This transient life

Pluto gets the boot!

In a landmark meeting in Prague, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of its membership in the “elite cosmic club”, downsizing the solar system from nine planets to eight, says CNN. For someone who devoured science books during elementary with the solar system listed under My Favorites, this was unwelcome news. Initially, that is.

“How could they do that? Why couldn’t they just leave the little guy in the list?” Seriously, that was my initial reaction. It is like one little brick of my basic foundation chipped away. But in our quest for knowledge, these adjustments have to be made.

Imagine those elementary kids who just learned about the solar system being told that there have been changes. Textbooks are one of the constants in a kid’s life. Yet, with this announcement, textbooks suddenly become obsolete. “Ok kids, forget about what we told you previously. Bad news for Pluto. It ain’t a planet no more.” I guess this is not how the grade school teachers would break the news.

That is the thing with what science classifies as truths. They are not absolute. We are humans, always needing constants in our lives. So we make do with what we have and make conventions when deemed necessary.

One decade's truth becomes the next decade's untruth. I know that someday, another news will come along.

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Interim structural changes in Asia

This was one of the headlines in our company website. Our newly installed Managing Director made twitches in the structure of one major business segment in Asia that is performing way below sales target. “Heads will roll before the end of this year,” I mused. I imagine the sales managers and directors biting their nails until they see the numbers improving. I am almost sure more organizational changes will follow.

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“Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes,” I tell my friend Mac who recently expressed sadness over some of his friends leaving the company for better opportunities. “It is something we will experience more and more as we advance in years.”

The older we get, the more people we meet. With each person we meet, at times we make instinctive decisions on which ones to keep. With each group of friends we have, we still decide which ones to keep for the longer haul. I suppose at some point, the hellos will cease as goodbyes become more frequent.

The thought seemed to sadden Mac a bit more, which wasn’t my intention.

“Sorry, I have just come from a place of goodbye.. Been there for a while so..….” I didn’t finish my sentence. He understood.

“So, the best thing to do is..…?” I smiled at him. “What..?” he curiously asked. I said,

“Never stop saying hello.”