Hello folks who wonder if regifting the same candle you received last year for Christmas will automatically land you on the naughty list,

There is a thrill in being able to succeed when the whole world wants you to fail. Your desire to prove detractors wrong can serve as a powerful motivator, allowing you to work harder and survive the odds. The desire to show your critics that they were mistaken about you allows you to vindicate yourself and gain a sense of validation. Succeeding when no one thought you could can feel liberating.

While winning against the odds might sound like a fairytale story, we live in a real world where we have to pay a steep cost to even live in fantasy. Case in point is tickets to Disneyland.

In the end, though, whether due to personal decisions, age, or circumstances outside your control, you will end up slipping. You will fail at what you were defying the odds to accomplish. Then, the whole world, like vultures, will come to snack on your failures.

Yes, you can tell already I am reeling from the breakup of my beloved celebrity couple Bennifer 2.0. And while I thought that was the worst 2024 could get, TMZ told me that Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox are breaking up. It feels like Julius Caesar, who is getting stabbed from all directions.

2025, you can't come soon enough.

During my trip to India this year, I spent most of my time in Mumbai, one of the world's fastest-growing and most populous cities. With over 20 million residents, Mumbai's extreme density creates significant urban challenges. The city's infrastructure struggles to manage the overwhelming amount of waste generated daily, resulting in littered streets. This situation has created an unfortunate paradise for rodents, which have become notorious inhabitants of Mumbai's thoroughfares.

Here is a Brown Rat foraging for foods discarded on the train tracks.

I ask it "what makes you so smart, bud? "

Watching 6 hours of #Lifehack videos on TikTok daily

 it responds.

What a smart fella. Someone give it the Nobel prize already.

In their quest to maintain exclusive control over their living spaces, humans often resort to age-old methods of elimination. When they feel their privacy and territory are being invaded, they turn to one of the most deceptive strategies in their arsenal: offering what appears to be a welcoming free meal to their unwanted guests—but with a deadly twist of rodenticide mixed in.

The poison takes several days to kill the rodents, but that's not the end of the story. As I mentioned before, this is no fantasy—it's reality. Once the rodents die, their corpses become highly sought-after prizes, triggering fierce competition among various scavengers looking to feed on the remains.

House Crows will not spare a moment to start snacking on this tasty morsel.

Out of respect for the family of the deceased rat, I have blurred the face of the rat.

You are so thoughtful, Karan.

I know, I get that a lot.

But as it turns out, crows share a surprisingly human trait: they aren't content to watch others feast. Like uninvited dinner guests, they too want their share of the bounty.

Three's a Crow-d. See what I did there. 🤦

Attracted by the activity, the Large-billed Crow swoops in, using its size and dominance to claim this seemingly abundant feast all for itself.

Just when the Large-billed Crow thought it had the rat all to itself, I rushed in, asserting my place in the pecking order, and snagged the last bite. muahahaha

Our next post takes an up-close look at the amazing fruit bats – you might just discover your new favorite animal!

As the year draws to a close, consider embracing a reckless moment you'll later regret. That way, you'll have a perfect excuse to make a New Year's resolution – and break it by the second week of January.