I was very driven in high school. I worked a bunch of odd jobs. I never partied. I never drank. I was just a theater geek who was obsessed with movies.
I did plays in high school, but I was convinced you couldn't make a living doing it. You don't have a lot of options in Indiana anyway, though, so I didn't want to stay there. I graduated early and worked a bunch of really odd jobs, and then I joined the Marines.
I was born in Mumbai. We stayed in a joint family. But in 1994, my father had to shift to Pune for business. I started working at a very early stage. Immediately after my SSC board examination, I took up odd jobs in shops, as I wanted to contribute to my family.
I had saved a lot of money working at Mrs. Fields' Chocolate Chip Cookies, ushering at the Golden Gate Theatre, and doing odd jobs so I could live in New York for a few months. If it ran out, I would have to give up and go home. It turned out OK. I got my Equity card and started working.
I borrowed a lot of money from my parents in the years leading up to the 2000 Olympics, and I worked odd jobs.
When I was 14, I did all kinds of different odd jobs. I had a chicken farm, had an ice cream operation in the summertime, worked as a caddy; all things to make money and save money. Save money in order to invest - that was the first step, though I never really accumulated very much because of other demands like bicycles and things like that.
College didn't stick, so I worked odd jobs, but I've always written songs and played music. I actually met a guy who was a songwriter, which I didn't realize was a real job.
I went to college in Connecticut, which was when I still lived at home. I worked at a video store, a wine store, and did odd jobs here and there like landscaping.
When I was writing my first two books I was also freelancing and teaching and doing other odd jobs.
I supported myself by delivering the 'Wall Street Journal' and doing odd jobs. I love plumbing and carpentry.
