Fly,fly away

"I've fled the country. Please go to my flat and take what you want from there."

Well, I imagine that's what this friend of a friend said some months back, to his friends out here and his relatives, when he quietly tiptoed out of the country with only the clothes he and his family were wearing, too scared to face the next day. And they(the people whom he informed) made a beeline for the flat, and took everything- the music system, the TV, the kitchen utensils, the curtains...you name it- leaving the flat as bare as Mother Hubbard's cupboard. When I asked my friend what had happened, he said ' The guy was just another of those Shaikh-chillis, who want to get rich quicker than they are supposed to. He had a nice-paying job, but,he wanted to make 1/2 a million dirhams within a few months, and so he went into a couple of businesses,which went bust and he went bankrupt, owing money left, right and centre. Perhaps he'll arrange the money from India and then plan to come back someday.'

Going further,he said' the guy and his family wanted to live like kings. The best branded clothes,perfumes,gadgets,you name it.' (This friend of mine 'only' got his hands on a LCD TV, incidentally. LOL).

It made me wonder about some things:

- Is it wrong to be so ambitious? Or, to try and make fate move faster than it is supposed to?

Well, from my personal viewpoint, yes. You should be ambitious, aim for the moon, but, in the bargain, don't try to do something unscrupulous or dirty, which will, more likely than not, boomerang back on you.

- Why do people still speak of such unfortunate people, with a tinge of jealousy?(The mention of branded clothes and perfumes, etc). I mean, look, the guy was doing fairly well, he/ his family liked branded stuff, they felt they could afford it, they bought it. As such, why do materialistic things make so much of a difference to many people, is something I'll never understand. I guess they've never gone and sat in a garden in the wee hours of the morning.

- Would you be able to live happily, ever, after such a situation? Where you know that sooner or later, the credit card people,the banks from whom you've taken a loan(There was a brand new Prado 4WD standing in the parking lot, which also, my friend said, had not been paid for). In today's world, it is not so difficult to trace a person, is it, unless he goes in for plastic surgery and/or a complete makeover? Imagine also, the knowledge that if you ever land up again in this country, there'll be an APB out for you, right from the airport,and you'll land up straightaway in jail.

I wouldn't. Definitely not. No amount of money or materialistic things could ever make up for the joy which peace of mind brings- serenity, a good sleep at night,less tensions-to name a few.

Anyway, that was just something I wanted to share- namely, that such things do happen in real life. I have no idea who the person was, incidentally. But, can well imagine his ambitious nature!

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Sol, you pointed out in the previous post that you blog during breaks. How about trying this out on a colleague's PC? Wait till he/she's gone off. Then, move to his/her desk, open Word,and go to Tools-Autocorrect. Add some stuff to the 'Replace' and 'With' boxes. For e.g. if the guy/gal is a secretary, replace' dear' with 'my darling', or' with Yo', replace the colleague's name with 'Mamu', replace 'Yours faithfully' with 'Yours disgustedly'.....endless possibilities. LOL. And, if you're not sure that they use word for emails, first go to outlook, tools-options-mail format-and tick the 'use word' box....do let me know the results,if you do try it out.:)

Of course, all this is if the colleague has a good sense of humour, and is not dumb enough to take such a 'nice' letter to the Boss for their signature.

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English tidbit of the week:

Do you know the origin of smart alec?

Alex Hoag was a thief in New York in the 1840s, who was aided by his pro*titute wife Miranda. He would slip into the room where Miranda was 'plying her trade' and steal the victim's possessions. He would then return as an angry husband, threatening the client, often causing the hapless man to jump out of the window. When Hoag was caught bribing police officers to turn a blind eye, his jailors agreed that he had been a 'Smart Alec'.

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Joke of the day:
Did you hear about the new blonde paint? It's not very bright, but it's cheap, and spreads easy
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Till tomorrow, keep shining!!:)