‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

  

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through our flat,
Tons of creatures a-stirring, but at least not a rat;

The stockings are hung outside our rooms with great care,
Gifts FedEx’ed from home, since I cannot be there;

Four Acumen fellows sleep tight in their beds,
While visions of winter dance in their heads;

Spending Christmas in Hyderabad, where it’s warm as can be,
Sharing stories of the fellowship for each other to see;

‘Tis the season for everything, not just Christmas here,
There’s Eid and Hindu festivals — general seasonal cheer;

And while it’s sad to be far this holiday season,
We’re being exposed to new cultures and traditions;

From New York we have scattered all over the land,
To Nairobi and Mumbai; Hyderabad; Pakistan.

And no matter what religion each of us individually follow,
We all reflect with joyful hope for a better tomorrow;

So to our friends and our family all over the earth,
Happy Holidays to all – lots of merriment and mirth!

Live,Love,Learn and Laugh

Yesterday I watched the movie Last holiday;Queen Latifah who is misdiagnosed as suffering from a rare disease and the doctor tells her she has only 3 weeks to live.She had been working in a retail store for 10 years just keeping her head down and hustling and when she raised her head up; her life had passed her by.So she clears her lifes savings and ventures into her world of “possibilites”which included all the things she had ever dreamt of doing nd after all this they become “realities”

This reminded me about a workshop we had in the office which started with a video on Life is short. The main questions paused:

Love – how do I know love?

Live – how do I live?

Learn – what do I need to learn or unlearn?

Legacy – what will I be remembered for?

After this fellowship I will make certain changes to my life because it is too short: I will live,love,learn and ;laugh more

Christmas is for everyone

The cars here play little songs when they back up – sort of like some greeting cards do when you open them.  I just got distracted at work because someone’s car-backing-up song down the lane was playing “Santa Claus is coming to town”.  In a city where only 3% of the population is Christian, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here too: Sellers at stoplights have replaced their stocks of mosquito-killing-tennis-raquets to hawk red furry hats instead.  The children at the orphanage across the street are hanging decorations.  Giant inflatable santas loom large over the bustling streets.

This evening, Chris, Catherine, Tricia and I are headed to the City Center mall for the 6 PM event: FEED THE SANTA.  We are so giddy we can hardly contain ourselves.  Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!