mr. AAA is not good friends with Mr. Tornado. So he says: “Later, man!!” I decide to call it a (eventful) day hoping tomorrow morning would be less exciting. Hmm….. Not exactly!! Biting cold morning, I get to where my car was parked. Still there!! Okay. Now I see 2 gentlemen arriving with an air of confidence looking to make short work of this car break in!! “Letzz get down to binnnessssss!!!” He inserts a long wire through my glass window and tries to pull it open!! CRACKKKK!!!!! My Windowww!!!! A moment of silence!!

The man goes: Well... In all my experience, that is the first time I have cracked a glass!! Daaamnnn….

I say: Don’t worry mate!! (Wonder why I got the Australian accent there!!) It happens to everybody! Btw… quick question… Is this your first time?? (Oops… Now I know why the accent!!!)

Terrible question to ask to a man who had something that looked like a crow bar in his hand. He is kind enough not to make a second crack (in my head)!! Instead he goes: “Don’t worry man... Our insurance will cover that”!

Door’s open! I get my key(s)!! That’s it!! It’s over (I guess)!! Well... what to say!! I guess we all need our share of excitement!!! Today I got someone else’s as well!!