Who Am I Kidding?

Fare Thee Well

2011-07-12T23:33:00.000+05:30

So the day has come. We must part ways. It is not your fault alone. I have met someone else. And has everything that I wanted. It was good while it lasted, but this relationship cannot last longer. Hope you meet someone else who is more committed to you than me. I will always have fond memories of you.
So long Blogger. But Tumblr is so much more cooler than you. You can send over my stuff here.
Toodles then.

Androgenic Alopecia

2011-07-04T23:00:00.001+05:30

Yes, that is what it is called. According to the Ultimate Reference, it is described as follows, "In humans, this condition is also commonly known as male pattern baldness. In classic pattern baldness, hair is lost in a well-defined pattern, beginning above both temples. Hair also thins at the crown of the head. Often a rim of hair around the sides and rear of the head is left. This is dubbed "Hippocratic balding". Rarely, the condition may progress to complete baldness". Little did Arun know how close to the truth he was when commenting on a previous post, about me transforming to a balding something person. Yes that is exactly what I am slowly yet surely transforming to. Every strand of hair that pops out as I casually touch my head warns me of the impending doom. Each bottle of those miracle hair tonics smiles weakly at me as if it is telling me that it is good but not designed for such extreme cases. And I languish in the certain knowledge of what is going to happen to me.

Ah, the good old days, when the name Fountainhead was an apt tribute to It. The days when the visits to the barber were a necessity. My hair would have grown wildly and densely and would be protruding in all directions. The barber seeing me approach would give a loving glance of appreciation at the vegetation and grin widely at having an opportunity to practice his art. He would painstakingly set all the tools of his noble trade on the table and ask how short I wanted it to be with great apprehension. And I would give a regal wave and say with casual nonchalance "Bilkul Chota Kardo Bhaiya". And he would give a huge sigh and begin his work. The battle of wits between the artist and my locks would follow and the wily barber would have to use all the tricks that he ever learned to tame the foliage. At any point of time, there would be a trimmer, scissors of varying shapes and sizes, combs of several textures and a bottle of water on the table. And the battle rages on. Slowly I start resembling a normal human being instead of Mowgli and finally it admits defeat to human ingenuity. The artist that he was, he would flash me a grateful smile for giving him the chance to prove himself ( the hair lying on the ground which was enough for a wig or too might also be a possible reason).

And we come to now. The necessity has transformed to a ritual, a rather farcical one at that. Something that we do just as to retain the old tradition. Like the kings still being called Your Highness and all inspite of being just common me (pretty rich common men yes, but still common men). A memory of something past. Sort of like going and renewing the subscription of the science magazine, not out of necessity but rather as a ritual, I go to the barber every two months. Why two? No idea. Maybe it is the second part of 42. Or half the first part of 42. The great number has many ways of manifesting itself and it is not up to us mere mortals to question that. So two months it is. The barber on seeing me gives me a look, at once a mixture of disappointment, disgust and disdain. Somewhat the look given to a student who inspite of his early promise goes wayward and derails from his path of greatness. He mutters to his friends," Chai garam kar lo, main abhi aata hoon" and beckons me inside. I quietly ask him not to make it too short and he gives a grunt. Taking immense care not to disturb the flora too much, he pats the old egg here and there and sort of puts on a show for around 5 minutes. I pay him the charge, and walk morosely back, one hand on the mane which had challenged many a barber, the other hand trying to count the days before even this walk won't be needed.

Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka

2011-06-29T20:03:00.000+05:30

A short account of my impressions about Tejas will come as soon as I get an idea of what it does, which might take very long. So right now I will be writing a review of this book I read about somewhere as a must read for cricket fans. That time I was not that much into cricket (read pre-World Cup time). How a hardcore cricket person like me lost touch with the gentleman's game is another story altogether. Then recently during the holidays, I heard about a person called Sidin Vadukad writing for Cricinfo. That entire afternoon I split my sides laughing at the masterpieces that he had composed and considering that it was a day I was feeling low, I owe him for cheering me up. He also praised this same book and being indebted to him, I felt that I should buy this book. So I did and just now finished reading it.

Somebody has described this book as "A crazy ambidextrous delight" and it is spot on. A crazy story is exactly how I would describe it. It is a fascinating insight(?) into the world of a cricket team that I loath with all my heart, Sri Lanka. And if you remember that 54 run bowled out or Mendis running through the entire team or the semifinal of 96 or the scary sight of a small target appearing daunting at the prospect of facing Murali, then so should you. "Gamesmanship" "sportsman-spirit" bull-shit aside, it is hurting to see the team that you love lose. As someone said, "Show me a good loser and I will show you a loser".

Alright I am drifting from the topic so back to it. As I said it is about Sri Lanka in general, more about Sri Lankan cricet and especially about a quest to find the greatest spinner in history. No this is not about some talent-hunting reality show, it is about a search for a bowler whom the narrator believes is the greatest spinner to grace cricket, a genius who could do things with the ball that the supposed greats could only dream of. This genius was capable of bowling some of the most exotic deliveries like the Double Bounce ball (which spun twice) and that too with either hands. He was also capable of perfectly mimicking the bowling actions of anyone. Many of the greatest achievements of Sri Lanka seemed to have started from him, most notably the Great Lankan Opening Batsman's utter disregard for technique and still becoming one of the greatest players in their history and undoubtedly cricket history. He is also attributed to have introduced sledging to the otherwise meek Sri Lankans.

The aforementioned narrator is a severe alcoholic and is dying and wants this quest to find this bowler of mythical proportions to be his last contribution to the literary world. He is a part of a dysfunctional family with a son who ran away to become a rock star and brothers with whom he is not on good terms. His only allies are his neighbour who is a statistician The story follows the search in a rambling manner with diversions and detours but without losing the grip on the plot. There are several anecdotes about players, and as it has to happen the great Turbaned Indian Commentator does pop up. The book has a very good ending where I really got confused about what was fact and what was fiction. On the whole a very enjoyable book where you are introduced to some really nice characters whom you get to like even with their quirks and idiosyncrasies.

Unputdownable? Maybe not. Must read? Hmm, if you are a fan of cricket, then yes. Enjoy this rollercoaster account of the enigma that is Sri Lankan cricket.

What??? Next week???

2011-06-13T15:23:00.001+05:30

...and behold, out of the blue, The Call comes.

I was calmly sleeping my holidays out when suddenly I was woken by someone saying Tejas is calling. What Tejas, I ask. The company that will eventually employ you, replies the person and I finally realise that it is me mum who woke me. A short conversation later, I realised that I have been asked to drag my lazy self to Bengaluru or Bangaluru or whatever by 20th June. Ohk... but that is like only a week away. And though one of my friends seems to own IRCTC (I am looking at you Amar), even he will find it difficult to get tickets at such short notice. But then they tell me to fly there. And I agree. And the tickets are booked for 19th June. And Bam! I am leaving home.

So after all my drivel about the holidays stretching like for eternity, it has come to a rather quick end. As I write this, it is finally sinking in that I am less than a week away from flying away. And like the fledgling that flies away when it finds its wings, I am flying away too. After a fantastic 17 years at home and school and an unbelievable 4 years for the first time away from home, I am going in search of my life. The nest remains open for me and come back I will whenever I can.

Come 19th and I am finally on the road. Not in the way we use it in Malayalam! But more nicely:). This is a nice time to borrow from a master. As He said so will I:

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Hope my journey on it is as enjoyable as my journey leading up to it. My next post will most probably be as "R&D engineer at Tejas Networks", so there!

Till we meet again...
Toodles

And the days go on...

2011-06-09T15:24:00.000+05:30

The mercury around these parts seems to not drop less than the 40 degree mark and I have therefore one more excuse not to venture out of the house :). The set-top from Sun has gone bust and therefore I am stuck with only a few channels, and however much I enjoy seeing ManU getting beaten, it is getting rather tiring. So I am stuck in front of the comp. But as my father has work to do on it, my time on it has been cut short to a 10 to 6 window. Thus I am now quite a pro on Hearts (thank god I never knew how addictive it can be while in college) and my virtual pro on FIFA has started getting all sorts of traits and attributes so that he may soon turn out to be a personification of his name - Damn Trikki :) (Please excuse my indulgence :p).

With the actual football season over, the only things going on are the Euro qualifiers and the transfer window. Liverpool seem to have already spent 12 mil+Eggnogg on one 20 year old. Hope he turns out good and capable enough to knock Stevie off the team. All sorts of rumours regarding players are flying around and this being just my second window as a hardcore fan (earlier I was just a casual fan of L'Pool and did not pay much attention to other details), its rather exciting and I spend more time on the Offside and Kopblog than anywhere else. As every fan around the world is hoping, hope we get a good winger and a solid left back and then we are good to go to get back onto our perch :) and back into Europe. Lets see what happens and of course in King Kenny we trust.

The days seemed to have been dragging along rather slowly but it has already been 2 weeks since I reached here. As I mentioned before, they have been a rather lethargic set of days but I am not complaining. I am expected to join Tejas Networks on July 11 and therefore have around one month left here. I had planned many things to do during these "last" holidays but so far nothing is working out. But again I am not complaining as I did not expect them to :). And the days go on in a pattern...

In Limbo

2011-06-03T00:01:00.001+05:30

The past week has been one in which I have been unbelievably unproductive even by my own standards. Most of the days have been spent sleeping or playing FIFA and the most strenuous activity that I have been participating in is engaging in shouting matches with my sister. Usually I read books when I am free, but these days I am not even doing that. I began a book about Vedanta, maybe influenced by the Upanayanam ceremony I recently had but haven't got ahead too much with that. I begin to do crosswords but stop after a point losing my patience. I drew a few pictures but got bored of that too. I tried making quiz questions, reading the newspaper, reading Wikipedia, reading the status updates on Facebook, reading the Buzz updates, searching for updates about Liverpool, listening to music and even attempted to learn to make Sambhar :). But none of these are helping me while my time. Except for the sambhar part, I used to do the others for the last 4 years and those 4 years passed even before I blinked my eye so why am I finding it so hard to do those things now?
I have by now mentioned most of my friends so many times that my family know about them very much. So the next time we meet, my family may ask Achumama about cars, Ubuntu about IRCTC, Shakku about the rates of soda and kadala, Gman about TI, Firdu about Karikku, Varma about desp kavithas, Mannan about his latest acquirements, BJ about animes, Jay about Synopsis, Ku about Bombay and on and on and on. Missing everyone a lot. Can't wait to see you people.
So back I go to what I was trying to do, which is to not die of boredom and hostel-sickness :)

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

2011-05-25T22:09:00.001+05:30

Caveat: There are a fair bit of spoilers.

This is a book that I have been hearing about for the last 3 years thanks to my Dumb Charades playing friends, where this was a usual question alongwith having to name the author. This has again been a book that I have had regular access for the last 3 years thanks to an uncle. Yet me being me, it took me 3 years to finally decide to read it. The reading part took a lot less time, and just to ensure that I understood and remembered something, I thought of writing this review.

It is a wonderful book. Kidilam as we used to :( say in college. Haunting and somewhat terrifying. The author starts off by telling how he got the story for this book. He begins with a meeting with the person about whom the story is and then the entire story is in first person. It begins as a rather harmless tale about a kid who lives next to a zoo owned by his family. The kid is named after a swimming pool and is a really good swimmer. A very religious kid, he is at once a Hindu, a baptised Christian and a devoted Muslim. Life was going on smoothly till thanks to the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi, the family is forced into having to sell all their animals and depart to the "safer" shores of Canada. But the cargo ship on which they were travelling sinks along with all the animals on board and only the following escape: the boy, a zebra with a broken leg, a hyena, an orangutan and a Bengal Tiger.

This is the second part of the story about how the boy tries to survive on board a lifeboat with such a dangerous collection of animals, dangerous being a massive understatement. It is very interesting to read about how he copes with the many problems though it is slightly a la Robinson Crusoe or Coral Island, with the minor addition of the aforementioned creatures :)

The third part is at most 5 pages in length and is the most terrifying part in the book. The boy is questioned by agents of the company whose ship the boy was on and they appear sceptical about his story. The boy then tells an alternate version of the story and its truly epic. Stunning. I was shocked by that version.

The book thus consists of two tales about the same trip and we are then asked to select the version we prefer to believe, one of incredible bravery in the face of disaster, the other about the utter depravity of man, the most dangerous animal of them all.

The story is written in a very engaging manner, with the author including details about the person who inspires this story. Quite a must read I have to say, and is worth every hour spent on it. The book is very informative too with lots of details about animals as well as about the religions mentioned earlier. But beyond all this read this book if you want to see how to totally flip an image that has been built over 250 pages. Read this if you like to place yourself as the protagonist and wonder what you would have done. Read this if you think of man as a superior being than others. If none of these hold for you read this if you think of yourself as a moral person, I think you would question your morality after reading this book. I know I did.

PS : When it comes to books, I like most of them. These are MY opinions about the book and thus please don't tell me if you didn't like it. Sorry, do tell me if you didn't like and we can have an intelligent argument about it. Thus if you don't like, then please tell me why.

The End of an Era

2011-04-23T00:57:00.003+05:30

Nice to meet you folks again. What was I doing all this time? Where was I after promising something and then coming back after a while with nothing but a hastily conceived apology? Well I was doing nothing but enjoying. Indulging would be a better word. Being fourth years and all that, the teachers sort of let us off the hook. The classes were less, there were no more labs and hence afternoons were off and moreover either a Monday or a Friday would have so few classes that most of us considered it sacrilege to remain here. There you go a perfect recipe for Indulgence. There were regular visits to the folks back home who soon started wondering out loud what I was doing there. And of course. there was an unwritten pact amongst us to add another subject to the curriculum ECU401 Travel and Tourism.

Hell yes, we travelled a lot. Starting off with a New Year in Kodaikkanal after a visit to Pazhani (yes you heard the combination correctly), we went off visiting Kasargod+Kannur (Bekal or Baikal or some other funny spelling), Goa+Dandeli, and rounded it off with an amazing experience of food and wonder at Idukki+Ramakkalmedu+Achu's house(where we felt the glory of The Cup)+Parunthenpara. And this was excluding the trips back home that I made almost all alternate weekends. I also managed to attend a few quizzes here and there with Asan and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

What else happened? Ah yes, this semester also had the whatshallIcallit "phenomenon" of Ragam which had among other things the most amazing 'proshows' by the Jai Ho team and Sunidhi Chauhan, tapping the energy of which alone would have solved the energy crisis in half the world. There were many other interesting events too, among which I vividly remember the StreetPlay of some team as well as the Fusion concert by All India Radio's award winning team. Then there were some extremely difficult quizzes which I participated in and yes managed to come out feeling less confused than before. Even exams did not manage to dampen the air of euphoria that was present after Ragam

Soon began the entire sequence of farewells and treats. I had managed to miss every single one of my friends' treats so there was no letting go this time. And yes there were enough treats left to satisfy me. First I think we had the branch farewell organised by the juniors of our department which went really well, the crowning point of which was when I was gifted with a memento by one of my favouritest (Enlgish language is deficient accept it) teacher, Then came the Enquire(read:quizzing club) treat which was held at a really nice hotel. I finally met my second year and first year juniors. There were some funny incidents during the thing, and hell I even managed to ad lib my way through a speech. Then came the best: the branch treat. All of us sort of treated each other but I guess the time we spent together was more important than everything else. We spent a lot of wonderful moments in each other's company, poked a lot of fun at each other and overall had a smashing time. That all has happened in one short (too short?) semester

Fourth year! Gosh! Seriously! Really can't believe the time has flown so fast. It is literally the end of an era, and I don't mean it literally like those idiots who say "that was literally mind-blowing". I mean it exactly as how a word-by-word translation to another language would convert it. Well I am digressing, but you know old habits die hard. Talking about old habits, you heard about the new... oops! sorry, won't happen again. Lets start afresh. Where was I, ah yes, The End of An Era. The college has transformed us from rather studious kids (oh come on! you were a nerd too) to dare I say, more responsible (snickering in the background) mature (catcalls) engineers (outright laughter). All right, maybe not so much responsible or mature or even engineers, ( I for myself will frame my degree and occasionally glance at it to confirm that I am engineer. But I don't think anyone can argue that we have not changed from what we were when we came here. I must say I met the most wonderful people that I think I will be meeting ever.

Thank you Varma, Achu, 4, Ubuntu, Shakku, Firdu, G, Mannan, BJ, Muru, Kurian. Jay,RoPo, Kops, Paaps, GT, MK, Vindows, Allu, Klay Vee Gee, Ulesh, Vathsa, Abhi, Pamper, Asan (both), Annan and all my other friends for being the people you are :)

I guess this might be the last post I will be posting as a student of NITC. Even when I am writing this the feeling is not sinking in. Seriously! Or it might not be if I don't study for the exams that are going on. So off I go.

Thats all folks!

Toodles!

PS: When I began typing this I was going to write "Since my life is so dull that the most exciting thing that happens in a day is when I score a goal from 30 yards out in FIFA( yes I do it!), I will be posting something when I do something meaningful in my life, like writing poetry or cycling cross-country." But I guess its not so bad after all!!!

Toodles again!

An apology

2011-03-08T17:38:00.000+05:30

My bad! I never should have made such a promise. Ambitious seems to be an understatement. C'mon who was I kidding! 8 blogs? Me? With an extremely high affinity towards laziness, that was never going to happen. My memoirs will have to be written by someone else. Sad. This time even I am disappointed by my inability. As a result of that commitment, I have not done anything else either, I mean no other blogposts. Whenever I used to get any ideas, I think "But I still have not done what I promised". So I temporarily postpone that commitment. I will be posting other things meanwhile. Maybe in the middle of all that, a sem or two might pop in.
Note: "MAY" pop in.

So long and thanks for all the fish

A rather ambitious project

2011-01-26T19:18:00.001+05:30

The last semester in college.

The last semester of actual "college life".

The last semester of fun before the rat race becomes more hectic.

Feels good.

As if a mountain has to be climbed and I have finally reached the base camp. Yes, life will most probably be an uphill journey from now on. This last semester of pure enjoyment will I guess be like the rest at the base camp before the actual ascent is attempted. Thus it seems to be a good time to recap upon how I reached this base camp. Hey don't worry, it will not be a long drawn out narrative of all that I did since I began to remember. That is the job of my biographer after I become famous :). I rather hope to write a series of blogs giving the most memorable moments and people I have met since my college life began. Hopefully there will be a blog on each semester, though my memory is rather faint regarding some parts :).

College life, especially hostel life has been a fantastic experience for me. I learned many things that I would never have learnt in the not ordinary course of life (engineering is the ordinary course of life now :) ). I daresay, it has rubbed a few odd corners off me. When I joined this college I had no expectations other than maybe an IT job. To be frank, I had no idea what to expect from here. I had no idea what the standard of education will be, what type of teachers I will study from or even what type of people I will be studying with. My book of expectations was blank and was slowly written in as the days progressed. Maybe I had a small hope of making some good friends. Ah yes! I also wanted to be able to avoid alcohol and smoke. And of course remain a vegetarian.Thats it. And have my expectations been fulfilled? A big resounding yessss!!! I have met many nice people, made many nice friends, at least some of whom I hope will remain so for the rest of my life. And of course I have always been able to say a strong no to both alcohol and smoke. And yes I have stayed a vegetarian though I am not sure whether that is something to be proud of or not. At least I now have more confidence in my ability to say no.

If I miss anybody or anything in my description, it is only my bad memory at the time of writing that caused that miss. I assure that whoever you are or whatever that happened would have been included if I had perfect recollection of everything that ever occurred ( in that case I will be a miracle and would be writing this from the confines of a lab with scientists poking at my brain). Of course the journey this far has not been a smooth ride and there have been my fair share of hiccups and breakdowns. But what is the point of remembering bad things? I hope to maintain a rather lighthearted account of everything though I hasten to add that I would have more often than not understood the gravity of the situation.

So keep visiting once in a while to see how far my project has progressed.

Toodles

Valkyrie

2011-01-14T00:11:00.001+05:30

One winter he sailed forth
Away, afar to the dark cold north
His mind set on the stories told
By voyagers young and old
He thought of that fateful night
When he ran away feeling light

Tales of treasure beyond measure
Filled his heart with great pleasure
Lands so beautiful with fjords and brooks
Mountains and forests wherever one looks
But most he dreamt of the chance to see
Herja the Great valkyrie

Her beauty renowned far and wide
As was her anger which swept like a tide
There was a hush when they spoke her name
All the noise it overcame
She rode upon a fair white horse
And ruled with force the mighty Norse

The journey lasted many a new moon
He raved alone like a crazed loon
Storms tore apart the humble sails
The thunder silenced his rants and wails
Hunger and thirst rent his mind
No land or ship he could find

One day he felt so tired and sore
He wept aloud and gave a huge roar
Cursed everyone who told him the lore
Decided to die and live no more
He ran and grabbed the only oar
But lo! he beheld a great white shore

He rowed afresh with hopes high
A smile on his face only so wry
Paddled so much he ran aground
But screamed with joy and jumped around
Saw a forest and went inside
From the bitter cold he wanted to hide

He strove on with much courage
Once again he felt young of age
Then there came along a fresh trail
Believed again that he would not fail
He walked and walked till he fell
Then awoke to the sound of a tinkling bell

Wonder filled him as he became
Aware at last of the splendid name
Of the place he found himself
Tended upon by a noble elf
Whereupon he went he saw great lords
For this was Valhalla the hall of Gods

He drank the sights and his soul was healed
Such powers the gods did wield
Once the wounds all did clear
Again the desire through his heart did sear
To see the Lady Herja great
He felt so sure it was his fate

When the lords heard his wish they smiled
They said to him, "Dear child
We hope you pine for something else
For her eyes deep as wells
Will blind your mortal eyes
We assure you we speak no lies"

But he would not have his wish denied
Peeked at her at a royal ride
The lady atop her splendid steed
She felt his presence and gave him heed
Blinding him before he would see
Herja the Great valkyrie

A New Year Resolution

2011-01-09T00:20:00.000+05:30

If writing was a skill and poetry was an art,
If your wrote with your hand but put in your heart
Then I will say to you nought
My trust for you will not be bought
With any price whether it be peace or strife
For I cannot write to save my life

I tried and tried and tried and tried
Thought about stuff till I almost cried
Wrote pages and tore them asunder
Decided that writing was a huge blunder
And this becometh the oath that I propose
Come New Year I will not compose

"That seems odd" you might exclaim
And of course you are not the one to blame
For people commit to stuff they care
And here I am shirking my share
But think twice and you will realise
Breaking resolutions has always been my vice

Is it the case of a double bluff?
Or is it just somebody in a patch so rough
Certainly he has got his job
With chances of earning without having to rob
Even his grades are okay now
And for that my friends I take a bow

But now I am stuck in a bigger hole
Like Liverpool when it bought Joe Cole
Then I sang You will never walk alone
But right now I am in No man's zone
All my writing seems to be in vain
And it always leaves me very much in pain

"Is it something that goes much deeper?
Has he finally met the great Grim Reaper?"
Alas my friends if it was only just that
For this one I could only scream "Drat!"
As my Laptop my precious might kick the bucket
And leave me with my hair that I had plucketh

It served me well and I served it well
Everytime I scored it gave a huge yell
I loved it with every single cell
Saved it from hurt even if I was the one who fell
Thus it is with great sadness that to thee I tell
That I will never buy a laptop which is made by Dell

The Naming of the Shrew

2010-11-22T04:00:00.000+05:30

Some of you might have noticed that this blog has been having different names during the course of the last few days. It remained one for a long time before the utter pretentiousness of the title finally bore into me. Naming it something which was not at all true began to gall me as it should any sensible person. Neither were the posts random, nor were they rants (hopefully), nor was/am I raving, nor am I in any way a good story-teller (yes that is what raconteur means FYI). I actually thought that the title was rather cool back then. But I guess I have matured with time. Then I had an intermediate title which meant “Tale of Damodaran, Speak friend and enter”, but then it was a shameless rip-off from a master, whom I venerated beyond everyone and therefore felt that it was an insult to him, to name something so vulgar from one of his great works. That had to change and it did. I guess the spate of name changing has shown how clueless I am. I guess for the time being at least, for the near foreseeable future at least, till I mature even more and realise how bad the title is at least, the blog is going to be titled “Who am I kidding?”.

Of course as Shakespeare said and many other idiots including me repeated, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". So if you have enjoyed reading even one post of mine, please continue visiting as only the name has changed, the author is still the same. On the other hand, if you have not enjoyed even a single post, hell who knows a name change might have been all that is needed. Numerology might indeed be true!!!

So please continue visiting and commenting.

Toodles

Mysteries of Life

2010-11-19T01:34:00.000+05:30

The four years that I have spent in college has been a very enlightening experience. Multilingual, multicultural people and all that shit. One great thing that I have learnt is to talk to perfect strangers. A great way to kickstart a conversation, particularly during meal time is to complain about the food, and mention in passing that you have had a better experience at home. That is all that is needed for nine out of ten people to start reminiscing about the fond memories that they have had with home food. The cooking virtues of their mothers are then expounded upon in such detail that you feel duty bound to notify the people organising "Top Chef" that they need search no further, "Gentlemen we have our winner here". Even extremely good food joints are rubbished when compared to the awesomeness of their mother's food. "Dude, eat my mom's dosa. Then Saravana Bhavan will feel bad to you". Call me racist but the most susceptible people to this trickery are Tamil Brahmins.Just mention good food and then expositions of filter coffee, dosa, pongal, mysore pak("its Mysore for God's sake"), and the millions of types of Sadams will follow. Americans will be scared by the existence of so many Saddams, sambar saddam, curd saddam etc etc etc. Okay bad joke.

Doesn't anyones' father make food? My dad makes kickass payasam("here I begin"), better than mom. What is the secret behind "Ma ke haath ka khana"? Why does all food have to be compared with it. I guess it will remain one of the great mysteries of life. Will 42 solve it? Many a domestic tiffs might have happened due to the unfair comparison of perfectly good food made by ones' better half to the grand old lady. I guess I will tell my wife," don't worry, our progenies will exhalt the greatness in your cooking".
Aah!!! POM makes me do everything else :)

Obsession

2010-11-13T12:55:00.003+05:30

“Should we do it one more time?”

Her warm touch was answer enough for him. It had been a day he will never forget in his entire life. The frenetic activity had begun at 9 in the morning. And it was now 2 30 in the night. They had taken breaks only to eat food. His eyes had become puffy and his back was hurting him. But he was determined. Years of taunts from his friends because of not doing it till his 4^th year came back to him. He now wanted to ask each one of them whether they could even dream of doing it for as long as he had done. She was of course more experienced but he felt that she understood his need. And that was enough for him. Someone who understood the fire inside, someone who would be there for him. And he did it one more time.

And kids, that is how in the monsoon of 2010 your father watched the final episode of the 5^th season of “How I Met Your Mother” on Uncle Abhishek’s computer.

Shortages?

2010-11-11T19:06:00.002+05:30

"You have attendance shortage"- proclaimed the message that was disturbing my peaceful football match. (Fifa 11 is simbly awesome, can't get enough of it!!!)
The message was from our class representative, a nice guy who does a lot of work and has a kickass t-shirt. I was struck dumb by that message. Not that I was speaking or anything, just a figure of speech (don't know which one). I grabbed nothing (why should something be always grabbed when in a hurry?), hurriedly put on my chappals, and dashed downstairs just after confirming whether he was in his room or not. The 100 meter journey to his room felt like eternity and Yours Truly had one of those metaphorical "Life paused for me" moments. The entire college life seemed to "flash before my eyes in fast-forward". My placement procedure as well as all the "High" attendance records that I marked during the teacher evaluation seemed to be giving me the big middle finger on my face. Hell I was almost going out. Lame jokes of being 3/4 or pi/4 an engineer were scorning me. I began to think back on the semester that was.
The class which had just screwed me was undoubtedly one of the most boring hours of my existence. The teacher used to come in and immediately start writing on different sides of the board and by the time I looked up I didn't have any idea of where to start writing. Of course the before-mentioned teacher had already taught us earlier and of course I was referring to that semester and of course I had got screwed in that subject. This semester I didn't even bother to look up and was usually sitting as though attentive but in my dream world. Attendance time was the only duration of that hour that I bothered to pay attention to. Or did I? Because after a few classes I realised that he just was not going to call my name. Rupesh Sah would immediately be followed by Vinay Kaimal and I was stuck in that big region of discontinuity. So I no longer bothered about attendance and sat there coolly whenever I could drag myself into the class. I generously bunked classes but still was aware that I was not that close to doom. But now I started doubting myself and my mathematics which had given me that false sense of security. I met one of my friends on the way and asked him what to do in case of shortage and was sensibly told to apply for condonation. But I didn't even have a clue about what classes that I had attended and what I had missed. So I walked, the walk of a man bereft of all hope, going to meet his executioner. And I walked and finally the 100 meters ran out and I was left with no choice but to meet my demons. I knocked, filled with dread, and entered his room. He was perched on his comp, with no worldly worries.

This is the conversation that followed:
Me-"Yaar mera attendance kya hua?"
He "Kya hua?"
Me-"Tera message aaya tha ki shortage hai".
He-"Mera?"
Me-"Haan tera"
He-"Tera number kya hai?"
Me-"9037983452"
He-"Toh yeh Dash ka number nahin hai? Main Dash ko bhejna chahta tha."

And I walked out.

Placement Coinologies

2010-08-14T19:13:00.003+05:30

First of all, coinology is a word that has been coined by GMan. And it means the same thing too.

Now that is clear, let us explain the settings. After a very relaxing holidays during which Yours Truly gave a new definition to joblessness, college had a rude shock awaiting me. It seemed that the placement procedure of which we had been hearing about for the last three years was finally going to strike our shores. Thanks to my imba preparations during the holidays, I was caught as unprepared as the Grasshopper caught by the winter. The only preparations were regarding the costume, rather fancy dress that one had to wear for the ceremony. Thanks to my parents, who had high hopes regarding my being placed somewhere, I had a decent wardrobe with all accessories included. My dad even wanted to buy me a tie, but I somehow managed to convey that I already was looking like a nitwit with my black shoes and tucked-in shirt with full sleeves. Thus in that respect and that respect alone, I was prepared.

Then regarding the three years of studies which I had studiously neglected, I found out that I wasn't even aware of the textbooks needed. Thus began a frantic preparation procedure, and anyone would have been surprised to find Damu who is usually never found in his room even during exam time, religiously waking up early and slogging away at a huge mountain of studies. Soon D-Day arrived, or did it? No, because GE which was slated to be the first company ready to take the risk of recruiting us decided to snub us in the face. Halfway through their PPT, we were told that they didn't give a rat's ass about BTechs and asked us to shove off. Well we consoled ourselves that we had a proper dress rehearsal (literally as well as figuratively). Then the other companies started arriving, and after a quicky aborted attempt at studying programming, I decided to take only core companies seriously. That was easier said than done, as I was somewhere in the 30-40 range of GPAs. And even now I am in search of a job. Is there any core company out there which recruits a person who likes English, reading novels, crossword, knows nothing (as of now) about electronics but is willing to learn anything??? Then search no further I am right here.

Signing off with some mathematical coinologies that have been developed considering the placement season.

Damu Distance - The Damu Distance of a person is defined as the number of pre-placement talks he/she has attended.
D(I) = Summation ( Pre placement talks of all companies)
[I is a random variable denoting an individual]

SPrem* Count - A mathematical extension of Damu Distance, it is the number of placement tests that a person has cleared. This has been coined after a legendary character who is rumoured to have cleared so many tests that the guy who guards the Placement department is on first name terms with him.

Toodles

*Not a typo

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe

2010-03-21T17:48:00.005+05:30

Wow... I am 'It'. I have been tagged. I have undergone the two rites and with this third rite, am now a part of the ever-increasing cult of bloggers. May this world be dominated by us.

Disclaimer: The following rules have been written by somebody else. I am merely copy-pasting.

Rules
Reveal 7 random things about yourself.
1) You have to tag 7 people.
2) You have to link their pages in your tag post
3) You have to leave a comment in their comments section telling them they've been tagged.
4) You have to say who tagged you.

Doing the last thing first... I have been tagged by 4, affectionately called 4.
A small tribute to him:

4 the great blogger, may his number never change,
Awoke in class and saw his mobile without range,
He went to his room and lo, behold he had been tagged.
His url had been listed and he had been red-flagged.

Revenge in his mind, with violence he was blind,
Wrote a post as long as it can be,
He wanted to give his emotions an emotional release,
And spread in this world, the following dangerous disease.

Me a fellow blogosapien was marked
and always constantly nagged
To become the tag-bearer,
In other words "The Boy who was Tagged".

Okay, after that the following 7 random things about me...

1. If I were to write a book, it would start as "Call me Lazy". I am as lazy as they come. In fact I am secretly proud of being so lazy. My autobiography will contain anecdotes about my laziness (quoting one, I once sat in a room without switching on the fan for hours on at a stretch at peak summer in Delhi, waiting for my mom to come from the other room and switch it on). Half of my replies to tasks to be done would be "Hey, I am too lazy".

2. The other half of replies would "I will do that later". Weighing 130 pounds, here comes our World Procrastination Champ, king of all procrastinators, taking on the pretender (read 4). A magnificent procrastinator, able to delay anything including food (no no I am not kidding), I am now locked in a one on one fight with 4 who is claiming(tsk tsk tsk) to be a procrastinator.

3. I like to read and read really fast. I mean I would browse through books (I do read everything) and read them again and again. For the record, I have read Lord Of the Rings 5-10 times.

4. I lovvveee cartoons. I grew up with Popeye and Scooby dooby DOO and all. Even now I have a soft corner towards animated movies. In fact in my all-time favourite movies list, Finding Nemo and Kung-Fu Panda would surely figure. If I was in the Oscar jury, Marlin would have won the best actor award and Dory, the best supporting actress.

5. I watch Harry Potter movies solely to watch Emma Watson. After thoroughly murdering the magnificent books, the only respite in all the films is the "Oh-so-Gorgeous" Emma Watson.

6. I like to play computer games. I spend close to 12 hours a day in front of the computer during the holidays, playing games. God save the makers of Warcraft and Medal of Honor and Mario all the other beautiful games out there in the big wide world.

7. I am no foodie, but Kerala can't compare to Delhi when it comes to vegetarian food. The sensual feel of butter-laden Choley Bhathurey or the crisp crispiness of Gol Gappa can't be matched by anything. As an afterthought, maybe a strong cup of homemade filter coffee can. Saddi Dilli I miss you sooo much.

That's All Folks. And before I forget here are the people who have been selected to the next round of "Who's the It".
1. Ganesh of Think Aloud, a guy caught up in the hectic college life and in a quandary about what to do.
2. Gman of Confessions of a Deranged Mind, our dear class-rep, the Kannur-loving, food-loving, movie and football loving genius.
3. Ubuntu of Life@NITC, the computer geek and the FOSS guy.
4. Jinto of http://untold-opinion.blogspot.com/, the meticulous guy.
5. Nithin Varma of Nostalgic-treasures, whom I am pretty sure will never follow up.
6. Raghu of Aviyal, Nithin's cousin and my only acquaintance with him being that I did a pushpanjali for him in Mookambika.
7. I am fed up and am stopping now.

Once again That's All Folks

Toodles

Return of the King

2009-12-28T18:12:00.002+05:30

I know its a rather pompous title... but no other title came to my mind.

It’s striking how easy it is to come upon a clichéd topic. It is almost clichéd to write that you are writing about a clichéd topic. But write I must. If anyone guessed, well guessed...it is about my train ride back home.

The stupid college calendar had shown that our exams were ending on 30th. So the train tickets were booked early and I was all ready. But horrors of horrors, when the date sheet was put up, our last exam was on 27th. Several frantic calls later, it became known that all trains through Nowhere (as I like to call the place I study) were packed. So very cleverly, I booked my tickets from Hometown. After the debacle named disarmingly as exams, more about them sometime else, I boarded my bus and went to Hometown and boarded my train.
My seventh sense (sixth is my laziness) was already sensing something amiss when I entered my compartment and I heard a person talking loudly. I thought no more about it and went up to the top floor and slept peacefully till the morning (or rather afternoon). Cursing myself on missing breakfast, I got down at the next station and had a quick brunch. As I got back to my seat, I saw the person whom I heard earlier smile at me rather wolfishly. I smiled back with my own misgivings and sat down. Suddenly he asked me why I was looking so sleepy. Since I had just woken up, I felt that to be a rather irrelevant question but my eloquence failed me at that moment and I quietly replied that I overslept. Looking rather triumphant, he asked the next question which left me shell-shocked. ”Do you want a policy that protects you in case you oversleep?” Good God, he was an agent. Not any agent, not somebody from the Matrix but somebody far more dangerous... an LIC agent. And lo, the person sitting next to him was also of the same breed. Almost fainting with horror, I tried to stealthily slip away but failed miserably. Cornered as Captain Haddock was by Jolyon Wagg, I was offered policy after policy starting with sensible ones such as recession to totally bizarre ones like attendance policy where my attendance shortage would lead to me getting money. Though it was tempting, I hastily refused reasoning that I was yet to earn any money and would definitely contact him or his brethren whenever I felt in need of one.

I was regaled with stories of his success tales, the number of lives that he had saved and so on. I was expecting to hear some stories of his Uncle Anatole too, but was mercifully spared. Soon I found that the entire train was packed with LIC agents apparently going to Delhi for some summit and most were looking for some prey en route. Students particularly broke ones like me didn’t interest them and they thankfully left me alone. I of course got my fair share of offers before they came to know of my situation.

All too soon the train reached Delhi and I bade a hearty farewell to my journey-mates whom I realised were not as dangerous as they are made up to be (somewhat like the proverbial dog who barks loudly). But maybe my being a non-earner may have contributed to their apparent tameness. I know this comes very late but I wanted to write something and this was the first thing that came to my mind. Anyway, I will post something better next time.
Hasta La Vista
Toodles

Numb

2009-11-13T19:08:00.001+05:30

Words fail me. Shell-shocked would be an understatement. Numb will be more correct. A firm believer in God, I believe it is a test that He has posed before me to test my belief in Him. Will I be able to survive the torrent of emotions flooding through me and raising doubts again and again in my mind about his existence and still remain a believer? This “Agnipareeksha” that He has set before me may prove to be too much.

Why is it that whenever we become a bit too happy, somewhat carefree, that He sends thunderbolts down into our lives to remind us that however valuable our lives are to us and our loved ones, it takes only a moment to take it away. I was in such a state before this calamity that has befallen. A life that has been so painstakingly nurtured and shaped is taken away in an instant leaving us gasping for breath at the brutality with which He “looks” after His creations.
Some may say “Vidhi” or “Yogam” to what has happened, but I ask why such things should happen at the instant that we are slightly happy. Had He planned it all in such a way that we are always on the edge, always asking ourselves whenever we are happy how long it is going to last. Is it how He wants His children to live? Great sayings are there about how we should only care about the moment we live and not about the future, but is it practical. The best that I have heard is “the past is history, the future is a mystery, every moment that we live is a gift, that is why it is called Present”. That seems to be true for happiness also. Momentary happiness seems to be the only thing that we should take for granted. A gift, no a loan provided to us at a high interest rate, the mortgage being ours or our dear ones’ life, whichever we value more. Is he the biggest loan shark of them all?
Words particularly in a language foreign to me can never ever express the anguish inside me, yet I have to resort to words to convey my grief. Einstein said that God doesn’t play dice. I don’t know about this but one thing I am sure is that he does play cards and does not play fair. Holding all the aces up his sleeve, he feigns defeat, rather victory for us for one or two games. The poor ignorant fools that we are, we overestimate ourselves and raise the bets. And then in one fell swoop, a coup de grace, he ends it all.
That is all I can manage now.
Hasta La Vista (so I hope)
PS: This has been written in a mood not suitable for proper clear thinking.

A Lamb among Wolves

2009-10-05T19:08:00.002+05:30

I am not much of a writer, so theoretically, I should not be experiencing Writer’s Block. Rather it should be “Not much of a Writer’s Block”. But whatever it is, I must say the effects are pretty much the same. I can’t think of anything sensible to write. If anyone finds this blog insensible and illogical, contact me, we can be good friends. So we start off. This time I will be telling about the hardships faced by an herbivore (junkivore would be more apt) in a carnivorous society.

Living all my life at home and occasional visits to the restaurant being with my parents, I had never faced the bias that vegetarians face. But once in college, the harsh reality became visible to my myopic eyes and I realised the magnitude of the bubble I was living in. The visits to restaurants began to become ordeals for a harmless grass-eater (eater not smoker) like me where I had to bear witness to my friends gorging on my fellow beings (sniff) while I had to sit helplessly watching an empty plate (sniff sniff) awaiting my vegetarian food to be cooked which for some weird reason takes longer to cook than all other animals. Phew! That was a long sentence, but I guess you can understand the passion with which I am writing this. Even after all that wait, the dish that comes will be cauliflower, which happens to be the “state north-Indian vegetable” (read: only dish; Gobi Manchurian, Gobi fry, chilli Gobi... the list goes on) of Kerala. The ordeal still doesn't end. By this time the rest of the food would have finished and then I have to suffer the ignominy of having my food being handled around by still-hungry people. I had heard that community eating, where an entire family eats from a single plate, was present in Iran or some other country. I have to tell you my dear friends; the custom is rampant in our dear motherland itself. It is prevalent in every single college of India too (at least in mine). My plate then becomes a battleground where the rest of the meat-eaters fight it out using their blood-stained hands while I shake my head in despair trying to believe that I am still a vegetarian, though my food may have been tainted by blood.

If I thought that this bias was only in a mainly non-vegetarian Kerala, then I was sorely mistaken. I was made aware of the extreme stupidity of my assumption on a recent visit to Tambiland (as my dear friend Arun says). It was a branch tour and I was among the few vegetarians in the trip. There again I was met with the same hardships that I faced in God's Own Country. Veg. Fried rice with chicken in it, a funny look on the waiter's face when I told that I was vegetarian (was it pity I am yet unsure), waiting endlessly for paneer to come while chicken came hours back, these were just a few of my problems. I almost lost my vegetarian virginity (:-) based on my assumption, nay hope that I have not yet consumed any flesh), several times, once with the previously mentioned chicken veg. fried rice incident, another when I got chicken parantha instead of aloo parantha (the worst part was that I had to fight for my 5 Rs aloo parantha instead of the 20 Rs chicken parantha, which resulted in the MC guy starting to doubt my sanity) and God alone knows how many other times.

This outburst comes at a time when I have completed a score successfully (Happy Birthday to me!!!) as a vegetarian (or lacto-ova-vegetarian for the purists (a naive assumption no doubt)). Of course, a major majority was spent in the safety of home. Each coming day is now a struggle between me and the rest of the world as I try my level best to remain a vegan. I will be celebrating each vegan day with renewed vigour as I remain a member of the slowly becoming-extinct species of vegetarians. So protect me, campaign for me, make me a poster boy (bring on the cheerleaders) and vote for me.
Grandma, and mom this one is for you for inspiring me to remain a vegan.
Have I got over my "Not much of a writer's block"? No idea.

PS: The braces are back with a bang
PPS: Life would be boring without exaggerations.
PPPS: This last PS is just for you 4. Just to odd things out.

2009-09-08T18:55:00.002+05:30

Hello everyone, this time your favourite programme “Weirdos around the World” brings you “The Ancient Disease and the Weird Kid”. The people mentioned in this programme are not fictional. Resemblance to any living or dead people is deliberate and aimed at spreading awareness about a really dangerous disease.
Act 1
Scene 1
Year 2009 AD. In a small village in a remote part of a remote state of a remote country, a class on circuits is going on. As we zoom in, we notice the entire class listening to every word that the teacher says.The entire class? No! One person is resisting the valiant attempts by the teacher to enlighten the souls. The one nose that is touching the notebook, but not writing anything belongs to our protagonist who is sleeping. Is he the Chosen One, the one person aware of the complex web of deception and lies surrounding mankind, or is he just an ordinary person who was up all night playing on his computer? We are yet to find the answer.

Scene 2
The class is finally over. Over the course of the interval, we hear our protagonist and the Showkuttan in a heated discussion, making repeated references to “blink-strikes” and “razor” and such weird stuff. It appears that our protagonist is discussing some serious stuff with his friend. Have the Volgons finally decide to make their highway? Or is it a new score-threatening disease that has infected certain members of another branch which eventually leads to a tendency to speak wierd words, and being cut off from the rest of the civilization and living only among the infected while discussing about vegetable-like creatures crawling over their computers. Again we are yet to find our answer.

Scene 3
Things are getting clearer. It appears that a new disease is spreading over the college. From observer reports, the disease spreads when people enter a certain room where everyone is infected by it. The onset is gradual, with an increased interest in weird looking things, a tendency to meet with the infected people and to discuss weird strategies all the while making extremely irritating sounds. Soon it develops into its frightening self in which the infected person loses interest in everything else and thinks only about the strategies for his next clan or pub...( is it something related to drinking?). At first, the others did not take any notice of this group, which was a very small minority. But as people began moving away from “respectable” activities like killing terrorists and leading armies to victories, the group began to be looked upon with contempt and dislike. The reports are gradually coming in and we expect to get a more detailed report soon.

Act 2
Scene 1
It has been confirmed. Our protagonist and his curly haired friend are infected members of the disease of which even the bravest of hearts are afraid of speaking aloud, lest they invoke the wrath of the “Ancients”. Everyone looks on the other with suspicion, fearing contact with an “infected”. Apparently, after the onset, extreme side-effects are there, including making extremely poor jokes, thinking of strategies even while eating, an inability to concentrate on anything else but the computer screen and a steady depreciation in the General Public Awareness. The cure is extremely difficult as the infected are no longer willing to cooperate, living in their own world, appearing to enjoy themselves, but decaying from within.

Scene 2
We meet the Crocodile, the Bird and the Chauvinist, the leaders of the curers, the few who are aware of the methods involved in curing an infected. They are discussing the latest defections. The loss of our protagonist, a person weak at heart, but a good person nevertheless, has sorely struck them, as is evident from their haggard faces. Though they are aware of the fact that the infected are still a minority, the increasing number of defections has given them a worried air. Their contempt towards the infected is matched only by their sympathy towards them and they are trying their very best to bring back the ones they have lost.

Scene 3
We finally manage to meet the protagonist. This is an excerpt of the interview we had with him. We were extremely cautious while approaching him and took the necessary precautions so that this disease does not spread into the outside world through us.
Interviewer- So tell us, when did you first come in contact with a person who was infected?
Protagonist- Well... things of the past are a bit hazy in my memory. I think it was in my second year. Ya, I remember very clearly, I had gone to my friends room to call him for a quiz club meeting without knowing that he was an infected.
I- When did things get worse?
P- (thinks a lot) Well, after that I always had an urge to go that room and talk with them. Soon I was never in my room and always outside. Since even in my first year, I was not in my room, I did not consider that unusual, but then gradually I began to stay in that room all the time and talk about “You Know What” only. I would sit for hours watching a moving screen and talk with Showkuttan about “You Know What” only.
I- So when did you realize that things were not normal anymore?
P- Errr... when I began to talk about “You Know What” to everyone around me, even to perfect strangers, I started feeling that something was wrong somewhere.
I- What happened then?
P- When I started thinking about it even during exam time, I felt that things had gone overboard and approached my friends for help. But they just told that it was only a game and nothing more. I don’t blame them as they could not have guessed the acuteness of my condition. I can’t remember much else. I have to go now. If you know anyone who can cure me, please help.....
We make a hasty escape from theplace before any of us contracted the disease
That’s All Folks... Next episode, “The Kid who ate his Homework”

The Road goes Ever On and On

2009-07-17T18:32:00.000+05:30

College is beckoning and the seemingly endless holidays are drawing to a close. As much as I enjoy college life, there is a sad feeling on thinking of stupid timetables, washing your own clothes and in short being responsible for yourself (The second one never fails to evoke a groan). The first time at the college was particularly sad. The warmth of my mother's hug where I always secure, father's presence where there becomes nothing to worry about as it will always be solved, and my little sister with whom I fight every single moment but whom I can't let anyone else hurt, all were part of my first journey to the college. Well all this went into the backseat of my mind after the first few days, the "making friends" period, but it will always remain there. Though all this sounds cliched, it is true nevertheless. I guess this is all part of the "Growing Up". A big part of my heart wishes that I was back to my school days, where the only thing that was to be worried about was the next exam. Even now, our lives are relatively sheltered, except that we are away from our parents. But come a day, when every morning has new worries, new bills to pay, then maybe college life will seem heavenly. Well, one can't really blame a human for always wanting something which he doesn't have, its only human. The same forlorn feeling has come back to haunt me though it will be my third year into college. But leaving sentimental matters aside, this year is going to be the year when the future will be decided, whether I will be just another casualty to recession or a young man with a bright future. Of course placements come only next year but the buildup to it is important. Working hard seems to be the only option available, something which I incidentally despise, but what else can be done. This is a short farewell to blogosphere as once in college, I leave Roci behind and have to wait till I get a laptop, which I hope is quite soon. Or else I have to turn to my roomies who I trust will be "Friends in need...". Finishing my adieu with the great words of a great man...

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

That's all folks
Toodles

PS: My blog seems to be chokeful of cliches but what to do...

Sanctuary

2009-07-10T23:31:00.000+05:30

My training centre has been sort of a sanctuary for me. Sanctuary incidentally in both ways. In one way, it has been a place where I can seek shelter from boredom (I thought that I had shelter, but immediately realised my grave mistake). In another way, it has been a place where I could observe the working human species (homo worko sapiens), in their natural habitat. I confess that my opinion about the species is far from good. Doing the same work all day long, is for robots or machines in my opinion. If I was there only for a few hours, then they would have undoubtedly shown their professional side,but being their for the entire day, they must have decided to drop the act. C'mon, how long can a person keep up an act?!! So I could witness the Behind the Scenes action, the timed work, the untimed breaks, the small fights and of course, the inevitable boss-bashing. It has really been a learning experience for me about what to expect and what not to expect from work. Sort of makes me want to retire straight after studies. But what to do, stomach has to be filled! Expecting better from my job, when I get one (God knows when !).
Thats all Folks
Toodles

PS My first completely solved crossword. Hip hip hurray!!!

Nostalgia

2009-07-09T21:14:00.000+05:30

One of my fondest memories of my childhood is of my dear father reading me books. He used to insist that I read a paragraph and then would read me the rest. The usual fare was Asterix, Tintin, and all. While reading, he used to give different voices to the characters which somehow always sounded to be perfect for the character, like a deep voice for Obelix, a nice voice for Asterix, and an angry voice for the inimitable Captain Haddock. Thus began my love affair with books and I have to thank my Achhan for that. When talking about comics, Asterix has always been the first one that pops into my mind. Being illiterate in French, I have only read the English version, but original or not, the books are imba. Whether it is the naming of the characters or the double or sometimes triple meanings in the dialogues, everything leaves a mark. Whether the fights between Unhygeinix and Fulliautomatix or the sarcastic comments about Geriatrix's age, the dialogues are just too good. And when it comes to Tintin, another of my favourites, Captain Haddock is the first thing that springs to my mind along with his choiciest swearwords. Talking about swearwords. Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles, look at the time!!! Have to sleep now.
Thats all Folks
Toodles

PS: Forgot to mention the fact that I almost completely solved yesterdays crossword. But if the brainiacs at Hindu get even a whiff of the fact that I found it to be easy, they make it ultra-hard next time. Still hoping for an easy one.