Admin from hell - old style

Having been told by Prince Kaspian that my return in triumph was not safe and that we had to conduct a meeting with the Oracle in Delphi regarding my plans and travel. T'is not easy for a knight in shiny armour to make his way around this planet without the many enemies to notice.

However an imperial stallion was prepared for me and I set my faith to the sword and went of to Gunga City. Many happy faces greeted me as i arrived and it was truely a treat to find myself in the good company of other good knights - may they wear the colours of the lost kingdom however they are still brave warriors and for that one must pay respect.

After the first day of haggle and babble we decided to go for a pint at the local pub - or at least that is what I thought, being near the core of the empire and all. Nope sir indeed, off we went and ended up in a fish restaurant where they served the most delicious crab I have tasted in years!!  Manna from heaven !

What about the Rouge Raving Rascallion then? Well, not much to say, he is still rouge, still raving and all boys knows that he is a Rascallion to be careful of but good at heart and loads of fun however not the kind of knight I would like to have in battle.

All tthe best for now

//AFH

Prashant was one of those people that have a special precense. He was THERE and you could feel it. He was a happy person with a wonderful sense of humour and was easy going and not complicated. He had a very bright head stuck on his shoulders and as top of his class he had several degrees behind him. Dedicated at work with great attention to details without being micro manager he also approached everything in a very structured way and this is what earned him success in whatever he undertook.

After another successful day at work his colleagues said good bye and see you tomorrow, he went home to his wife and 2½ year old daughter and enjoyed a nice evening. He felt not well and had a bit of indigestion so he went to bed. In the early hours of the morning he spoke to his wife and still had pain in his chest but thought it to be the stommac but his wife insisted that he should go to the hospital. Confident that it was nothing he wanted to bring his clothes and everything so he could go from the hospital straight to work because surely this was nothing. Then he suffered a massive heart attack and died.

Prashant was a healthy young man in his mid thirties with all possibilities ahead of him. He did not smoke and led a very healthy life attending the gym several times per week. He went to the doctor every 3 month to have his checkup to make sure that everyting was in order. A man in his prime was taken from us.

In both Buddhist and Hindu way one would say that is was his time. You have your life to live, only thing is that you don't know when it ends and you don't know what happens after that. The younger generation are not so prone to beleave that the spirit will move on when the body dies. It is more rational to say that when it is over, it is over. You trust in what you see and we do no longer train our senses to see beyond.

Just before this, on Sunday afternoon, I decided to go for a walk and perhaps do some shopping in a more simple area of Kolkata. Walking through the inner maze of a market place I neded up in a shop where they had a corner full of religious items that seemed to be made of dark metal or in few cases brass. These were tourist trinkets and among them I saw several head figures of Lord Buddha. It came over me like a chock and I started crying with big tears from my eyes. The feeling of darkness, pain and death came over me and I stood completely still and prayed to Lord Buddha for strength but also for all those who suffer in the world. I tried to be strong and reach out and share my compassion but the feeling was so overwhelmingly strong and I had to slowly back out of the shop. The people in the shop looked at me with big eyes and one of them guided me out into the daylight. It took me long time to recover and I still don't know what it was but the feeling was so strong, so over powering.

As soon as I return home I will visit a temple and pray and hope to be able to talk to a monk.
I do treasure every moment for I know it is dear but I also know that I have to learn to let go
because that is the way of Lord Buddha teachings which show the path away from suffering.

Most of my colleagues here at the office are now attending the ceremony for Prashant and cremation that will follow. I have not joined as I was explained that I should better stay behind and that they would convey my condoleances. Hindu ways are also diferent from those of the Buddhist.

So this turned out to be a different day at the office compared with what I had expected.
But then again you never know, do you ?

Yours
//Jake

The Lord Marshall's high quarter was that of lean, sleek, efficient splendor and even though I was kept waiting for more than half an hour the palms of my hands remained strangely dry and warm although the rumors were many and the window was open in the small room where I was told to await his Lordship. His assistant was that of friendliness and efficiency combined. It was not the feeling of excitement nor fear that had grabbed my heart, no - it was the feeling of the fearless. In this very small "la chambre secret" I was not yet aware that Captain Flash-Heart had made contact and once again offered his services. This time he had been rejected on the grounds that "we can not afford him in these times of cut-backs". So little did I know that I, his Padwan Learner, was going to be accepted on the very same grounds. Had I known that Captain Flash-Heart had the aspirations for the same position I would naturally have backed down - but know this, I did not.

The Petty Governor of Minor Matters had conveniently "dissappeared" and made himself in disposable during the great gathering of all knights of the round table. He had suffered a major blow to his already bruised ego in the new rank order of the troops but with his latest temper tantrum there was more to be lost than just face. He had, in fact, lost almost 80% of his troops to other officers and was now left with only the Bloated Beggar from Roads Ends and Sir Point (of No Return). The Bloated Beggar had followed the Petty Governor from early days and was loyal beyond compassion however Sir Point was new in the ranks but would always stand his ground firm, something that annoyed the Petty Governor immensly.

In all this loss of troops and face the Petty Governor was, surprisingly enough, endorsing me to the Lord Marshall - if this was because he knew that I would utterly fail or if he actually believed that I would do good is something I will probably never know, nor do I intend to find out.

As I was sitting in the small room with glass walls facing an open area where officials would hurry past and giving me a quick but inquisitive glance, I felt like a strange object in a "Cabinet de curiosités" but was at the same time quite comfortable with that. An old Admin from Hell is not that easily intimidated especially when he has been summoned for deeds well done to face the Lord Marshall.

Earlier that day I had been called to the den of the Viceroy and received the most precious instructions regarding what the Lord Marshall likes and dislikes. I was handed vital information for my survival and success but the bottom line was that I should remain true to myself - needless to say, I will.

I was interrupted in my thoughts by the Lord Marshall entering the room with long strides and a firm handshake to seat himself with back to the inquisitive knights, me on his right and the outside in front of him. This was a good position that gave me chance for bonding and trust which I took. The conversation was between gentlemen and knights and will not be recited here or anywhere else but the outcome was good and after an hour I was back outside the building with carrying both trust and challenge in my mind.

This was a good beginning
Yours
A.F.H.