“Life is miserable if you take it seriously.”

--Prof. George Whitesides
(American Chemical Society’s 2007 Priestley Medalist).

This is one of the most hilarious quotes I have heard in last several months.
I must have mentioned this to so many of my friends over last one year.


I was trying to contact one of my friends the other day who is a highly sought after organic chemist. Academics chase him. Industry guys chase him. First time I called him, he was driving his car heading home at 7 pm. He couldn’t talk to me. He carried the cell phone. Yes, it was not switched off.

When he returned the call, I was having dinner. We couldn’t talk.
Next morning I called him, he was in shower. When he returned the call, I was in a meeting; but I received the call.
“Are you on the move?”
“Very much so!” He said . I could hear someone barking at him. He was pulling his car out of parking lot and had hit a auto rickshaw fellow.
“Forget it, we will talk later” – I said. He hung up.

Most of us are on the run. Cell phones make us contactable wherever we are.
Many things to do. All are important.

You need to ensure that enough money is available in the accounts from which you pay bills automatically or invest in mutual funds under systematic investment plan.

You need to know that supper is the only time you can have a relaxed chat with your kids. Of course if you happen to have 6 kids, half of them may not be at the dinner table. And yes, you have to remember not to worry about their whereabouts.

You need to remember not to receive a call on cell phone when you are on a teleconference with 6 other people residing in different time zones and sitting in various places including a submarine. Say if you are in a submarine and some one knocks on the door, you should not open the door.

Fun apart, life in metros is very hectic. If you loose the sense of proportion, you might end up investing time in things not too close to your heart. When days are trickling away, one should seriously consider investing time and resources on select activities.