Blogitto, Ergo Sum

10 Reasons

2011-03-25T17:04:00.006+05:30

And one for the marriage season. Here are 10 reasons why to.

10. The partying

9. Meet everyone you know in a single day

8. Get tons of likes on everything you put up on Facebook

7. Enough photos to last a lifetime

6. License to shop. A lot

5. Easiest two week holiday to get off from work

4. Sweets, sweets, sweets

3. The shiny new diamond ring

2. Easiest way to get an iPad for a present

1. You can play bad cricket afterwards and nobody will really bother

Afresh

2010-06-25T22:48:00.002+05:30

The blog template has been changed and so has the header. The header is from a photo of my wall which now boasts of a bunch of greeting cards I’ve received from school till date.

Elephant Obsession

2010-04-22T21:45:00.003+05:30

Until a few days back, I thought it was an innocent fascination but now, I am afraid, there’s more to it.

For ages, Kerala, the land I was brought up in, has been associated with iconic characteristics like the Mallu accent, the coconuts, the fish fascination and the like, all of which have promoted nothing but friendly banter. I would not give any of them a second thought but now, something strong seems to be lurking behind all the usual clichés. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Elephant Obsession.

What I intend to focus on is not the in-your-face type of usage but the less observed. One of the first times I have encountered this obsession is in one of Tharoor’s articles where he explains the power of India as a large democracy with quite a serious tone but finishes on a lighter note addressing it as an elephant. In fact, the elephant seems to find its way quite effortlessly into many of his articles, oftentimes in the title itself, like The Elephant’s Choices, Can the Elephant Dance with the Dragon?, or even a book title, The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cell Phone.

However, let me not delve too much on Tharoor for he has had more than his share of news space as it is. When Chairman-ISRO, Mr. Radhakrishnan, a Mallu of course, released an official press release regarding the launch of a GSLV rocket, he took this Elephant Obsession to a whole new level. According to him, the increase of the launch capacity to four tones holds the equivalent meaning of carrying an adult elephant to 25000 kilometers above the Earth.

Why elephant?

The Walk

2010-04-11T01:07:00.001+05:30

With a head held high,

You walk and walk and walk.

Not even a sigh

While you walk and walk and walk.

You bump into a wall;

On and on, you walk and walk and walk.

You’re not so tall,

Yet, you walk and walk and walk.

Another wall there and one more here;

Still, you walk and walk and walk.

Dismissing it as an aberration, mere;

You continue to walk and walk and walk.

Yet another similar one hits you hard;

But you walk and walk and walk.

The invisible walls seem a hazard,

Unmindful, you walk and walk and walk.

And then the next one hits,

Numbing you from toe to top.

Shattered into a million bits,

You stop.

The Saturday Post

2010-02-20T16:37:00.001+05:30

Today, at lunch hour, I was weighing the pros and cons of waking up at 9 am on a lazy Saturday and wondering what to do since then till lunch with that of waking up just before lunch. I’ve always liked weekends whether they were spent having fun outdoors or doing work indoors. Besides, I like the Poha they serve for breakfast at the mess on Saturdays and I doubt I’d get it elsewhere in Chennai. Anyway, the point is that I’d woken up early and I didn’t know what to do. I could work on my BTP, but that’s religiously reserved for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday for Tuesday is my weekly BTP update day.

My fellow lunch-eaters found it odd that in spite of having time at hand; I wasn’t churning out a blog post a day. It’s simple really. My blog posts are usually descriptions of queer or interesting incidents that happen in my day to day life. And since I don’t seem to have any of those up my sleeve, I can’t think of what to write. So then they ask me to write about placements and all that? This is simple too really. For over four months now, I have been the object of quite some trip on that front. Ever since I made it to the shortlist, new words like Miss. Consultant, pun intended, have been coined by many a considerate friend. A few isolated heated debates saw me using the occasional personal pronoun for BCG and this has led to quite some teasing over coffee and such. So, I don’t really need to encourage anyone by blogging about placements and interviews now. So here’s a modest update.

I’m doing three courses this semester in three different departments, not including my major or minor department, thanks to which I can firstly say that a lot of Nernst potentials are being maintained in your head right now, secondly, declare that I can put money in one country’s bank and borrow from another bank in such a way that mathematically spells profit, and thirdly, wonder why there is a geometric period in Greek history. My BTP is the center of my weekly agenda as of now, for I work two days leading up to it and hit restaurants for three nights after which brings us to Saturday morning when I cannot seem to think of what to do.

One Day in the Life of

2009-12-28T21:38:00.005+05:30

Yes, I am that jobless.

It was all calm and quiet from outside, almost as if nobody was home. I am known to exhibit an eerie inclination to land on friends’ front doors unannounced. Thankfully, Neethu was home. “You’re here already!”, she exclaimed, quite surprised with my early arrival for a lunch appointment. “Yeah, I was feeling bored. So, here I am.” The time was half past eleven and nobody else was home. A few minutes of catching up ensued and then, a cake arrived. It seemed like it was going to be a relaxed Saturday after all.

The telephone rang. And then it rang again. And then she made another phone ring somewhere. Meanwhile, I was leisurely flitting from car to car in Autocar, the car and bike magazine. “You’re coming with me, right? Of course you are.”, she said to me. In less than five minutes, we were in a car whizzing past the city limits to the CESS office. Yeah, that’s the Centre for Earth Science Studies. I got busy in reading the news articles pinned on the notice board at the entrance while she went in to meet someone. A few minutes later, Strange Lady comes in and starts a conversation with me.
“Are you here for a project?”
“No, I’m here with a friend.”
“Oh, the other girl! I saw you two getting off the car.”

Doesn’t that sound like a logical place where any self respecting person would stop an unwelcome conversation with a stranger who was busy reading the notices in the first place? Apparently not for some strange ladies. She went on to tell me all about her life, her education, her qualifications, her designation and then, her husband, his education, his qualifications, his designation and then, her son and his so on and so forth. Before she could go on to her sisters and nieces, Neethu came back and announced that we were invited for lunch at the canteen. So, we had a nice traditional Mallu lunch.

Next, we headed to meet someone else, who gave us a lecture on EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) and basically why these folks do the work they do. We were all set to leave when Strange Lady reappeared out of nowhere and requested to be dropped off at PMG. I would have wanted to say no a thousand times over but the driver had already said yes. At least this time I wouldn’t have to endure it alone. She started with a conference she was attending earlier that morning and added that she was heading back there as well. Just to clarify, nobody asked for such information to the best of my knowledge. She went on to talk about her husband next and then her son. More information poured out about his college and applications to universities and all that stuff. The driver enquired about our destination and she went overboard with, “Oh that place? I know that very well. I'll direct you there. Don't worry.” I had officially stopped listening to her with that. She was basically one of those old women you read about in short stories and wonder how you’ve never really met anyone like that. PMG seemed ages away but it finally came and she got off, waving a very dubious goodbye.

We got back to her house, stayed there for less than five minutes and left in another direction whizzing past city limits yet again to her under-construction house. A phone call to a guy with a girl’s name who responds to my name with, “she’s a weird girl”, happened. A few hours and a few FRIENDS episodes on a faulty laptop that made everything look like infra-red vision later, we headed back. And with that ended one day in the life of Blah! Blah! Blah!

Going bananas

2009-12-19T18:45:00.006+05:30

It all started as I thought of starting a banana chips shop at Trivandrum next year. Add half a day of coding with an unfinished statement of purpose and placement strategies running in the background and this is the level of insanity that results. Here's what followed.

Vani, possibly having reached equal levels of insanity, decides to join me.
Vani's a business partner.

Surbhi is not planning on staying far from the action and decides that she will be given two packets every month free of cost.
“Let’s take the product to North India! I will tell everyone I know that banana chips are amazing.”
“Well, we can always appoint a dedicated sales force to do that for us. Why would we give you two free packets to do this?”
She decides to change strategy. “I will tell everyone that your chips are useless. Nobody will eat them.” She wins.
Surbhi gets free chips. Launching in North India.

A certain Hippo yawns, “I booked the franchisee first for North India.”
“Done.”
“Are you sure about your business prospects?”
“We’re discussing it around an imaginary round table as we speak.”
Hippo appointed as franchisee in North India.

“Count me in!”, pings Aditya.
“As a what?”
“As a cook. I'm pretty good.”
“But I actually want to carry this out.”
“Honestly.”
“Okay, welcome aboard.”
“And if we do well in the first 2-3 years we'll open a branch in Dubai. And then we'll come to Insti for placements.”
“Of course. We’ll be taking MAs mostly as part of sales force.
“We'll make commercials with them perhaps or let them just cut the bananas.”
Sundar Aditya appointed as executive cook.

Er-what-arbitness expression fills Divya’s face. She is unanimously chosen to be the license provider.
Divya IAS shall provide licenses.

“When you start a food business, first rule is to appoint someone who won't eat up whatever you make. Hippo? Seriously? Rahul Venkatraj - chief taster (quality control). I have previous experience in a kwality walls ice-cream factory.
“Wonderful. Work ex is always welcome. Welcome aboard.”
Aruppu appointed chief taster with reco from Kwality Walls.

Pressure comes up with, “How can you forget Bangalore? I will market it in the whole of Karnataka!”
“Why should we choose you for Bangalore?” On spot interview begins.
“I have spanned Karnataka from Bidar to Chamrajnagar, from Bellary to Madikeri!”
“Sold! Welcome aboard. “
“So I have got clearance from all of the board of directors! WOW! Can we also market banana chips cut longitudinally? That will be new!”
“Right now, we are focusing on the basic model only. We will keep you updated.”
Kshitij appointed franchisee for the *whole of Karnataka* and not just Bangalore.

The honourable BC, Dickens, makes his contribution with, “I want to do the chip design :)”
“Ah, why should we hire you?”
“I'm an experienced chip designer. My BTP is in chip design. Ever since childhood I have had a fervid desire to be a chip designer.”
“I see. Have you faced any obstacles in any chip designing that you did and how did you deal with it?”
“Obviously the design of any good chip is never free from obstacles. You might know that the famous Banana Dual Core Chip is my brainchild.”
“That’s an interesting idea. Could you elaborate on that?”
“Not, really, I'm afraid it's trademarked.”
Quick! Hire him before we lose him. “Welcome aboard!”
Dickens appointed as chip designer with trademarked Banana Dual Core chip on the cards.

“Hey you missed out on me. I need some job too.”
“You have to apply! We won’t come looking for you, you know.”
”Do we need to upload CV? I’m applying for the AP zone.”
“Ok. why should we hire you?”

“Well firstly I am a huge fan of banana chips. Secondly I am also telling you (having been a resident of AP for like 18 years) that banana chips has a huge market there, but is marketed poorly. So you’ll get multitudes of contracts just from my region.”

“Welcome aboard.”
BG appointed for AP division.

“Volunteering for TN division!”
“Ah, why should we hire you?”
“I have experience in tasting a wide variety of banana chips from various parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. This way I can eat a banana chip and tell you if it was made in TN or Kerala in a jiffy. Besides, TN is a very big market.”
Impressed by the market fundaes. “Welcome aboard.”
Deepak appointed for TN division.

“You can get the bananas from my farm.”
“Do you have a farm?”
“I will in the near future and then you’ll get bananas from the rich Palakkad soil.”
“Wonderful!”
Ragesh to supply raw material.

“I shall be the graphic designer for all your design needs.”
“Welcome aboard.”
Multi for all design needs.

"Gimme middle east distribution marketing and sales Qatar UAE Bahrain Saudi.", pings Noufal
"But why should we hire you?"

"Because I have conties in middle east, so I have sufficient experience and networks on ground already up and running. I have prior experience in fmcg and sufficient cheap manpower from mallu land."

"I see. What prospects do you see by expanding to these zones? "

"Well any enterprise started by Ms. Leela Aarthy would definitely have the potential to be a global brand. Ms. Leela Aarthy likes this. Middle East has a number of mallus, I mean probably more than Kerala and if you see a potential in Trivandrum and Kerala as a whole it is bound to work in the Middle East."

Noufal appointed franchisee for the Middle East.

All that in the span of a few hours. :)

Updates:
Whitelighter to take over sponsorship and so on.
Shrav for internet advertising.

Unleash the Ethics

2009-11-06T19:39:00.003+05:30

What happens when a certain agent L and a certain agent S put two and two together? The result is four, no doubt, but with an incredible mission and a mischievous smile. The day was perfect for what they had in mind. Two A4 sheets and a pen were all the weapons they needed and the middle page of the day’s newspaper served as camouflage for the same.

Agent S thought it wise to write the column details before heading to war and agent L nodded. Sl. no., name, roll no. and sign were the chosen columns and with that, half the work was done. They made sure they kept their calm all along lest someone should doubt something was fishy. Since agent L is known to take the middle page of the paper along to every ProE class and PPT alike, nobody shot a second glance at the weapons they were smuggling in. They were nearing the war zone.

The roughly 20 students present in the hall made it seem impossible to carry out the task at hand without being caught for the same. This way and that, they analyzed the case. The decision was finally made to go ahead with the mission. The next question was how. How about entering the class along with the professor and sneaking the sheet to the ones on the last row? It was too late for that because the professor was already there! How about faking a re-entry into the hall and sitting on the last row? There were too few students to pull that off. How about just passing it along from where they were? It would be impossible to convince anyone that it wasn’t a fake sheet.

A few minutes later, the agents decided to go ahead with the most risky, yet most satisfying, option; the third one. There were two sets of students to choose from; the electricians and the mechanics. The mechanics won solely because the agents didn’t know who they were. The agents asked for a pen from the row of mechanics behind them saying that they had to sign the attendance sheet. Unbelievable though it may seem, it worked. The fake attendance sheets were being passed with more and more authenticity associated to them with every signature that was put and every sms that was sent to those who were absent. The mission was a success. The agents high-5ed, rather low-5ed, in appreciation.

One row, two rows, the sheets were moving fast and soon, it had reached the crowd on the other side of the class. A few minutes later, the professor, quite unexpectedly, decides that attendance would be taken! Was it a divine turn of events so that the agents wouldn’t get caught or had the professor noticed the A4 sheets making their rounds around class? That, we’ll never know.

Aimed Kills

2009-10-24T22:39:00.006+05:30

It’s the end of the world. A giant brainwash is set to take place. Since the intelligent ones have killed each other over property rights feuds, the responsibility fell upon the mediocre ones to perfect this weapon of mass deletion. Presenting Aimed Kills*, the world’s first brainwasher!

Now, what shall we erase? It’s too much of a cliché to erase memory completely but erasing just the cerebral regions would create a whole bunch of morons. How about erasing all memory of food? A consensus was reached and it was hailed as a phenomenal idea given that food is what sustains life as we know it. The brainwasher was programmed accordingly but, given the mediocrity associated at different levels, the final product was, what can I say, not quite perfect. You see, it left some leftovers, if you will, of what it set out to delete. To add to the confusion, the one food item that remained unscathed after the process was the sober Idli.

It almost seemed as though Idli had been crowned hero of the day and it was on a double-sided mission to set things right once and for all, albeit in an oddly selfish way. What were those crunchy finger shaped snacks called? I don’t remember; let’s make them out of Idlis! And thus, Idli Finger Chips was formed. What was that saucy thing you had at a Chinese restaurant long back? Never mind; let’s make them out of Idlis. Voila! Idli Manchurian! Wasn’t Biriyani the most elaborate and spicy of them all? Who cares! Let’s make them out of Idlis. And there you have Idli Biriyani. If you don’t mind, kindly extrapolate the aforementioned line of thought to Rasam idli, Idli Gulab Jamun, Idli Ussili and Idli Curd Rice. Thank you.

Did you think that was a lame figment of a writer’s imagination? SK Mess Saturday dinner as on 24th October was exactly that.

*Aimed Kills is an anagram of SK Idli Mela.

I wish

2009-10-20T18:50:00.005+05:30

I wish home was just a wink away.

That was my status message for the last couple of days. I guess it was bound to come up sometime but given that nothing even remotely close had surfaced for the three plus years that I have been away from home, I just assumed that it never would. Yet another first timer.

I had a nice happy Diwali with relatives and food and firecrackers. But, even so.

You know what's the bad part of festivals? When they get over and you are jolted back to reality, where you don't find sweets that you invariably overeat or firecrackers that you get saturated with. Like a bad hangover, it strikes you when you are least prepared for it.

My status message has changed now. To busy.

RIP

2009-06-02T19:42:00.004+05:30

They called him a harmonium box but I did not let that affect me.
They played with his incurable handicap but I did not let that bother me.

They laughed at his deplorable condition but I did not let that weaken me.

They feigned concern towards him but I did not let that sway me.

But now he has lost his balls!

PS: My laptop, again! Its monitor does not stand on its own at any angle between 0 and 180 degrees because the ball bearings have given in.

RIP.

The Doctor's Patient

2009-05-25T19:46:00.004+05:30

"He's going into shock!

Quick! Call the doctor!"

What followed can only be described as a miraculous intervention by a doctor who was rumoured to have never seen death in the eyes of any of her patients. She was not going to let this be an exception to her tagline. With enviable adroitness she started her procedure executing each step meticulously, flawlessly. She flipped him over and carefully administered coolants; all the while keeping an eye on his vitals as seen on the monitor. Then, there was a chilling silence. No one dared to speak anything.

A smile played on her lips as she saw the little yellow LED on the left-hand corner blink for she knew that she had saved yet another patient. There was a soothing breeze that proclaimed the life that flowed through him. The sound of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episode he was playing all along seemed audibly rejuvenated. The day stood testimony to how he was saved from a rare disorder resulting from excessive heat wave generation medically termed as Shutdown.

PS: Me and my laptop.

Of friends and family

2009-03-01T11:33:00.003+05:30

Of friends...
...and family.

Freaky!
Did this happen to any of you?

Hallucinations

2009-02-12T20:18:00.006+05:30

When a '1/T' written on the blackboard looks like a capacitor to you, you know that you are having hallucinations!

The Road Trip

2009-01-06T16:33:00.009+05:30

03/01/09 Saturday

400 hours:
The blaring horn of a Van is heard.
“Wake up! Wake up!”

“No! We shall assemble at 500 hours. Let me sleep.”

600 hours:
One more bike needed.
Lesson #1: Get hold of borrowed bikes from the owners on the previous day itself.

800 hours:
Breakfast at mess.
Guys’ bags in the girls’ hostel. There was no bag raiding. Honest. Only Screwbey Doo can get ideas like that!
One Bajaj Pulsar.
One Yamaha Fazer.
One TVS Victor.
One Scooty Pep.
4 girls.
4 guys.

815 hours:
One phone call to mom.
Kaboom! Kaboom!
*wink*

And, that’s how we set out on a road trip to Pondicherry. The fun was just about to begin. There was Saturday morning traffic and there was dust. There were confusions about directions and there were imaginary gunshots. A couple of pictures were taken at VGP to show off the mega pixel strength of the different cameras. Vani’s uncle’s ostriches tried to add to the entertainment element but sadly, they didn’t even dig their heads into the ground. One round of Lakme Sun Expert followed by a water break later, we were back on East Coast Road.
Lesson #2: Take a lot of Sunscreen along. Moreover, apply profuse amounts of the same.

The rented Victor was a unique experience in itself. It would drive on auto-pilot mode; one speed only and no human intervention was required to maintain that. The pressure was on Pressure to drive it during the forward half of the trip. It revealed its screwed up self even more when its tyre burst. Two bikes and four of us spent half an hour at a repair shop where we ended up deciding that we would have to make it a road trip to Mahabs and not Pondy, over Slice and Lays.
Lesson #3: Rented bikes are invariably, screwed up.

One attempt by an amateur MRI on a bike ended up being a vain attempt at a wheelie. And he was banned from driving a bike ever after. Peace.
Lesson #4: Check for driving license before handing over a bike to over-enthu looking person.

The tender coconut water by the roadside was salty. Welcome to Pondicherry.

Lunch overlooking Rocky beach followed! Well, we tried to overlook and see the Rocky beach but there was a wall separating us from the view. Imagine a 6-7 pages menu with only half a page of vegetarian dishes. And, imagine a bunch of vegetarians coming to terms with this harsh reality.
Lesson #5: Continental dishes can look real yucky.

From there we headed to Paradise beach where the much sought after ferry ride was closed just ten minutes before we reached. Even Tam fundaes did not work at this place.
Lesson #6: Tam fundaes might fail. Be prepared.

A couple of phone calls later, we embark on this unique route through a village to reach Sand beach. One of the best beaches I have been to, so far. The waves were shallow and soft. They seemed to say, “I will only touch your feet; I will not startle you.” Some crazy Coked people ended up collecting shells too.

Tip: If someone has a sleeping bag with them and happen to be peacefully resting on it in an almost mocking way, be unanimous in zipping the person up in the sleeping bag.

Warning: Shampooed people might end up laying a cowboy hat, after a while.

A castle was made. And sand was thrown at whoever thought about attacking it. All hail her Vainness! And shells were collected. And a bike key was lost.
Lesson #7: Use a keychain for a key. Try not to lose it. But if you lose it, try your luck with other bike keys.

The return drive was more like every bike for itself. The air was cold and the rare roadside Rs. 3 tea was heavenly. And the drive continued with loo stops and water breaks. It was fun to tie a red scarf for a Poisonous guy who ended up looking like Little Red Riding Hood.
Lesson #8: Take necessary warm apparel along.

Good ol’ insti CCD marked the end to the wonderful trip. Lol level laughs and bike bitching followed and culminated in a group photo with wide Colgate smiles, in spite of the tiredness, on everyone’s face.

Post-trip discussions continue even three days after the trip. Need I say more?

PS: I am going more bike crazy than ever!

The New Year Post

2009-01-01T00:44:00.002+05:30

I had my first ever New Years' Eve outing this time. With a 15 km ride on a Pulsar, dinner at Food Village, an auto driver who desperately wanted to beat the Pulsar and later, listening to free trippy songs a DJ dished out and a countdown that I could barely hear followed by a dirty beach where we did absolutely nothing and a few circus stars on the roads, 2009 happened.

Happy New Year 2009!

Through Images

2008-12-17T00:23:00.014+05:30

* For the 20 questions that have been asked, write down your honest answer (in a word or two).
* Type your answers, one by one, on an exactly-as-written-on-paper basis, in the search bar of any image search engine that you prefer (Flickr / Google Image Search etc.).
* You ~~MUST~~ MAY use the same search engine for all 20 answers.
* For every answer, only from the FIRST page of the search result, save exactly ONE image.
* Once you have a list of 20 images, each corresponding to one answer, compose a post in line with this post that you are reading right now.

I was tagged by: Twilight Fairy

I tag: Neethu, Abhishek, strawberrymargaritas, Shady, Shravan.

Image search engine used: Flickr, DeviantArt

To read the answers, hover over the image.

1. My age:

2. I am passionate about:

3. My favorite place:

4. I have a thing for:

5. My comfort zone:

6. My favorite animal:

7. My kind of art:

8. The town where I was brought up:

9. The town where I live:

10. A past pet:

11. A past love:

12. Current love:

13. Best friend's nickname:

14. I want:

15. Screen name:

16. A bad habit:

17. A dream:

18. First job:

19. I miss:

20. What am I doing right now:

30Q

2008-12-14T12:30:00.007+05:30

It's Tag season! Neethu tagged me for this 30Q tag.

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
A. Eagle Eye. I'm not a theater maniac and usually I'd have an insti OAT movie for an answer but this time I have a real movie in a real theater.

2. What book are you reading?
A. Lila by Robert Pirsig. I know! There's a book in my name!

3. Favourite board game?
A. Monopoly. I used to be crazy of this game primarily because I didn't have it but one of my well-to-do friends had.

4. Favourite magazine/s?
A. The Week (the only book I flipped pages of at the school library for the endless pics of cute cricketers I had crushes on), Tehelka.

5. Favourite smells?
A. Dior Addict.

6. Favourite sounds?
A. My sister's voice over phone. It's extremely sweet.

7. Worst feeling in the world?
A. Helplessness.

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
A. How much I love sleeping.

9. Favourite fast food place?
A. I'm not that much of a fast food person to have a favourite.

10. Future child’s name?
A. !

11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d…?”
A. Finish it.

12. Do you drive fast?
A. Sometimes, yes. But considering the fact that I am legally allowed to drive only a cycle, that doesn't come under rash driving.

13. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
A. No, they gather dust.

14. Storms - cool or scary?
A. Cool. Literally too.

15. What was your first car?
A. There was this one time when I was a little kid, when I broke open my cousin's toy car to take out the motor. I like to call that my first car-part.

16. Favourite drink?
A. Tea.

17. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would...”?
A. ...think on how to complete this statement.

18. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
A. I have a feeling I would. Is that weird?

19. If you could dye your hair any colour, what would be your choice?
A. My choice would be to not dye it.

20. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?
A. Tirunelveli, Trivandrum, Chennai

21. Favourite sports to watch?
A. Tennis and Football.

22. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?

A. She gives me Christmas cakes.

23. What’s under your bed?

A. Absolutely nothing.

24. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
A. Definitely.

25. Morning person, or night owl?
A. Neither. I sleep at night and in the morning.

26. Over easy, or sunny side up?
A. Over easy.

27. Favourite place to relax?
A. Home.

28. Favourite pie?
A. Pies look scary and huge.

29. Favourite ice cream flavour?
A. Chocolate.

30. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?
A. I ain't tagging this to anybody in particular.

Update: I am tagging strawberrymargaritas and Shady for the sake of his rusting blog.

Voila - 3

2008-12-12T21:15:00.003+05:30

I wanted to change the look of the blog, so here's my first attempt at personalizing a template. I particularly liked the radiant RSS feed logo on the right hand side and the 'Copyright 2008 Leela Aarthy' at the bottom. *wink*

Well, what do you think?

Lone Coward

2008-12-12T11:31:00.003+05:30

There are bad times just around the corner,
There are dark clouds hurtling through the sky
And it’s no good whining
About a silver lining
For we know from experience that they won’t roll by,
With a scowl and a frown
We’ll keep our peckers down
And prepare for depression and doom and dread,
We’re going to unpack our troubles from our old kit bag
And wait until we drop down dead.

- Noel Coward

PS: 'Noel' anagrammates to 'lone' which makes 'Noel Coward' 'Lone Coward'.

First time for everything - 3

2008-12-04T22:58:00.006+05:30

“I am telling you! Pongal at Tifanys is not worth it. I have only ten minutes left for the next class and I really don’t want to miss it. You can have your breakfast later, can’t you? I repeat; Pongal is not that tasty there. When I said I wish I could have some, I meant it as a wish. Nothing more.”
“Pongal at Tifanys. And that’s that. No arguments. You can get to class a bit late, I’m sure.”

“Oh well. Fine. I can’t believe you are making me do this.” smiles

After some fifteen minutes, I got back to class. I had left my bag in class when I left. I entered by the back door and found, as expected, that someone else had taken my seat with my bag beside it. I tried my best not to disrupt the class as I entered and settled down. Being almost invisible helps at times.

As my bag containing my ~~stationary~~ stationery and notebooks was elsewhere, I asked Ramya, who was seated in front of me, for an extra pen. She gave me one. And a notebook to write on too. Just then, the professor shouted, “Out! Get out of my class this instant.”

“But, sir. I had come early to class. Even my bag is somewhere here only. I had just gone out for a couple of minutes.”
“I said out.”

I walked out of class thinking what was going to be my next first.

PS: This is the first time I have been sent out of class by a professor. Ouch!

PS2: And presenting, one more from the Dream Productions. If you are new around here, that means that this was a dream I had on the night of 4th November. :D

F*** You!

2008-11-22T01:22:00.010+05:30

Step 1. Imagine the situation to be a fart session.
Step 2. Imagine the swearing as about to start.
Step 3. Realize that you are talking to a girl.
Step 4. Realize that the girl seems to be conservative.

What expletive would you use, then?

"Fart you!"

PS: Swearing is 'poison'ous to health.

Heights of Cogging - GTalk

2008-11-20T14:44:00.013+05:30

But, who came first?

Then again, I get my share of the entertainment. So why bother?

Heights of Cogging - TCF

2008-11-16T00:17:00.007+05:30

When the Teacher Course Feedback* form gets cogged in front of your eyes, you know new heights of cogging have been reached.

*Teacher Course Feedback form is an OMR sheet ritual that's done for every course at the end of the semester for feedback regarding the professor and the course.

BD101-Introduction to Bar Dancing

2008-11-09T20:06:00.006+05:30

Objective: The year is 2050. There is going to be a nuclear holocaust soon and two representatives of the most necessary professions are going to be sent for five years to stay on board a spacecraft till all the radiation and all that has subsided so that they can come back and bring up a civilization. One member from each team is to represent that profession and prove to the audience why they must be one of the two to be chosen.

Whistle

"Who was that?

I represent the not-so-humble not-so-neighbourhood bar dancers. Let me transport you to a world five years from now. Those who have survived the nuclear holocaust will be at an all time low. They would have lost everything they ever had till then. Everything they ever lived for. Imagine that! We, the bar dancers, have been around for a long time now; from as early as the times of the Mahabharatha. We have survived through all the lows of life possible. Trust me when I say lows. We have been through hardships that you can never imagine. And hence, it is we who can help you through these troubled times.

We give hope to the hopeless and ensure they get what they need to survive through the tough times. We all remember the scene from Munnabhai MBBS where the guy with the cancer dies a happy death, don’t we?

We can understand emotions and connect with all kinds of people. We know pretty well what others need, if you know what I mean. And we give them what they need too.

We teach people to love and live happily. That is exactly what would be lacking five years from now. And that’s exactly why you need us at that time.

Besides, we don’t pose a threat to others. Corruption and other such big words mean nothing to us. Actually, we don’t even know their meaning properly.

Last, but definitely not the least, point is that, you see, two people will be chosen to stay on board the spacecraft and five years is going to be really, really boring. Wouldn’t it be better if we could, well, spice it up?”

PS: This was a part of the workshop organized by Shell to Fuel our Career. And, for the record, I won the most votes in a show of hands. Overwhelming win, it was. I did see some people with both their hands up. :P And a few compliments later that day.

Expresso!

2008-11-08T18:26:00.002+05:30

Well, what do you know? It's time to change the blog header. The pic used in this header is one of my favourites as of now, primarily because of the expression that has been captured. I never believed it when people used to tell me that I am very expressive. Maybe I am.

Meh.

So there! We have Expresso!

Nurture, nourish, nurse

2008-11-06T22:00:00.001+05:30

Shadowed by misguided decisions,
Brightened by a candle in a storm.
Ephemeral rapture; the rule of the day.

Choking on my own words,
Gasping on hearing yours.
Leave me alone to rot and die.

Take me, use me, leave me.
A forthcoming frown found I for a friend.
Pessimism; my way of life.

Tears safely hidden in smiles.
One credible play after the other.
A facade to keep me alive.

They chose to abandon;
They increase in number.
I run back; I bleed, yet again.

You have it all; you make a statement.
You have nothing; you cannot even try.
Nurture, nourish, nurse and ditch.

PS: I think I can finally post this. Each stanza was written at different times during March and April 2008 and then I changed the order for some logical flow. I thought it was too negative to be posted then.

First time for everything - 2

2008-11-03T22:02:00.006+05:30

fTime: 9:15 am

New text message
Put proxy.
[backspaces]
Put its the proxy.
[backspaces]
Please put its the proxy.
[backspaces]
Please put its the proxy for B slot.
Message sent!

..and that is the first time I asked someone to put a proxy for me. It has taken me 4.5 semesters to get myself to do that.

Ah, well. What's next?

PS: Here's First time for everything - 1

I am...

2008-10-23T21:27:00.002+05:30

...not going to do anything as insanely selfless as waking up just to wake you up. Ever.

status: Encrypted

2008-10-19T16:17:00.001+05:30

There was this short span of 4 days when the crossie fever got so high that it spilled onto my GTalk status message and took its place. People who I hardly get to talk to pinged with the answer/hint. Here are the four clues. One of each of the commonly encountered type of cryptic clues. One for each day.

Clues:
1. Posh photo altered for design. (9)
2. Vortex amazingly has a test within. (4)
3. A vehicle in sequence. (5)
4. A part of convergence is in the fiftieth cave. (8)

Answers:
1. Photoshop.
Hint: Anagram.
Thanks to Aniket for being directly responsible for making Photoshop the status message of the day.
2. Exam.
Hint: Hidden clue.
Thanks to the fortnightly quiz on Analog Circuits. You will never feel the beginning or the end of the quiz week. A toast to perennial quizzing.
3. Cycle.
Hint: Two definitions.
Thanks to the multilingual cycle repair shop guy for giving my cycle a makeover. It was enduring the sun and the rain, the dew and the dust and the good times and the bad at the insti In gate for 6 months because somebody was just plain lazy to get it.
4. Conclave.
Hint: Encrypted in convergence, fiftieth and cave.
Thanks to the organizers of the Shaastra Conclave 2008.

..and Harish comes up with this:
5. Krishna and Radha play with Bruce Lee first and then with Laplace. (5)

That made my day!

PS:
Just in case, you didn't get it:
5. Leela.
Hint: Encrypted in Lee and Laplace meaning something that Krishna and Radha play.

Laat or Laathi?

2008-10-16T17:48:00.014+05:30

Disclaimer: I am sorry if you don’t understand Hindi (Woah! The sheer thought of such a fellow human being makes me squirm. Sarcasm alert!) but this, unfortunately, will not make sense if translated.

I read this and laughed. I think it’s about time I shared my worst ever Hindi experience. So here goes.

The year: 2007.
The time: About 6.00 pm.
The place: Outside Gurunath.
The people: Coke, Van and me.

It was one of those particularly exciting days when we would go all the way to Gurunath just to have that cup of tea. We had the tea, relished it and walked back to the hostel. Just then, a dog decided that it was jobless enough to walk along with us. We decided our moves just in case it decided to attack us. Coke exclaims, “Ek laat maarenge!” Yours truly couldn’t just listen and keep quiet about it but on the contrary, decided to respond to that. Quite fair, you might say. But, the point is that I spoke in Hindi. I don’t know why. I don’t know how. I don’t know what made me do it. This is what I said, “Hum laat kaise maarenge? Hamare paas toh laat nahi hai na.” Laughs followed. Naturally.

Oh, by the way, I speak decent Hindi now and it feels good to be able to do so.

PS: In my defense, laat and laathi can be a bit confusing sometimes.
PS2: I have had 10 grueling years of Hindi as a second language at school. Thank you.

Dancing Desktop

2008-09-23T16:26:00.010+05:30

It was just another eve-of-the-fortnightly-quiz. I was going through the list of songs in my Music folder and I was surprised when I saw that there were videos of a couple of songs. I don’t usually download videos of songs; hence, the surprise. I played them in VLC player and gave up on seeing the video a little into the song. For the record, it was Speed of Sound by Coldplay. I minimized it and guess what I found?

At first I thought my monitor was going to go kaboom! Or maybe it was interfering with interstellar signals and was trying to contact some intergalactic spaceship. Ok, I am not that eccentric. But, it didn’t. Instead, it was sparkling. A few select regions on the wallpaper seemed to be dancing to the tune of the music. Red, purple, blue, yellow, orange and white glitters were strewn, surprisingly in an orderly fashion, on the wallpaper in a way that actually complimented the image.

I paused the song and the dancing paused. The song got over and so did the dancing. I changed the wallpaper to pitch black so that it would be more clearly visible and there was no sparkling. I changed the wallpaper to another arbitrary image and there was no sparkling. Had it gone for good? No, it came back once I reverted back to the original image. I tried taking a screenshot of the desktop but the sparkling continued on what we would expect to be a static image. It would cease dancing and become normal once the song was over.

I must add, however, that I liked seeing the dancing desktop more than the video. So, I played the song and watched the desktop dance to it. :)

PS: For those of you who think that I might have hallucinated the whole thing, here’s a picture I took of the desktop. Can you see little red sparkers on the bridge and the trees? I told you so! :P

The Last Bullet

2008-09-03T17:21:00.006+05:30

It was an old ramshackle pub, deserted and lifeless. He and I were seated on opposite sides of the table which was utterly empty except for my loyal Smith and Wesson revolver that chose to rest silently on it. There was no air of tension, whatsoever, in the air. But, he knew it and so did I. It was unpardonable. There was no need for a reason to be explicitly mentioned. But, on that fateful day, I felt otherwise. Perhaps, I was in good spirits or maybe just spirits.

The question was laid naked on the floor. It was not explicitly asked, though. He knew pretty well that it was up to him to break the silence. After hours of confused thoughts on his side and antipodal ones on mine, he spoke. He said it. He said it in such a contemptuous way that I squirmed in my seat. The shame and the regret of having trusted him to be what he wasn’t filled me. There was no looking back now.

I was justified in what I had to do. He wouldn’t fight back. I didn’t expect him to. I shot him. He needed two bullets in his filthy skull before he showed signs of death. And then, I noticed something. Something that was capable of changing everything. He had been a live transmitter to those cowards all along. They had obviously set it up just to frame me for what they couldn’t possibly dream of proving by themselves. And, he had given in to whatever it is that they offered him. A selfish worm that did not qualify to be a man.

I did not need any mental preparation for it. I would obviously prefer to take my own life than give myself up to those bargainers. Damn! That was the last bullet! I felt an eerie sense of helplessness that I had never felt before. Disorganized thoughts filled my mind for the first time. He lay on the floor; the blood proclaiming my victory. I fled in no particular direction; the sweat proclaiming my defeat.

PS: Courtesy of “Dream” Productions dated Aug 27th, 2008.

Have You Ever

2008-08-26T23:47:00.005+05:30

Have you ever felt something that has made your day feel complete?
Have you ever waited for that something all day?
Have you ever held someone responsible for that something?
Have you ever felt like blogging about it?
Have you ever wanted to post it before LAN goes off?

Of T. Nagger

2008-08-17T21:38:00.012+05:30

Disrespected T. Nagar to Koyambedu,

It’s broad daylight. This deluxe bus is far from deserted. I am making it amply clear because it didn’t seem like you were aware of either of these facts. Do you really think your shameless show of senselessness was commendable or manly in any way? A disgusting demonstration of man’s basal nature – that’s what it was.

My hands are not waxed. Neither are they moisturized religiously. I wasn’t wearing anything even remotely stylish or revealing. I rarely do. Why me? What made you look at me with those animal eyes? Why did you decide to stand near the door in such a way that you couldn’t see me but could brush your arm against mine?

You look like a typical Tam movie villain’s spoilt son. Are you? Is that your license? Like a helpless girl, I shrank in my seat. I can’t really do anything like they show in the movies and expect Mr. Hero to come and kick some butt. Were the elders in the almost packed bus blind to it all? Were they deaf when I asked you to move your hand away? Are you deaf too?

I suppose you saw the cheer come back to my face when I got the chance to move to another seat. I suppose I saw the irritation on yours. The “Hi” you shot getting down at your stop from near my window would have met with a class-A expletive had the bus not left the next instant.

Zilch regards for you.

-T. Nagar to CMBT.

Chaos

2008-08-03T18:05:00.003+05:30

I can hear the busy life of a fellow human being unfolding just outside my room. I should not be overhearing even if is not disturbing my mindset at all. Like a careless child, I lay face pressed against the pillow that’s clutched firmly by my hands. It almost makes it seem like I am worried. Am I? I do not know. All that I can feel is the numbing sensation one feels right before sleep sets in.

The fan makes its rotation felt. It is not a disturbance; it is just a desperate call for attention. The arcane sounds from the woods outside my window have subsided. Or have they stopped affecting me?

One of my eyes sees the world around; the other shuts itself and lies buried. The open eye aches at times; the other has always been numb. Bikes whiz past proclaiming their blaring engines in a vain attempt to tease me.

I have given myself up to the play of Time.

Tour Tidings '08: North East Movies

2008-08-01T22:48:00.007+05:30

Movie #2:
Reporting from Tezpur (Assam), Bomdila (Arunachal) and Sela Pass.

Movie #3:
Reporting from Tawang (Arunachal)

Movie #4:
Reporting from Dirang (Arunachal) and Nameri (Assam).

Tour Tidings '08: The Dessert

2008-07-30T22:06:00.013+05:30

What better than the videos and photos of the oh so beautiful North East for the dessert?
Photos are on picasa.

Videos follow.

Movie #1:
Presenting the first movie made by yours truly. It's an edited compilation of the videos taken when dad, mom, sis and myself visited Haridwar during the latter part of the North East expedition.

Tour Tidings '08: The Main Course

2008-07-29T23:23:00.002+05:30

The adventurous resignation to the impossibility of returning safe and sound.
The Boro (of the Boro militant fame) for a driver cum guide.
The fight to the death for the front seat.
The vain attempt to figure out Assamese accented hindi by changing back all ‘z’s to ‘j’s and several other combinations.
The realization that it gets better with time, quite effortlessly.
The rendition of early morning Buddhist hymns.
The transportation to the world of the Lord Buddha.
The warm welcome smile.
The heated football match in the numbing cold.
The worried expression at kids playing hide and seek at the edges of fenceless houses on sloping mountains.
The scary feeling of dying of frostbite.
The childlike grin from feeling mature on being wished, “Good morning, madam” by the receptionist.
The sensation of awe, admiration and appreciation for Nature, at its best.
The view of three holy rivers demanding respect in their every drop.
The eco camp hut with Velcro for doors and windows.
The morning nature walk with hornbills for company.
The hundred beaming fireflies during a perfectly unplanned power-cut.
The waiter with a strangely emotionless, irritating mechanical yes for every question, clarification and suggestion.
The laughs at dad’s pathetic Hindi.
The proud grins on being complimented my better hindi-accented hindi.
The whole lot of memories to last a lifetime.

This day, last year

2008-07-24T16:25:00.005+05:30

I found this little word doc hiding somewhere in my laptop today written one year back.

Nine year old 1: “Hi.”

Nine year old 2: “Hey, listen. What do you want to be when you grow up?”

1: “A cryptologist.”

2: “A what?”

1: “You know… a cryptologist.”

2: “What do cryptologists do?”

1: “They decode coded messages.”

2: “Wow! Sounds interesting. What will you have to study to become a cryptologist?”

1: “Mathematics and Computer Science mainly.”

After witnessing a conversation like that between two nine year olds, only a dimwit would sit idly and do nothing about it. I guess I should at least record it. How many children would have heard about cryptologists, leave alone spell it correctly, at that age? Where is the world heading?

You guessed right. She read ‘Digital Fortress’ by Dan Brown. I was amazed too. It’s not like she read it for the sake of reading or for putting pseud for the book was not bought for her in the first place. The book brought for her was good old Nancy Drew which she finished in just a few hours.

“That’s preposterous! How will she understand that high a level of English?”, you ask? It turns out that she has a remarkable command over the English language and manages to read the book without too many visits to the dictionary. Well, she probably didn’t understand ‘Fuck’ but she was thoughtful enough not to ask anybody or maybe the suspense of the story made her skip every occurrence of the word.

The other day, I got a text message.

“07/07/07 07:07 am. 7 days/week, 7 janma, 7 seas, 7 phere, 7 wonders, 7 colours. Why 7?”

I meditated on this all morning but couldn’t figure out a satisfying explanation. Googling didn’t turn up anything substantial either. That’s when I asked this to her almost completely certain that she would have no idea and would appreciate my processor for having come up with such a brilliant question. Pat came the reply – “Because God created the world in seven days.” She knows that too! And that too a belief attributed to another religion.

Recently, at a medical store she was overheard saying in hushed tones, “Doesn’t that look like the fake medicine they showed on TV yesterday?” Oh! Come on! Spare the news atleast!

That brings up a strange question. Will such a generation reach an age when there will be nothing left to learn? Freaky!

Keybored

2008-07-21T12:06:00.002+05:30

After a long, long time, I decided to use my laptop, just to see if it was still in working condition. And what do you think I saw? Pressing j produced a ‘k’, k produced a ‘;’, and l did not show anything. The keys were all mixed up!

I wouldn’t stop until I knew exactly what was going on. So I opened Word and decided to try out each character on the keyboard. Suspense and excitement filled up as I pressed each key. Click! Click! Click!

‘8’ didn’t turn up anything; ‘=’ donned a shift to left function while ‘\’ donned the shift to right function. It was all a total mess. But how? I haven’t heard of anything remotely close to this before. The on-screen keyboard came to the rescue but it was not even close to charming. I, naturally, gave up on the laptop.

But what do you know? It was all right the very next day. Weird. Very weird. Maybe the keys wanted change. Maybe dust had messed everything up. Maybe a ghost was playing tricks. Maybe they just got bored of having to do the same old function every single time. No wonder they call it the “keybored”.

Voila! - 2

2008-07-10T22:13:00.004+05:30

A header that I have been thinking of for sometime now. The fact that dark font on light backgrounds is easier to read had been haunting since my previous pitch black layout so here's one keeping in mind. I feel so relieved now. Although, it seems incomplete somehow and I know not why. Any ideas?

That's me in the picture, by the way. :)

Related Post: Voila! - 1

Made You Laugh

2008-07-05T17:05:00.005+05:30

Out of the blue, he asks me to suggest possible additional features that the system could be incorporated with. Gulp! I hadn’t thought of that! I had just given him a basic report on the product to be designed and had included all the necessary features, the requirements and specifications. The system under discussion is a queue management system which is basically the type used at banks and reservation counters etc.

Was he not satisfied? Well, he has taken a printout of it. Think! Think, lady, think! I can’t recall exactly when I started blurting but here’s how it went.

"Why not make two prototypes? A low - budget alternative, perhaps?"

"Why waste on a printer when printed roll with a stepper mechanism would suffice?"

Boy, was I on a spree!

Some more technical talk (both ways now) later, he came up with the idea of adding an extra function to the keypad for the employee to be able to select a particular customer. “But, sir!”, I interrupted as he was explaining, “That would lead to bias and corruption!” Er, what did I just say? Blame it on the hangover of reading Tehelka.

And that’s when he laughed. I made him laugh.

Tour Tidings '08: The Starter

2008-07-03T21:38:00.015+05:30

I'm back! And, I have one question for you. Have you been to north-east India? If not, do so for it is an experience of a lifetime. After 7 nights and 8 days in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh as a part of the packaged tour titled Mystic Arunachal Safari, I'd say I insist. The mountains, the valleys, the rivers, the greenery, the fog, the altitude, the winding roads, the safari, the food, the animals, the people, the war memorials, the cold weather, the icy water and the culture will leave you spellbound. I assure you. It feels like being a part of a typical Nat-Geo programme. Amazing, I tell you. Truly amazing!

Driving up and down winding roads on the edges of the Himalayas passing in and out of white cottony clouds and clutching life in one’s hands as visibility reduces to a little over one meter on a road half absent owing to landslides, overlooking the dark abyss shadowed by fog on one side and of which only a hazy outline remains amounting to having to guess the angle at every curve.

Tempting, isn’t it?

PS: More details, photos and videos as and when I finish transferring and organizing some infinite stuff from all these memory cards.

R-Ant

2008-06-18T10:16:00.006+05:30

We all know ants, right? Yes, those tiny creatures that cannot possibly do any harm to any fellow living being. Think again keeping in mind a situation where they become regular visitors to your laptop keyboard. If that doesn’t impress you too much, how about ants living in your keyboard? Note the use of the preposition ‘in’.

Welcome to my world.

It feels very awkward at first but then, you get used it with time. Of course I am no Buddhist towards these gypsy-ants. Clearly, I exhibit no qualms about squishing or flinging them away whenever I get the chance.

Tip: repetitive pressing of keys is known to flush them out and has to be followed by quick reflexes.

You can even hear them marching if you keep your ears close to the keyboard. Well, there was hearing the march-past, key pressing and hurling them into the air and this process went on. The era of the ant-infested-keyboard lasted a few days only to be followed by the ant-infested-cell phone era which lasted only a few hours probably due to the inaccessibility of enclosed spaces.

Now, after all these days, the ant-infested-insert appropriate word era is back and this time it’s my office desk. Meh!

PS: I'm leaving tomorrow morning for a much-needed vacation.

Two Decades Ago

2008-06-16T18:07:00.007+05:30

..the Leela* was born. Yeah, I know this comes a bit late but I wanted to wait for it to be well past the day in all parts of the world and for the last of the wishes to arrive. Simple and sweet, the day was all I could wish for. Gosh! Would you look at the fake humility!

I woke up early just to confirm that the nightmare of my sis and dad having eaten up all the cake before I woke up hadn't came true. A huge sigh of relief later, we dug into the cake. Chocolicious.

Yes, I went to work. Nine hours down. The idea of bunking never really came to mind. Three long phone conversations and four smss later, I got off work. I gave God a few thank yous and a few sorrys and got back some of my favourite Paal Payasam. Mom had sent coconut burfi along with dad who had come to pick me up and yours hungrilly, perched on the scooter, ate it all up on the way, through the roads of the capital city. I can get very, very insane when it comes to food.

Six more phone calls, two of them forming a nested loop and one sms later I was off to Plucky's place with cake and burfi. As usual, she and her weighing machine welcomed me. "Not on my day!", I snapped. Talk about birthday gifts. My weightlessness was the last thing I wanted to think about. But guess what? I am officially one kilo heavier. Yay!

The day is done and what stares back at me is two decades of existence.

*and I don't mean The Leela. :P

Voila! -1

2008-06-12T17:45:00.006+05:30

All those who wanted a change in my blog's url (me included) may rejoice for it is here! Voila!

This marks a series of changes that I am planning for my blog. A total makeover. :D

But, first things first. Don't forget to change your Google Reader, Blogroll and other important settings. Thanks in advance.

PS: 50 posts up. Yay!

123rd page

2008-06-10T21:43:00.003+05:30

Here we go again! Tagged by Amrit Bhaiyya.
The rules: Pick up the nearest book. Go to page 123. Find the fifth sentence. Post the next three sentences. Tag five people, and acknowledge the person who tagged you.

"The head of the family was called Mehboub. He was a wiry, muscular little man in his thirties with a lively,determined expression beneath his shaggy eyebrows and a forehead half-concealed by a thick shock of curly hair. His wife, Selima, wore a little inlaid stone in her nostril."

Guess! Guess!

I tag Neethu, Abhishek, Kaushik, Akila, Shady.

Kerala Culture Centre - 1

2008-06-08T19:00:00.005+05:30

Kerala Culture Centre is organizing weekly programmes at Vailopalli Sanskriti Bhavan, Trivandrum. I really don't have anything to do with them but I happened to attend this Saturday's programme. Two plays were put up both of which were simply superb. I have attended plays at Chennai as well but something about these plays simply leaves you asking for more.

The first play was about the life of a butcher and how his life changes drastically after he sees the body of a bleeding child with a slit throat. The lead was played by the famous dramatist, Kannur Vasu. The way he brought out his character was simply stunning. The narration was a bit monotonous and unnecessary in my opinion.

The second play, "Ithu Bhoomiyanu" by KT Lovers (sounds gay, doesn't it?), was about a family ingrained in Muslim superstitions. How they face the real truths of life forms the crux of the play. The message is brought out in a simple, yet effective manner. KT Lovers, by the way, is a group of dramatics enthusiasts who are fans of KT Mohammmad, the famous playwright.

Here's the best part. All the programmes are open for the public. At Trivandrum, good entertainment comes for free. Which other city can boast like that?

PS:
Next Saturday's programme: Prathibha Sangeetha Sangamam courtesy Swaranjali, Trivandrum.

Solitude

2008-05-31T16:23:00.004+05:30

Like identical drops of water, we live;
The same space, we inhabit.
Coalesce! You say?
Nay, for a wall have we created,
And like spawn shall we subsist;
With gooey stuff separating.

PS: This poem created itself in a dream I had on the night of 28/05/08. Freaky!

I feel..

2008-05-08T15:08:00.001+05:30

..like using the Blur tool on the lyrics of songs.

Freely Captive

2008-05-07T14:59:00.003+05:30

Neglect me; forget me; you do it perfectly well.
When I free myself you will not even realize.
A bruised child left to die in a rotten, hypocritical world.

To hold tightly a hand that will not let go
While I shut myself off for a permanent sense of freedom,
And shed that last tear, one that will merge well with this frown.

Here I linger till that day;
The day I’ll get to really go away.
And trust me, you will not miss me.

PS: This created itself as I woke up on the day of my C slot exam dated 28/04/08. Need I say more?

In the Light of Fireflies

2008-04-20T00:55:00.008+05:30

In the light of fireflies is a collection of poems written by Sudha Rajkumar. I got hold of a copy of the book and here’s a small review I thought I’d write.

The book, comprising of poems written over five years, gives the reader an insight into the thought process of someone who tries to recover from a shocking misfortune. The author has gracefully brought out the feelings and the emotions that defined her during the course of her life after her husband’s accident. The poems, simple though they may be, invoke questions on the mere existence of man. All through the book, one can see a sincere attempt to find answers to these questions and more. The book is, surprisingly, neither cynically pessimistic nor is it incredibly optimistic. Here is an excerpt, that I couldn’t help relating to, from a poem that I have bookmarked.

Rising to the peaks of happiness,
Flying free in air,
The very next moment falling down
Deep into the ocean of sadness.

Here’s the review in The Hindu and here’s the review at Vatsap?

Black gold

2008-04-18T00:10:00.011+05:30

I just had to dedicate a post for this. I had black coffee for the first time today. I have always wanted to try it. For those of you who don’t understand the seriousness of the issue, I am someone who takes coffee just for the smell and invariably always requests it to be made light. Black coffee is like the extreme end, for me, in caffeine intake. I was sure that I wouldn’t drink more than a sip of it. No milk, no sugar; just water and Nescafe. Imagine that!

The water was getting heated. I was told time and again that I wouldn’t like it. Bah! I myself knew I wouldn’t like it. I just wanted to see what the fuss was about. New taste buds need to form, it seems, for one to appreciate the taste and these would form only after drinking a few glasses. After these new taste buds form, one will die for it. Someone who hasn’t tasted a particular thing before wouldn’t know what it should taste like and hence wouldn’t be able to appreciate it. Imagine having to hear all that while that innocent little mug of coffee was carving itself. I must admit I thought I would puke at the first sip.

The coffee was finally ready. The exotic aroma was totally exciting. I really wish I could smell it again. It was a heavenly, irresistible smell. The drink as such was as simple as simple can be. Clear, black and inviting, there it was in front of me in a homely little mug. I ventured to taste it; I didn’t puke. On the contrary, I drank the full mug. I have never drunk a full mug of normal coffee, of anything for that matter. Didn’t I say that I am a unique person? It didn’t feel unpalatably bitter, which is, quite frankly, all that I expected from it. It didn’t feel awkward; neither did it feel special. But, it had a wonderfully unique taste, something that I really can’t explain. It doesn’t taste like normal coffee at all. Milk spoils the real taste of coffee, not to mention dampening its pure aroma. I drank till the last drop; I felt good.

After about ten minutes, the taste started to manifest itself like the hangover of a funny lunch at the mess. It had an eerie lemon-tee without lemon like taste, albeit not in a bad way. It goes without saying that I am wide awake and I feel more energetic. On the whole, it was worth it. As far as my second cup is concerned, I guess only time will tell. I would, however, suggest you get yourself some black coffee sometime, if you haven’t tried it already.

Here's something to read in this context.

@Amrit Bhaiyya: Thanks! :)

Gone with the Wind

2008-04-14T14:54:00.010+05:30

Yeah, the movie 'Gone with the Wind' is an American classic and all that but I wanted to see how mean I could be to an 'epic film'. What can I say? I guess I derive satisfaction out of thinking differently. So, here goes.

The movie begins with a couple of supposedly handsome men taking shots at Scarlett O'Hara, the childish lead heroine in the movie. It has been made very mechanical and unbelievable. There is no way a sensible woman would have found it, in the least, flattering. The lady, little girl rather, has been made to witness the Civil War waged by the Yankees, three marriages and infinite amount of flirting during the course of the movie. It seems more like a deliberate attempt at squeezing war, romance and stupidity in one big package.

The girls in the movie have been portrayed as gullible and worth only to be flirted with. The change that comes in her, as shown later in the movie, is even more outrageous. There seems to be no trace of the old Scarlet in her at all, until when Ashley comes back and confuses her. Perhaps it’s his presence that brings out the unrealistic, impulsive part of her.

There is a line in the movie ‘She’s after your beau now’ which clearly removes any doubt about the intention of the ladies in the movie. It is hard to believe that she agrees to dance with Mr. Butler, who she had addressed as a dog in the first part of the movie, for no apparent reason. The impulsiveness of the character, Scarlett, is that of a child while the role she plays in the movie is that of a fine lady.

The men in the movie are not as refined as they are supposed to be with respect to the theme of the movie either. They address Mr. Wilkes as the ‘Captain of the Troop’ and they don’t even rebel against him when he says that there shall be no war. What could get more cowardly than that! The way Mrs. Hamilton says, “Oh dear, oh dear!” and faints is nothing less than melodramatic. It’s hard to miss that Scarlett seems turned on when Melanie cries on her shoulder when the list of those who died in the war comes. The scene gets, quite interestingly, abruptly terminated.

Even in the middle of the civil war, Mr. Butler keeps his cool. When she asks what he was laughing at, he answers back that he was laughing at her. He looks so calm that it seems that might actually have been organizing the entire uproar. After the war is over, she sees the gory remains that the war has left behind. Even at this point of time, all she has to say is, “Dirty Yankees!”

Overall, the movie seems way too far fetched to believe. There are a few characters who are suffocated with too much to deliver in the movie while there are others who have little or no relevance. It is an over-ambitious movie that has managed to convince people that it is good entertainment, of the laugh at the movie genre. As far as the ten Academy Awards that it won are concerned, I’d say, “Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.”(Quotes from the movie here)

PS: This post is the first of the three musketeers who felt bad because of Mr. Murphy.

Update: Check this out. Blogging just gets better. :D

Murphy's Law

2008-04-11T11:24:00.010+05:30

On the one fine day that I have three blog posts to put up and I am all ready to put them up, this happens! Bah!
Talk about Murphy's Law.

A full circle

2008-04-01T00:17:00.010+05:30

Two extremely bored people might find themselves doing this on GTalk.
On a more philosophical note, life came a full circle. The game quite involuntarily, began as well as ended at 'life' and we just played. Relentlessly and patiently, we (Santosh and myself) played and played till it was done.

Oh, and designed another header, in case you didn't notice. :D

L: life
S: death
L: grave
S: black
L: blog
S: write
L: poem
S: beauty
L: smile
S: joy
L: laugh
S: thrill
L: bunjee :D
S: fall :)
L: fracture
S: :D
L: :D
S: bone
L: weight :))
S: fat
L: argh :))
S: Leela! :))
L: :PP unique
S: identity
L: loss
S: faith
L: arbit
S: thought
L: mind
S: fickle
L: gullible
S: weak
L: malnutrition
S: food
L: chocolate :D
S: love
L: blah
S: :D idiot
L: dumbo
S: :| stupid
L: Santosh :))
S: stud
L: lingo
S: regional
L: doordarshan :|
S: outdated
L: oblivion
S: forget
L: bliss
S: tasteless
L: fever
S: cold
L: frostbite
S: ignorance
L:Weirdo max! useless
S: redundant
L: coding !
S: program
L: assignment :(
S: submission by 12 tonight :D
L: website
S: info
L: data
S: table (data tables)
L: graph
S: point
L: pointless
S: conversation
L: coffee
S: hot
L: burn
S: fire
L: plasma
S: !!!!
L: :D
S: television
L: news
S: update
L: blogpost
S: again???
L: obseessed!
S: clearly diary
L: personal
S: feelings
L: vague
S: ideas
L: bulb as in cartoons
S: light
L: optical fibre
S: road will explain
L: tar
S: smooth
L: touch
S: sparks :D i am weird, very
L: No doubts welding
S: bright
L: sunshine
S: heaven
L: angel
S: innocence
L: child
S: youth
L: wasted
S: opportunity
L: knock :))
S: door
L: duh! break
S: lunch :D
L: king size!
S: drowsy
L: numbness
S: blood rush
L: river
S: bank
L: stones
S: obstacles
L: life

Sing

2008-03-24T00:09:00.012+05:30

Tagged, yet again. Twilight Fairy, again! Bah!
The game doesn’t seem to have a title. The title, Sing, is a song by Travis.

To music!
1. Which song is being played in your mind right now?
One Last Breath by Creed because it is being played on my player right now. Duh!

2. One song that describes your life... (No self made compositions please!)
She’s Always A Woman To Me by Billy Joel. I like to think the song was custom-made for me. Between you and me, it really was. ;)

3. The song you listen to most on your I-pod/ MP3/ cell/ PC/ etc

Moi Lolita by Alizée. My neighbours get psyched out 'coz of the number of times I listen to it both on my laptop and on my phone. Jus’ love the peppy beats.

4. A song that describes best the following stages in your life
- School days: I’ll be there for you by Rembrants. It just had to be this one. Ah! Good old times! Miss you guys.
- Love: A Whole New World from Alladin. The song keeps it simple and sweet.
- Your mood right now: Square One by Coldplay. Beautiful lyrics.

5. Your all time favorite song and the reason for it... maybe some memory/ some funny story etc!!!

Unchained Melody by Gareth Gates. Acute Amnesia.

6. A song you wish you hadn't heard!!! (More than one is always a pleasure!!!)

Hotel Kalifornia – the weird Mallu version and the like. Eww! They totally make me wanna puke.

7. A song that would best describe... me
(Hey, I took pains to tag you, I guess I deserve this ;-) )

She Amazed Me by Rivo Drei. Crazy lyrics, crazy stuff for the crazy girl. I can so imagine you ‘spinning round and round with a frog in your ear.’ :D

8. (I just couldn't miss this!!!) If, you were in an elevator with Himesh Reshammiya and Altaf Raja, you would...
(please please please... something funny!!!)

It makes more sense if the question was rephrased as they were with me in an elevator. Oh trust me, they’d wish they were never born. ;)

Yay! I'm done. Now to tag people.
I tag Abhishek, Akila, Kaushik, Neethu, Shady, Shrek, Taz, Whitelighter.
Phew!

Update: Somebody decided to give it a go. Here's Tagged from Shady.

Inspiration

2008-03-22T23:28:00.005+05:30

Words carefully chosen,

Braided one after the other,
Perfectly, flawlessly.
Ideas, new and old alike,
Weaving their way through.
The flow remarkable,
The fabric exquisite.
A smile plays on the reader's face.

PS: Inspired from here.

Nerd!

2008-03-16T13:49:00.007+05:30

I am nerdier than 81% of people according to this test.

18% scored higher (more nerdy),
1% scored the same, and
81% scored lower (less nerdy).
Your nerdiness is:
High-Level Nerd. You are definitely MIT material, apply now!!!

Gee! I am not sure if it is a compliment.

@Rambling Perfectionist
Thanks for the link. I thought your score was far too less which is why I took the test. :D

PS: I suppose I should start quiz preparations seriously and put this high-level nerdy brain to efficient use.

Wasted

2008-03-15T00:59:00.013+05:30

My mind; it drifts and speeds,
Farther and farther it flees;
Away from the din
Of sincere drilling machines.

They stare at us;
Those shameless zeroes and ones;
Have you not stared enough?
It is not funny anymore.

These mechanical steps I take,
These callous decisions I make,
These confused looks I don,
Need I say more?

I said I was strong,
Can I not be wrong?
Is it too much to ask?
Pray, tell me.

All of this belongs to me.
A life in them, I fail to see;
Chaste and pure,
Adored and cared for.

They say I am expressive;
I stop short of an expletive.
I have lost myself.
Help me search?

Gone

2008-03-08T02:56:00.008+05:30

Gone are the days I used to wake up cheerfully to bright summer
mornings.
Gone are the days I donned a genuine smile on my face, instead of
this fake one that I have oh so beautifully mastered.
Gone are the days I used to wonder what is it that makes this world
so perfect.
Gone are the days I used to get marks above average in class.
Gone are the days I used to listen in each and every class.
Gone are the days I felt good about caring for someone.
Gone are the days I looked at a thing of beauty and admired it.
Gone are the days I wrote down every conversation I had with people I considered special.
Gone are the days I used to feel special.
Gone are the days I used to feel visible.
Gone are the days I thought I was lucky.
Gone are the days I had firm, unshakable principles of living.
Gone are the days I went to sleep with a calming feeling of satisfaction.

One year old

2008-02-25T16:47:00.015+05:30

It has been a full one year since I started blogging. It has truly been a wonderful experience. The new header has been designed especially for the occasion. Blogitto, Ergo Sum is officially one year old. Yay!

I am glad that every month has had its share of blogposts, just one post in some while four in a few others. My blog has come a long way since it was born. It reflects how my life was at different points of time. From academics and classes, the focus shifts to sports to getting bored like every other person during the three month vacation. Who can forget that phase of my life when I used to Bang!, Bang! again and Bang! not again! away to glory with no rhyme or reason? Hell, a Bang! Counter was created thanks to Aditya! I was rumoured to have a crush on my then brand new watch which, by the way, I still admire though it has lost a reasonable amount of the erstwhile captivating lustre. There was a marathon I don't remember much about. The world around me came to know how very angelic I could be on the day I had a blast of a birthday. Notice the infinite sarcasm in the previous line.

I got tagged. I revealed eight random facts about myself. That's right! Eight random facts! I realized that it was time to revisit kindergarten and see if I still remember The English Alphabet. Guess what? I remembered all twenty six of them. And then it was time. It was time to step into the Devil's shoes. The Devil struck again in an episode that is quoted till date for the pure evil that it was. My first addiction arrived grandly but I must say it has decreased with time. I got caught in class for not paying attention for the very first time. I tried my hand at open ended fiction having had a disturbing dream about an underworld don. I took part in that 3:11 thingy. Watch out for it next time if you missed it. I bid adieu to a very happening year in a very unique way and New Years' Day brought along with it a few drastic changes in my life.

A typical day in my life is reflected in this post. I was absolutely thrilled to have designed my own header and even more thrilled to get compliments for the same. I learnt the weird way that vague senseless stuff like this will be analysed and distorted in every possible way. There was a time when there was a rainbow within me. Now, just the sun remains. It shines with all its glory. I admit that I can be passionate about very unusual things. I loved this song so much that I googled enough on the Greek mythology behind it to write an IEEE paper.

My blog has come a long way and so have I. As far as the future goes. You will just have to stick around and find out. :D

Orestes

2008-02-14T18:54:00.007+05:30

The music.
The anger.
The frustration.
The desperation.
The passion in his voice.
The numbing sensation.

The song "Orestes" by A Perfect Circle on the album Mer de Noms is truly a masterpiece. It is beautifully woven around a captivating Greek mythological story about the character Orestes.
Wikipedia link.
Mythology Guide description.
Songfacts gives a lot of interpretations to the song.

Metaphor for a missing moment
Pull me in to your perfect circle

One womb
One shame
One resolve
Liberate this will
To release us all

Gotta cut away, clear away
Snip away and sever this
Umbilical residue,
Keeping me from killing you
And from pulling you down with me here,
I can almost hear you scream

Give me one more medicated peaceful moment
Give me one more medicated peaceful moment

And I don't wanna feel this
Overwhelming hostility
I don't wanna feel this
Overwhelming hostility

Gotta cut away, clear away
Snip away and sever this
Umbilical residue

Gotta cut away, clear away
Snip away and sever this
Umbilical residue,
Keeping me from killing you

Snip away and sever this
Keeping me from killing you

There's something about this song that makes me listen to it almost every day. Do listen to the song, if you haven't already. If you cannot get the song, drop a comment and a mail address and I will mail it to you.

PS: @Shady
Thanks for the song.

The Rainbow

2008-02-10T17:46:00.002+05:30

I feel a rainbow within me.
The sun shines because I feel alive.
The rain pours because well, it just decided to.

Recursion

2008-01-28T18:00:00.000+05:30

My heart leapt in rapture as he sang whilst my eyes gleamed in his presence; the very presence that haunted my dreams back at the institute during lengthy dreary nights, but alas! he vanishes, fades away just like in the dreams I have at the institute where I am while I speak thus.

Update: This is to clarify any doubts regarding the post. It is a line from one of my entries for Creative Writing at Saarang '08. The entry conforms to the constraint that it does not contain the letter 'o'. As regards the matter, it just came up by itself. As mentioned, it is tagged under fiction with the valid reason that well, it is fictitious.

A Brand New Look

2008-01-14T20:42:00.002+05:30

Voila! My new personalized blog header. I love it.
Created on Jan 12th 2008 using Adobe Photoshop.

Whose tikka is it anyway?

2008-01-11T22:06:00.002+05:30

There is a considerable amount of defiance in the air when a nineteen year old girl goes all by herself to a real family restaurant. Tifanys is, clearly, not counted. I called up my parents to let them know I had reached home (others call it IITM) safely. I made sure they realized how grown up I was. It felt good. I ordered something and decided to set my eyes on my television till the time my phone stopped bulbing. That's when I noticed them; the family. Well, I noticed the guy in the family first. Typical goody goody boy - I don't behave indecently - I don't eat nonveg - I smoke not - I drink not and so on. And then I saw the rest of the family; all glued to the television. "Wow! A Samsung plasma TV. I have never seen one before. Beta, dekh lo. You might not get this chance again." I did not technically hear this, but this is pretty much what they would've said, if they did talk that is. I decided then and there that I was going to sit back and watch the show. ( And I did not mean the one on TV, in case you are a total moron.)

A plate of mouth-watering paneer tikka arrived on the table. They kept worshipping the television. What an insult! It was the son who ventured to set his eyes upon the impudent foreign object that had dared to intrude into his life. The look of disgust on his eyes went well with the scorn on his face. A classic example of the 'look before you leap' category of people. Note that the others had not so much as looked in the direction of the solitary plate on their table.

Somewhere between then and now my order arrived and it felt luxurious to have something to munch as I was getting entertained. As far as the paneer tikka goes, the dad, the 'leap and then look' category, was the next in line. His hand shot and grabbed a piece of onion. Onion! Raw onion! Was the paneer part invisible or was I hallucinating?

Daddy then asks daughter to have a look. She, the 'don't look, don't leap' category, carried on her disturbing admiration for the particularly irritating comedian on the flat screen. Of course, mummy was not to be left out of all this action. She consults daddy, "Do you think it is eatable? Is it a part of the table deco.." only to be intruded by daughter, "Mummy, talk softly. I'm watching TV." That served as the cue to bring all those who were distracted by that lowly dish (or was it a table decoration?) back to what they did best. "All hail the Samsung Flat Screen."

December, Poor December

2007-12-31T20:18:00.001+05:30

Well, December sobs because there is no post up. So here's to a blast of a December. Cheers. I'm off to spend a vague night filled with dynamic plans. It's New Year's eve. Happy New Year.

That 3:11 thingy

2007-11-08T16:30:00.001+05:30

This is where I was at 3:11 pm on 03/11/07. Thanks to Amrit bhaiya for the information. I know the write up cannot get any more cliched. I thought just the picture would be sufficient but the 50 word description was too tempting to ignore. Besides it seemed like those limited-word English precis writing assignments back in school. Anyway, here's the link to more of what fellow-Chennaiites were upto.

PS: Maybe I should have put up a post informing you people about this but let's just interpret my laziness as my first attempt at RGing.

The picture was taken inside IIT Madras campus. The campus is built inside a lush green forest. The trees symbolize Nature and the scooters symbolize human intervention into Nature. The picture, thus, stands testimony to the fact that even in a busy metro city, Nature can exist in perfect harmony with man.

Underworld

2007-10-21T03:12:00.003+05:30

“There’s a car waiting. See to it that those girls are dropped wherever they want and get yourself a free ride home.”

He walked towards the car and noticed the girls his boss was talking about.

“Is that an E-60?”

He looks around for the owner of that excited, impulsive voice. It was one of the girls in the group. She seemed far younger than the others most likely in her late teens. He sees no harm in talking to her although in a land where conversations were strictly restricted to business.

“Yeah, it is. Do you like it?” He has a warm smile on his lips and an innocent sparkle in his eyes.

“Yes. It looks lovely. I have never seen one this close before.”

He asks her to keep the file he had with him in her bag.

It was a monotonous journey except for occasional bikes vrooming past. She was visibly bored and started yet another abrupt conversation.

“Do you like working there?”

“Well, yes. I get a good salary but it’s a nasty business that they do. I can do nothing about it though. Anyway, here’s my stop.”

“Oh, where do you stay?”

“Starry Heights Apartments. I don’t feel comfortable at the office quarters. It’s a small apartment but I like it. Goodnight then. Nice meeting you.”

She finds his file in her bag. The following day, she goes to his apartment and hands him his folder.

“Oh, thank you so much. I was wondering how I would trace you without so much as a name.”

She sports a satisfied smile. “Are you always alone? Don’t you have any friends?”

He admires the spontaneity in her questions. “No, I generally don’t entertain here. I retire to this tiny apartment to get away from the monotony of work.” She leaves. He feels the presence of a caring soul. She feels the presence of a soul to be cared for.

Work goes on as usual. He and his monotonous work – neither cribs. 1 message received. Please fill in for me at the Interview hall today. I am down with fever. Thanks. Selection for shipping – 11 pm.

11 pm. He was right on time. He was briefed in on what to do – ensure that the candidate is on the list and mark those worth shipping. “Candidate?”, he wondered. His eyes fell on a skinny waif being dragged by a well built man. It all made sense now. He could do nothing. Each girl was led into the room; one more pathetic than the previous. He looked up to see who was next in line. Their eyes met. She felt energized while he felt stoned. He had to do something. He couldn’t just stand there and watch her go through such humiliation. She was pretty. She would easily be chosen. He knew he had to act. Something, anything. He went up to his boss and said it was getting late and there was some important business to be taken care of. The boss thought over it and gave him a suspicious look. The selection process was halted till further notice. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and felt good.

A couple of days passed. 523, Starry Heights Apartments; a knock on the door. His fellow employee opens and gives her an unwelcome look. She searches for him and their eyes click. His friends hand him his jacket and he rises to leave. She presses a fleeting kiss on his cheek and whispers, “Thanks.” He puts his arm around her shoulder.

Beside the fountain outside his apartment, he realizes how happy he was with her and vows to keep her happy all her life. Her eyes well up as she feels elated. The next moment they shatter into a million pieces. It was a cruel world and he could do nothing about it.

PS: This was a real dream I had last summer. Every bit of this occurred in that freaking dream dated July 27th, 2007.

First time for everything?

2007-09-12T14:01:00.003+05:30

Conventions in amino acids, it seems. How do I care which groups have what charge and what the abbreviation or symbol is for some –cine or some –gine? Get a life. I have one. Let me live it my way.

How many are interested, I wonder. Isn’t it a much better use of time to solve your A slot assignment out of a sudden outburst of interest in the subject than talk or doze or play?

I appreciate Life Sciences (that's the course). It’s a beautiful world and that’s where I leave it. Asking a fellow classmate who had deviated about 10 degrees from the normal to sit up straight! Oh come on! Whatever happened to the fundamental rights of students. Wait a minute… there aint any! We hardly got to choose what we wanted to study at school and the same situation continues through college.

If you are wondering why I put up such a post then read on. I had all the enthusiasm in the world to solve that assignment. There was no deadline, yet I was doing a Math assignment. That’s not something you see everyday. My book was confiscated by the sadistic TA. That’s a first and I didn't like it.

@Noldorim: I listen in most classes. This was an exception. :)

@Freakin’ E batch fellow on the next bench with the irritating guffaw: It was not funny.

I don’t want the book back; I didn’t write proper notes. I do miss the L&T book-cover which looks real pseud though!

Tagged Aaj Tak!

2007-08-24T18:08:00.000+05:30

People actually took up my Tag! The 8RF Game. Here they are…
Abhishek
Kaushik
Saboo
Neethu
Rid3r

Let’s get Addicted!

2007-08-10T21:51:00.001+05:30

It’s finally here. My first addiction! It’s the sole reason why I have breakfast, why I wait for tea-time every single day and why I don’t mind drinking milk. Ah! Just one spoonful of this heavenly powder and milk, the liquid I totally despise, turns into a divine drink. The colour, the smell, the taste… it’s a feast for the senses I tell you. It really is.

It was my good friend, Coke, who suggested this heavenly drink to me, being an addict herself. She is addicted to the vanilla flavour and gave me a sip of it one fine evening. I was on the verge of puking! Ah! An analogue to a smoker’s first puff. I would never have got addicted had I left it at that first sip. Fortunately, I ventured to try out another flavour, namely chocolate and the rest, as they say, is history.

She did warn that this drink might get the drinker addicted but who cares for silly little warnings when trying something out for the first time? It felt nice in the beginning. Protinex buddies! Or should I say Protinex addicts! I used to take one cup a day after breakfast or in the evening instead of my usual tea. Then, it became nicer; two cups a day. Later it became my breakfast. Just one big cup of Protinex chocolate. A happy meal! I’m luvin it! Thanks (?) to the fact that I was eating at a mess where milk was served only twice a day, the daily intake was restricted to two cups.

One fine evening, another good friend, CL, gave me a tempting offer-a perfectly made cup of Boost. I used to like Boost very much so I decided to give it a try. The dark brown colour and the aroma were too good to say no to. Besides, my Protinex was finishing fast and I wanted to save it for the desperate times a.k.a end-sems. I took one sip and it felt tasteless. Entirely tasteless. My reaction was surprising to me too. How can a chocolate-crazy person feel a cup of Boost as tasteless? Something was wrong somewhere. I felt that nothing could make a drink as tasty as Protinex did. That is when the seriousness of the addiction struck me. It convinces you that every other drink is insipid, tasteless, archaic, obsolete and only one drink exists that is worth drinking…Protinex Chocolate! and I stand by this fact.

Every addiction comes with the ultimate aim of taking over the world. Mine is no different. It makes full use of its victim; from preaching about its splendour to offering a free sip. A pity I haven’t been able to serve my master in a reasonable, leave alone remarkable, manner for every time I preach about this heavenly drink, I end up convincing nobody. Not a single soul. To make things worse, all I get back from my audience are disgusted expressions and appalling remarks. I quote a few instances.

“Protinex? Yuck!” – Mind your language! Insulting I say!

“Oh! that drink; it’s ok ok types” – Ok ok types? Oh! Come on…

“Ahem! ” – I wish she would’ve stopped with that Ahem.

“Tastes like sugarless Milo with a tinge of bitterness.” – Sigh! Maybe because it was her first puff!

“Eww! That was terrible. So bitter! I need some water to clean my mouth” - speechless

The comments are never-ending and it all leads to the same conclusion; Proinex == Yuck. What can be worse than that?

"Smells Boostish. Tastes real nice ya." - Finally! some ray of hope but you know what? I am not so convinced about the genuineness of this comment because this was from a guy and guys say many things.

Update:
"Nice" followed by a dorky smile. - Well, that was "nice" to hear until he said that he likes yeast on toast too.

Inexplicably grotesque expression. - What more shall I say?

Now that, my good friend, is a serious addiction but guess what… I have no plans of snapping out of it.

Devil Strikes Again!

2007-08-08T00:19:00.000+05:30

And you thought I was out of the picture! Another feather in my cap and a highly treasured one at that. The Play under the Umbrella. evil laugh!

A-Z Reloaded

2007-07-23T17:17:00.003+05:30

Step into my shoes and the English alphabet will look like this.
Inspired by Vatsap?

Argh!; extremely expressive when it comes to anger
Bang!; speaks for itself, doesn't it?
Chocolate; my weakness
Devil; evil laugh
Exceptional; me!
Fish; peace
God; pray
Hunger; Grr!
Insecurity; whatever that is
Jinx; Freaky
Kiss; Ah!
Life; and the beauty of living
Money; to be spent on chocolates
Niche; jus' like me... small 'n' sweet
Oh; gen
Plucky; Definition
Qualm; no qualms about this one
Rival; get insanely competitive
Sarcasm; simply marvellous
Travelogue; love reading them
Universe; it's just so perfect
Vice; definitely vice
Weird; weird
X-men; super cool
Yay!; use it a lot.
Zoom; on my cycle.

That was fun. Give it a try and you’ll see.

Bang! Not again!

2007-07-16T12:20:00.001+05:30

24/06/07: 19 30 hrs.

The short version:
I banged again just like this and this. Ouch!

The long version:
I was at this sleepover at Plucky’s place. Hmpf! More publicity. I had to choose between this queen-size bed with an intricately carved wooden railing but a not-so-soft mattress and a study table chair for a seat. As is obvious from my description, I chose the bed and began digging the laptop for useful stuff to send to my pen-drive when I noticed the beautiful pattern on the wall in front of me. Glow-in-the-dark stickers. I am a total freak when it comes to them. I have dozens of them in my room too, mainly dolphins. However, this was different. Stars of different sizes! I was gaping with my mouth wide open.
Me: Wow! they look wonderful.
Plucky: Yeah! I know. Wait till you see the ceiling.
I looked up and saw the ceiling. Wow! Double Wow! There were so many of them and I realized I was gaping again.

Plucky: Wait I’ll turn off the lights. It will look much better then.
The arrogant voice in my head: Duh! Where did your brains go?
Me: Ok. Good idea. Should have thought about it earlier!
Switches off the lights.
A bunch of crystalline stars frozen in mid-air while falling down onto the Earth, yet, seem to fall infinitesimally slowly.
Plucky: Hey, why are you straining yourself so much? Lie down, na?
Me: Ok.
Felt like she had hypnotized me! I was obeying her.
Update: She pushes me down.
Bang!
Not again! That was when I stopped gaping. I no longer like that intricately carved wooden railing. After it had come in the way of your stargazing, who would?

I don’t know if she had planned the entire sequence of events ;) but well, I had banged again and that’s all there is to know.

The Marathon

2007-07-11T17:04:00.002+05:30

It’s not like I’m worried about it. It’s just that it’s there. It doesn’t bother me or anything but what if? What if it starts bothering me? What will I do then?

I have been trying to figure this out for quite some time now. An intriguing sensation that numbs me all over. Neither does it explain itself to me nor have I made a conscious attempt at understanding it. I have been running away from it and will continue the marathon. Yes, it’s a never-ending marathon. Now, out of the blue, (or shall I blame it on this endless vacation that is driving me insane?) I feel interested in this issue.

Where do I begin? It is, after all, difficult to think about something you never wanted to think about.

Here’s an incident from the recent past. I got hold of this song from Plucky recently. Summer of ’69 by Bryan Adams and here’s how it went.
Me: Hmm. Bryan Adams… should be a good song.
Plucky: Yeah, its really good.
Me: ok, lets hear it then.
Plucky: k
Plays the song.
Whoa! That was loud.
Hmm, sounds good.
After just two lines of the song, she had to leave to perform some chores. So its just me and the song now.
Foot tapping and head nodding.
Damn! here it comes.. he sings, “ oh when I look back now”
And it had arrived. That irritating torturous feeling swells up within me. The line, “those were the best days of my life” served as the Grand Finale. That was it. I paused the song then and there.
Plucky is back.
Me: why does he have to sing like that?
Plucky: seems to understand my situation perfectly. Hehe I know.
I have the song on my Lappy but I never play it. I just don’t feel like it. I do play it once or twice these days but I still haven’t crossed that 50 sec mark. But you know what? That doesn’t bother me.

Oh yeah, here’s another one. A few days back, I was chatting on Gtalk with CL. Just another day, just another chat, just gen stuffs. She was about to sign off and that’s when it happened. She said bye and added, “missing you guys.” Damn! Though I instinctively reply with a conventional “missing you too”, my thoughts are elsewhere, busy trying to run away as usual. And this particular incident has happened twice on chat and twice on sms. Damn! Double damn! I just don’t understand it. “Miss u a lot”, “miss kar raha hun”, “missing u”; every single time, it’s the same old story. But you know what? That doesn’t bother me.

The other night, this friend of mine, came into my room all excited. I was in no mood to listen to anybody. It was time to crash and I wanted to crash. She, however, had other plans. She had just come back from this amazing date with her boyfriend. Bah! I was definitely in no mood for that. I played some arbit playlist and hoped she would cut the narration short and let me crash in peace. I don’t remember what she said (coz if I did remember and wrote it on this blogpost, well, I would get kicked. ;) ) but there was something about that date, that was unforgettable for her and affected me to the extent that tears welled up in my eyes. Damn! A sudden gush of something flows through my system culminating in an involuntary smile. Was I happy for her? Or sad for myself? Or was it time to run away from whatever it is that I have been running away from? Time to chase her out of my room. I did chase her out and crashed on my pillow with such high approach velocity that my nose pained all night. Ouch! But you know what? That doesn’t bother me.

“Hey, listen to this song. He sent it to me this morning.”
Oh! Great! Just what I wanted to hear. “Ok. Send it down.”
I hardly listened to the song the first time I played it. I was preoccupied with many other things. She seemed excited about the song but I was least bothered. I played it a second time to actually listen to it, and man, was it good. Damn! It was too good. Why does he have to sing it like that? And why does he have to say things like that? Oh, by the way, the song under question is Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden. But you know what? That doesn’t bother me.

In other news, I just banged my knee against the sofa. Ouch!

Sometimes its just an involuntary smile and at other times it’s a surge of feelings. Its hard to keep yourself from smiling when you see an STD sms that reads just a “goodnight :)” or to hear your phone vibrate on your bedside window sill just a few minutes after you sent a goodnight message.

But you know what? All of this... just doesn’t bother me.

The 8RF Game...

2007-07-01T15:24:00.000+05:30

Yay! I’ve been Tagged by Crazy gal and the game continues.

Here are the rules:

1.Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
2.Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
3.Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

Eight random facts about myself:

1. As a child, I realized that the Earth was spherical but believed that we lived inside the Earth and that its inner surface was the sky.
2. Table tennis, ball-badminton, tennis, volleyball; you name it; I play all these with the one opponent who never loses – The Wall.
3. I never have and never will ride the Giant-wheel. I have, however, been on fiercer rides than that.
4. I have a huge weakness for chocolates and I find it very difficult to share them with anybody.
5. In case my scooter goes out of control, I throw myself off, land safely on my legs and let the vehicle meet its doom.
6. In a batch of 29 guys and 3 girls, I, the puny little girl, was the first to finish the Fitting Workshop piece and I was asked to help out a guy.
7. I had not cried at all for a few months, so I cried once just to clean my eyes.
8. I took a small brown rock from the backyard, placed it in an air-tight bag and claimed it to be a meteor.

Ok. Now that was Random max! Here are the 8 lucky ppl i get to Tag...
1. Neethu
2. Kaushik
3. Rid3r
4. Abhishek
5. Pranesh
6. Akila
7. Grinch
8. Saboo

Bang! again

2007-06-24T15:00:00.001+05:30

The title won’t make any sense to you unless you have read Bang! Now that you have read that, gear up for this.

16/06/07 12:00 hrs
It seemed like just another usual day. I was busy living my boring and monotonous life while the Earth revolved around the sun, spinning happily. Everything was fine. I was checking scraps and other such crap…

I take a detour from the original topic to bore you with something I learnt in my Biology textbook but never believed. We possess quite a few reflex actions most of which are vital to our survival but there’s this one reflex action that is just plain weird - The Patellar Reflex. In simple words, if you give a light tap on a particular point on the knee, your leg involuntarily kicks. Is that weird or what? What the hell is the use? Some kind of self defense? I just think it is highly improbable. Do let me know if any of you have experienced this first hand.

As I was telling, it was just another day. I was listening to songs on Real Player. Just then, I clicked on Eject instead of Play and Bang! The CD platform pushed itself out of the CPU and smashed into my knee. Damn those computer-table manufacturers! Thanks to the countless racks they designed on the table, my leg had no room to kick and ended up colliding with the bottommost rack. Ouch!

The pain dominated the enlightenment. The swelling didn’t make things any better. Swellings always freak me out and this was no exception. I was in too much pain to realize what had happened. The reflex action I was just telling you about; it really does happen and it happened to me.

A Blast of a Birthday! - Act 1

2007-06-16T13:30:00.001+05:30

Disclaimer:
The following post describes in vivid detail the convoluted ways in which the mind of a certain UTD ( Ulti Torture Devil ) works. So, proceed only if you think you can handle it. Oh, by the way, this is just a teeny tiny glimpse of what goes on in her mind.

Caution:
I don’t have the permission to disclose who Devil really is… and I advise you not to bother either.

A few words before I begin.( well I guess I already began but anyway…)
Thanks to Postman for the idea to write a b’day blog.
Thanks to Crazy gal for the crazy idea to blog about this particular incident.
This is a big one.. so here it goes.

This blog post is dedicated to a plucky ( henceforth addressed to as Plucky in this post), a hopeless person ( henceforth addressed to as Hopeless in this post ) and a ziddi (means stubborn in Hindi) person ( henceforth.. blah blah blah... Imp)

Narrated by Devil:-

Act 1 Scene 1

(x,,y,z,t) – (Orkut, 12/06/07 : 22:00 hrs)

I should admit that I get a lot of satisfaction from the innumerable sadistic things I do. I cannot explain why or how but it has been this way for quite some time now. This greed for sadistic happiness was heightened today for some reason; maybe because Imp didn’t come online today at all ( that’s the reason he gave… what a reason! Lol ) or because of the inspiring episode – the one which focuses on Megan and her evil self - of Drake n Josh I saw just a few minutes back, which is my reason. The point; I was on top gear. Time to attack somebody’s scrapbook. Hmm.. who shall be my victim today?? I went profile-hopping in my friends’ list and voila! Who better than Imp? Ego freak to the core and a self-proclaimed cool guy… Time for some ego-deflation. Here’s what I did to his about me column. evil laugh

Scrap 1: “well i havnt figured out much abt myself yet like what i really want. a couple of years back i had an obsessive desire to get to IIT but now that i am here and i find that it is just another college i guess i need to find a new goal.so as of now i am aimlessly killing time and that brings me to orkut.my frends say im very composd n never get angry,i njoy spending time wid frends,watching movies n generally chilling out. so add moi!!”
Scrap 2: thts more about mr 1001.. his about me column
Scrap 3: see wat I told.. give up person. Hasn’t figured out abt himself in th first place!
Scrap 4: “obsessive desire to get to IIT” couldn’t hav gt th next train kya??any moron with a ticket can do it!
Scrap 5: “just another college” duh! Wat du expect? Hogwarts?!
Scrap 6: “need to find a new goal” hopeless and goalless!
Scrap 7: “aimlessly killing time” wata murderer! No wonder ppl lik me don’t get nuf time to carry out our aimful activities. Sheesh!
Scrap 8: “that brings me to orkut” oh no! more murders abt to occur.
Scrap 9: “generally chilling out” wonder wat’s non-generally chilling out?!
Scrap 10: “so add moi" ya sure! After all this? nice try! PS: ta da ta ta taa! I'm luvin it.. ulti thing to do on my bday!

10 scraps.. as always.. 1 orkut page :D Mission Accomplished.

Act 1 Scene 2

(x,y,z,t) – (Gmail, 12/06/07 : 22:30 hrs)

Wow! That felt great! One of my masterpieces! That’s when I got my birthday compliments… the best so far…

“u evil wiked gal..
i dnt cum online 1day nd u act so smart..
litter my scraps ldat..
utd is an understatement
ur unbelivably mean
:x
:x”
LOL!

“wat abt u havnt even gt nething 2 write in ure abt u section..
except dat u cn pain infi..
d name says it all it seems..
:x
:x”
LOL!!

“… d grt whose name says it all...(wonder if it means devil personified)”
LOL!!!

And get this… I made a calm n composed guy slaisha pissed! clap Achievement! Hardwork pays and it pays handsomely. (Chap didn’t even reply once that night)

For the record: He’s just the most amazing guy I have ever met. :)

( So that was Act 1. The damage:-
Devil : “How dare he get pissed? How can he stay angry like that?? And wats with the not messaging??? Wait till I get my hands on him!”
Imp : “ So innocent, yet so evil! Nobody messes with my ego! Wait till I get my hands on her!”)

A Blast of a Birthday! - Act 2

2007-06-16T13:15:00.001+05:30

Note : If u happen to work at a CCD, this is an imaginary act played by imaginary actors at an imaginary CCD in an imaginary city.. ah! you get the imaginary picture don’t ya?

(x,y,z,t) – (Corner sofa @ CCD,13/06/07 : 12:00 hrs)

Act 2 Scene 1

They call it Cool Blue Granita… we call it Surf Excel. It is basically half-melted blue coloured crushed ice that somehow even tastes like Surf. The drink was in my hands when my eyes fell on the cream coloured trousers Imp was wearing. Time for torture.
Devil : “ Is that a new pair of trousers?”
Imp : puzzled
Ah! Wat the hell! As if I care if they were new!
“Splash!”; a strawful of Surf Excel all over the right leg of the crisp cream pants!
Devil : “Score!”
Take that you chocolate chip snatcher!
Imp : puzzled (Chap has a huge reservoir of these puzzled looks!)

“Splash!”; another strawful of Surf Excel all over the previous stain!
Boing! The spring on which Imp was sitting springs up! Poor fella! Tries his best to wipe his pants clean.
Hopeless : “ Thank God I am on the other side, far away from you.”
Devil : realizes that he too is wearin a pair of cream trousers “My lucky day! You’re wearing cream too.”
Hopeless : takes the newspaper to save his pants from the potential danger it was in
Devil : evil smile
“Splash!”; Surf on the big-mouthed fella’s pants! “Man, this straw is good. What amazing range!”
Hopeless : speechless
Fella surrendered then and there. Smart boy!
It is so satisfying to put your physics fundaes to use!

Next stop.. Plucky! Well, what do you know… she was wearing cream coloured pants too. My lucky day indeed. :D
Plucky : “No, not me.”
Devil : “Hmm, okay. She does have a class to attend after this. Besides I have no grudge against her. My first partner in crime, after all!”

One fleeting look at Imp’s look of ego and defiance and I knew I had to act again.
Devil : “Oh! Look.. Your left leg is totally clean.. Let’s give a finishing touch to this painting, shall we?”
I took one strawful and Boing! The spring goes up again! LOL! Just imagine a 6 foot tall fella jumping out of his seat as though poked with a pin. Tom & Jerry style!
One more sip from the straw and Boing! Double LOL!!
I just reached for the straw and Boing! Triple LOL!!!
I could do this forever!
Sip! Boing! LOL! Lolz!

Before long, he got the idea that I was just taking sips and had no plans of splashing but boy, was he wrong!
“SPLASH!” the biggest one so far! I just keep getting better at this!
Ah! Sweet Sadistic Satisfaction! It was an exhilarating feeling. The pant was crying and I was laughing.

Imp tried his hand at my game! An attempt to pour the last drops of Cold Chocolate over me but I was not ready to give up without a fight. It was a weird version of a tug of war.
Imp : “You wont win at this. This is all about strength.”
Devil : “ But you are supposed to be a chivalric guy…”
Imp : “No chivalry today.”
On mutual consent, or so I think, we decided to spare the Cold Chocolate.. or maybe the waiter appeared out of nowhere.. ;)

I was ruling and no one dared to revolt. I loved being in power… the power to splash! I had no idea what was in store for me; no idea that I had aroused a naughty little imp. He struck and he struck quick. I had no time to react. Quick as lightning, his long hands reached for the glass I had just placed back on the table, and the next thing I know I was drenched in Cool Blue Granita! Soaked all over. Wonder how that half filled glass managed to make me wet from head to toe. Freakish! He must be an expert; one with no plans of slow torture. He had set his mind on it and he did it! No straw.. no nothing. Just the Surf Excel and me.

It was Payback time, for all the torture he has been through ever since he knew me, for yesterday’s scrap-book decoration, for being my imp, for all the times he has put up with me and my evil self, for everything.

Of course, two can play at this game but right now it’s time to clean up and stop the hooliganism for the time being. The waiter must have thought that we had started to eat tissue paper too. Sparing just one tissue for Imp, I began wiping all the Cool Blue Granita and man, was it cool! And sticky too. Argh!

Hopeless : “Did you get that on camera?”
Plucky : “Ya… kind of.”
Hopeless : “ You missed the best part, the Payback time.”
Plucky : “These people don’t warn us before they attack. Next time give me a signal, ok?”

Act 2 Scene 2

(x,y,z,t) – (Same sticky, Surf Excel spilt sofa with torn newspaper soaked in Surf Excel and cushions trying hard to mask the mess, 13/06/07 : 13:00 hrs)

There was tension in the air. Who shall strike next? Who shall be the victim? Are the CCD guys going to throw us out? Are we going to be banned forever? Who should be given the camera?
So many questions, yet so little time to ponder.

Hopeless and Plucky didn’t get much to eat since the two of us were kind of preoccupied with Payback time. So we decided to order a Veg Burger just for them.

Devil : “ Aww! The colour doesn’t stay!”
Imp : “That’s right.”
Devil : “ That’s bad. It doesn’t look colourful at all.” evil smile “ You know, the veg burger is served with tomato and mustard sauce.”
Imp : evil smile
Devil : evil smile
Hopeless : worried
Plucky : busy on phone

The veg burger had hardly landed on the table when I aimed for the sauce packets. Ha ha! Sucker! They were in my custody and I was not going to give them away. Hopeless and Plucky didn’t even ask me for the sauces. They just ate away mechanically fearing the worst!

Maybe I am acting paranoid. Why am I clutching on to these sauce packets anyway?
Imp wont be so evil. Let me place it back. Maybe those two might want to have sauce with their burger. What a host I have been! I am supposed to be giving the treat.

Thus, I made the foolish decision of placing back the weapon I had. The war wasn’t over and I placed my weapon down. How will I ever forgive myself? As if he was just waiting for me to act foolishly, he did his long hand act again, and the sauce packets were in his hands. Damn!
Imp : “Self-defense” evil smile
Devil : “Hmpf!” bemused

Oh! Look at him. Staring away at nothing. Those two sauce packets tossing from one hand to the other while he listens to the music. That smile on his lips; the smile of victory. The charming smile that is contagious most of the time but not right now. No time for smiling. Focus! Focus on the packets. Ah! His hands relax their grip periodically. Hmm. Now, if only I could figure out the time period. Focus! That’s a nice song. Hey that smile again! Does he have a girl in his life? One that I don’t know of? Interesting! Cut the crap! Focus!

Sick of not able to focus on the weapon of mass destruction, I made my move. A silly, hasty move. Call it insecurity or ego, I don’t care. Imp had a metallic grip and would not be letting go of his self defense that easily. The excessive pressure he applied on the flimsy packet coupled with my sharp nails spelt inevitable destruction. Mustard all over the place; our sofa, my brand new dress, his old crappy trousers, the adjacent sofa, the kid on that sofa, everywhere.
Imp : “ That was suicide!”
Devil : “ Duh! I know. Shut up.”
Imp : “ Mustard stains are hard to remove, right?”
Devil : :shutup
Devil : “ Even on my hair!”
Imp : LOL

That’s the story of how I got bright yellow mustard stains on my brand new birthday dress. If you, by chance get any mustard stains, take my advice and never google on how to remove them. It’s a scary world out there! A dye, it seems. Just what I wanted to hear!

You think that was it? Wait till you hear this. I smell like mustard! Yeah! That’s right. I smell like one huge mustard packet and the worst part is my hair smells like it too, even after a good wash with loads of conditioner. Argh! to say the least.

Mine and Mine Only..

2007-06-07T09:04:00.001+05:30

Let me introduce you to somebody. Somebody whose elegance is beyond par, whose very sight brings a smile to my face and whose embrace is positively electrifying. There’s something in that look that keeps me engrossed in every class, something in that touch that makes it irresistable. Bryan Adams must have composed this just for me! :)

“Sometimes I think that I’ve not been looking good,
But there’s only one thing that fits like it should.
The only thing I want,
The only thing I need,
The only thing I choose,
The only thing that looks good on me…
Is you.”

Ah! The sleek build, the sharpness, the metallic shine; all rolled into one attractive package. The stainless steel back and base metal bezel, definitely male! The way I fell for him the minute I saw him, the way his charming hands shine, the way I pleaded with my parents to let me keep him, the way I try to see the reflection of my face in his, the way I feel that his presence amplifies the beauty of my hand, the way this blog post is scribbled in phrases rather than full sentences; undoubtedly a new addition to my crush list! That’s right – a new addition; my brand new Q&Q Quartz water-resist wrist watch. ;)

I AM BORED

2007-05-18T11:08:00.001+05:30

5/17/2007 5:03:11 PM

It’s day 14... A fortnight into the summer vacation… It’s official… I AM BORED. Most of my friends have already reached this stage. There was something or the other to keep me occupied for so long but here I am in a posture that I am dead sure is bad for the stature but what the heck! I am bored. I will do what I want. My best buddy...my Lappy is here of course and Microsoft Word… guess I haven’t got bored of that as yet. Listening to the ABBA music CD that I wrote for my dad with all his favourite songs. At 2600W, my music player redefines ROCKING! It seems more like the room is resonating! I wonder what will happen if I play Linkin Park.

The phone buzzes to life. Is it ringing? I must be hearing things. The things a bored mind concocts! It WAS ringing. Yay! Someone else is alive too and bothered to ring up. I wish you could see my excitement. I stopped typing, jumped out and paused the song being played. Actions just mentioned don’t just happen. The seriousness of the issue is, hence, clear, I presume. Oh! It was Dad! Checking up on me I guess. Not so dejected coz it was an event after all. Somebody called.

That brings me back to square one. I AM BORED. It’s not that I have nothing to do. I have a lot of movies on this very Lappy, a few magazines lying around, a couple of books waiting to be read, a desktop with net connection, a television with quite a few channels, a DVD player and DVD’s, my cell phone, some cooking fundaes etc.. There is simply no enthu to do any of these activities today. Till yesterday everything was fine. I was proud that I am not feeling bored when the entire world was complaining of being bored but today; I am surprised at myself. I AM BORED.

What exactly leads to this ‘I AM BORED’ syndrome? I thought it was lack of things to keep you occupied but clearly, that is not it. What is, then, the cause? I stop here but the song plays on.

Bang!

2007-04-29T01:19:00.001+05:30

There I was sleeping peacefully on my bed. Ten hours into slumber and no plans of waking up. No surprise there! When was the last time I had plans of waking up anyway? I generally sleep with my face down and today was no exception. I lifted my face up, albeit half awake, just to check up if the world around me was still the same as when I left it. It was. That means I can afford to continue my sleep. I would probably have continued anyway. Fair enough! So I brought my head down on the pillow or so I thought.

Sometime between the point when I woke up and now, something eerie occurred. The iron railing of the bed shifted by some finite distance towards me. I came to know of this the hard way though. My forehead met the railing instead of the pillow. Bang! That ought to have hurt and you bet it did. My roommate got jolted in spite of the fact that she was watching a movie on her computer with headphones. She must have got freaked out and more so when I gave a weird dorky smile in return for the confused look on her face. I mean, what else did you expect? The fact that you are going to continue with that well deserved sleep increases your approach velocity towards the pillow and it is far from bliss to end up on the hard iron railing instead of the soft pillow.

That, I would say, is the worst possible way to wake up.

Making inroads into sports.

2007-04-26T15:06:00.001+05:30

[ The original version of this was written for my hostel magazine but I didn't submit it to the editors. I am not very sure why though! ]

It is said that we discover our true identity during teenage. Life has been quite ordinary till date but all of a sudden I find myself transforming into a totally different person exploring newer dimensions. The fact that I’m presently living in a hostel, far away from home, is mainly responsible for this. The unrestricted freedom, the tremendous amount of resources and, of course, the brand name IIT is the perfect combination for a wonderful hostel life.

One of the most drastic changes that took place was sudden interest in sports. I wanted to master as many as possible. A thrilling urge to become a sport enthusiast. I started with the one sport I used to play decently; Badminton. The enthusiasm in sports activities in my hostel is quite high, that is, when RG’ed with other spheres. I got to play with my batchmates as well as seniors. It was a nice way to get acquainted with the seniors especially since I was new to the place. Technically speaking, I was playing baddy only but tennis and cricket also found their way in. ;)

I then ventured into athletics. It requires a lot of stamina, they say, but I wanted to try my hand at it anyway. What was there to lose? I cannot possibly get any lighter than I already am. [;)] Well, jogging does wonders to your body. I am not talking about all that standard information that fitness trainers brainwash their clients with. What I felt is that this boosts up your stamina or in technical terms, takes the “yield point” to a new high. (not that kinda high! ).

It was time to give the next sport a go. Tennis - I’ve always liked watching the game but never got the chance to play. You need lots of energy to play tennis it is not just a high-funda version of badminton as is the general opinion or at least my opinion. :D It was nice to get the basic fundaes from experienced seniors.

The next one on the list is Throwball. It is like playing Volleyball, with lesser probability of injuring your hands. I don’t have any comments on this one because I don’t classify it as a sport in the first place. :|

Basketball – truly a magnificent sport - I wanted to try my hand at this also. The only difference was that this was not a passing attraction like most others; I wanted to master it from day one. Form trying out a few shots to dribbling, I also got fundaes from a senior who was all smiles to hand down the tricks of the game. It turned out that there was a particular way of orienting the ball before shooting it. Who would’ve guessed that there might be such rules to this game? There is even a way of dribbling the ball. It is not just arbit up and down SHM!

The thing is I put a lot of enthu when I play and what do I get out of all this? A swelling, and that too, double the diameter of my arm thanks to badminton, a numbing sensation in the legs after running all over the athletics track, a chance to, almost, but not quite, fracture my finger during tennis, a scar having run into a pole while following every twist and turn of the basketball with utmost concentration and an excuse to get a Gurunath tea to pep me up!

Making inroads into sports, indeed!

My ID110 notebook

2007-04-21T18:41:00.001+05:30

Okay... I admit it. I had a notebook and that too a 200 pages unruled one for ID110. (FYI this is a course I had in First Semester titled Concepts in Engineering Design. A weird course, with professors changing every week or so, this is the kind of course for which people count their attendance very carefully to just make it across the 75% barrier. Of course, I don't belong to that type. I attend classes regularly.) :)

A couple of days back I found this book in my shelf. At first glance, I was amazed at the amount of notes written. You will be amazed too. Twenty pages back and front! Now that is serious news. It even had one of those "topics covered" zones. I wondered if this was really my own book. I got freaked when I saw that I had even used a black pen to underline the subtopics. Whoa! The book was totally crammed with graphs and figures and technical terms. After all, the professors were only trying to make engineering design as theoretical as possible but it is a totally different issue that they ended up making it as boring as possible.

Flipping through the pages ( twenty pages back and front, remember!) , still flipping... Yawn.. nothing much for some nine pages; just plain boring notes until a blank page! Now that was slaisha surprising. A blank page! I guess I was absent for a lecture and left a blank page to write down what was taught in that class. Oh yes! now I remember... I asked so many people for that day's notes but sadly (?) that page is still blank. Wow I have changed so much since first semester. Not a single book is as well maintained as this unique ID110 book.

Even more surprises in store for me! Last month of semester one. I guess I was no longer the same person who joined IITM or may be I felt like going back to school days. Either way, what the book had in store was that the notes written on that day were not like the ones written usually.The topic was Philosophy of engineering design. The professor put a lot of emphasis on the aesthetics aspect of design and was trying to make the class interesting. This is how it begins.
"Should've sat in the last benches! "
"Nice time to realize that! At the end of the course."
Aristotle supposedly put forward a theory named,"Theory of Causation":-
"Phew! Optimism: At least Aristotle didn't teach us ID110!"
Observation: The professor chooses one particular arbitrary word and uses that in all his sentences till it gets monotonic. First word of the day was "aesthetic" and the second one was "potential".
'Aesthetic expression and quest for perfection.', 'Intellectual and aesthetic needs.', 'What do we do in design? (er.. design??!!) Technology and aesthetics' (lol)
"Whats up with th prof,da? Babbling on and on with the aesthetics funda."
It was a part of that Aristotle's theory. Potentiality and Actuality. Whatever! :-
"How pessimistic! Don't remind me of potential! PH101 Argh!"

That brings us to the last written page of the book. Ciao!

Lived another quiz.

2007-03-24T21:51:00.003+05:30

Yeah! lived another quiz. Wait a minute, technically speaking, there is one more subject left but since it is three days away most of the normal people will agree with me. How better to start the celebration than attend all classes with a broad smile?! (I am not being sarcastic) so here it begins-freaking out after quiz2, or so I thought.

There was nothing out of the ordinary with most classes today, except, of course, the one class I like to blog about - ED- a course about engineering drawing, graphics and CAD. It is supposed to be interesting and fun. Note that the emphasis is on "supposed". Anyways all that you need to know is that (x,y,z,t) is (classroom for ED theory, just after a heavy lunch).

It all started ( Herge style! ) when a friend of mine interrupted us when we were busy watching a movie to remind us about the class. Argh! the guts to disturb and remind about this class! It took a lot of determination to ditch the movie and make the long ( er.. not that long. This is just to add to the dramatic effect) journey to class.

I thought that the three of us can rock the class as usual but it turned out a big time flop. One of them starts behaving like a geek and began doing next week's assignment with my stationery. I tried to snap her out of it but ended up complaining to the girl next to me who ( another geek at times) takes her stationery out saying ," Hey, good idea"! Imagine my situation. In a desperate attempt to save them ( and myself in the process), I snatched all the pencils lying around and then needless to say there were some vain attempts to snatch them back. One of the guys behind us passed a lazy comment," Sir, girls are doing mischief in class". He said that it was good entertainment for him and far better than listening to the lecture. Entertainment it seems! The arrogance!

For a change I listened to the class and actually understood what he was trying to draw but after some time the board was overflowing with lines and planes and that's when I officially gave up. Having learnt the important lesson of not playing silly games in class ( refer previous post), I decided to put my pencil to work today. I felt my artistic skills needed rekindling and ended up filling the page with random sketches ranging in diversity from tortoises to ducks. The proffessor must have suspected my unusual interest in the assignment book I was drawing on and asked me for a pen (to explain planes? Fishy, don't you think?) I got some compliments for my sketches too, from my pals, of course.

When I am thoroughly bored, I start scanning the class. I thought I'll start with the fellow who passed the entertainment comment. His arena would be visible only through the corner of my eye. Wait a minute, he was not there! He had crashed on the desk, head down! From uncontrollable bombarding of doubts five minutes back to dozing off peacefully; he sure has a unique ability to change moods in a jiffy. There was this other guy on whose desk the professor placed a cardboard model of a pyramid. This lone wolf was actually staring at the pyramid as though it had just landed from Mars. My eyes then drifted to a trio who were discussing ( ED? ) all over the assignment book in front of them. I wonder why everyone was interested in ED, of all subjects.

I guess this habit of inspection of the class is contagious. My usually blind friend seems to have taken to my ways. I did not witness this though:
I turned back because some jobless fellow asked the equally jobless professor, who could have found something better to do than bore us with ED, a doubt. These guys were holding strips of paper, bent at different places and at different angles. It seemed like they were planning to build Eiffel tower out of those strips. I guess it is a part of some projection of solids funda. Who knows, who cares?

Boredom, at its best

2007-03-07T20:34:00.002+05:30

I took some time to digest the fact that I had arrived early to class. The class was just starting to get filled up and I was already there in the not-so-usual second bench. You might be thinking this is some high credit course which I would not miss for anything in the world but you are sadly mistaken. This lecture is very much in the competition for most boring lecture of the semester and I am sure it will win too. I saw that my friends had already arrived. I asked them if they were out of their minds for having arrived so early and one of them replied that there was nothing else to do and so she came early. Excessive studying is not good for health. I was firm in my decision to not listen in this class for I had no plans of losing my sanity.

As soon as the professor entered the class my brain started processing ways of staying awake. It might have been the result of this excessive thinking but I ended up deciding to play a silly kindergarten level game of join the dots with lines. I know that this is the height of being bored but as always I had no plans of dozing off in class. A few minutes into the game and I felt this was the most boring game of the century, in spite of the fact that I was not losing. I got distracted for a while as I paid attention to some few minutes of the lecture for no particular reason. I asked my pal ," What did u do?" I actually meant to ask which line she had drawn and she answers with a straight face, " I drew a line." This is what happens to people who are taxed with uninteresting classes all day long. I, however,lost the game because I overlooked an obvious winning move. I declared that this was the most boring game and not worth playing under any circumstances no matter how bored one might be. I gave up the idea of playing games during a lecture (well, I would have played NFS during any lecture) and sought other ways of keeping myself occupied.

I could see the entire class from where I was sitting. The positioning of the bench relative to the other benches as well as the angle of sight was just right. There were some people who were as disinterested as ever while some others who seemed to be doing other nerve-wrecking work. There were others who were listening to class but the sensible people among them gave up halfway. I realized that there was quite a substantial number of students in class which is quite odd for such a lecture. They must have calculated their attendance earned till date and not been satisfied with the observations.

My eyes fell on a guy whose beard was singularly different from beards that I have seen. It resembled a lawn that was half mowed at arbitrary places and watered for a few days. My attention then switched to another guy who seemed to be engrossed in a sword fight using his palm as the sword. On closer observation, it turned out that he was listening to class intently and was trying to visualize the projections and elevation views (it being a drawing class). The next person I set my eyes on was nodding his head so badly that it seemed very likely that it might fall off. Eventually the class came to an end, officially. It was time for the much-anticipated attendance sheet. It turned out that the professor had forgot to bring the sheet.

Ten bucks

2007-02-21T09:41:00.000+05:30

"How much more do we have left?",he asks.
"10 bucks."
"Well, u keep it then."
"No, what will I do with it? Let's finish it off."

These coupons are valid only for one day. I looked around frantically trying to find out something worth 10 bucks. Maybe its the increased cost of living these days, but there was nothing much for 10 bucks. I was almost going to give up when my eyes fell on the packaged food stall. Bingo. Haldiram's Moong dal. "I like moong dal very much and its exactly 10 bucks", I blurt out like as if I was Columbus and I had just discovered America. "Okay then. I'll get it.", he blurts equally well. Of all the things that had to go wrong, the packet refused to open. It was no use trying to open it and it was getting late. So he asked me to keep it. He searches around for his cycle like it was a needle in a haystack. I was terribly amused at the amnesia he suffered but tried to control myself lest he should feel any more embarassed than he already was. After a long hunt, he succeeded in finding his cycle. Then, fiddled with the lock for some more time. After what seemed to be an eternity, we climbed on board our respective cycles, rode side by side for some time and then went our separate ways. I looked at the moong dal packet and wondered why it refused to open. Feeling bad about not having said a proper goodbye I decided to send a text message- "Thanks for the company." and as always.. no reply.

In my shoes

2007-02-21T09:33:00.002+05:30

Zoom.. I practically fly on my cycle. It is not so surprising taking my weight.. er.. weightlessness into account. I like it when my cycle tyre is filled with air. The weather is just right but I will have to spend the next one hour attending a lecture. I try to drive this thought out of my head and concentrate on my cycling. If this road was never ending or the class cancelled for some reason, I would have cycled on and on. But alas, nice things like this never happen.

I park my cycle and take the usual path to the classroom. I enter the same old class mechanically with questions in my head and unlike most of the time I have answers too. Why am I here? Oh yes, attendance. What do I get from this class ? Oh yes, knowledge that is supposed to be useful for my future profession. Why do people make boring things seem interesting and make a mess out of it? I guess that is what they are supposed to do for a living. More mechanically than ever, I take my seat as usual in the first bench. I seem to have arrived earlier than usual. There are not many people around. There is a drastic increase in the sensible people who decided to bunk class.

I have no idea when the class began because I was lost in another notebook. It was when my neighbours started writing frantically in their notebooks that I realized that the class had officially started. In a vain attempt to make a new beginning, I started writing notes which were better off not written in the first place, taking my handwriting and negligible enthusiasm into consideration.

I am not very sure what the topic exactly was but it was not in the least interesting. You must keep in mind that I am talking for the normal people of the class excluding nerds for obvious reasons. Anyway, class went on as usual. A few minutes into the lecture and I realized that I had not worn my watch. That was hard to digest because I will not be able to know when the torture will end. There is nothing much to do now, is there? No watch to stare at, ticking, second by second, nobody to talk to as the others seemed to actually listen to the lecture and no electronic gadget to kill your time. Imagine my situation.

The professor seemed to be talking more than usual today. I also noticed that he was walking in a wobbly manner, but then again, it might have been the effect of drowsiness in my eyes. "How much more of this left?", I asked my neighbour, who experienced a lot of difficulty in taking her mind off the class. She did reply however, "25 minutes." Gulp. The information is being processed. Twenty five minutes is a lot of time when it comes to classes like this. I felt the powerful urge to make a dash for it. Even though I am almost invisible, the finite strength of the class would make it amply conspicuous if I dared to do anything as silly as that. Moreover, the attendance sheet had not reached me. So I had no choice but to wait and keep waiting.

I am not very sure what happened between then and now but I am guessing that I dozed off or listened to the lecture for want of nothing else to do. Well, I got out of the class after it got over and walked mechanically to the cycle stand. I was back to my own self. I hopped on board my cycle and zoom..