Psychobabble

Days, Ages and Times gone By

2012-02-14T23:43:00.000+01:00

It is a rollercoaster. And it even blows the wind out of an adrenalin junkie like me sometimes. There was once a time in my life when I enjoyed the last minute tensions. I would casually remark 'Life should have some thrill'. I still stand by it and am a firm believer in the journey being more meaningful than the end. I guess divine powers have noticed my need for such experiences from time to time. They always ensure that I have a long journey literally and emotionally. Emotions might get too sappy so I wouldn't get into that here. Somehow I manage to end up living at the far end of the city from the place I need to visit on a daily basis. It is only beautifully characterized by my daily travails from Viman nagar to Upper Indira Nagar during Engineering. If that seemed tough enough, I wasn't even remotely prepared for the daily travel to Hinjewadi during my Infy days. The positive is that I observe so many diversities in the same city everyday, that I sometimes feel empathically on a higher plane. The downside is having to wakr up early and somehow getting through the day without really having accomplished much. Even now I traverse the East and West of Berlin daily and I love it. The travel time is high by German standards, but it is so much more comfortable and easier than the experiences I have had travelling back home in India, that this feels like a breeze. Although 40 mins one way is not less by any stretch of imagination but I am more used to an hour and a half each direction.
There is such a huge difference between both the sides of the city. The West where I work is more posh and brand aware. Lotsa class going around with folks dressed up in the latest 1000 Euro suit. And then I come back to my home which is actually bang in the centre of the city, but in what was formerly the east. The communist hangover in the architecture still exists and the people are poorer and streets are filthier, but I like that. With all the grafitti on the walls and the porous hoodie clad people, it seems to somehow possess a character and a certain charm I don't find in the robotic West. Don't get me wrong; its good to have the mix of scene daily, but I like living in this former east and just visiting the west everyday. The other advantage is that, here in the East, I can eat as messily as my clumsy hands permit. I am a hopelessly messy eater. I strictly avoid spaghetti, noodles, non veg food with bones, etc when dining professionally or on a date. I have attempted eating with chopsticks once and probably the noodles on my plate would have given Sergei Bubka a run for his glory. I wear black at every social do so that if I do get some stains on my clothing they are easier to hide. But here in the humble east a little sauce on my lips after every morsel isn't faux pas.. Hell a coupla noodles on the floor aren't frowned upon too! I don't know if I'll ever become more cultured, but as long as I can adjust the surroundings to my advantage, I don't really care. Life is too short to learn 500 eating techniques!

Detours

2012-02-12T13:44:00.001+01:00

My ability to be constantly lost in my own world amazes me. Right now I am sitting at a coffee shop with serious budding entrepreneurs and they are discussing serious issues about how to take their business idea forward. I continue to think about how i don't care much about ongoing discussions in my vicinity. Being as judgemental as I am I find discussions pointless. In my view if you think hard enough the answer is obvious. Fundamentally you want to sell your product and make money. However in the initial days you need some liquidity to sustain yourselves when the going is tough. So complementing ur own product with some obvious offering which will give bread and butter is the way forward. Ur original idea may be to only sell ur solitary product but the road to get to any ideal in life is beset by detours u may or may not like the idea of. But surprising opportunities might present themselves along such paths and in the end your business model would evolve to combine the sheer perceived sexiness of your original plus necessary enhancements which would make much more money and allow you more room to do the things you really want to. There is very rarely a direct path but there surely is a shortest path :)

King of BS

2012-02-02T14:42:00.002+01:00

I work like a fast bowler! Short intense spells followed by long periods of inactivity. So I hate it when the business jargon comes up with phrases like "Let me put a new spin on this!" Why can't you simply let it seam in a another direction I ask? Noone gets the point because cricketing knowledge here is as rare as the snow this winter. Had a request today, "Please create a database to demonstrate the 'male function'". Contextually speaking, I figured what was required but still it was a typo and a hilarious one. Don't get me wrong, being asked to volunteer as the chief architect and role model for creating an entire database demonstrating the 'male function' kinda made me feel like an Alfa super stud for a bit. But when I look at the personal front its a different story. All roads lead to Senefelder Platz, if you know what I mean and I will not explain so use your imagination. Coincidentally, one of the things I am a subject matter expert on is abbreviated as BS. So yeah literally I am the King of BS creating a database to demonstrate the male function with step by step instructions on how to get the results you need. A 'self-help' guru in my own right! It clearly couldn't get much better!

Whiskey!

2012-01-31T21:12:00.000+01:00

Sunday evenings for the last three weeks have been nice. Discovered a whiskey place in Berlin and its awesome!For the uninitiated, Germans don't usually drink much else other than Beer, Wine and Jagermeister. Which ia all fine, but well Whiskey is Whiskey! Not only does this place have the best collection of Single Malts this side of the wall, but they also have about 30 sofas to relax, enjoy and prepare for Monday. In the process I discovered that Lagavulin is my poison. The slightly smokey aftertaste is brilliant. Connoisseurs of that aftertaste usually recommend Laphroig, but sadly it messes my throat and its a bit too harsh for my liking. The subtle brilliance of Lagavulin is genius though! To add to it, the basement of the place has interiors which remind me of the basement in 'That 70s Show'! I think its safe to say that 'Scotch n Sofa' is here to stay!

2012-01-24T21:35:00.001+01:00

Ok, so I can put up a new post but if I try to click the comments link on my own blog to respond to comments it freezes. This problem has been going on for weeks now. Google has become too buggy of late. Out of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook, I trust Microsoft and Facebook only..Atleast they always work upto a certain basic quality threshold. Apple and Google aim for the stars but their basics are so screwed most of the time, its a pain to use them. Try changing the sim card of an iphone for instance.. I guess I would shifting this blog to some genuinely reliable platform if these jerk offs don't solve their issues in two days! Blogspot was so much better before google bought them!

And so it is....

2012-01-23T22:20:00.000+01:00

Another day goes by in my monotonous existence where nothing major happens... Just read an article about some spiritual guru who said 'Do nothing, achieve more'! Well I would have been the King of the Planet by now, if that were even remotely true. Sadly such dream come true scenarios only sound right while speculating. The only way to achieve something is to keep having a go at it in every possible way.. To leave no stone unturned, however ridiculous that attempt might look during its execution. Things work out in ways you cannot imagine and sure shot gains melt away in the blink of an eye.. Shit happens and its a good thing and a bad thing!

2012 has arrived and I have just under a couple of weeks left before my lovely 20's end and I reach an age where I felt (10 yrs ago) I'd be married with kids n stuff. I thought I would be the responsible breadwinner, idol for my children and stuff. Truth be told, I am single, live in a shared rented appartment and continue to chase tail at every oppurtunity that presents itself. Atleast, I am employed again!

2010 and 2011 were tough years for me: personally and professionally! I do not know if 2012 will be any different, but well hope dies last! From broken relationships, health problems, mental breakdowns and a penniless broke existence in Europe, the current state of affairs is a welcome change. I am not minting money, driving a ferrari and dating calendar models by a long shot, but in a sad way I guess my expectations have lowered tremendously. A mini cooper would do!

But the good thing is, that this phase has taught me how I took so much for granted for so long and it has filled me with a renewed determination to be more than anything else : honest! Honest to my work, honest to myself and honest to those who care about me! Big talk from a watcher of pirated movies, but I buy a DVD every now and then..

The next major challenge for me is to get a German driving license!. I wanna do that before summer, so that I can drive to Italy, Poland, Latvia, Lituania and other random places filled with hot eastern european women! When you are honest to yourself, you automatically know what you want and are motivated to work towards it! Life seems so much simpler!

Be Nice!

2011-10-06T21:53:00.000+02:00

I have cribbed, cursed, stressed myself endlessly in the past. Well wishers always warned me but I kept on at it, not thinking about the pain I was causing to others around me as well as to my own emotional and physical well being. I believe I am a better man now due to the challenges that I have had non stop. I have decided since a few months to take everything chin up and leave the consequences to destiny. There is only so much I can do and I am finally accepting that I cannot and should not be able to control everything. In the process I am trying really hard to be nice to others and to myself. If nothing else, it is atleast healthier. Although it doesn't come naturally all the time and sometimes I am itching to snap but thankfully I have succeeded in maintaining some composure and I actually seem to be evolving. Men do things they need to do to be the men they want to be! Also, sometimes life has a funny way of turning you into the one thing you did not want to be.. But what I realize is that maybe its for the better, so that you understand different points of view and hopefully come out stronger. Finally the metaphor about clutching sand too tightly seems to make sense.. I guess maybe I am finally growing up. It was about fucking time anyway! But I am vain, so I wanna look young always and stay fit und gesund. I hope I am able to....

Slow Hands and Chi Running

2011-09-27T22:01:00.000+02:00

A couple of days ago there was the Berlin Marathon and a couple of friends from Munich participated. It was their first marathon and they had only a month of training, but they were still able to complete 42.195 km in under 6 hrs 15 minutes. Which got me thinking, why the hell haven't I even considered doing this as yet? I have been running every alternate morning for the last 4 months. Nowhere near the amount needed for a marathon, but I religiously put in my 5 km. Due to certain things, I was unable to do so in the last 3 weeks and knew that I had to get back to it this week. i was dreading the muscle sores and everything and the process of getting used to it again. However, on the marathon night someone told about this concept called Chi Running. I had nothing to lose so I tried to give it a go. So today I ran with this so called Chi style. It is seriously amazing. I felt the 5 km disappear so fast and without much effort. I have n soreness, no aches and feel as fresh as a fiddle. It is truly almost natural and somehow many of us haven't realized this technique of running as yet. So I hope I am able to continue with this for some time now, what with all the work and stuff. Anyhow, if my legs are busy the Ipod is busy as well and for good reason. The lst track I heard by Slow Hands is just pure sex.. Enjoy!

All you need is Blue, Blue Blue Blue!

2011-09-15T22:05:00.001+02:00

Courtesy facebook, I read some interesting posts today about the travails of a homely intellectual South Indian girl in the big bad evil Naarth: Where tandoori chicken is toothbrush and car parks are the place for mush! Thats something I am sure no northie would mind; but 'geographical'/'regional' ridicule disguised as humor is another story.

As a disclaimer, I am neither North Indian (origins are but I have never lived there) nor South Indian. I come from Maharashtra so I can take a more neutral stance in this blog war. Well, I have lived in Bangalore for a year and I have met great people and downright disgusting ones too. The cabbies are out to loot whether its Bangalore or Delhi or Pune (where I belong). I love some food, I can't stand some. But thats not because its South Indian food! For example, I dislike the taste of coconut. As a result, Keralite food cooked mostly in coconut oil is something I avoid generally. But, I also avoid a lot of Thai, Vietnamese, etc dishes due to the same reason. And the world's most populous race knows that there may never be a greater admirer of Thai or Vietnamese women than yours truly. So just because I am not comfortable with a certain aspect of doing things doesn't mean that I start detesting the people who act in that fashion. If the women are sexy, they are, period (no pun intended because it wouldn't work here). If she licks food off her elbows so what, replace it with chocolate sauce and assist her!

The fact is, if you are attractive to someone, it doesn't matter whether you are black, brown, white, yellow or maroon! If you aren't then also it doesn't matter if you are black, white, brown or yellow. Maroon is a different story but more on that later. And what is the big issue with being called black ? Its a color, looks great on a BMW , why shouldn't it look good on you? Why on earth would you wanna be a call-centre Indica by being referred to as white? The part of the world where I currently reside refers to me as brown and short according to the standards here. So what? So is a tight leather jacket around Alicia Silverstone!

If you feel something is a big compromise and you are doing it just beacause you have no other option apparently, the issue is yours not the region's. If its a relationship and you feel that you are compromising a lot, you should sort out the stuff you are compromising on rather than expecting someone to follow a marriage ritual according to your customs as a means to say 'return the favour'. How does that solve anything ?

In any part of the world, where you aren't native, you have to adjust to the ways of the land. Thats just fundamental 'somefieldofstudyIdonotknowthenameof'(I don't play chess, failed the entrance to IIT)! When in Rome do as the Romans, and if you feel like it then do the Romans too. However, the former is a core requirement but the latter is like a 'nice to have'. Change the priority and you are a migrant slut rather than what Akon calls affectionately 'Your Neighbourhood Ho'. Now what would you rather be?

Sky and Sand

2011-08-30T21:58:00.000+02:00

So the world is charged up! Seems everyone awoke simultaneously to the respective maladies tormenting them for ages and more. And to my utter surprise noone stopped short of getting what they set out for. Whether they won or lost is immaterial! What matters is everyone fought to the finish. People attribute this fact to the rise in social network usage. Though social networks play a huge role in organizing such mass uprisings, the world has seen uprsisings for the better part of history even without these networks. I may just be cynical here, but according to me the role of social networks is mainly that they make participating in these protests appear fashionable. I click a pic in a Gandhi cap and post it to my profile and there may be a 100 likes, much more than my not so glamorous profile could hope to achieve otherwise. Its sort of a mass chain of riding the gravy train to popularity. The likes pour in for most of the day due to multiple timezones of the likers involved, thereby shoving the age old adage of just 15 mins of fame down the window. Don't get me wrong, whatever the means, the end may well be worth it! All I am arguing is that it isn't the wider communication amongst the global citizens due to social networks has caused these uprisings. It is just that, a lot of people were pissed off with different things simultaneously. The threshold had been reached and sooner or later a protest would have taken place. There have been civil wars, freedom struggles, etc since time immemorial. In the last few decades after the second world war and more recently after communism reached its coma years, citizens just wanted political stability with free markets for a while. We were lulled into happiness with the smell of a Ralph Lauren blue, the 3 stripes of Gucci and McDonalds.. Then came the global financial crisis and sitizens started slowly realizing that all is not well if the Americans stopped spending like only they can and suddenly the whole world caught a cold. When luxury becomes unattainable for even the chosen few who could afford it recently, it starts trickling down to lower levels, like the people whose services they use. Suddenly, the whole bunch of people is just pissed off, with or without facebook. Word eventually does get around and David takes on Goliath! Leave you with a song that reflects the mood metaphorically..

O 'whatever consonant u wanna use' ama

2011-05-05T15:18:00.001+02:00

With the world waking upto proclamations of victory by the US administration. Comments such as justice after 10 years, and what not taking up precious airtime, I am fundamentally bored. Not that I do not believe in the significance of this, but if I see the bigger picture, justice after 10 years is not really as significant. Especially, when the deceased is no longer that important in the world of terror, but was largely a figure head. Its like a birthday cake, no real correlation with the year you just had or what the future holds in store, just a milestone marking event at its maximum prominence. And then there are all the conspiracy theories, one as wild as, the man was dead in 2001 and since then has been preserved on ice. And supposedly thats the reason why the pics of the deceased were unreleased for a couple of days, just so that the body could thaw. This one made me laugh. If the conspiracy was this big and being enacted for so long, do you really think the authorities are stupid enough not to thaw the body a couple of days in advance and then release pictures and make all the grand proclamations. About Pakistan's role in this thing, I do not really want to say much, its been such inconsistent communication from both parties involved that both seem to have something to hide. And in the absence of such vital concrete information I cannot really do what I do best, i.e. finger point.

So my main issue is with the media. First it was the royal goosebumps on Friday, with the media channels focussing on every minute detail like the veil of Kate Middleton's dress to actually complimenting the atrocious yellow dress worn by the queen. Sometimes people should stick to black, white, grey, red and brown. It almost looked like a circus tent. I found Pippa really hot personally. She was understated, sans excess make up, and not wearing a rainforest for a hat. I like it when women do not indulge in excessive make up for any event. Actually lipsticks and all those layers of whatever paint is applied to an otherwise normal face, scare the hell out of me. I have noticed pretty women resembling 'The joker' after a so called session with a beautician just prior to an important high society event. I mean, if thats what I wanted, I'd rather pick up a sex doll or one of lovely ladies adorning certain streets at night. So in short Pippa was hot. Kate Middleton looked pretty as well. As for the dress, I find all bridal dresses looking the same. Its white and long and thats about all I can see. So it looked fine to me. I also fail tounderstand the difference between wedding dresses in movies when the lead actress is trying out pair after pair and her friends are approving or rejecting them. It all looks the same. Women have complicated life unncessarily for themselves by bringing jewellery, high heels, make up, weirdass hairdos, etc into the picture. The funniest bit for me during this royal extravaganza was, some woman on CNN was saying : The dress has a V neck, just the way she likes it because she likes to show... and then she realized cleavage isn't the appropriate word and changed it to something like show how feminine she is.. nice one.. Next time if I like what I see, I am just saying : Hi, you look really feminine today. That wud get me a few deserved whacks ;)..

Air Woes

2011-04-27T16:20:00.000+02:00

Should airlines provide miles for bus journeys around the Tarmac? Recently I flew Turkish from India to Berlin, and was quite aghast at the long bus journeys around the Istanbul Airport that we were made to undertake. I mean if the national carrier cannot get decent slots on long overhaul flights, who can ? Similarly, I don't understand these airlines operating out of Europe. Previously, I flew several times between India and Australia via the Asian providers. I would actually look forward to the flight courtesy the in flight entertainment and the service. Now after having flown Lufthansa and Turkish, I understand that in flight entertainment is really a luxury even on long haul flights with flying time close to 8 hours. And the service is pretty non existent too, especially wrt the drinks. The good thing is there is no difference between expensive options (Lufthansa) and cheaper ones like Turkish. If anything, Turkish is actually better because atleast the seats are more spacious and I did have inflight entertainment on one side of the journey. Lufthansa was consistently cramped and boring. Turkish had hotter air hostesses too and they did provide basic provisions like ear plugs, which were conspicuous by their absence in Lufthansa.

Another thing I don't get is these low cost excuses. I recently flew to Munich via a low cost Airline (German Wings). The ticket was not exactly cheap. It actually cost me over 300 euros, which is quite shocking for a domestic flight. That was another story with us having to walk till the aeroplane on the tarmac, with no bus also. It was windy and horrid weather, but clearly passenger health is low on the agenda. Another legendary low cost option is Easy Jet. This is actually the worst of the lot if you are flying out of Berlin. Firstly they have an airport terminal which makes you undergo a crystal maze sort of experience while going from the security check to the gate. Secondly, they have actually created a sort of frame, in which the hand baggage needs to be inserted and only if it fits (not even slight transgressions allowed) are you allowed to carry it as hand luggage. Lastly you have to actually pay to reserve the seat which results in utter chaos once people enter the aircraft. All this would be fine with me if it truly was low cost, which it isn't. it is hardly 50 euros cheaper than the other options, but as I fly for interviews I am forced to fly these crazy excuses for flights, in order to get reimbursed. I hope I get a job soon, so that I can upgrade my flying standards atleast.

Purified

2011-04-16T04:50:00.000+02:00

Been a week since I landed in India for a 2 week holiday, and finally I managed to get out of the house last evening. Fell really ill in Germany, just before I got down here. Horrible cold, sore throat, blocked ears, and overall weakness. These conditions, especially the blocked ears are accentuated in flight conditions. To keep my mind off it, I watched 2 bollywood movies on the flight. But nothing can really shake that ringing and feeling of pressurized pain in the ears. Anyways, I landed in Mumbai and was dressed in a sweater, muffler and a jacket on top.. My folks were shocked to see me dressed in the height of single digit temperature fashion, but I felt nice and cozy in the 38 degree Mumbai heat. What followed was a week of resting, medications, anti biotics, etc.. Am much better though not completely cured as yet. But its been good to be home for a bit. I have watched the IPL and cheered for any team I felt like., caught up with old friends, witnessed the maddening dancing processions which happen at the drop of a hat here. Although there is so much more I really wanted to do , somehow it doesn't matter. I need to be perfectly fine before I fly back atleast. I have been off all forms of toxins and addictions for these last 10 days and I feel my breath much better and fresher despite the pollution. I shall be detoxing for long now :).

Devoid of all logic

2011-04-03T16:34:00.000+02:00

Watching Paki wickets falling with every sip of multivitamin juice or experiencing India's run rate increasing when reading a novel called Chase during the WC final, I had my own superstitions for every match. So much so, that I went out to watch the match yesterday. Now previously I had watched all the matches at home, via online streaming. But as online streaming keeps getting stuck and you can't really experience true joy, I decided to go to this bar called Belushi's in Berlin. Alas, SL managed to score 274 and we lost Sehwag and Tendulkar early. After that I got out of there, came home sat in the same spot and kept watching it online. When the stress was getting too much I started reading a book and somehow India's run chae slowly and surely started gaining momentum. I kept my book down once and Kohli perished. Then I started reading feverishly again and at some point even dozed off for 5 mins when Gambhir perished. I was like nothing doing, got a coffee and read continuously till MSD hit that one out of the park. Whew, what a silly superstition and how silly of me, but well things do that to you sometimes :)

The night was fun, drank copious amounts of alcohol, gatecrashed a party, still wasn't really drunk and got back at around 6 in the morning. I guess no alcohol could live up to the high that cricket had brought about that day! MSD, all my criticisms regarding your tactics aside, it was a true hero's innings man! Cheers to that!

Between delicious buns and a meaty place

2011-03-26T09:16:00.000+01:00

So, its been three long weeks since I last walked into a fast food place and ate a burger. I had been hearing this all along last year that burgers at Mcdonalds make you fat and unhealthy and how some people had done experiments to prove it. Well, now too much of anything is bad and I have been consuming about 5 cheeseburgers a week on average all of last year. But, surprisingly, I lost 4 kgs of weight and have been more energetic than I have been in ages. You might say that I might've started an exercise routine and/or regulated my other diet. On the contrary, I had no exercise regime, was consuming fat filled weiß beer thrice a week and my lunch comprised deep fried Schnitzels and fries at our school canteen. Cut the chase to these last 3 weeks. I was at the London-Lutow airport on the 6th and I ate one of those yummy bacon and cheese burgers. Since then I just didn'T eat a burger. It wasn't a conscious decision at first, but after 8 days when I first realised it, I decided to see how long I can go. And that brings me today, 3 weeks without any burgers. But I haven't lost any weight. On the contrary I think its quite the opposite, I may have gained half a kilo or so. Secondly, I feel weak, and exhausted all the time. The rest of my diet includes home made veggie stuff these days with a dash of salami every now and then. But I am nowhere close to my regular levels of awesomeness. The one positive outta this experience has been my cooking skills have improved dramatically. And you might think that since I am having fresher food daily, I should feel better. The truth can't be further from it. I guess the nutritionists have been fooling us all along. I truly feel like that lone slice of pickle!

Goggles

2011-03-19T11:47:00.000+01:00

On the app front I just tried google goggles. Am pretty impressed by its ability to scan everything and return search based information. I clicked a picture of the barcode in a supermarket and it told me where all the product is available nearby and for what price. It does image translations of stuff written in languages I do not understand to English, returns information about landmarks I didn't know about. In short, its a tech masterpiece.

They should probably do the same for checking people out. I load the characteristics of my type of liking into a system. Then when I am out and I cannot find anyone interesting, I click the pic of whoever I am chatting with and it scans their facebook/myspace etc to return potential candidates I would like and that person could set me up with. And then both parties can talk business. Call it 'Pimp ur Peeps' or something!

On a slightly more serious note, how would this work if I expanded it to say 'gentlemen's clubs'. It won't work because you cannot take pictures inside! But still in the world where every performing employee of the place is RFIDd and user rated, using location based services you can get to know where the best action is available. Even google goggles isn't fullproof yet. Most shopowners are pasting price tags over barcodes these days, just to avoid this photoclicking. But I guess it won't be long before the phone has a barcode scanner as a common feauture and doesn't rely on a camera to take the image! Till then I shall just keep playing!

Bad Apples

2011-03-13T16:02:00.000+01:00

There is one thing that amazes me all along. Why is Apple so revered as an organization and regarded as the holy god of ethical business ? Quite frankly, if it weren't for Microsoft, PCs would never have spread so fast and so quick. This unlimited access to computers in every nook and corner of the world would have been stuff seen in sci fi films. If the world functioned the way Apple wanted it to, we would buy a laptop, pay extra money for the charger, buy a separate USB port, buy some kinda fancy screw driver for 50 euros to help open the SD card slot, print only using Apple friendly printers and would not be able to store any media files on our pcs, but only be able to access them via the internet. Payment mechanisms for any software needed would be solely credit card based, and credit cards would be required whether or not the software is available free legally. Because, get a load of this: you would have to create an apple id to use some fancy software like itunes to download the free software. Creating an apple id needs a credit card, whether or not I need to pay for the software or not. And even despite all these issues, which one normally doesn't face with any other product, Apple is still referred to as 'USER FRIENDLY'.

I have owned a plethora of Apple devices in my life. I bought the Mac when it first came out, sadly because I was too early and windows wasn't so popular back then in the early 1990s. What followed was several years of incompatibily and bad service until finally I bought a windows based PC which was like a Godsend. Then I bought the Ipod, which I have no complaints about. It was probably the only worthwhile product from Apple. But even there, I don't understand how customers pay 100 dollars for like 16 GB of additional flash memory. Apple happily cheats you and you kiss it by queueing up early in the morning when it launches a silly upgrade to its products.

Case in point being the latest from the shelves of apple : the Ipad2. I own one Ipad, the first one. Thankfully I didn't buy it. I just won it at a competition. I am happy that I won it, but I really don't have any use for it. I can't download any applications or ebooks because I have no credit card. i cannot even put a sim card inside it and use it as a giant phone, because they have messed up the sim card slots to accept only micro sim cards. I being not that daft technically, know that I can chop my existing sim card to the size of the golden chip and it becomes a micro simcard. But again, here is the best one : the Sim Card slot can be opened only with some fancy screw driver which I need to buy.. I guess they do want you to 'Stay Hungry and Foolish'. Because supporting the already overpriced product may cost you a fortune and you would really be foolish to do something like that.

And now I read about these long queues for the Ipad2, which has only a camera as the additional worthwhile feature, which was present in the Samsung Galaxy Tab eons ago. Thankfully I have an android based cellphone and life is much simpler. I can download any applications I want and dont need any credit card bullshit. The device already has wi fi and I didn't pay extra for it or wait for an upgraded device to arrive. It costs one sixth of what an iphone costs and is so easy to use. I can charge it using my laptop and using a wall mount charger, both of which were already in the kit. No ties to any single cellphone company in order to use it. Thank god for Google and Samsung!

Hello to the Queen

2011-03-09T15:20:00.000+01:00

Still jobless but I have kept busy. Amidst all the mindnumbing applications, telephone calls and stress handling, I had a trip to the UK last week. I was participating in a Venture Capitalist competition for business school graduates at Saiid Business School, Oxford University. Although I didn't win anything the three days I spent in Oxford were memorable. It is a small town, but is so vibrant due to the abundance of young population. The literally 'cute' architecture, old town charm and no holds barred friendliness of the locals was welcome after my long duration of stay in the land where langauge barriers make small talk a trifle more difficult than it usually is. Although I understand and speak a fair bit of German, it will never be as good as my English is and I obviously will not understand jokes which have cultural meanings out here. So fsmiliarity felt good after a while. I also spent one 2 half days in London and was spellbound at the magnificence and the diversity there. I hardly saw any natives! So I ate authentic Tandoori Chicken after a year and a half, did all the touristy stuff, ate great English Pub Food, hung around the pubs which shut remrkably early compared to Berlin standards, and saw with my own eyes what an integrated society England has become. Germany does have its fair share of immigrants, but it is still nowhere in comparison to the UK as yet. I hope I visit England again some day, and hopefully with more time and money in hand :). Because for all its aweosmeness, the inexpensive nature of berlin has spoilt my habits .

Wavelengths

2011-02-20T19:47:00.000+01:00

They keep coming back to me
Like grilled cheese in the morning
They don't stop at level three
And reach higher when I'm snoring
Thoughts, ideas, jubilations or panic attacks
The dryness of the season
Provides channels through every facial crack
Too young to wrinkle, too old to pimple
Here I am, stuck in the middle with these
Friends, foes, mindrapists, submissive whores
Organize to compose my life's melody
Should come as no surprise,
Its a bittersweet symphony!

Where is the snow?

2011-02-12T13:53:00.000+01:00

Last winter, I hadn't seen the true color of the streets until late March. Cottoncandy paths laced the terrain, making it prettier and covering all the dust. This year the winter has been really shorter snow wise. No snow after new year! Its a shame! I was so looking forward to the cozy charm the snow brings to the city. The air feels fresher, coffees taste better and the Bratwursts at the road side vendors seem so tempting. All thats there this year is the wind, which I hate. I prefer -5 to +5 temperature wise if there is no wind. Its just a pain to be out. It looks like a beautiful day from the window, but as soon as you go outside this damn wind takes all the fun away drying out for face and lips even though after much reluctance I have started to wear these creams. But honestly they don't seem to help so I can't understand what all the fuss is about. I have to keep reapplying the shit every hour for any effect. I might as well then let my face go absolutely dry and wash it and get moisture when I get back home. Anyways, I guess this year is different.. the start was so promising but the snow faded away as fast as it caught on in the beginning!

Herr Lehmann

2011-02-02T13:27:00.000+01:00

Been reading this book called 'Berlin Blues' over the last month. Had no idea it was popular in Germany as this movie called 'Herr Lehmann'. I was recommending a friend to read this book and that this protagonist called Lehmann is too funny when I was told yes it is a famous movie. The guy is called Frank but people jokingly call him Herr Lehmann coz he is about to turn thirty soon. Set in a time just before the wall came down, it captures the typical Berlin trashy bar atmosphere and the trysts of Frank with friends, women and GDR hilariously. I highly recommend.

Wasting time, in the waiting line

2011-01-30T16:42:00.000+01:00

So its been a long, lonely, disappointing month by all accounts. I hope the new year gets better, because if the start is anything to go by, I might as well sleep the whole year and wake up when December ends. Its frustrating in a lot of ways and to be honest I am not the best at dealing with frustration. However, I have really tried to work on it and for a start I have managed to remain polite and courteous to everyone even though my mood sucks. But I can't hide the freaked out expression on my face and people have guessed that my spirits are not high at all. Anyways, another week and another month begins from tommorrow and I hope miracles happen because honestly I don't get what life is trying to teach me and have also lost all motivation to focus. I do what I am supposed to everyday, but with each passing disappointment I can't shake the feeling that I am simply going through the motions without any real hope. Whatever it is, I am not gonna take this in my stride or move on.. I shall not budge because I have compromised enough!

No comfort zone

2011-01-18T23:16:00.000+01:00

A bicycle without shock absorbers
Wanders through the potholes
One thud at a time
Its not just the tires that take the beating
Its the entire works
Somethings can be repaired though
Some sustain permanent damage
Ultimately, it depends on the road you take

Please please me!

2011-01-14T10:01:00.000+01:00

Have never been jobless! So its hard for me to wake up each day and find nothing cash generating to do. Been trying to find myself a job here and busting my ass in the process , however times do not seem that kind as of now. But I am giving myself some time atleast a month and a half more to find myself something in Germany, preferably Berlin. I really like this place and can envision myself sticking on endlessly if I get the chance. Its funky, sublime, down to earth, trashy, posh, everything rolled into one.. ...! Whats there not to like except my situation ?

Side Steps

2011-01-08T20:05:00.000+01:00

Eventless times crowd this anxious mind
Roads seem bleary, lights mislead
Cornerstones of success, seem hard to find
Looking in the mirror, eyes fear their own reflection
Sometimes life resembles the blue screen of death
Amidst all the stress, fear and tension
How does one sleep or get through the next day?
When self doubts cloud an already difficult situation
The weather metaphorically reflects the life in slow motion
A tiny step on the pavement, the next two slip in any direction
Finding your balance is a part of the experience
But I quickly need to get a grip to avoid further damage