Dear diary,

Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) series of seminars and talks weren't half bad. In fact, not bad at all.

I got to listen to talks on IP protection and its trends, its abuse by some and the (lackof) utilization by others. I slipped into another workshop by Srivatsa Krishna, a World Bank bigwig, giving a low-down on the very hot topic of India, its expansion, flaws and some remarkable -and relatively unknown- statistics and figures.

Delegates from all over the world actually paid 300+ USD to attend this 4 day event, while I happily zipped around the rooms flashing my dinky little card that says "Press", suddenly elevating my insignificant existence to the ranks of glitzy Harvard tribunes and other recognized publications - all for free.

So much is going on in the world, and for people like me who just carry on with their mundane little lives managing their personal duties and obstacles, these sort of experiences put things into perspective.

I particularly liked this quote that Srivatsa borrowed from Heraclitus (Greek philosopher, 535 - 475 BC):

"There is nothing permanent except change."

How true. True of the very nature of life and our existence.