Is Ox going to be better than the Rat?

Is Ox going to be better than the Rat? Well, we all have to wait and see.

Oh cmon!!! I hate this waiting game. I wish I can quickly zip forward in time to Dec 31, 2009 and see if all my wishes came true, all my New Year resolutions were still intact, am I still healthy and breathing alive. It's very unfortunate I can't do that. Nobody can. All I can hope is that it turns out better for me and for the entire human race (not that I ignore animals, birds and plants. They know how to take care of themselves and they don't have resolutions to keep it intact or wish lists to tick off and feel happy or sad about it).

So did 2008, the year of the Rat according to the Chinese, go smooth for you? May be it did. May be not. If it did, thank the Almighty. If it didn't, lower your expectations next year. I'm not going to ask you to work hard and meet your expectations. You probably did work hard last year too.


Was it a smooth ride for me? Ahemmm...I don't know. I had events to remember, events to forget, things to share, secrets to keep it to myself, tears of joy, tears of sorrow. But I really don't know if I had a good 2008.


The trail of events in my life in 2008 has been sinusoidal. The year started with a rough wave. Lakshmi & I lost a baby boy before he was born. The joy of being a father and mother was denied (rather postponed I would say optimistically). It was very hard to take it. We shared dreams with each other. We even had names chosen. God gave us a gift and took it back. Can't argue with Him. It was His gift and He decided to take it. May be it was for the good. This is only going to make us treasure the next baby more. I'll be lying if I said I moved on from this incident. It did make a dent. I was very moved to see this little stone carved with a message outside a church in a village called Lambertville, NJ.May his soul rest in peace!!!!


In this whole episode there is one person to whom am infinitely indebted to. My sweet wife. She took all the pain on herself and continues her life as if nothing ever happened. The pain was not just physical, but emotional and psychological too. I wasn't even with her when she handled all these. I know I've been a bad husband this year and I feel guilty for that. But she brushed it aside and continues to shower love on me the way she did for the last 12 years. What a character she is in my life!!! Thank you dear.

Then all the good things happened. My dad and mom visited me in the US. I remember when I was a child my dad used to tell me how much he wanted to go to the US to pursue his Masters in Chemistry and poverty denied his aspirations. He once said he wanted to see Niagara falls before he died. Not sure if he remembers this. He did see Niagara falls. We visited Washington DC, Times Square, Camden, Philadelphia, Liberty statue, Empire State building, downtown Manhattan, wax museum, Hoboken, restaurants, malls, supermarkets, churches, dollar shops, gift shops and everything possible in those 3 months. I feel so relieved and happy to provide them the experience of touring the United States. A small way of thanking them for all the big things, sacrifices and selflessness that they showed in bringing me up. Thank you dad. Thank you mom.


Many of my good times this year were with my dear friends. Trips to Cape May, Atlantic city, Albany, Vermont, Point Pleasant beach, Lake George were fantastic. I enjoyed the time spent with them more than the places. Numerous get-togethers, movies, shopping, long drives, short drives, dinners, drinks, coffees, drags, discussions that often turn into arguements and arguments that often turn into laughters. I cant forget my 30th Bday. It was a week day and everyone was there to wish and cheer me up. I know they all would've had better things to do that day. They did sacrifice some time for me. Some of these friends are longstanding friends who continue to value friendship and give it a shine the way they did many many years ago. I dint see and meet some of the friends for a year. They still surprise me with emails and chats every now and then. All these friends whom I met and whom I dint are the only people to whom I can be myself. They always bring a smile on my face. Money, pride, ego, jealousy, selfish, greed are some of the words that don't get a place of mention in these friendships. Thanks guys. You all made my year.

So all the good things happened to me. All the good people were with me. I learnt to play 8 ball pool like a pro, I learnt typewriting, I lost weight, I can run 8 miles at a stretch, I'm fitter than how I was last year, all my friends are still friends, I had yet another birthday to celebrate and am still living and healthily breathing. Do I still have the same question? Was 2008 a good year for me? It isn't a tough call any more to decide whether I had a good year or not. Yes I had that single disappointment in the begining, but there were so many good things to cheer up and say aloud - 'Yes 2008 was a GREAT year' . Thank God for the 2008 he gave me.

Is 2009, the year of the Ox according to Chinese, going to better than the Rat? Well same question and same answer. I don't know. May be I can define the success criteria (Sh*t, I hate this office jargons that stuck onto me like leach)
At the end of the year,
If I can be a good son to my parents,
If I can continue to win the love of my wife,
If I can be a good mentor and friend to my brother,
If I can still be friends with all my friends,
If I can read bible every day and spend some time with God every Sunday,
If I can do charity without letting anyone know of it,
If I can be fit to run a marathon,
If I can speak lesser words than I did in 2008, and at last
If I lived to read this blog

then I will be saying aloud on Dec 31st 2009 that Ox was better than the Rat. It doesn't matter whether I earned money or not, whether I got promoted or not, whether my career progressed or not, whether I bought a car or not, whether i owned a house or not - If I achieved what I mentioned in the list above - I would've had a successful year.