Disappointing weekend

This weekend was way too disappointing for my liking. The buildup was phenomenal but the climax, a complete anticlimax.

1. Federer lost the Wimbledon finals to Nadal.
2. India lost the Asia cup finals to Srilanka.
3. Ferrari not on the podium at the British F1 Grand Prix.

Bummer.

Even worse, they lost to guys or teams I despise the most!

BUMMER!

Inflation in UAE

For years I never understood inflation. Not even the definition nor the concept. All I knew was that the prices increased. Stuff got dearer. But why? No clue. How? No idea!

Then I moved to the Gulf last September. And this region has been experiencing a double digit inflation. So I was forced to take notice. What the hell is happening here? The cost of every damn commodity is sky rocketing. Two of the most talked about problems the region is currently facing are the rising cost of living and the depreciating value and purchasing power of the local currency, both of which are directly related to inflation. This made me think. Isn't this the most natural phenomenon for any region known for its exponential growth? And also for it's artificiality!

I think this is a direct result of being complacent. Anyone who knows two of the most commonly used words in macro economics will understand what I am talking about. 'Demand' and 'Supply'. When there is excessive demand for a certain commodity, the prices will go up. When there is a monopolistic scenario where greedy traders control the market, the prices will go up. When there is no liaising within the UAE on fiscal policy, the prices will go up. The fact of the matter is that the country has bit more than it can chew. It is a vicious circle. With increasing multi-billion dollar real estate projects, millions will be required to populate the offices and residential units. This will in-turn increase demand exponentially for basic commodities like food, schools, hospitals, transportation and other factors that go into an individual's monthly expenditure. Where there is demand, there is inflation. Inflation and development go hand in hand. To reduce inflation, demand has to come down. And, with the number of projects announced daily, this may not be far away.

Increasing interest rates will not help. It will only reduce liquidity in the market. People will not be able to buy those billion dollar properties. That will reduce the demand. And they can't afford to do that. They need the money. It is a double edged sword. In all cases, they need to sustain high demands. But inflation hits all commodities. Even the industry that started it all - Real Estate. Thus higher costs will also affect the developers. Several will go bust, leaving incomplete projects, and in some cases, projects not even started with desperate investors in the lurch. What next? Chaos. Damaged reputation. Demand falls. In the meantime, with the US economy under recession, what happens if the dollar peg breaks? The value of the local currency increases that will paralyze the non-oil economy as it will drive exports down and make it more expensive to sell property. Demand falls further. What next? Oil prices? US-Iran crisis? I don't want to think any further.

For now, I am happy to buy a tin of Nido for Dh 74, which was Dh 30 a couple of years back, and pray......that my employer increases my salary! :)

UAE driver license

I flunked my driving test last week. This is a strong enough reason for me to sulk. But guess what? I'm perfectly fine. It was just my first test I tell myself. Nothing to be proud off though.

So, after I flunked, I asked the other 3 guys with me if it was their first tests as well? These are the answers I got:

Seventh, Fourth and Fifth!

I was like...what?!!? They were laughing at me. These guys just flunked yet another driving test and were perfectly cool about it. How? Why? Had they resigned to their fate? Did they know something that I did not? What am I missing?

Anyways, there were four of us in the car and only one guy passed - the guy appearing for his fifth test!

So I think this is going to be a long journey! My next test is now on 4th August. A good one month of nothing before appearing for another test. And all this shit after I fuckin know how to drive!!

Getting a drivers license is a menace in UAE. So much so that there have been reports in the newspapers about it. Take a look at this:

http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/06/17/10221535.html

I should take heed from the fact that I am not the only one suffering.

But why is it that this makes me feel better? The thought that there are others out there feeling miserable and helpless after failing to get a drivers license when they need it the most. People who are spending precious dirhams paying for extra classes and test fee. People who have to go through many inconveniences because they cannot legally drive their own fuckin' cars. People like me.

PDA - hunt and haunt

I've decided to buy a PDA.

I'm getting rid of my Nokia E65. No, nothing wrong with the phone. Trust me, it's great! But it is not serving my purpose, which is connectivity. By connectivity, I mean I want my emails, my calender, my files etc accessible to me 24/7. I spend 3 hrs in the car daily traveling to and fro from work. And on most days, I need to be wired. Having a laptop is ok but again, everytime I need internet on the move, I need to connect it to, yes, my cellphone (which doubles up as a modem). So I decided to modify this chain a bit. From Me -> Cellphone -> Laptop -> Work to Me -> Cellphone -> Work.

Easier said than done. This is going to have repercussions. For starters, big hole in my pocket (PDAs don't come cheap!!!), angry wife (Imagine sending out a quotation while I am strolling leisurely in the park with my wife), no peace of mind (There's always going to be some work). Maybe strained eyes too.

And, after much deliberation, I concluded that all of the above are manageable. Have a big commission check coming (Talk about counting my chickens before they hatch!), my wife is a sweetheart (She'll understand) and about peace of mind, what's that?? Oh, did somebody say strained eyes as well? Who?!

So, the next step, the million dollar question: Which one do I buy?!?

And this has been haunting me for over 2 weeks now!

Movie review - Sarkar Raj

I saw Sarkar Raj this weekend. Thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I think it was a fitting sequel to Sarkar. It was well connected and thought through. Had interesting, almost intriguing, twists and turns. I am rating the movie using a mechanism I thought about a few weeks back. Does not contain spoilers. Ratings are subjective.

Arc: (Low)ish - (High)ish - Really (High)

Star power: 9 (Aishwarya looked completely out of sorts though. But yes, both the Bachchans steal the show! A couple of new faces show promise as well)

Mumbling quotient: 9.5 (Crystal clear)

Bladder: 10 (You can make it all the way. A little over 2 hours I reckon)

Artistry: 8 (Camera angles, background score, cinematography and direction - Bang on!)

Sadism: 8 (Justified)

Originality: 6 (Maybe some dust from The Godfather series has rubbed a bit)

Incomprehensibility: 9 (Makes sense all along)

Humor: 2 (Hardly but unnecessary)

Scariness: 1

Suspense: 7 (Can keep you guessing)

Overall: 8.5 (Would have been a 9 if Ash wasn't part of this project)

Tiger Woods & Roger Federer - What is their secret?

Tiger Woods has clinched yet another major title, his 14th I think. The US Open 2008. Now he's only 4 away from the all-time majors record of 18 set by Jack Nicklaus. The great Jack Nicklaus. No other player in Golfing history has come even close to what these two have achieved. Truly the game's greats! But the greatest? Is it Woods or Nicklaus? This question has been baffling golf fans all over the globe. I think Nicklaus is the greatest right now! And I think Woods is on his way to greatness. And rest assured, by the time he hangs up his boots, he would have reached where no other golfer in history has ever reached. He's just 32.

A similar story is being scripted in another sport - Tennis. Roger! Roger! Roger!!! Yes, Roger Federer is close to reaching tennis immortality. 12 grand slam titles - and 2 shy off the record set by Pete Sampras. But like Sampras, Federer too has not won the French Open. Sampras never made it past the semis though. Federer has lost the final 3 times in a row to clay court nemesis Nadal. Does not take any luster of Federer's achievements and domination of the men's tennis circuit. Maybe just a little for the purists. He is and has been the world number 1 for the last five years, which is also the record for the most consecutive weeks as number 1. At 27, he has the second highest career earnings in history. For some, he already is the greatest ever! For some, he is one of the greats. And for some more, he is on the way! But you know what? Let's visit this space again in, say, 3 yrs, when he is 30 (usually the crossroads for all tennis players) and take up this argument. I think there will be no argument.

What's common between these two gentlemen - Mr. Woods and Mr. Federer? Couple of points come to mind right away - masters of their sport, rich, innovative, great suits and watches, the Gillette ad etc. But all this is superficial. I think it's the kind of human beings they are. Both of them have never been caught on the wrong foot or with their pants down. Both have exemplary behavior in public (on and off the court), superb sportsmanship, do not succumb to pressure, lead by example, support many noble and humanitarian causes, have revolutionized their sport, are honest and even modest. Millions of people all over the world look up to these guys. And, boy, have they obliged or what!

These two are great sportsmen but even greater human beings. They don't make too many of 'em anymore!

Dubai Taxi

Much has been said and written about the Dubai taxi. This is my attempt to uncover the other side of the story. These are my personal observations over the last 8 months. So here goes:

1. A taxi driver has daily targets varying from Dh 300 to Dh 400 per day. This varies between different taxi companies. Their fixed salary is on an average Dh 1800 per month. On attaining their targets, they get commissions (avg. around Dh 1000 per month)

2. They work 12 hr shifts usually starting anytime between 4 and 8 AM and vice versa. A couple of taxi companies have 24 hr shifts.

3. Different colors of the car roof top denote different taxi companies. Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Blue etc. Red is owned by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad.

4. Taxis are not allowed to pick up passengers from bus stands except the Red ones. If they do, they are fined Dh 500. The shocking part is when there are too many passengers waiting; the RTA officer wants them to pick those passengers!

5. Some of them have to pay for their own fuel – usually Dh. 25-30 per day.

6. These guys drive close to 400-500 km each day within their 12 hrs.

7. They don’t have a designated lunch time or a rest time. If the RTA finds a taxi driver not accepting passengers because he is having lunch or resting, they are fined. Yes!

8. Some companies provide accommodation, food and annual vacation while others provide none and vacation is bi-annual. And if they report late for work from their vacation, they are not given keys for the taxi. They are at times called to office every morning and made to sit there till close of business and then asked to come back again the next day. This happens for 2-3 weeks before the keys are handed over. Some punishment, huh!

9. Once a driver completes his shift, he is supposed to go to the company, deposit the collections, get the car washed & pick up his partner driver. The partner then drops the 1^st driver to his residence, visits the company again and logs in his attendance. And that is when his shift starts. This whole exercise takes close to 3 hrs. So for instance, if driver 1 completes his shift at 3pm, it is only by 6pm that driver 2 is ready to take passengers. That particular taxi does not accept any customers between 3 to 6pm. SO there must be hundreds of such taxis which are not doing business for 2-3 hrs daily, which sometimes are rush hours, just to change shifts – explains why there aren’t taxis on the road when we need them the most!

10. If they are involved in an accident where the driver is at fault, they are supposed to pay 10% of their car’s cost which amounts to almost Dh 8000.

11. If they don’t hit their target for the day, their commission takes a negative cut.

They toil around all day in traffic that we dread the most, sometimes hungry and not rested, working graveyard shifts, sitting at one place, working on minimal wages, away from their families for many months at a stretch, under the ever-so-prowling eyes of the RTA, with traffic laws getting stricter by the day!

Would you like to work this way? If yes, great! Next time a driver annoys you, do as you wish. But if it is a No, then spare a thought for these guys. Next time, before you curse them or blame them, think twice! I am not taking sides. Just bringing out their side of the story.