iBlog: Nishit Shah

Annus mirabilis noun. latin meaning a remarkable/wonderful year. What a great year 2007 has been. Have enjoyed every moment of it. Of course there were many highs and lows for me but overall it was a great year by taking material, physical, spiritual and social prosperity. Enjoyed my work throughout the year and had fun doing it. Also, got promoted at work on the way Took timely breaks from work and had some some of the best time of the year while hanging out with family and friends. Got an opportunity to read some really good books, saw some great movies and met many interesting people. Didn’t stop learning and learned a bit of shell scripting, loads of Linux commands, better system administering skills, speed reading, very little French, couple of cords in Guitar…. Looking forward to complete what I have started with Also, its been little more than a year of blogging for me. I am happy that my blog has survived for a year now with 75 posts after couple of failed attempts. (I just want my grand children to know about me after reading my blog what I was upto .. few decades down the line )

Looking forward for a great year ahead…am working on my wishlist and new year resolutions.

ps. Named the title from the new latin word that I learned today from Anu Garg’s book A Word a Day - A Romp Through Some of the Most Unusual and Intriguing Words in English.

Its not often that I pick up a book only after reading its title. Its just the name and the summary on the back cover that prompted me to buy this book. This book is a memoir by Michael Gates Gill of is riches to rags journey from a high-level advertising executive with JWT to a barista (refers to one who has acquired some level of expertise in the preparation of espresso-based coffee drinks) at Starbucks.

The story is about Mike who is a Yale Graduate and is working with JWT for more than two decades. He has it all, money, fame, family and then suddenly one day his life turns haywire when he is fired from his job. So, at 63 he is between the devil and the deep blue sea. He is unemployed, his family life is ruined, has an unexpected newborn and if that was not all, a not so serious ear tumor. Its very difficult to make ends meet for him as his new business fails to trigger. Surprisingly his life changes again when he accidentally lands up with a job in one of the Starbucks cafe where he used to sit and enjoy his lattes.

An interesting Sunday afternoon read. Personally I liked the book except for the parts where he talks about how good his previous life was.

PS: Check out the ads created by JWT . Some are really cool ! If you are like me who like creative thinking

A movie starring Tom Hanks is being made from this book. Watch out for that !