Posted on by Santulan · 12 Comments

The unexpected holiday package

As much as one may try, one cannot stay away from calls from unknown numbers. There are times when such calls are also from unexpected people, the kind that seem to offer you high fortunes. In retrospect it seems so sad that such calls even exist. The idea that they would entice unexpecting people with such calls, is sad.

There is one such conversion which is clearly etched in my memory on account of the distaste it left. I was working at my desk, when the call came.

 

Caller: Hello sir, is this Mr. Harikesh?

Me: Hello… Yes, this is Hrishikesh… The name is pronounced as Re-She-Kay-sh

Caller: Sorry Sir, I couldn’t get your name right.

Me: That is ok, what is this call about?

Caller: Sir, we would like to confirm if you’re a VISA Card user.

Me: Yes, but how did you get my details?

Caller: Sir, we’re the service provider to banks and ATM machines.

Me: Ok, so what is this call about?

Caller: Sir Can you please verify your card?

Me: Absolutely not, I am not sharing my card details.

Caller: There’s no need for that sir, just confirm where the VISA logo is, and which color is it in.

<I provide the info>

Caller: Sir, as part of your VISA and your bank’s rewards scheme, you’re entitled to redeem your points for additional items for free.

Me: Okay, tell me the details about it…

Caller: Sir, first of all you get to select one mobile phone from our catalogue. You can redeem your points to get a smart phone of your choice.

(I was delighted at getting a free smart phone, and began to wonder how much money had I spent to accumulate enough reward points for this)

Caller: Sir, Apart from this you get a family holiday package. You and your spouse can go to any one of our partner’s holiday resorts from over 30 destinations in India.

Me: Sorry, but I am not married.

Caller: That is ok sir, you can avail it within the next one year.

Me: Yeah, I don’t have plans to get married.

Caller: Oh, ok sir… You can take any other member of your family with you.

Me: Good.

Caller: Sir, if you confirm this, then I can share our account details with you.

Me: (Confused) I already have my account details with me.

Caller: No sir, our account details. You will have to make a deposit of XXXXX rupees.

Me: Excuse me, why do I have to pay? You said it was a free redemption. I already have the reward points in my account.

Caller: Sir, this is a bonus package. You need to pay only the service tax for this package, since you’re availing it from our partners.

Me: I don’t care then. If you’re not doing it for free, I am not interested.

Caller: But sir, the package has so many benefits.

Me: I don’t care, please don’t call me again.

 

I was really miffed by the time the call came to an end. TO start with saying that a package is free, and to then claim money on accounts of tax is just ridiculous. In itself, I don’t have any issue with paying the tax for a package, but to offer it for free and then claim the high amount of tax is not done for me.

They had the gall to call me up again two days later (a different calling agent) and offer the same package. I had him get his manager on the line and give him a piece of my mind as to why they were calling me again.

Oh well, here’s to the unexpected free smart phone and holiday package that I was to get.

 

Post written as a Guest Author for the team of Project 365. The prompt was “You receive a call from an unexpected person. Who is it, and what is the conversation about?” 

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Posted on by Santulan · 15 Comments

Chaos is a ladder

Lord Petyr Baelish (also called as Little Finger) is one of the key characters of the Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin, which is televised by HBO as the series ‘Game of Thrones’. He is a man of relatively low birth, with his father having been the lowest of hedge knights. Since his father had the smallest of lands at the Fingers, he was nicknamed Little Finger.

When he was being fostered at Riverrun, at the house of the Tullys, he fell madly in love with the Tully daughter Catelyn. Catelyn loved him only as a brother, and was betrothed to Brandon Stark, a peer in terms of status. Petyr challenged him to a duel and lost miserably, his life spared only at the request of Catelyn. It is at this moment that he realized that he couldn’t match the lords in manners of battle, sword skill or strength; he must instead rely on his innate cunning.

Gifted in the matter of commerce, he is so skilled that people believe that he can make gold appear out of thin air. When given controls of customs, he increased the income ten folds. Such was his prodigious skill, that he was made the Master of Coin (Minister of Commerce) at the king’s court.

Ever hungry, his brilliance is matched by his ambition to rise above in status. Many lords have made the fault of looking down upon him, and all of them have met death when Petyr climbed up. Another character in the saga, Lord Varys who serves as his spoil, says of him,

He would see this country burn if he could be king of the ashes.

There is a simple but brilliant line he says in the TV series (Portrayed by Aidan Gillen).

Ros: “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
Petyr Baelish: “A stupid saying. What we don’t know is usually what gets us killed.”

While there are many more quotes that he has said, one of the finest of the series is from a conversation he has with Varys. It is the famous ‘Chaos is a ladder’ quote.

Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail and never get to try again. The fall breaks them. And some are given a chance to climb, but they refuse. They cling to the realm, or the gods, or love. Illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.

It is one thing to read it, and another to watch Gillen deliver it. Here is the video of his brilliant performance.

You can find a better quality of the same video here (Embedding disabled)

 

Written for the A to Z Challenge 2014

Posted on by Santulan · 18 Comments

Recipe: Rice Koki

A Koki is a part of the Sindhi cuisine, and is a type of flatbread. Based on the same idea as a paratha, it is twist on it. While a paratha has stuffing in it, the koki has the same ingredients incorporated in the flour mixture before it is kneaded.

This recipe adds yet another element of twist in it, by adding leftover rice. Mom has been making ever since I can remember, and she was taught by her mom. For best results you need leftover rice, which is at least 6 hours old since preparation. You can use freshly cooked rice, but it doesn’t give the same texture.

Ingredients:
• Leftover Rice – 1 cup
• Flour – 3 cups
• Chillies – 2, finely chopped
• Tomatoes -2 finely chopped.
• Onion (Optional) – 1, finely chopped
• Red Chilli Powder – 2 tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 1 tbsp for mixing in dough, more to pan fry
• Water – to knead dough

Process:
• Take a large plate or vessel in which you can knead the dough. Add the rice to it.

kokirice

• Add all vegetables save the tomatoes

kokispices
• Add the flour
• Add the spices and oil

kokidough
• Add the tomatoes. Mix well

kokitomat

• Add water as you’re mixing and knead the dough into a pliable consistency.
• Once you’ve kneaded the dough, make small balls that you can hold in your fist.
• Roll out each ball flat using a rolling pin

kokirol
• Heat a tawa/pan
• Add two tsp of oil to grease the pan
• Place the rolled out dough on the pan and let it heat evenly

kokitawa

• Flip it once it has changed color and appears cooked
• Cook the other side just as well

kokichut

And voila, your koki is ready. Traditionally it is had with some mint chutney.
You can drop a dollop of cheese spread if you’re partial to cheese like me.

kokidone

Written for day 11 of the A to Z Blog Challenge

 

Posted on by Santulan · 19 Comments

Jalaram Nasta House’s Sev Usal

Sev Usal is a spicy Maharashtrian dish. Sev is actually fried noodle like strands made of chickpea flour and fried, while Usal is a gravy made with white peas and chutneys along with spices and condiments like ginger, garlic, tamarind and so on. The dish is an incorporation of the two elements. While it can be had by itself, it is more enjoyable to be had with a bread bun locally called as Paav in India.

While Sev Usal is not a dish that is native to Baroda, people of this city have brought it as close to perfection as possible. In turn, the residents of Baroda have showered love by making it a staple part of their diet. A Sev Usal stall is common sight. In fact, in terms of food dishes it is considered by many to be the pride of Baroda.

Locally, Mahakali (named after the Hindu Goddess) is one of the most popular places to have this at. Such is the popularity that many more small time stalls bearing the same name or a variation of it have come up. However, my personal favourite place to have it is the Jalaram Nasta house which is also called Lalabhai’s Sev Usal centre.

Located inside a lane that opens to a road, it is not very easy to locate unless you’re specifically looking for it. I remember getting lost, the first time I went there alone without my friends who would normally take me there. It is marked by a banner in red with the name written in white in Gujurati.

lalaoutside

You will first be given a premixed dish to get you started with. If you ask for extra (and I always do), you’re first served the sev and onions, while the gravy comes few moments later.

lalsevdry

You can mix and match the sev with the Usal to get the combination you feel right. This is how I start.

lalatable

An important aspect over here is what is locally called the ‘Tari’. It is basically a chilly preparation made from oil, green and red chillies. It is very spicy, and is added on top at the last before mixing the whole thing.

lalatari

To be honest, this is one of the reasons that gives Sev Usal its signature feel and adds an extra dose of yum. And there, you finally have your Sev Usal ready..

lalasevusal

Feel free to dig in.. Part of their team was happy to be part of a picture that I took before leaving.

lalateam

The dish and the place are so wonderful that I take my guests and friends over to have a taste of this iconic dish. This is a picture of Shail di and me, when she had come to visit quite some time ago. Repeated comments as to how much younger she looks, may result in bricks flying in your direction 😛

lalashailandme

I am attaching its location on Google Maps for you to locate it.

 

Written for day 10 of the A to Z challenge.

 

Posted on by Santulan · 10 Comments

Institutionalized

The first time I heard this song was when I was watching the movie Iron Man. The music to this song is played when Tony Stark is working on his Hot Rod (the car), and Pepper walks in to talk to him.

ironman1

I couldn’t get the song at that point of time, and a Google search after the movie lead me to Institutionalized by Suicidal Tendencies.

The song follows ‘Mike’ who is portrayed by the band member Mike, and the conflicts he faces with his friends and family. The song is different from other songs. The song doesn’t use lyrical verses, but is instead sung in a running sentence style. The lyrics are complemented by a guitar riff, which gets more prominent as Mike’s emotional bursts come forth.

I will leave you with the song and its lyrics.

Sometimes I try to do things
And it just doesn’t work out the way I want it to
And I get real frustrated, and like I try hard to do it,
And I take my time, but it just doesn’t work out the way I want it to
It’s like I concentrate on it real hard
But it just doesn’t work out
And everything I do and everything I try
It never turns out, it’s like, I need time to figure these things out
But there’s always someone there going, “Hey Mike, you know, we’ve been noticing you’ve been having a lot of problems lately, you know? You should maybe get away, and like, maybe you should talk about it you’ll feel a lot better”
And I go, “No it’s okay, you know, I’ll figure it out, just leave me alone, I’ll figure it out, you know? I’m just working on myself”
They go, “Well you know, if you want to talk about it, I’ll be here, you know, and you’ll probably feel a lot better if you talk about it. So why don’t you talk about it?”
And I go, “NO I don’t want to, I’m okay! I’ll figure it out myself!”
But they just keep bugging me, they just keep bugging me and it builds up inside…

So you’re gonna be institutionalized
You’ll come out brainwashed with bloodshot eyes
You won’t have any say
They’ll brainwash you until you see their way

I’m not crazy!-Institutionalized
You’re the one that’s crazy!-Institutionalized
You’re driving me crazy!-Institutionalized

They stuck me in an institution
Said it was the only solution
To give me the needed professional help
To protect from the enemy myself

I was in my room, and I was just like, staring at the walls thinking about everything but then again I was thinking about nothing, and then my mom came in, and I didn’t even know she was there
She called my name and I didn’t hear her, then she started screaming, “Mike! Mike!”
And I go, “What? What’s the matter?”
She goes, “What’s the matter with you?”
I go, “There’s nothing wrong mom”
She goes, “Don’t tell me that, you’re on drugs!”
I go, “No mom, I’m not on drugs, I’m okay, I’m just thinking, you know? Why don’t you get me a pepsi?”
She goes, “NO! You’re on drugs!”
I go, “Mom, I’m okay, I’m just thinking”
And she goes, “NO! You’re not thinking you’re on drugs! Normal people don’t act that way!”
I go, “Mom, just get me a Pepsi, please? All I want’s a Pepsi”
And she wouldn’t give it to me, all I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn’t give it to me, just a Pepsi!

They give you a white shirt with long sleeves
Tied around your back, you’re treated like thieves
Drug you up because they’re lazy
It’s too much work to help a crazy

I’m not crazy!-Institutionalized
You’re the one that’s crazy!-Institutionalized
You’re driving me crazy!-Institutionalized

I’m sitting in my room, and my mom and my dad came in, they pulled up a chair and they sat down
They go, “Mike, we need to talk to you”
And I go, “Okay, what’s the matter?”
They go, “Me and your mom, we’ve been noticing lately you’ve been having a lot of problems, and you’ve been going off for no reason, and we’re afraid you’re gonna hurt somebody, and we’re afraid you’re gonna hurt yourself, so we decided that it would be in your best interest, if we put you in a place where you could get the help that you need”
And I go, “Wait! What are you talking about? WE decided?! MY best interest?! How do YOU know what MY best interest is? How can YOU say what MY best interest is? What are you trying to say, I’M crazy?! When I went to YOUR schools, I went to YOUR churches, I went to YOUR institutional learning facilities! So how can you say I’m crazy?!

They say they’re gonna fix my brain
Alleviate my suffering and my pain
But by the time they fix my head
Mentally I’ll be dead

I’m not crazy!-Institutionalized
You’re the one that’s crazy!-Institutionalized
You’re driving me crazy!-Institutionalized

It doesn’t matter I’ll probably get hit by a car anyway

 

Written for day 9 of A to Z Challenge

Posted on by Santulan · 26 Comments

Hola for some yummy Mexican food

This is another place that I stumbled upon by accident. I was looking for a place that accepted online orders and payment for home delivery orders, when I came across HOLA Mexicana. I enjoyed their food so much, that I ended up ordering at least once every week for some time. Soon it dawned upon me that while I have had their yummy food many times, I haven’t actually been there even once. I made up my mind to go there over the weekend.

HOLA Mexicana is quaint little place nestled in a building complex Fatehganj, Baroda. Their banner is well lit, so that you don’t miss it. The only catch is that you can easily park a two wheeler, but a car will need some efforts.

holaent

They have a warm looking interior, which can easily manage 20 or so patrons. One of the plus points is that they have A/C and wifi, so it makes spending the hot noons or evenings easy.

holaint2holaint1

One of my regular orders over here is their mexican rice. While they offer both veg and non veg options, I like to go with the chicken version. It is a fabulous combination of rice, sauces, spices, tanginess, vegetables, beans, shredded chicken (since I go for the non veg version) and cheese. I have had it almost everytime I have ordered from them, and I still enjoy it each and every time.

This is what the bowl of mexican rice looks like when you receive it.

holarice1

I like to give it a nice mix, before diving in.

holarice2

Not one to get satisfied with just one bowl of rice, I order something else to go with it. This time I ended up with one of their omelettes.

holaome1They make a nice fluffy omelette that has stuffing inside the fold. Mine had chicken, vegges, spices and cheese. Needless to say it was absolutely delicious.

holaome2

What is even better about the place is that in spite of serving such delicious food, and giving you a warm and comfortable ambience, they are easy on the wallet. Here’s a snapshot of their menu

holamenu

This is hands down, one of my favorite places in Baroda to have mexican food. I will leave you with a picture of the HOLA Mexicana team who were happy to pose for a pic for me.

holateam

 

 

Written for day 8 of the A to Z challenge

Posted on by Santulan · 21 Comments

Gokul Ras thad, a delicious discovery

I love those happy accidents when I find a place I have never been to before, and end up having brilliant food at it. One night, my old room mate and a friend came over and asked me to join them for a drive. Since none of us had dinner, the idea was to have something on the way. We had taken the old NH8 highway out of Baroda towards Ahmedabad. Around 9 kilometers on the highway, we stopped outside this place which we hadn’t seen before. Since the place had opened only two months ago, few people knew of it then.

Gokul board

I absolutely loved this idea of having small tents over each table. This way you can enjoy the cool breeze that is blowing, and yet maintain your small personal space. There are lights and pedestal fans inside the tent, for when the wind is not enough.

gokul tents Gokul tentThese are how the tents looks up close. There is enough space inside for a group of 6 to sit and eat comfortably.

Three of us were in the mood for Kathiawadi (belonging to Saurashtra region of Gujarat) food, so this is what we ended up ordering:

Wagharela Rotla (Broken flat bread that has been stir fried with spices and sauce)

Gokul rotla

There was Lasanya Bateka (Potatoes made in a gravy with loads of garlic)
Gokul bateka

The friends love Brinjal so we ordered Ringan/Baingan Bhartha (Squashed Brinjal)

Gokul bhartha

And some Ringad ane papdi nu saak (Brinjal Sabjee with beans)

Gokul brinjal

Of course we had piping hot rotis with fresh white makhan (butter) on them

Gokul rotibutterSince I felt adventurous, we had fried sated chillies (which I didn’t eat , and my friends had to finish)
Gokul chillies

And this is how my plate looked when we were eating.

Gokul plate

 

So, if you ever end up with a craving for Kathiawadi food, with some lovely ambience, I will accompany you here.

 

Written for day 7 of the A to Z challenge, 2014

 

Posted on by Santulan · 25 Comments

Fun and Love

I have been to two high schools for my studies. While I spent lesser time in it, St. Gregorios has been responsible for some of my most memorable experiences, and wonderful learnings. I imagine that this is the speech that I have been invited to speak over there.

 

This is a very interesting feeling, to be on this side of the stage and speaking on the microphone. I have been nudged more than once by a friend when I had dozed off in one such speeches, and called out when a friend saw me eating chocolates or chewing gum. What are friends for, if not to occasionally get you into trouble?

I was asked before being invited back here, to speak on the path of life. Of course non one needed to have gone through the trouble of inviting me. One can never be invited back home, we just walk back in its comforting presence. What better manner to talk about the path of life than to speak through the memories that I cherish of this place, some similar to what you will end up with as well.

One of my most memorable craft classes was the one involving masks and puppets. As the class assignment all of us had to prepare a mask or puppet each. There were no compulsions as to what we had to interpret or portray, or which craft skill we had to use. One would think that in itself the act of mask making would be fun enough, we were told that the kindergarten classes would be grading us. The final class would involve us putting up a team effort to enact stories with our masks and puppets for the KG kids.

The whole idea behind our work changed, and it was as fun for us as the KG kids when the acts were being performed. I don’t remember who was more excited on the final day, the KG kids who were having enjoying the show, or us who were having a wonderful time putting on the act for them. What I am trying to tell here is that if you have to do something, you put in more effort if it is fun, and you enjoy it.

Of all the classes we had, I think the one that I ended up loving the most was Library. I know, library doesn’t have a set curriculum, or something specific to learn like we have in other subjects. But library gave me something that many classes cannot compare to. It gave me the love of reading. While it was never forced that we had to issue a book more than the once per week Library class, a bunch of us ended up issuing books much often. Reading was always encouraged for us. We were taught how to write reviews, and there was pride in one’s review being displayed on the library notice board for others to read.

I remember the discussions we had, students and teachers together. Discussions about the book we had last read, what we thought of it, and the recommendations to the next book. At the height of it, we were issuing books every second day, using the lunch time to change our books from the library. The books would get devoured in the bus on the way back home. Home was no different. Once home work and studies were done with, and dinner eaten; I would be in the bedroom propped with the latest book that I had had issued. Hours could go away on such nights and on holidays to the extent that a person like me would have to be called twice to the lunch table.

I remember when we had been to Bangalore for an inter-school competition, and were on the way back to our accommodation from the event site. We were playing a Harry Potter quiz, and Principal ma’am commented that had we put in half as much effort in our course studies, we would have all been scoring more than 90%.

The idea over here is to find something that you love. The moment you start loving something, you forget the amount of effort you put into things. All that will matter is doing it. Fun and love. These are the two things that I believe you must have, in your path of life.

 

 

Post written as a guest author for the team of Project 365. The prompt was to “You’ve been asked to speak at your high school alma mater — about the path of life. (Whoa.) Draft the speech.”

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Written for day 6 of the A-Z challenge 2014.

Posted on by Santulan · 23 Comments

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a movie that I stumbled upon while doing a search on how our memories work.

Joel Barnish (Jim Carrey) is a withdrawn man with an inactive social life. One day on his commute to work, he has an urge to go to Montauk instead of work. On the way back from Montauk to New York he hits it off with Clementine (Kate Winslet), who is the polar opposite of him. She has brightly colored hair, and is an unrestrained person who speaks what she thinks. What they do not know is that they had had already been in a relationship for two years, and when it turned sour they broke it off.

The reason why they are unable to remember any of it is, is that Clementine had had her memories of Joel erased. The heartbreak of the relationship breaking off too much for her to bear with. While Joel was managing to deal with the relationship not working out, he broke down when he came to know that Clementine had him erased from her memories. Distraught, he goes to the same company (Lacuna Inc.) and signs up to get her deleted from his memories.

The way it works is that representatives of the company ask the customer to hand over all items they have that are personally associated with the person that want deleted. Then they ask you to think of the memories associated so that they can form a brain map specific to the person. Once the configuration is done, they attach a computer based apparatus to your head and begin a systematic deletion of memories while you sleep.
This dream/memory world is where most of the movies takes place. Starting with the earliest, Joel goes through all the memories associated with Clementine. The most recent memories are painful, and full of angst with all the passive aggressiveness they had displayed towards each other. The deletion of these memories serve as a catharsis for him. However as he goes further in the past, he begins to recollect all the happy and rosy moments he had shared with her. He begins to realize that the pleasure of these memories is worth living through the pain of not being in a relationship anymore. But being stuck in the dream/memory world, he cannot do anything to stop the process which is taking place in the real world in his apartment.

The memory sequences are absolute brilliance. The narrative of the story jumps across time here. From a scene which takes place in the past, to a scene in the future where the movie started, to what is happening in the present where the Lacuna crew is deleting the memories. The visual imagery as to how the memory gets deleted, and what Joel tries unsuccessfully to prevent it captures the viewer with awe.

The movie however is not just about these two. There is a crew of three working on the deletion, of which Mary (Kirsten Dunst) and Stan (Mark Ruffalo) are in a relationship. The third character Patrick (Elijah Wood), is using the personal files and objects of Clementine that had been given to create the deletion as means to gain knowledge to impress Clementine and date her. This small but very wonderfully told sub-plot is as interesting as the main story line.
We already know that Joel will be unsuccessful in preventing the deletion on account of him not recognizing Clementine in the future when they meet in Montauk. While they start afresh , oblivious to what has already happened between them they receive records of their memories from an employee at Lacuna who believes that the company has done something very wrong, and has sent all the customers their records. You will have to watch the movie to find out how the two of them deal with this disclosure.

The title of the movie is inspired from the poem Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope. The poem is about the tragedy of a love affair that couldn’t be, and the heroine’s believes that she can only be at peace if she can forget about this love that could not be.

 

How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d;

 

This is one of my favorite movies that seamlessly combines romance, science fiction and philosophy. I will leave you with the trailer of the movie.

 

 

Written for day 5 of the A to Z Challenge

Posted on by Santulan · 23 Comments

Doug Stamper, and why he fascinates me

I took to the A-Z challenge thinking that I would write about things that I like, places that I’d like to be at, stories that fascinate me. So after a recipe, and two food joints I want to tell you about a character who fascinates me. The central characters in most stories get a lot of attention and love. In itself there’s no harm with that, they are the central characters for a reason. However there are times when the supporting characters are awesome on their own. One such character is Doug Stamper from the House of Cards TV series by Netflix.

dougflix

Doug Stamper is Frank Underwood’s (a central character of the series) Chief of Staff. He is ruthless and efficient as Frank, and seems to lack a conscience quite like the underlying essence of the show. It doesn’t how something needs to be done. What matters is the when and the what. This is why he is an essential man by Frank’s side, part of all his schemes and manipulations. He is more than a henchman, he is fixer, and a failsafe. He deals with situations and people many times, keeping Frank updated so that Frank can do what he has to.

The premise of the series is that Frank has been promised the position of the Secretary of State for his work in securing the election of the President. However once in power, he is passed on as the President feels his need in the Congress instead. Soon Frank and his wife start their covert machinations to gain power, influence and what was to be rightfully theirs. All this with a generous helping of vengeance. Doug doesn’t question any of this, he understands. He accepts this in a very matter of fact manner, as if it is to be the natural progression of things.

He uses coercion and fear as means to get his things done. He is keen at spotting weaknesses of people, and then how to exploit them. Such is the effect of him and his machinations on people that, when approached about it by a member of the press the person chose to let their life and troubled past be out in the papers instead of telling of what Doug got done through them. His machinations go on to the level of setting up people much in advance, only for them to be brought down at the right time, in the right manner for Frank to benefit from it.

While Frank (who routinely breaks the fourth wall to address the viewers) has many wonderful quotes in the series, one quote of Doug’s and his manner of delivering it is very impressionable. He was once an alcoholic where it got so bad that it began to interfere with his life and work. He was one of the few people Frank gave a second chance to, and Frank has been undyingly loyal to him for it. He has remained sober for more than 14 years, but still attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. This was what he said at one such meeting, which he as a sponsor took a recovering alcoholic to.

dougaazero

I’m Doug and I’m an alcoholic. One of the things I do for a living is count. I count votes. Yays, nays, neutrals, abstaining. And I’m good at it. But the most important count I do has nothing to do with work. It’s the number of days since April 4th, 1999. As of this morning that’s 5,185. The bigger that number gets, the more it frightens me because I know all it takes is one drink for that number to go back to zero. Most people see fear as a weakness. It can be. Sometimes for my job I have to put fear in other people. I know that’s not right. But if I’m honest, like the fourth step asks us to be, I have to be ruthless. Because failure is not an option. The same goes for my sobriety. I have to be ruthless with myself. I have to use my fear. It makes me stronger. Like everyone else in this room, I can’t control who I am. But I can control the zero. Fuck the zero.

Michael Kelly, the actor who plays Doug has my respect for his wonderful performance. He really puts the spirit in the portrayal of this character.

Written for Day 4 of the A to Z Challenge