Author Archives: Suneet

by | March 30, 2017 · 12:44 pm

TYMMPB… | Family Weddings Rock

Maybe this time it’s not about you as much as it’s about one of the most celebrated moments you’ll witness: someone getting married.

It’s incredible. I’m not sure how to help you understand it, but imagine one entire group of people, meeting and loving and enjoying time with an entirely different set of people, traveling far and wide, dedicating days and hours, eating dancing, singing, laughing…

…all because of you.

That’s what it feels like to get married and to bear witness to your own marriage. It’s humbling. The entire world and everything you’ve done, been up to that moment converges, in support and celebration of the most powerful love you’ve felt to date.

You? You took your Masi’s wedding all in stride. More “A” game, but I mean, how could you not be smiling this wide with all the love flowing around you?

You may have had a moment of hesitation at the outset, but you came around pretty quickly. And then, you were all in.

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by | March 23, 2017 · 7:53 am

VIEWS

You have yours and I have mine.I believe no amount of security fixes a bomber at Ariana Grande’s concert. You will never impose a rule that controls 100% of the angry. If you think you can, you are an individual with a level of hubris I will never share.

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for those who survived and anyone who believes we need new thinking for new challenges. But mostly…I go to bed sad. People. Died. At a concert. We all agree that sucks. Right? <note the punctuation

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by | February 16, 2017 · 12:34 am

TYMMPB… | You’ll Take Care of Them

There are two people in your life you have absolute, undeniable responsibility for, from the moment you’re born. Your Mumma. And your sister.

I don’t want this to sound overly dramatic; I simply want to make clear the role you play in their lives. (Note: I have the same conversation with your sis lest you think there’s some slant or bias here.)

There’s a one month period every year where this will be more important than ever: January 12 – February 15. Why? Because you’ve got Anaiya’s birthday, Valentine’s Day, and your Mumma’s birthday coming at you faster than you’ll know what to do with.

Keep calm. Give hugs. Sit in laps as long as you can; and when you can’t any longer, sleep in them. That last one lasts forever; I know, because I still sleep in my Mumma’s lap.

You did a bang up job of it this year. You let them get whacky while you just smiled, and chilled, and hugged, and loved.

Sometimes, it can really be that simple. You found a way to make their day about them, but making sure you never made it about you. So young, and already, so wise. Keep it going, Jaanu.

TYMMPB | Feb

And Happy Birthday, Mumma. Also, the house didn’t always look like that mess behind you. We’re moving soon.

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by | February 6, 2017 · 1:24 am

WE’RE MOVING

After 4 years, basically to the day (we moved in Super Bowl weekend), we’ve sold our place and we’re moving out. We’ve gone from being a couple, to being a family. And we stuffed every nook and cranny (can anyone from the 80’s hear “nook and cranny” and not want a Thomas’ English Muffin topped with butter?) of this 2BR place full of love and memories. Priya KC Bhatt you and I became even closer here. We found our stride (even moreso the past couple of months.) You became the amazing mother this picture exemplifies. Anaiya developed her generosity, grace, genius, and gumption in this place. Jaan found his chill, in this place. But in the end, when the four of us put our arms around each other and walk out that door on 2/25, one final teardrop on the saddle of our door as we leave (it will be mine, we all know that) we’ll leave a family and for all the house we’re leaving behind, we’ll know that home will be … wherever we find ourselves next.

#Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful for all that this place made possible, and for all that it protected us from. All that the walls reflected back when appropriate, and absorbed when we needed them to. May the buyers find in it infinite happiness and all the blessings and goodwill this place is capable of bringing. (FYI, if you’re wondering where we’re headed, we’re moving in with our wonderful parents in Edison, NJ while we absorb the shock of being houseless (but never homeless) and plot our next step.)

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by | January 28, 2017 · 9:24 pm

MISSY AND ‘QUAI

I needed this. Music that captures and stokes memories with visuals that capture and stoke moods. And with Prince gone, a void that folks likes these can fill. This stuff hits. But the artistry behind the videos (Missy’s words) are…fire.

#Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful that they are back. New weekend soundtrack is here.

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by | January 27, 2017 · 9:55 am

MONOLITH

It’s amazing that I keep going back to what has become one of my favorite quotes of … ever. From the one and only George W Bush in a speech after the tragic shootings in Dallas this past July: “Too often, we judge other groups by their worst examples while judging ourselves by our best intentions”. That’s it, isn’t it. Stewart nails it below too. Best part? A friend from business school who typically stands on the other side of the political spectrum as I do, is the one who shared this. positively. (We also respect people more when they’re gone, and spend too much time tearing them down when they are here…different story). We’ve got friends coming over on Sunday who fit what JS says below. Great people. People we love. People who are smart as hell. Who voted for Trump. And I can’t monolithically categorize them while affording myself the flexibility to be nuanced. Can’t. Never have. Won’t. Man. GW nailed the crux of what ails us as a nation.

#Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful for this post and few others I’ve seen over the past few days. I’m spending all my time in the godd*mn middle of these conversations. Thanks for the share Nick Palmisciano. <I’m not saying you agree with my interpretation of any of this, but I liked your share. It’s also an inspiration for the resistance. If you opposed Trump as a human, you’ll lose credibility. Fight him on the issues. Debate what matters. But rally people who want to be on your side, to your side, by showing nuance. When you fall victim to tweet storms and the like, you’re letting yourself be played. When you spend 3 days on “alternative facts” instead of “3 seconds”, you’ve already lost your fight. Finally, the only monolith I see is that there’s a massively underserved population in the US. It’s not black. it’s not white. It’s not Latino. IT’s POOR. (That skews a certain color) but above being sexist, racist, mysoginist….sometimes I feel like we’re classist. The problem is, instead of people and voices picking our Presidents, it’s dollars and sense. It’s still a representative Democracy … just representative of cash not class.

https://www.facebook.com/HichamBennir/videos/1788173634840922

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by | January 22, 2017 · 7:59 pm

TRUTH (3 of 3)

Politics is not a zero sum game. In the private sector, it often is. One company’s gains come at another’s losses. There are market sizes and there are market shares. If we treat our politics and the role of the public sector like we do that of the private sector, we will fail. At all of our responsibilities. That’s why in the private sector it really is Android vs iOS. Ford vs Chrysler. Taco Bell vs the World. Because the private sector can make choices about who it serves. The public. The public sector. Our country. Can’t. We have to find ways to serve everyone. To make sure everyone is served. We also have to stop treating our politics like our sports. Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter isn’t Packers vs Falcons. For one to win the other doesn’t have to lose. I can believe, at the same time, that white middle class workers in the rust belt have suffered recently and that inner city Americans have suffered at the hands of failed education investments. I am capable of complex thinking and can hold more than one polarizing, absolutist thought in my head at one time. #Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful that there are three sectors driving America forward. If the public sector is going to step back from prioritizing civil rights, environmentalism, and health care–I know I am alive at a time when the private sector is being judged at tighter 3BL standards than ever before, and one where some of the best innovations are being driven by the nonprofit sector. Government has its checks and balances. That’s one third of what drives us forward. Thanks to everyone who matched yesterday. I cleaned a garage. But I start marching for my friends and family today. Trump is my President. I say it. Even when many of the people asking me to say it never had the decency to say it from 2008-2016. I say it. I acknowledge it. I wish him well and I do believe that in some of the area he is prioritizing, we will see great things happen that other Presidents never had the guts to take on (infrastructure is for EVERY American.) And I will also bring it. Game on folks. You energized? Because the best thing that came out of this election for the people who share my values is a much needed dose of humility followed by inspiration. As opposed to arrogance and condescension followed by apathy. Won’t happen again. Amirite?

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by | January 21, 2017 · 3:53 am

TRUTH (2 of 3):

If America is my country. Donald Trump is my President. And that makes this the inaugural address by my new President. #Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful for NPR and how they walk through the speech, step-by-step. It’s honest and objective. Look at the first piece of analysis on Trump’s opening lines: “Trump ran on a nostalgic slogan of “Make America Great Again.” But it was never clear what, precisely, that meant. By many basic measures and statistics, the country is better off than eight years ago. The country was on the precipice of a potential Great Depression and more than 100,000 troops were overseas, entangled in two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, the economy has improved; the unemployment rate is below 5 percent. And the number of troops in conflict is drastically reduced. There has, however, been some permanent damage to some after the recession — some have had to take jobs for less money and struggled to retrain for new careers. Many retirement plans were decimated. And the red tape and cost to some for Obamacare caused a backlash against President Obama and his party.” If you accept the first half of this analysis, you have to accept the second. If you accept the second half of this analysis, you have to accept the first. It’s how we’ll heal together.

https://www.npr.org/2017/01/20/510629447/watch-live-president-trumps-inauguration-ceremony?fbclid=IwAR0bYdbemixfWNdiOJdwnvsv3nYutyRwhtVZo6ul8OgYnvsOgzIEV0HLNAE

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by | January 20, 2017 · 10:17 am

TRUTH (1 of 3)

This. https://fivethirtyeight.com/…/barack-obama-won-the…/

How do you win and lose at the same time? When the rules you govern and evaluate by are not the rules decisions are made by. Obama is a great man. He was a President I love (was, because it’s 1214am and times they have a changed.) But he will only be a great President (impactful) of we learn from what he did as well as from where he didn’t (wouldn’t, couldn’t.)

#Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful for #44. He crystallized some very clear perspectives I have on the world. He advanced us in so many ways that matter to me (if not you.) And he also left us clearly with so many steps still to take. Time will tell when (not if) we have healed enough as a country to absorb that next round of steps. Permanently.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/barack-obama-won-the-white-house-but-democrats-lost-the-country/?fbclid=IwAR3mg2P5x7KvOONaYG7CQITmBB0oJ1XiYNzsL3BqyjoLJOreN206hB5lXh8

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by | January 19, 2017 · 5:34 pm

STANDUP

Watch this. I love this stuff. Since the MTV half hour comedy hour back when I was in high school and even before that. Comedians are the philosophers of our time. Good comedians are good philosophers. Bad ones are…still usually better than average. When they get up there it’s just raw. No music to distract. No instruments to augment. No sets (vague sets sometimes) for modest context at best. It’s them. Their words. And an audience full of expectations. You can hear the same sone over and over again. Forever. But the same joke? Has less staying power than even the most aggressively transient hip hop hook. The bast comedy isn’t light and airy either. It’s dark. Heavy. It’s hilarious. And then you think about it a little and something changes about how you see the world. I love this stuff as a craft. Maybe because I could never do it. Like brewing good beer. 🙂 This special is my. New favorite. It’s so rawZ and the three mics idea is genius. Neil goes from being the guy Chappelle needed for the Chappelle show, to the guy I need to watch over and over. Be ready to laugh. To cringe. And to hear raw stories of drug use, depression, and a strained family relationship. #Iamgrateful and #Iamthankful for this stuff. Amazing sh*t. Stand. Up. And watch this. Neal Brennan: 3 Mics Full Movie 2017

https://www.netflix.com/pk/title/80117452?fbclid=IwAR2w2Bli9aQ60_pShE6K_a-kSdnLJMMkztPKS3faCU2U3FtEcEM01jmY5vQ&s=i

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