Just a minute to squeeze this in..., Uncategorized

Preparing to Fail?

Aishwarya

It all started on Friday! some of us friends initiated a plan to meet up on Sunday! I was looking forward to it with all my heart! I hadn’t met these people in ages and there’s nothing like sitting with friends from college and having fun conversations about all the comedy of errors that led to us being where we are today!

All those filthy jokes, the gaudy memories, the ridiculous courage, the silly confrontations…and not to mention the recent gossip on who’s doing what, who’s working where, who’s changed how, who’s getting married when, who’s dating whose ex…all the drama and melodrama of life waiting to be spilled like countless beans on the table!

And then the planning began…After all Benjamin Franklin said these wise words once!

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail!”

True enough…if nobody talks about the most awaited meeting, everyone feels like the plan is off and they start planning for something else! And the following conversation ensues…

“Dude, how could you forget today’s meeting?”

“I didn’t forget about it…but I thought we weren’t meeting…because nobody confirmed later if the plan was on!”

What do you say to that???!!! So to avoid that, we PLANNED! the first question was WHEN!

“Guys could we go for dinner?”

Several others said they would be comfortable with lunch instead. But this person didn’t explain why she was hoping it would be dinner. So we assumed it would be lunch…After all the majority rooted for it. And then the topic veered on to the WHERE!

“Let’s go for a buffet…check out these places…”

The options were X, Y, Z, D, F, M, L, Q,…and many more (I haven’t forgotten the order of alphabets). We all get to work and check the places out…the following comments come up..

“This place is too expensive!”; “This place looks nice! I like their menu!”; “Hey this place doesn’t look nice…the place seems a bit too ordinary!!!”; “Hey I know those options are great…but can we also check out these places – P, A, S?”; “Guys, that place is far for me. Could we go here instead?”

These are just a few things…Hmm…And then…Someone who hadn’t checked any of these messages suddenly woke up and announced – “Guys, I’m allergic to gluten! Let’s please look at a few places that offer gluten free food!”

Awesome! All the effort down the drain. We start all over again. Finally when a consensus was reached somehow after loads of effort, one of us announced – “Yay! Looking forward to meeting you guys…see you at 7:00PM on Sunday evening!”

And then the person who had been sleeping through this whole mess woke up to say – “But hey…I’m not free for dinner guys. Why don’t you guys carry on? I’ll meet you guys some other time.”

Just because of the way the argument is presented, you don’t want to leave the person behind. So you start over again. Because the place you decided on doesn’t have a buffet for dinner!!!

After a lot of argument, suggestions, options and compromises, another place is decided. The person by now is tired of this. And finally when a consensus is decided and a Thai place seems inviting to everyone, the gluten free person is not up for Thai food!

Oh, come on!!!!!

Sunday evening finally arrived…some people dropped out on account of allergies and issues with the time and dislike for Thai food! We didn’t end up going to the place we initially decided on (places, actually!). But we went to a really cool place with amazing music, great food and drinks, extremely inviting ambience…and all the beans spilled on the table just as expected!

“Planning is a process of choosing among those many options. If we do not choose to plan, then we choose to have others plan for us.” Richard I. Winwood

(The quote is as confusing as our plans. Or maybe I’m too confused to understand it right now!)

 

Published by Aishwarya

Just your average person ;)

42 thoughts on “Preparing to Fail?”

  1. Better is to be spontaneous…just when you are free, give a call to your friends and some will definitely meet up..too much planning may lead to no result at all..
    Thanks for sharing..
    Shreyans

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  3. This cracked me up, hilarious but accurate. It always seems to take so much effort to get everyone together and then people always pull out at the last minute anyway. I’ve taken to deciding, inviting and hoping for the best which for the most part has worked really well for me

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  4. Where there’s a will there’s a way. I think those who really wanted to meet made it, regardless of the plan. This reminded me of why I tend to avoid planning and await the decisions. Glad you got there in the end.

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    1. True that!!! The ones who finally met up were the ones who had made no fuss since the beginning 🙂 I hadn’t thought about it like that but thank you for bringing my attention to it!
      Yes in the end we did have a great evening!! 🙂

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    1. I’m glad you liked the post! Yes these conversations are hilarious indeed… 😀 as much as I hate them, I have to admit I’d have them every single time if I have to 🙂

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      1. Hahaha – sweet of you to say that.
        Yes – I noticed your Gravatar but its only today that I can see your photo properly. Yesterday, on my phone, your head was the size of a yellow lentil (the kind that one would use to make toor dal) so was not so easy to make out. All I can say is that it was worth waiting for. 🙂
        All kindness – Robert.

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      3. Well, I kind of, erm … looked it up on the internet? I actually prefer dal made from split peas, but there you go. 🙂 And as for Indian – well I don’t have to go so far – they sell it in my local supermarket. 😉
        Yes – it’s so good to see your face. You look happy – what were you thinking when you took that shot?

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      5. Not at all! After all, I might ask the same thing of you – where did you get your impeccable English from? How come you know the word ‘lentil’? Do you speak English as a matter of course in your daily life? Do all your friends speak English? How widespread is English as a spoken language where you live? Are these questions naïve and possibly insulting (I sincerely hope not – I’m just trying to understand). How come you are fluent in English when my Hindi (excuse if you speak Tamil or Bengali or Malayalam or Punjabi or Sanskrit (I doubt) instead) is limited to a few dozen words and phrases? Stupid? You? It’s me that more deserves that epithet!
        And yes – you were thinking happy thoughts for sure. 😀

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      6. English is pretty well spoken by Indians (we were a colony after all, remember?). English is an official language here. We picked it up well I might think!
        We have too many spoken languages in India (including those you mentioned and a thousand others, including the dialects!) and since their roots go back to Sanskrit, you might find it difficult to understand and/or speak them.
        I must say that you know of quite a few Indian languages (even if it is just by name). To an average European, everything east of Pakistan right upto maybe China is India…they hardly know the difference between Sri Lanka and India!!! (Not kidding – I have had several conversations where I explained how someone or something was Sri Lankan/Nepalese, etc and not Indian!!!)
        As for how I picked up English, it was the language I was taught in, in school and all through the course of my academics. And it never felt like a foreign language to me because most of my family and friends speak English fluently. So I’ve grown up around books, movies, conversations, education – all English (along with other local languages!). So now, including English, I can speak about 7 languages (the other 6 are Indian ones) 😀

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      7. I don’t actually remember the colonial days – they were a bit before my time, but I can see why this might have affected India a little in terms of the languages spoken. I suppose the USA has somewhat the same kind of memories and it certainly had an effect on their language too.
        Yeah – you’re right about the ‘conversations’ that Indian, Sri Lankan and Nepalese people have had to have about where the boundaries of the various countries lie. Even Bangladesh should be included in this matter.
        Do you realise how utterly in awe I am of you and your abilities I am. I know that you spent many years learning and from a very young age, but this doesn’t make it any less of an accomplishment. I have another question – why is the education system in English – or is that just peculiar to your location? Or maybe your demographic? I’m assuming that you’re not in a very rural area?
        Do you ever consider living in England? 🙂

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      8. Ah the education system in India is not all in English… Most metropolitan schools use English as a medium but there are several schools where the teaching happens in vernacular languages!
        Colonial times, of course it was much before you and I 😀
        There’s nothing to be awed about, really! I just have loved in different parts of India and picked up the local languages as I spent time in each of these places! I’m 23 and I’ve had a fairly good time living in several different cities so far 🙂
        Living in England… Well I spent some time in Cambridge two years back and I’m going to be spending a few years in Edinburgh now! You invited me over to your place, remember?! 😉

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      9. Ah, no – that’s Scotland – that’s a completely different country if you don’t mind! I know – I was in Edinburgh less than 24 hours ago – and it was raining. I’ve not spent any time in Cambridge, although I’ve been to Oxford plenty of times.
        Your statement ‘I have loved in different parts of India’ brings an image to mind that you probably didn’t intend. Or did you? 😀
        What sort of things are around you right now, Aishwarya?

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      10. Well I meant I have lived in different parts! Damn autocorrect 😀 but I have loved all these cities.. Except the one I’m in right now (won’t be too long before I leave this place and go home and spend time with my parents)! I love in bangalore currently, which used to be a very pretty place with lots of gardens but now it’s a concrete jungle with lots of pollution! Buy my microcosm here is nice… I work in a great campus which is green and fresh and extremely inviting… Pool, football ground, tennis courts, basketball court etc etc etc… Lovely place! But once I step out of this area it’s a nightmare… Lol!
        If course, Scotland is a different country! But I meant I will be around England forum quite sometime.. Haven’t thought of living there but let’s see what the future holds in store for me 🙂
        India is a beautiful country… You must visit here sometime, I would love to show you around! The culture, the festivities, the food – it’s all very different from what you must be used to… It’ll be a great trip, something you’ll never forget… Let me know if you plan to come to this part of the world and I’ll tell you just the places you need to visit and which time of the year you should 🙂 cheers!!!

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      12. Ah, should I confess now that I’ve been to India more than a dozen times already, and have even worked there for a spell? Maybe I should have mentioned that earlier. 🙂 I have a surpassing love of Indian girls. Your shining white teeth, your long black hair, your shining, brown skin, your ruby lips – yum! And that’s just sticking to the neck upwards (as is proper). 😀
        Your autocorrect struck again – you love in Bangalore at the moment. 😉
        Hey – good news – England equalised and then struck the winner in extra time – yay!! So now I am happy for the rest of the day – yes?
        But you are right – India is such a beautiful country, but more than that – it is full of beautiful people!

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      13. Now that’s a secret you should’ve shared earlier!!!! Where in India did you work?! And next time you visit here we must meet… If we haven’t already met in the UK that is 🙂

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      19. Well yes and no! Yes because broadly it looks and sounds the same subject. But truly the niche that I will be working on in Edinburgh is very new to me and I haven’t really worked on anything like it before! Explaining this would need a much longer conversation than just these messages 🙂 someday, if we do catch up in person we shall talk about this 🙂
        Have a lovely day!

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  8. Hahaha I hear you. This is about every friends gang. Ultimately, you have fun because of the type of people you hangout with are just as crazy as you. Place really doesn’t matter.

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