Silent Eloquence » Asides

Synopsis, root canals and child birth

Surya — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:37:59 +0000

I have just written a synopsis I hate – of course, I am in love with my novel and no two pages is going to do justice to it (Did you say something about me being biased? I am ignoring it.)

While trying to figure out what I should change, I hop over to Nathan Bransford’s blog post on the topic. Here’s one of the comments on his blog by Kimber An:

Ug, I’d rather have root canal than write a synopsis. The only nice thing I can say is it’s easier and less painful than childbirth.

This was really the last thing I needed to read. Now I don’t know what I should pray for – the baby comes before I finish the synopsis (so I can finally walk instead of waddle ad breathe instead of gasp) or she waits till I finish the synopsis and query letter (in which case, that comment is tempting me to procrastinate it for a very long time). Where’s my dentist when I need her?

Oh wait, that’s another contraction! Arrghh!!! Looks like the li’l one has a mind of her own, doesn’t really matter what I pray for.

Thank you & Good Bye

FT Boldness Awards

Surya — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:10:46 +0000

FT just announced their Boldness in Business Awards. Winners include Selco for CSR and Google for entrepreneurship

Interesting comments on boldness vs. recklessness too on the site. Regardless of the obvious theoretical differences, the line between the two is very thin. I can’t decide which side I am on. Only time can tell.

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Startups in 13

Surya — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:52:39 +0000

Paul Graham has an interesting essay – Startups in 13 sentences

I particularly like the one about “Don’t give up”. It’s surprisingly true of most professions – you will eventually succeed, sometimes just through sheer perseverance.

However, sometimes it is better to give up, and the trick is to know when to give up and when not to.

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Interview Ishiguro

Surya — Sat, 03 May 2008 20:52:16 +0000

Spring issue of Paris Review has an excellent interview with Ishiguro.

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Random books

Surya — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:20:37 +0000

Random books from my library are now online, thanks to librarything. Not particularly useful, but staring at my books helps my homesickness when I am away from home..

Random notes on Singapore

Study on career transitions

Surya — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:18:48 +0000

An interesting study from DDI on career transitions – Making a step up in your role has quite a personal impact – but are the individuals sufficiently prepared? If not, how can they prepare for it and how can organizations help them? It is worth downloading the pdf.

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To twit or not to twit?

Surya — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:55:53 +0000

Leveraging ideas claims that Twitter suffers from its own branding. I am one of those who has been doing the”Should I twitter? Should I not?” dance for a while. The post hasn’t convinced me one or way or the other, but it did give a push – interesting perspective.

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Happy Vishu!

Surya — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:38:43 +0000

Wishing everyone a happy Vishu! Related posts: Vishu the harvest festival Happy Holidays Happy Onam Related posts:

Unaccustomed Earth

Surya — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:04:49 +0000

Just finished the title story in Jhumpa Lahiri’s latest book Unaccustomed Earth. It is an amazing read – I was feeling a tad guilty that I bought the hardcover, but now I am glad I did not wait for the paperback. Looking forward to reading the rest.

And they live happily ever after on Earth!

Home manager – outsourced?

Surya — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:50:59 +0000

Brazen Careerist, one of my regular reads, has a great article pointing out that house managers are a necessity for women with high flying careers. Just the term house manager is so cool! If only I could find an outsourced home manager who could do all my chores, but from far ( I hate the idea of someone other than family being constantly present in my home) and at a much cheaper rate…