The Saturday Post

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.

RIP

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

"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.

Voila - 3

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?

status: Encrypted

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.

Have You Ever

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?

Chaos

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.

This day, last year

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!

Voila! -1

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!

Murphy's Law

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

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

Nerd!

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.

December, Poor December

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

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.

Mine and Mine Only..

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

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.

Making inroads into sports.

[ 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!