Emirates A380. Whoa.

Although the news has been impossible to miss, for those of you who have missed the hoo-haa over the new Emirates A380, here's a great post with pictures and videos of the new aircraft. Pretty effing awesome.

I've lived in Dubai for 6 years, my parents still live there, yet I've never flown Emirates. Sacrilege, eh?

Gigolo?

I met him on a train to Valencia about a year and a half ago. I was given the privilege (?) to be seated next to him on the way to AND from the city.

A madrileño, 32-years old, multicoloured piercing in chin, pop-rock singer/guitarist, filmmaker, novelist, and Osho follower, he was visiting his girlfriend in Valencia. He was decent company, and we had lots to talk about. We talked and talked. After about 8 hours of conversation, of course we exchanged numbers. Turns out he also lived down the road from me. What are the odds!

Back in Madrid, he begins calling me. He calls and calls. And calls and calls. And calls and calls until the only way to stop him calling is to answer (super-pesado as you would say in Spanish). The number of calls turned me off; I would answer one in 10 calls, and I never returned the others. Of course, because I was trying to avoid him, I would often bump into him at the post office, or tobacco shop, or local bar, where I would make a million excuses for not answering his million calls. I really didn't care though.

A year of dodging his calls and bumping into him, a few months ago I ran into him with his girlfriend at the time, in the metro. We exchanged pleasantries and somehow ended up deciding to start playing tennis together.

Getting back into the game has been the best thing I've done in a while. He makes for a great tennis partner; often annoying, but overall tolerable. The tennis works. He often brings friends to watch us play. Weird, but I don't care. They all seem nice and don't interfere. He keeps trying to get me to hang out after tennis, but honestly I have no interest.

But his calls don't stop. He still calls and calls. He calls until I pick up. He speaks at a supersonic speed on the phone and I never understand what he says. I get sick of asking him to repeat himself, and after realising that he doesn't really say anything of consequence, I pretend I understand him and leave it at that. His conversations are normally about a movie he watched, tennis, his upcoming mini-vacation, and something about an "agency".

Yesterday, slightly bored, when he called I decided to listen. He was on a job on behalf of this "agency" in Alicante, in a luxury villa, in a jacuzzi, with 3 girls. I was all ears.

Me: "Who are these girls?"
Him: "Ah, some girls from the agency."
Me: "Urrr...ok."
Him: Yeah, I have to look after them and entertain them. They are really nice girls, so it's fun.
Me: "Right."
Him: "Why don't you come here for the weekend? It's a great place, lots of room. I have lots of time to chill, so yeah, come hang out."
Me: "Urrr...thanks for the invite. I will let you know if I fancy it. But didn't you say you are working?"
Him: "Well, yeah, but it's not really work you know. It's easy. And it pays well. It's helping me pay off my debts."
Me: "Cool. Well I hope the girls are hot atleast."
Him: "Yeah, they're young and pretty. In fact, you should consider being part of this agency."
Me: "Right."
Me: "I gotta go. Call me for tennis when you get back."
Him: "Cool. Have a great week."

I hang up with him and try to understand what he's just told me. And then it registers, but with doubts, of course.
Is he a male prostitute?
Is he a pimp?
Is he looking after female prostitutes, or "luxury escorts", while they're on a job?

He is a nice person. He isn't good-looking, or well-built, and is often on sedatives. He is a bit weird and moody at times but not threatening, or unpleasant. I am no one to judge him. If it works for him, good for him. I'm just happy I have a tennis buddy.

My Wordle

This is my Wordle. A word-tag-cloud-design thing made from the most frequently used words in my blog. Yup, procrastinating bigtime.

It's not clear at all though :( I wish I used cooler colours and font. I saved it in haste and there's no edit option. Argh. Anyway, if any of you are bored enough to want to look at this image more closely, click on it!

The Story of Stuff

Here's the link to a 20-minute animation called "The Story of Stuff" you must watch. It talks about what we, as a disgustingly consumerist society, are doing to our planet.

It's a straightforward yet powerful presentation, which after watching (if you have any conscience) will stall you from shopping for a while, and hopefully make you think seriously about what you can do to help the dismal state of our Earth today.

So get a cup of coffee and sit down to watch it. It will probably be the 2o most constructive minutes of your day.

(Thanks Daveeeed for the link!)

Who said you can't be the successful product of your own business?

I've been reading a certian Julia Allison's blog religiously for about 2-years now. I've always found it entertaining -- both on an intellectual and emotional level, and the fact that it's so effing personal has kept me hooked. Call it a girl thing, or whatever. She updates her blog every day a few times and upto 20 times a day on Twitter, both of which I check on a daily basis after I read the news. And sometimes I even check her stuff a few times, she's great to procrastinate with. Yup, totally sucked in, and I'm not the only one.

Check out a recent article documenting her self-promotion that has lead to her becoming an internet celebrity, even though she is a nobody. (Ouch. Harsh but true. Good for her.)

I suppose her tremendous virtual tangibility is what keeps me hooked. Now she has her own business/website (Non-society) with her two best friends, where they document the minutes of their life. It's brimming with constant updates, photos, videos and publicity stunts, and the initiative has lead them to get their own reality show. Whoa.

It might not be your thing, but she's a great case study.

Quote for the day

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The Economics of Love

"In love, the data is even clearer. Stay with high-quality human beings. And once you find that you are in a junk relationship, sell immediately. Junk situations can look appealing and seductive, but junk is junk. Be wary of it unless you control the market." --- Ben Stein in the NY Times

Back. Kinda.

I've been off here for a while, but only because lots has been happening. Between going to Dubai for a month, coming back to Madrid, friends visiting, and still blogging for the other blogs I'm financially committed to, my blog has taken a back step. But I want to fix that, I miss ranting on here!

A lot happened in Dubai. Lots of things shook on a personal as well as professional level. I think I'm still digesting it all, hopefully I'll be done with that stage soon, and it will all come out. (Ok, not the best metaphor but you know what I mean).

Although I'm still a bit homesick, it's great to be back in Madrid. This city just rocks. Now it's hot and everyones happy (yes, and frisky ;) that it's summer.

My next immediate goal is to get my professional life back on track. I see a few legal obstacles, but I'm working around them.

I've started Pilates. OH.MY.GOD. It's the best thing I've done since Salsa. Back to gym and tennis too -- so all this after 5 weeks of being a complete couch potato, my body is currently broken. But all good.

Oh, and I've joined the Twitterati! (aaaaaaaaaahhh SUCKED-IN!). I'm having issues writing sense in lots of 140 characters, but I guess I'll get there.

So that's a quick update on me.

I need to go get my dose of chocolate for the day.

He's given birth!

Talk about confusion at an unprecedented level: this man was born female, had a sex change, got married to a woman, then decided to impregnate himself, and has just had a normal baby girl.

Holy gonzoly.

Why do people do this to themselves!? Ok, yeah, I know, to get onto Oprah! LIKE DUH!

Movie Review: Sex And The City ***/*****

Yup, I've finally seen it. From a person (urrr...me!) who LOVES the series, and has watched all seasons, multiple times, I was overall disappointed.

**(Warning: a few spoilers!)**

Firstly, it was just.too.long. 2h15 minutes of forced laughter and focussed "oh, that's the mushy bit I'm supposed to gush at", just didn't cut it for me. I laughed out loud at very few things I'm pretty sure were not meant to be funny (e.g. Charlotte screaming and yelling at Big after the most serious part of the film was just hilarious). They totally over did it when they highlight one of the funniest parts as being Charlotte pooping in her pants after drinking some shower water in Mexico.

The romance, the butterflies, the desire of women to be in love, the trials and tribulations so accurately detailed and concluded upon, the so called "connection at a deeper level" that all women can relate to in the series, was not there at all. No, let me rephrase. It tried to be there. It tried very hard, but remained superficial.

The script was weak and the execution felt desperate.

On the other hand, the girls are great. Aged 40+, they all look fantastic, and boy, when I'm 50, I want to look like Samantha! The essence of their amazing friendship we are so familiar with because of the show, still held it's high and is the main strength of the film.

Jennifer Hudson was introduced as Carrie's PA, who for me was the gleaming rainbow of the entire film. She plays a young, hopeful, fresh, honest girl who comes to NY to find love, and she does, just not in NY. Perhaps a little straw to hold on to for youngsters who believe in love, finding "the one", and all that crap.

There are some good messages in the film. Things like: relationships are difficult, the older you get the more complicated they are, if you want to find love you will, there are two people in a relationship and any problem is both their fault, and the biggest message of the film is the importance of forgiveness. But while it tries to give you all these learnings, it also constantly gives you mixed notions: e.g. you may or may not find love, you may or may not have the fairytale ending, leaving everything bittersweet. Perhaps that was the point?

I may sound naiive, but I really couldn't predict the ending. A few incidents in the film made me question what I imagined the ending to be. Maybe I was waiting for a twist-surprise ending, but this ain't no Usual Suspects, so I guess I was thinking too much about nothing.

The movie attempts to be a grand-finale of a world-class series that, in all honesty, cannot have a finale that does justice to it. I felt that they tried to deal with too many issues at once, so a lot was left floating. Perhaps they should have kept it more focussed, like each episode, but that's almost impossible. The sheer popularity of the TV series does make you want to know how these four stunning New York girls end up; that desire the movie satiates, but in a "like duh" kinda way.

Worth watching only if you are a Sex and the City fan. Even then, wait for the DVD to come out and have a couple of other things to do while you are watching. Really.

My Bollywood vlog experiment -- episode 1

Bollyficial Episode 1 from Bollyficial on Vimeo.

I've always wanted to be a VJ. As a child I used to stand in front of the mirror for hours, pretending I was on MTV. I don't know why I never followed it through. So, for what it's worth and to get some presenting experience, my brother and I put together a Bollywood show for the fun of it.

We shot it at home in my bedroom with a bedsheet for a green screen. My bro co-directed, produced, and edited the vlog. Hope to do some on a regular basis, will keep posting!

Love Mail

Since I've been blogging across a number of travel-blogs, I've often been victim of abundant love mail. Here are some of my favourite comments:

"Seriously can you have Abha write less articles that are about some messed up viewpoint and have him focus on travel related thing? I like reading about adventures and all things travel but he's not very good at this." (I'm often mistaken for a man)

" Wow, great - another useless column by Abha." (Yeah, it's really encouraging to write you know)

"This truly takes the cake for the most BS article ever. Abha really should stick to his/her other hobbies." (Why do you keep reading me!?)

"Yes! Another negative article from Abha. I leave for two weeks to Cambodia, and this is what I get? I'll be back in another two, maybe he/she will have been replaced." (Nope, SHE's not replaced yet)

Hmmm...actually, I thought I had way more stuff (I probably do but I need to hunt for them). I will make sure I save them in a separate folder now on so I can have a meatier such post in the future.

Thoughts on "The Love Guru"

I recently wrote a post on Gadling about Hollywood and its misinterpretations of foreign cultures, with the just released movie "The Love Guru" as the main subject. It's created a bit of a hoo-haa with strong arguments on both sides...check it out here.

Being home: Clarity, bias, confusion...

...is the subject of my latest post at Vagablogging.

Documenting the life of phone sex operators

“I’m 60 years old, have a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University, and married for 25 years. I have a son in his last years of college who lives at home. He’s a 4.0 with a double major in English Literature and Religion. Men call me for an infinity of reasons. Of course, they call to masturbate. I call it “Executive Stress Relief.” It’s not sex; it’s a cocktail of testosterone, fueled by addiction to pornography, loneliness, and the need to hear a woman’s voice. I make twice the money I made in the corporate world. I work from home, the money transfers into my bank account daily. I’m Scheherezade: If I don’t tell stories that fascinate the Pasha, he will kill me in the morning.”

Photographer Phillip Toledano wanted to talk about something in society that is known and talked about, yet hidden; phone sex workers fit the bill perfectly. In his book, he has shot portraits of 30 such workers and given us an insight into their lives -- some of which you can see and read here. Reading their stories gave me goosebumps.

Like he says in his interview, what surprised me as well was how most of these people loved what they did (unlike in other forms of prostitution), as they truly felt like they were helping others discover a part of themselves, and in turn, even they would discover something about themselves.

"We all stumble. We all have setbacks...

"We all stumble. We all have setbacks. If things go wrong, you hit a dead end—as you will—it's just life's way of saying time to change course. So, ask every failure—this is what I do with every failure, every crisis, every difficult time—I say, what is this here to teach me? And as soon as you get the lesson, you get to move on. If you really get the lesson, you pass and you don't have to repeat the class. If you don't get the lesson, it shows up wearing another pair of pants—or skirt—to give you some remedial work."
- From Oprah's commencement address at Stanford

It's a good speech, but I expected more from it -- a lot of her lessons sounded like clichés to me. You can read the entire transcript here.

Nothing compared to Steve Jobs 2005 commencement address at Stanford. I must've read it a 100 times, and it's moved and inspired me every time (thanks Riff!). If you haven't read it READ.IT.NOW.

Twitter blocked in Dubai...

...can anyone explain to me why?

Do you care what your flight crew looks like?

The High Courts in India have ruled that if you are an air-hostess and your airline thinks you are too fat to fly, they have the right to keep you on the ground. This ruling comes after 5 Air India hostesses appealed to the courts when they were grounded for breaching the airline's weight limits. It's not clear if it's enough to dismiss a flight attendant, but being transfered to the ground for weight issues is humiliating enough.

Air India has a weight scale chart that specifies what weight their hostesses are expected to be. For instance, an 18-year old girl, with height of 152cm cannot weight more than 50 kilograms.

Now, being fat is one thing and being over the airlines specified weight limit is another. An 18-year old girl, with height of 152cm will look fine even if she weighs 52-55 kilograms; not being exactly 50 kilograms does not justify someone being grounded or fired. You would have thought their personal hygiene, working ability and way of dealing with customers took the upper hand.

Air India is known to not have particularly good-looking hostesses, with most of them being old and motherly more than anything else, but as long as they are good hosts and pleasant to deal with, I personally don't care how they look.

I just took a flight with KLM from Amsterdam to Dubai and one of the stewards was this older rolly-polly guy -- big belly and podgy arms -- but he was one of the most pleasant hosts I've encountered on a plane. Should he be grounded or fired just because of his huge belly? I think not.

I understand that Air India is facing tough competition from newer Indian airlines as well as international ones, both of whom generally hire young hotties, but being slightly overweight should not put your job at risk, and who chooses to fly an airline basis the way their crew looks anyway?

Better

Considering how I felt yesterday, today I´m much better. I had a wonderful evening and a warm night´s sleep, and today I´m smiling and even slightly excited now!

Thank you to all who read and commented on my last pathetic post, you guys really gave me a boost. I guess I just needed to let things out before I leave.

I have a pretty full agenda in Dubai, lots to do, and I reckon I´ll be back in Madrid before I know it! I will be blogging, so stay tuned.

Besos and abrazos!

Emotional Fog

I'm going home tomorrow for 3-weeks after 18 months of living in Madrid. I should be on an emotional high but for the last 3-4 days, I've been an emotional wreck. I don't understand why and that's just adding to feeling low.

I've been crying over nothing. Snapping at people for no reason. Getting upset at people for no reason. I've been quiet and kept to myself. I've had a perpetual headache and no appetite.

I've always considered myself a strong person, but today I'm ashamed of feeling so weak and fragile without being able to think why. The feeling seems invalid because I can't find the root. I just want to crawl into a warm shell. I'm not okay. I feel this ridiculous need of wanting to be taken care of. But nothing has happened! My life is the same!

Perhaps all my trapped emotions over the last year are now flowing out at once. Perhaps I'm subconsciously stressed about going home, about talking about my life, about talking about my future, about confronting how I feel about Dubai when I get there, about confronting how I feel about Madrid from outside it. About all the uncertainties in my life, about all the instabilities in my life.

But how can a short trip home after a long period of time trigger such a strange and strong feeling of being overwhelmed? I really don't get it.

I hope to find that warm shell on my parent's couch.