Of endless work, endless joy and broken promises

Finest Blog Winner - Fourth Weekly Pick of October 2011

The past few weeks (or is it months already?!) have been hectic. And I mean really hectic. We had an unexpected and unfavorable court ruling for one of our major client’s cases and were left helter-skelter to look for a solution. And though the ruling was given for no fault of us, my firm felt duty-bounded to solve the problem in hand. On my part, I felt that I had to take the extra effort to do my part, especially so when I was the one who litigated the matter in the court. Anyway, to cut the story short, the matter left me a little shaken, a lot more wiser and even more careful in dealing with other people in your profession. You just never know who’s back-stabbing you, so I noticed. It took me some time to understand that the world is not always a very nice place and sweet-talking people are always there waiting to pounce on you when you least expect them to.

Nevertheless, we have now finally manage to find a break-through for the case so it’s just a matter of time before we are back on track. That totally relieved me, I must say. And to celebrate it, I went to a book fest last weekend. Ok, I knew about the book fest months before but it’s appearance did coincide with my new-found “feat”.

Boosted as the biggest book sale in the world (?! Not sure how far this is true since I’ve never been to a book fest out of Malaysia) the Big Bad Wolf Book fest was just absolutely amazing. Featuring various books from non-fiction romance, family dramas, comedy, friendship to science fictions, biography, memoirs, cook books, coffee table books, children’ books, magazines, comics etc, it sure looked like every bookaholic’s dream come true. And they have extensive discounts as well. I always felt that it’s high time for Malaysia to reduce and even abolish tax on imported books and this book fest is just a testimony to that. The amount of people who actually throng to this fest was just amazing. Just goes on to show that there’s always a crowd for good books but it’s the high price that is preventing them from purchasing the same.

So, after hours and hours of going through the rows of books, I finally came back with two bags full of books…a little poorer…but a lot more happier! I’m telling you, even shopping for clothes has never made me this happy. And to prove that, I actually went again to the same fest a few days later and brought back two bags full of books again. How can I not? Whenever I look at the books, they are literally screaming at me “Allu! Allu!” (“Grab! Grab!”) and so I did as requested. Now you can’t blame me for this right?

So now, I have four bags full of books :banana…but with no place to store themWitsend. With my current book shelf being packed with books and my mom yelling at me not to keep the new ones in the plastic bags as they are accumulating dust, I’m now left with a dilemma. Do I have to get a new shelf?
“Yes!” I can hear my mom screaming.
“No!” my purse is protesting.
“Do something to us!” the new books are begging.
Yes, two voices are louder than one- so it’s bye bye money and hi hi new shelf. Okay so I haven’t bought the shelf yet. Relax, I’ll do it this weekend, what’s the rush anyway? Okay, I forgot, my mom is scowling. I’ll definitely get the shelf by this week mom, I promise! And so, I broke my promise. Shelf is still not here, my books are accumulating dust and my mom is back with her yelling, only this time she’s accompanied with her magic broom. Sigh! If only she can use that broom to sweep the dust off instead of hitting me with it? Ouch!:help

As I was going great guns with my new books and the not so good level with my mom’s magic broom, elsewhere there seems to be a new wave hitting the world. Wait for it…it’s A.R.Rahman with his latest album Rockstar! Woohoo! Okay, no time to hear music. I have tons of work to complete, lots of new book to read, new shelf to buy and I haven’t even spend time at Indusladies. But this album is sooo tempting yaar. Can I just hear a glimpse of it? Please? Please? Please? I promise to stop listening after the first time! I promise! And so, I broke my promise…yet again. :hide:

 

[JUSTIFY]
Sridhar Sir,

It's so great to hear from you, and that too at my blog

You're absolutely right about the backstabbers in profession. My boss has always told me that clients would come and go but friendship among peers would always remain. Which is why we should never jeopordise our friendship and professional ethiques with our opponents for the sake of winning our client's case. But what he didn't tell me was that not all lawyers share the same thoughts as his. And that is why we were backstabbed unexpectedly today. If anything, there's a blessing in disguise from the incident. This turn of event actually taught me a valuable lesson i.e. not to be too naive and generous with each and every person you meet for they may turn out to be totally undeserving for the generosity you show them.

On a different note, I must say that I can totally relate to your editor's remarks on your books, as I too have faced similar situation when it comes to your stories. Yes, I admit, many a times you have made me cry like a baby through your wonderful writings. But I don't regret it one bit. In fact, I'm grateful and thankful to you Sir for writing your stories in the lovely manner that you do. Whenever I feel low and down, I just have to read any of your stories and I will know that there's always light at the end of the tunnel. You have made me feel stronger to face the world and I'm ever so grateful to you Sir for that :bowdown

Btw, I haven't read Coelho's work yet but in any event, I don't think he would have brought a difference to my life the way you have. Thank you Sridhar Sir
[/JUSTIFY]

 

Malar, good to see you here. Where have you been all these while???

And yes, there was a book-fest in Malaysia- It was held in Serdang. In fact, I wrote about it in detail in the book forum http://www.indusladies.com/forums/book-lovers/148315-book-sale-in-malaysia.html
but since no one replied, I just assumed that no one was interested. To think about it, I should have sent you and other Malaysians a PM. Why didn't I think of it? :bonk
Anyway, the book fest was from 7th until 16th October 2011. Yes, I regret to say that it ended last Sunday So sorry for not mentioning it to you earlier but looking at the crowd who came to the fest, I'm pretty sure they will have another book fest sometime soon. I'll definitely let you know if I hear about the next book fest.

Btw, I agree that book prices here are pretty expensive. But if you want good books at a cheaper price, do try going to Book Xcess. It's in Amcorp Mall, PJ and has a good collection of books at a reasonable price. I'm very sure you will love it there:thumbsupIn fact, Book Xcess are the main sponsors for the Big Bad Wolf Book sale and that explains why the books are so cheap.

 

Thanks Akila!

You never fail to make me smile whenever you visit my blog too

And yes, I totally agree with you. Nothing beats the joy of having books physically in your hands. I mean, I can read about almost anything on my laptop but when it comes to books, I can never do it through the net. Nothing like leaving a dog-eared page on your favorite novel and coming back to the same page over and over again to read your favorite parts :thumbsup

 

Haha, yeah Ilt, this must be the hectic work season. There could be a possibility where all bosses in the world have a secret meeting elsewhere and made the unanimous decision to torture their employees at this point of time! That explains why everyone is facing the same predicament everywhere ;-)

But so sorry to hear about your laptop Hope it's fixed by now or are you content in using your office computer to visit the forum discreetly...like me? ;-)

OTOH, books are my first love actually, followed by music, movies, cute actors etc. So though I have a huge hole in my wallet now, I must say that the books were worth spending money on. Btw, good libraries are a scarce here, which is the reason I resort to buying the books. There used to be one near my place before I moved in here. But as if on cue, the library was closed down the very next day I moved in. Sigh, I can't complain. This could be my karma for stealing the library books back in my school days. Now all libraries must have sensed my ulterior motive and closed their service before I can even take a peek at them:bonk