Whispering Shadow

I left my last job on 14th August 2019 and am still on a break. While I was backpacking  in Vietnam after my transition, it was interesting to observe how so many travelers took long sabbaticals (often between 3 months to a year)  from work but Indians formed a minuscule percentage of these. What was not surprising was the reactions I received from other Indians -  How did you get this much time off from work?  Are you not worried about not having a job offer in hand?  How did your wife allow you to travel solo on a long holiday?  Why do you need three months to reflect?  Why did you leave your last job if you were happy with the work? Honestly, when I quit my job, I had no clue what I was going to do with the break. I had a sense that I had hit a learning edge. I knew my vision for my contribution to the world had evolved beyond the boundaries of my current role. I didn't know exactly what it was. I didn't even know if the break wo...

Had Cleo been alive today, she would have been four years old. She would have been eating a special meal of freshly cooked chicken or fish. She would have been forced to wear all kinds of fun accessories, much to her dismay. She would have had tonnes of photos clicked for the sake of our memories with her. She would have visits from people who have parented her. After all, she was the Queen kitty in our lives. The Queen for a reason However, Cleo is no longer with us in physical form. She passed away three months ago, after fighting courageously a battle that she could not win against lily toxicity. I will never forget the day she passed away. It is the saddest day of my life.  It is not the saddest because of her death. Everyone dies when their time comes. It was sad because it was not her time. She was a healthy, happy, playful cat. She had never been to a vet for any illness, not even fleas. She didn't deserve the cards of death that were dealt to her. She didn...