What i admire ...

As the 1st brush stroke ive executed in 10 years dries by the window, I'm gonna take a break and put down something else a lot of people got tagged for ... I didn't, but when did I ever wait for a someone to ASK me to say something!!! So here goes ...

I admire...

1. People who can get back on their feet after a setback easily ... this isn't just ur classic, won't show he/ she is going through a tough time, has a brave front to put up to the world and doesn't let anyone in on the utter hell that she's (can i just keep it to 'she's for simplicity's sake?) going through. This is the kind who shrugs setbacks off with a mild wave of 'shit happens, don't let it ruin anymore of your life' and means it not just to the world, but just as honestly to herself as well. I have standard gestation periods depending on whether the setback is personal or professional and try as I might, haven't gotten close to perfecting the mild shrug OR the admirable attitude that accompanies it.

2. People who can articulate their thoughts well, i admit clarity of thought is a prerequisite, but even if you assume that's a given, too many people i know muddle some brilliant thoughts by communicating them badly. This is almost a converse to my "I judge people who suck at words". I don't just admire articulate people, I practically fall in love with them. I'm not kidding!!! Whatever happens to adoloscent girls when they see Brad Pitt and whatever happens to men in general when they see Katrina Kaif/ Vidya Balan/ Salma Hayek (I'm covering all bases here but u get the drift!) happens to me when I read well written prose .. blogs/ personal emails/ news articles and so on .. or even when i hear someone bring out a thought so well you can almost visualize it :) Yeah im a sucker for linguistic brilliance :D

3. People who can speak their mind .. they don't sugar coat, don't care for status quo, love challenging current thinking, care two hoots for what the boss or the MD or the GM even thinks and speak their mind in every forum. They have strong beliefs (not random strong opinions) and they're not afraid to voice them out loud. I love such people esp coz they're so rare. :)

4. People who tell the truth at interviews and on resumes despite the pressure to impress ... I've seen and even turned a blind eye to claims that people make on their resumes/ SOPs/ interview answers. I admire the kind who can walk into an interview and say NO, i havent had a single leadership position .. or NO i didn't top every damn class i went to ... or I'm not sure why I'm doing this MBA, i just think i'd be good at it .. vs the standard, this is what i was born to do, its my passion and i can see my life 5 years ahead from now (Who the hell are we kidding? I can't see my life bleddy 2 months from now!!)

5. Mothers in general ... going through 9 months of labor ... and then making all those decisions on how to bring up another human being and NOT screw up their life ... trying to do justice to personal passions and to the life of another all at once ... giving up SO SO much despite knowing adoloscence will bring ungratefulness, sleepless nights of worrying about bad company and all kinds of stress ... and still functioning as the glue that keeps families together ... i hope to do it all someday and i admire every woman who's done it so far!

6. People who live healthy lives on a consistent ongoing basis ... Nayak is a classic example of this ... my MD is another much touted example .. in general people who respect their bodies and exercise moderation with food and alcohol alike ... who care about how they look enough to know all rice meals can leave you with a disgusting potbelly ... who ensure they get enough fruit and fibre in their food to keep the wrinkles at bay .. who go easy on the tea and coffee to keep their energy up ... who keep up their stamina with regular exercise ... who love their bodies on the inside so it positively glows on the outside ... totally respect their discipline and control :) (Oh and before you smirk and go "BORING" might i suggest you meet Mr Nayak or Mr Yuri? ... they're both interesting and wonderfully charming people unlike the boring dull ascetics you might have imagined them to be)

7. Men who can be open about their affection for the special woman in their lives ... its so refreshing to have a man say something positively glowing about his woman without feeling the need to be apologetic about it or fearing being labeled henpecked ... Enough of the drunken idiots who blither away about how they're sorry they got married or about how being single was so much better ... Enough of the snide remarks about how they're doing things coz they're scared of their better halves ... how tough is it to feel/ believe and say you're doing it coz u feel like? Give me more of those who don't mind admitting they miss their woman, who don't mind calling her 3 times a day, who don't mind getting moony every once in a while ... its all too rare!!!

8. People with musical talent ... vocal OR instrumental ... i just sit and gaze at them filled with unbridled gleeful adoration ... not only are they blessed .. they're doing something beautiful with it and sharing with us all! Bless their souls ...

That's all i can think about for now ... :) the base coat's almost dried and ready to get painted on further ...

I tag the same set of people to write about the people they admire :) Kinks, Vish, Harika, Ketan, Ravi, Nutan, Samesh ...