Chocolate Waffles: January 2009

Sunday 18 January 2009

Within You Without You

We were talking - about the space between us all
And the people - who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse the truth - then it's far too late - when they pass away

We were talking - about the love we all could share - when we find it
To try our best to hold it there - with our love.
With our love - We could save the world - if they only knew...
Try to realise it's all within yourself, no one else can make you change

And to see you're really only very small
and life flows on within you and without you

We were talking - about the love that's gone so cold and the people,
Who gain the world and lose their soul.
They don't know. They can't see. Are you one of them?
When you see beyond yourself then you may find,
peace of mind, is waiting there

And the time will come when you see we're all one,
and life flows on within you and without you

Monday 12 January 2009

Giving has never been more convenient

Not so long ago, it was a commonplace to come by excuses like - "Oh, donations are not transparent. You never know where your money goes", "I want to give, but I'm just too busy to spend the time and put in the effort" etc. A powerful synergy of technology and an innovative business model gives a straight forward solution - a seamless, integrated, transparent, easy-to-use, global philanthropic tool.

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. The way it works is simple:
1. You give money to a NGO anywhere in the world
2. NGO collects the money from you and others who loaned
3. NGO gives all the money to the local poor entrepreneur who needs it
4. Entrepreneur makes the investment and repays the loan to local NGO
5. Local NGO repays the loan back to you - you may withdraw or re-invest the money back to another entrepreneur!
All you do is actually login to a website, choose an entrepreneur, make the loan and carry on with your life - can it get simpler?!!

One of my friend had mentioned -

Kiva is creating an impact. This week alone Kiva lent out nearly $800,000, and 7000 more people started lending. The default rate is 2.85 percent and the delinquency rate is 2.21 percent. Incredible. I looked at some interesting benchmarks. The average Kiva lender has lent $134 to date and received $75 back through 3.6 loans. This isn't the total amount lent out. It includes all the loans through money that was recycled. $59 is still in the system and in June there are 400,000 lenders, which means Kiva has $24MM in the system right now. One billionnaire could increase that amount 50 times. Even at a 2-3 percent delinquency rate, that is a 25 percent better return than the Nasdaq. The personal social return is priceless.

Now that makes not just personal satisfaction, but even a rational business sense!

Kiva was founded by Harvard and Stanford graduates and the management & administration team cannot be more qualified or experienced - this is a sharp contrast to most NGOs I've come across. Social Entrepreneurship, Community Service organizations, SHGs, NGOs are professional business organizations and have to be run with a discipline of any business organization. It took a Kiva to make the world understand this. In short, if you are not pretty damn good enough, you just cannot be a part of a community initiative no matter how noble your thoughts are. Kiva is here to make a difference to this world and has people who actually can do that, not just anybody. Kiva is supported by most of the Fortune 100 companies of the likes of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Paypal, Intel and even companies that touch your everyday lives like Starbucks, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube etc.

Giving cannot get simpler or more transparent. Visit Kiva by clicking on any of the Kiva banners on this post and I bet you will spend at least half hour just WOWing at the numerous things you can do with Kiva - from lending to volunteering. Anything you do with Kiva has a measurable impact. Visit my Kiva lender page to know what impact I made, how much, when and where - everything!

Angel in the Night

You are my light in the dark
You are the beating in my heart
But that is not enough
Will I ever be by your side

Your hair is dancing in the wind
Your eyes are burning off my skin
And I'm so happy when I see
That you are smiling back at me

You're living burn marks on the ground
Thank you God for what I've found
I don't know how, I don't know why
That you're my angel in the night

You are my light in the dark
You are the beating in my heart
Let me hold you now
Just like days before you start to cry

You are my light in the dark
You are the beating in my heart
But that is not enough
Will I ever be by your side

I try my best to satisfy
But all you do is where we make it right
I don't know what I'm gonna do
But I'm so crazy about you

Even if I don't know where to start
Even if my love is tearing me apart
I just know that you and me
We were always meant to be

You are my light in the dark
You are the beating in my heart
Let me hold you now
Just like days before you stopped to cry

You are my light in the dark
You are the beating in my heart
But that is not enough
Will I ever be by your side

You're my angel in the night

Sunday 11 January 2009

NewYear 2009 - Indonesia!

NewYear is like a birthday for planet earth. Talking of birthdays, I never gave a damn about them ever - at least not for my birthdays. I've always wondered why, to some (especially girls that I know) it is a huge deal - the cake, the gifts, the party, the surprise of a birthday. To me it is just another day, a reminder that you are getting old.

-----> Sunset in Kuta Beach

Going by that ideology, the new year day (earth's 2009th birthday) should have been just another day to me. This time around, it felt different. It felt like a day to reflect on the past year, look forward to the year ahead and reason out to myself what is it I'm going to do differently to make this a year of progression overall.

-----> Balinese SunSet

It is my family tradition to spend the 31st night on sharing each other's New Year resolutions. Those days when I used to cuddle around with my parents and sister, trying to propose my own resolution as if I'm an adult are a distant memory now. Thanks to boarding school and a job that takes me around all corners of the world, it has been years since I spent new year with my family.

-----> Pool Volley Ball @ Hard Rock Hotel

This time around, I made a concious effort to revive that tradition of resolutions for the new year after an honest retrospection of the passing year - which resulted in the following:
* Travel to a new country for every new year!
* Stay more organised at home and work
* Try not to be too lazy
* Eat healthy and work out regularly
* Stay in touch with all my friends and family
Realistic and achievable they are, I'd hope to do some justice to them.

-----> Steep Fall into the Ocean at a South Bali temple

This new year took me to Bali, Indonesia. With this I have technically travelled in 30 countries in my life. The following are those 30 countries from North America, Europe, Middle East and finally Asia.
1. USA
2. Canada
3. UK
4. Rep. of Ireland
5. France
6. The Netherlands
7. Belgium
8. Luxembourg
9. Switzerland
10. Spain
11. Italy & The Vatican
12. Austria
13. Hungary
14. Czech Republic
15. Slovakia
16. Slovenia
17. Croatia
18. Poland
19. Turkey
20. Russia
21. UAE
22. Oman
23. India
24. Malaysia
25. Singapore
26. Thailand
27. Cambodia
28. Laos
29. Myanmar
30. Indonesia

-----> Stroke of the NewYear @ Hard Rock!!

Most to whom I've told about my travels think travel might not be so adventurous as it was the first time I went outside of my country. They can't be more wrong - from India, Britain (where I've spent considerable time of my life) to Myanmar (where I spent a total of 12 hours by accident without visa) I have distinct memories of all those 30 countries, all colourful with a flavour of its own. Indonesia, the country I went recently is no short of things that made me WOW! Following are a few glimpses of this beautiful country:
* 1 USD = 10,400 IDR (Indonesian Rupiah)
* Shopping Malls and High Streets have tons of D&G, Polo and the likes - all FAKE!
* You can buy an Indonesian/International driving license in a day
* You still have to bribe the corrupt traffic police
* Temple domes are called Pagodas
* Hinduism is the major religion of Bali Island
* The girl in a hair salon said, I look like an Indonesian cinema actor [LOL]
* Bintang = Star; Pintu = Door; Selamat Datang = Welcome; Apa Kaba = How're you
* 99% of tourists in Indonesia = Australians + Russians
* I bought 2 ice-creams at Haagen Das for 100,000 (ahem in IDRs)
* You can't go to temples in shorts; if you end up in a temple in shorts you will have to rent an Indonesian batik!!
* Monkeys are common in Indonesian temples