9 Down 2 To Go

I can’t believe I am at this stage of my life now. I wouldn’t be surprised one day if the strangers passing by me on the street start asking, “Why aren’t you married yet?” and tell me “YOU NEED TO BE MARRIED!” with a thick Indian Accent. Why this crazy obsession on marriage! As I start hearing some of the horror stories, the only feeling that’s gripping me these days is, marriage is probably not the right way to go. Almost all my friends call me to complain (that’s putting it in mild terms) about married life. I hear people say things like, “I wish I was still single” or “I would have done that in a heartbeat if I was still single”. Don’t give me clichéd statements like, “You won’t realize it until after 5 or 10 years down the lane”. So what if I am single when I am 40? I promise I won’t blame any of you for it!
Recently, I feel people just get married to fight off boredom in life or fear of being alone. Once you are close to the big 3-0, everyone starts feeling like they can’t be alone anymore and it just follows a preconceived pattern from there. Once you get married, you get bored of each other in a couple of years and decide to have kids. Some people don’t even wait; the guys just let their swimmers loose like Michael Phelps and wait for the inevitable to happen, like it’s some world record to be broken. After the first kid and all the sleepless nights that come along with it, they wait precisely for 3 or 4 years, or for the next Olympics to start so they can begin breeding again. It’s hard enough with one kid and imagine life with two kids. Where is the time for you and your so-called companion? I was also one of them, but right now I don’t feel like I need someone to share my life with. I am not in a position to follow this pattern. As if there aren’t enough people telling me to get married, my dad’s side relatives have joined in to have some fun. They keep sending me emails like, “Believe in Jesus and he will find the right girl for you!” When exactly did Mr.Christ start running a matrimonial service? There are more chances of a Hispanic guy named Jesus finding me a girl.
Despite all the things that I mentioned here, I am not against getting married at all but I can’t get married just for the sake of it and hope for it to work. I am starting to feel like marriage is totally overrated. Age doesn’t matter, at least in this country. After all, isn’t this the land of opportunities ;-)? After all this, I might do a 180 degree turn tomorrow and decide to get an arranged marriage or fall head over heals for someone. Again, it will solely be MY decision. When that happens, I am sure every single one of you will be there to say, “I told you so!”. Watch me give a damn then!

P.S: In case you are wondering, what the hell the title is about, the numbers refer to my close friends.

Credit Cards, Points, Cash back and whatever

Points points points... wherever you turn, it's points! Is it just me or does everyone feel overwhelmed by this sudden surge in attracting credit card consumers with points or cash back rewards? As a seasoned veteran in the art of maxing out credit cards, I have to say that I am really disappointed about losing a whole lot of points, just because it's a relatively new concept. If someone gave me a point for each dollar I spent on my credit cards when I was a student, I would exactly have - well not exactly - but roughly 20000 points. Where are the credit card gods when you need justice? Where are the pre-approved mails when you badly need a credit card with 0% APR for balance transfers? OK, that is a little off-topic! If it's not the points, then it's the cash back rewards. Correct me if I am wrong, wasn't there a period when credit cards were considered a luxury or a status symbol, way back in the 17th century or something? Now, the credit card companies are giving us cash back? Talk about marketing strategies! I used to think that the credit card companies get their money only from the interest amounts and used to wonder how they would make any money with people who pay their balances in full each month (NOW, which one of you called me a dummy, huh?). And yes, now I know the merchant also gets charged for each transaction. Looks like I have to change the topic to "Credit Card for Dummies" if I keep writing in the same vein. Did you really know that American Express card does not guarantee payment to the merchant if the consumer defaults on payment? THAT IS CRUEL! Ok, I will stop. I swear this post is about the points and cash back rewards.

So, now I am getting all kinds pre-approved credit card offers, like 2 everyday. Anyone who knows me well knows why I even have to mention that here. There was a time when credit card companies used to run with their heads falling off of their bodies (tried to translate "Thalai therikka odinaanaga!") whenever I used to apply for a credit card. When I see all these offers now, I say to myself, "Oh, now you want me to be your customer?" and then I think, "I have never been pre-approved for anything in my life!" a la Joey from friends, while my eyes get all glazed. One more time, coming back to the actual topic of points and cash back, Now one of my credit cards gets me 5% cash back on certain purchases. If you think I am not going to make full use of it owing to my previous experiences, then I am sorry Amigo, you are so wrongo! It's time for PAYBACK. No, not that stupid Mel Gibson movie! I really don't know if I did any justice at all to the topic, but who cares, it's my blog and I am doing some general whining here. PHEW, I justified the label for this post too! THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!