Honey, I shrunk the Economy!

I wonder how we got through so much without commenting on the current economy crisis. I always got stuck at a roadblock when trying to write something about it. I don't know exactly why it happened, how it happened, how much it will affect us or when it will be over. I still don't. So here are some interesting headlines that could scare us, but somehow these headlines always give me some kind of sadistic pleasure. Something in me keeps on saying - din't we say so a year ago?

Some of the headlines i picked up in random.. They seem like a crisis timeline. All through i see the economy declining. Can't believe it was just months before when the Sensex celebrating breaching the 20,000 barrier.

September 15, 2008: Markets in turmoil on Lehman failure

September 29, 2008: FTSE sinks 3.3 percent as worries escalate

September 29, 2008: Bradford & Bingley is nationalised

October 7, 2008: Russia backing Iceland as world crisis spreads

October 8, 2008: IMF sees major global downturn

October 14, 2008:House sales fall to 30-year low

October 14, 2008: Inflation soars to 16-year high in Sept

October 24, 2008: Wall Street joins stock market rout

October 24, 2008 : 19,683 Tech Layoffs And Counting

Still can't see the end of this fall..

I'm still jobless.. Hurray!

We had the first taste of the famed CET Career Guidance and Placement Unit (CGPU) yesterday. Placements are slated to begin in July. The statistics showed only 3.7% didn't manage to get placed last year out of the qualified students registered in CGPU. That's something to cheer about, but one question lurked in mid air. How would I manage to get not placed? No, I didn't get the question wrong way round. Hopefully after reading the post you might understand why that question arise in mind, even if it was only for a moment.

There's a question that's being thrown around a lot these days - Are you ready for a job? After the question is asked rhetorically by someone, everyone goes silent at the same time. Though most of us recover fast, the feeling of uncertainty doesn't wane away. So what makes the question so potent? There seems to be many reasons.

First of all, though we say education is a continuous process, is it really true. I feel the knowledge gathering process grind to a halt after you enter a job. The second is freedom or at least the illusion of freedom. The freedom of movement, thought and expression will be curtailed. Another is the simple fact of higher responsibility.

Humans work an average 8 of the 16 hours we're awake. That adds up to about half of your life spend to survive in the other half. Was it like that always, or did industrial revolution blind us?

Simpsons Quote of the Day:
Mr. Burns: I’ll keep it short and sweet - Family. Religion. Friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business.

Monopoly

chapter1

“Angetine Phigteror not available...may I suggest u Bilos Derthigh” asked the druggist.

“No let me check some druggists near by “ said Shawn.

“Sir if u want u can….but I would like to tell u that u wont get it” said the druggist.

“hmm!!” Shawm smiled towards the druggist without showing his enamel ,as he opened the door of his Carrera GT. “durr…rrrr…rr..r…”the car passed BLETIQUE Druggists and Chemists building...Shawn gave it a full throttle as he flew through the Havana International Airport Highway.

It has been a long time since he left Cuba at the age of twelve. Shawn’s parents shifted to Shanghai to work for Fujitsu Shipping Corporation. Both his father and mother were in FSC as port engineers. It was at FSC Havana they fell in love and got together. As FSC was forced to close its operations in Havana due to labor problems Shawn’s parents were shifted to FSC Shanghai along with many other employees. Life was difficult in Shanghai for Shawn and his brother Smith as Chinese didn’t know Spanish. But they pushed through, learned Chinese. His father resigned from FSC and started export business in Shanghai. It grew at an amazing pace. Shawn and Smith never looked back since. They spread their business from export to real estate to automobile to petrochemicals at a blistering pace. It was at such pace that the communists of china started calling them MONOPOLY. The government of China restricted them from any further investments marking them as a foreign company owned by Cubans. That was how Shawn was reminded of Cuba. He called it nostalgia and his old man asked “why waste a week in Havana? Our old little town ha..ha ..”. But Shawn wanted to go there and stay for a week. His secretary arranged for his landing in Havana. He took his Carrera GT with him, which he cant live without.

Travelling away from Havana, there are two railway level crossings at Jaguey Grande (about 13km from Havana) and approaching Ranchuelo (about 10km later). Both of these are ungated and have "stop" signs - drivers should stop, look and listen before crossing.

After crossing Jaguey Grande he stopped at another druggist and asked for Angetine Phigteror but it was the same again. Only Bilos Derthigh was available.

A new monopoly was taking form in Cuba the ultimate monopoly of the 21^st century.

(may be continued) ………………Aj