The pursuit of beatitude

Move on, man!

2009-03-23T01:48:00.002+05:30

I liked this ad a lot when it came out as it inspired me to really 'move on' in life in so many different ways. This time, I'm moving on to wordpress. I'm kinda surprised at how late I am in fact, to make this transition. Better late than never.

I'm kinda almost done with my new site, and am hoping to continue receiving the much appreciated comments of my fave bloggers here, on my new site as well.

Come visit!- http://beatnikzworld.wordpress.com/

P.S. Do NOT ask me what's up with this pink page. I really have no clue.

Rawr!!

2009-02-20T16:03:00.004+05:30

Do Dat Dinosawr(Rawr!)- Awesome!!!

Voila! Mission meme accomplished

2009-02-07T14:18:00.010+05:30

This is the first time I’ve taken up a meme. When I read Tia’s post, I thought, why not take up the challenge myself? Memes are the best cure for a writer’s block as well. And then, she assigned me a V.

Quick trivia: Did you know that V is an English alphabet, and that there are words, REAL words, that start with a ‘V’ as well?
The last time I used a V was way back in kindergarten.

Anyhow. Can’t back out now. So well, here are 10 things starting with a V that I love. Or like, as the case maybe. In no particular order-

1) Victory: No, not the Hurman S Baweja dud, silly. The original ‘V’ for Victory I’m talking about. Success, triumph. (Thank God for KG :D )

2) Variety: I’ve an ADD. I can’t concentrate on things that get all repetitive and boring for long. (Okay, I don’t HAVE an ADD per se, but I still can’t put up with monotony!)

3)Valiance: What a turn on. And you don’t necessarily have to battle the lion to win my heart, the courage to follow your heart is more than enough.

*4) Voodoo: Nope, doesn’t fall in the ‘I love’ category yet, though I would love to try it out and poke a couple of a-holes with the biggest needles possible.

*5) Vermins? Viruses? V-day? Ugh! These are on my hate list. Focus, woman!

4) VCDs: Movies, music, wedding CDs.. anything. I love VCDs. The free ones obviously. I don’t invest in CDs, duh. But I love to receive them for gifts and stack up my gifted CD rack.

5) Venice: 10 years ago it was right there on the top my ‘dream Honeymoon spots’; the list has been revised and re-revised since then, but Venice is still a dream get-away.

6) Violet: The color, the flowers. See, I’m so not girly!

7) VFX: Seriously, what would the world be without some visual effects!

8) Vocab: I’m a sucker for words. A guy with an extended vocab can have me in his pockets!

9) Van Helsing: No,actually, I meant Hugh Jackman, but unfortunately his name doesn’t begin with a V. Cut me some slack now. I got a V for Chrissake!

10) Vodka: ‘nuff said.

Now, try this challenge out, peeps. Don’t ask me to assign you a letter, though. I’m a sadist, I’ll give you a Z or an X for sure.

Monday Morning Blues

2009-02-02T20:10:00.001+05:30

If I remember correctly, this was the title of a small story we read in class 7(or 6 or 8). The protagonist was a kid who hated Mondays. Once, he got some homework to finish over the weekend, but due to his habit of procrastinating, he didn’t do it and realized this only on Sunday night. So then, it struck him to take help of the android his father had built, as the android was very smart. The boy asked his android to finish off his homework and went off to sleep. When he woke up next morning, all smug about his great idea, and checked the homework book, he was left terror-struck. The notebook was filled with random lines and indecipherable figures. He summoned the android and asked for an explanation. The android told him he didn’t know how to write. “So why didn’t you tell me last night itself?”, the boy cried. “Because you didn’t ask me this question.”, was the android’s simple reply. Then the story ends with the boy’s father lecturing him on something. I don’t quite remember the moral, since I hate being lectured.

Of course the above story has nothing to do with what this post is about. I was just wondering generally why Mondays are the most hated days of the week. Why not, say, a Wednesday or a Thursday? I could think of the following few reasons. Feel free to add more.

1) You hate your work to death. Monday is just a bad start for the upcoming dreadful week.
2) You love your work to death. This means that since Monday is already here, soon the dreadful weekend too will be around that’ll make you take a forced break from work.
3) In between. It means every Monday morning when you wake up, you wonder why you’re still in the shitty job that you’re in. You wonder about how long you’ll be stuck in that shithole, whether you’ll ever get a raise and whether you’ll die because of Global Warming or because of your job. All these thoughts will come to you only on Monday morning since after that you’ll return to your zombie mode and stop using your head for the rest of the week.

Possible reasons of why some folks might actually look forward to a Monday morning:

1) You hate your work to death. This means that since Monday is already here, soon the beloved weekend too will be around that’ll make you finally take the much awaited rest.
2) You love your work to death. Monday is just a good start for the upcoming and exciting, work-filled week.
3) In between. It means that every Monday morning when you wake up, you wonder if the cute girl you pinged last Friday will still be interested in chatting with you, whether there’ll be a free company sponsored dinner that night or whether you’re one of the lucky few who’ll escape the 10 hour load shedding during the day. All these thoughts will come to you only on Monday morning since after that you’ll return to your zombie mode and stop using your head for the rest of the week.

Lemme just say I share a love-hate relationship with MMs.

If pictures could kill..

2009-01-29T19:17:00.003+05:30

… I’d be dead a 1000 times over by now, courtesy my friends’ photos on FB. I have no idea how someone with a sane mind can not only think of clicking such vague and crappy pictures, but also to add insult to (my) injury, give totally unimaginative and downright drab captions to the same. In one word, these pictures are sheer ‘torture’.

Take for example, a hypothetical situation where an acquaintance of mine has returned from his first foreign vacation. Understandably, he’s ecstatic and wants to proclaim it to the world that ‘Hey! I’ve been abroad too!’. Fine with me. I’m not jealous, I’m going for a ‘foreign trip’ myself soon. And I too will be shouting about it from the rooftops once I return. But at least I’ll spare you guys the agony of having to go through my 60 odd photos, which are either blurred, have the same person posing in the same way and shot from the same angle thrice, or simply provide the information that I was standing under a tree.

Seriously, tell me what’s the point in going to that world famous Bird Park in um.. Hong Kong(?) and NOT taking pictures of the rare birds, and instead, in posing yourself in front of some fountain that has ‘Bird Park’ written somewhere? Pose with the birds you fool, not with the fountain! Did you go all the way to the Bird Park in Hong Kong to get the shot of your ugly mug in front of a fountain? Or, how about a shot that has one dude standing on some road (a real famous one I reckon), hands on hips, in the middle of an ocean of people, with no information whatsoever about where exactly he’s standing. If it were not for the white faces in the crowd, one couldn’t be sure if he took it on some busy junction in his hometown. God.

When you’re visiting these awesome places with beautiful skylines, you obviously give taking their pictures a miss, ‘cause well, you were busy taking pictures of you while sitting in the lounge of the international airport, right? If you’re so obsessed with having your close-up shot in every single of the 1000 photos you’ve clicked on your trip, at least try and make the backgrounds interesting.

Anyway, let’s talk about captions now. How does this sound- ‘Me drinking vodka’, under a silly pic of you drinking from a glass at some random hotel room? Or, ‘X and me’, ‘Y and me’, ‘Z and me’, in a row in the same album, while you’re posing with three different friends sitting at the same spot? Or ‘Friends and I posing on the highway’- under a photo that has, well, you and your friends posing on a highway for some goddamn unknown reason?

Kill me.

On a serious note..

2009-01-26T21:13:00.013+05:30

Recently, a close friend of mine, about the only person who knows me personally AND reads my blog told me- 'Beatnik, why have you filled your blog with shallow posts? Trying to be funny when you're not, making a fuss out of the most insignificant issues and in general wasting time on meaningless ramblings? Why don't you ever talk about the current issues or something more deep maybe?' To which I told him that I'm like a fish in the ocean. You don't go telling a fish that it's showing off its swimming skills or 'making a fuss out of nothing' while hiding under the nearest coral rock to save itself from predators or wasting time making bubbles while it's actually breathing. Simply put, I told him- 'Go screw yourself and don't ever read my blog again.' Or something to that effect.

Although, when he was gone, I did some introspection and realized that..well... you know.. he might be a wee bit correct in saying all those things. I wasn't exactly the joke-cracker in a group anywhere, ever. Everytime I was asked to tell a joke, I would start off with the 4 elephants story. Wanna hear it? Well, there were 4 elephants who were climbing up a pole.. no wait.. there were 4 elephants walking down the road when one decided to climb a pole. The others also decided to climb. Some shit like that. I can't really recall. Who cares now that it's out in the open that I'm nowhere close to being funny. Anyway, let me desperately try and talk about some sensitive issue today, other wise my blog will seriously NEVER have anything meaningful to be remembered for(AND my friend will be proven right which I certainly don't want to see happening).So well, here I made a list of the few current topics that seem to be everyone's favorites for dissecting(which I wouldn't normally touch with a barge pole). Let me get my scalpel too.

1) Slumdog Millionaire: Muhahaha. You knew that was coming, didn't you? Even before the movie was released in India , Rehman had won the Golden Globe and the world was rolling at Danny Boyle's feet. Praises galore were being showered from the rest of the world, and loads of brickbats from India. You all know the controversy. Anyway, I'd almost made up my mind not to watch it, thinking, oh what the hell, I don't need another topic to shake an already shaken up poor moi's brain. But obviously, I went and watched the first day 3rd show of the movie, and at the risk of drawing brickbats myself for saying this- I did not understand what was so great about it. Nope, apart from the child actors and Rehman's music, I seriously couldn't find one amazingly different, living-upto-Oscar-hype material in the movie. In fact, try developing a temporary 3 hour amnesia when you watch this one(if haven't already), forget all about the Oscar hype, forget who directed it, and then watch it from a neutral perspective, like say, when you went to watch Chandni chowk to china(before reading the reviews) and then let me know if the movie still impressed you all that much. It's so Indian Film-type(substituting for Bollywood to avoid Mr. Bacchan's wrath) that I don't understand WHAT is so outstanding about it. Leaving aside the kids' performances, the others weren't even that great. The climax, so Hindi-filmy. I mean, I've already seen it all in the past 24 years of my movie-watching experience. Salaam Bombay, Bombay and even Satya were different and laudable. But this one, I don't know dude.

But know what's funnny? All those controversies surrounding this movie. I mean, if you ever happened to read Rediff's reviews(there were 2) and the discussions that followed in the public forums there, you'd be more amused than amazed. What Amitabh Bacchan said, what the world is saying, what the 2 foreigners sitting in the cafe somewhere were dicussing when the Indian who overheard their comments decided to blog about it, whether or not Shahrukh Khan's presence at the Gloden Globe was at all required, should we, Indians, be proud of the movie or ashamed of it, should people call it 'Bollywood's recognition by the west' or not.. man oh man.. the list goes on. But in all honesty, I'm glad that 'Slumdog' happened- for Rehman. Whether or not he wins an Oscar is not something I'm bothered about. He's done us all proud a hell lot of times already and I'm as proud of him right now as I was of myself after winning my first trophy in LKG. Yeah, that I'm comparing him to me- speaks for my love and respect for him. Go Rehman!!

2) Sanjay Dutt's latest comment- I can't quote him verbatim cuz I really didn't bother about what he'd said, but decided to write about this one for it makes a very interesting topic to dissect. He'd said something like 'after marriage, a girl should take on the husband's surname instead of sticking to her maiden surname, as a mark of respect for the husband. I'd be offended if Manyata had chosen to keep her father's surname.' My first reaction after I read this was,
'Yawn.' before I decided to move on to the next article. But since I'm talking about sensitive topics today, I might as well quickly form some opinion and write some bull here in order to appear smarter, more prudent and more aware than I actually am. So well, according to me, what Dutt said is totally crap.
You know what I really think should be done? Once a woman gets married, she should get an altogether NEW surname. A surname she always dreamt of getting after marriage. Like in my case, I want a powerful surname, something like a Birla, or an Oberoi, or even Ambani.. a surname that has a deep clink to it, you know. But anyway, if you can't do that, rather do what else you want to AND can manage right? Wanna stick to your father's surname, do that. Take on your husband's- feel free to. Or maybe hyphenate both- couldn't be more attractive. Like Aishwarya Rai-Bacchan. Personally, I'd go surnameless. Beatnik. Nothing's gonna sound kewler.

3) Patriotism:- Since today is our Republic Day, and since of late I've been feeling immensely and over-whelmingly patriotic, I thought I might as well dedicate a few lines to my beloved country. Funny how at times you need an external influence to make you realize that you DO in fact, still care about your country, and feel deeply about small small stuff when it comes to that. Let me tell you a recent incident. A month or so back, I went to this play. Now, since quite a while, the movie halls at my city(I'm hoping it happens everywhere else too) air the National Anthem, requiring you to stand up and show your respect to the country. Since the anthem is already being sung on screen, people usually choose to remain mum and close their eyes or just hum along. Only a few souls do actually SING it. You're free to if you want though, it's just that people(including me), don't sing out loud. Since I'd never seen that happening at a play, I was pleasantly surprised when we were all asked to stand up, and sing the anthem there. Yes, there was no recorded anthem and so the 100+ people in the audi actually sang it. Sounds like such an insignificant thing right? It didn't feel insignificant at all. I hadn't 'sung' the anthem out loud like that in over 8 years, and I'm sure most of people in the audi would also have decades of non-singing to report. I was actually smiling all throughout while singing the anthem, and once it was over, I looked around to watch people's reactions- everyone seemed so damn ecstatic to have gotten to actually sing it like we did way back in school. I love my country a lot.

A very Happy Republic Day to my fellow Indians!

That's about it. I can assure you I'm not talking about any more 'meaningful' topics again till next year. It's really, really taxing. Now, back to work on my 'how to cross a road' post on which I've been trying to work for so long..

This outcast doesn't care anymore!

2009-01-14T19:04:00.005+05:30

Never underestimate the peeping-power of your male friends. They might not be as peep-y as their female counterparts, but they're definitely more harmful. Like just yesterday, I had this friend of mine come over for a while. Thinking he probably wouldn't notice my sad looking laptop, didn't bother to hide it 'properly'. I was sure he wouldn't take a peek. He didn't peep, he just took a good hard look.

I was in the kitchen(filling in my water bottle, not cooking! Duh.), when I thought I heard the very sound I was dreading all this while- the sound of keystrokes. Sure as hell F was doing something on my comp and before I could stop him from invading my privacy further, he looked up at me. It was a strange expression, like he was shocked.

"Hmm. So this is what you were hiding your lappy for,eh?"
"Hiding? It was right under the pile of clothes yonder. Why would I hide it anyway?" I refused to cave.
"No? Okay, but now I know what you watched last Sunday!", he said, smirking.

My legs became jelly. He might be my friend and all, but aside of inheriting the very dreaded feminine characteristic- peeking, he had also mastered the art of gossiping. I had no idea what would be the reaction of my male friends if they got to know of it. The girls all already knew.

"Out of all the things available on the net, Beatnik, why would you ever access OneManga?! I mean, how could you read MANGA! After all that we taught you after making an exception for you in our exclusive 'boys-only' club, is this what you do to us? Read Manga? Whatever happened to the sanctity of the anime!"

It was like a slap in the face. Yes, they had taken me under their wing, introduced me to the world of anime and even filled in my disk drives with unending Naruto, Bleach and FMA episodes. They just had one condition- do not ever read the manga. Although they'd maintained that the reason behind it was the very benefit of us all, that this would ensure that the pleasure of watching the fresh episodes everytime wouldn't be adulterated in any darn way. But I knew deep down my heart that they had an ulterior motive of making sure that I never got ahead in the series than them, that I didn't know how Itachi was not a bad guy after all before they found out, that I always begged them for more episodes and writhed and cried and begged until they obliged. That I was always on their mercy. Not any more though. Sure I wasn't as resourceful as them, and was perpetually challenged by the poor internet connection that never allowed me to download any videos from anywhere, but I had finally found a way out. The way of the Manga. So what if there is no inspiring background music, no over-the-top dubbing, no colors, no live animation? Manga at my disposal gave me something to look forward to everyday. Whenever I would be troubled with self-doubt, I'd simply treat myself to the boy-who-never-gave-up tale of Naruto. Or like when I had a whole week's wait ahead of me for the next chapter of Naruto, I'd hop on to Bleach, or maybe FMA. The Manga gave me a new lease of life, a life that was finally free of begging and living off the mercy of my so-called friends. It helped me while away countless hours everyday in a more 'productive' way.

I may be a 'elite anime group' pariah now, but I feel liberated, I feel empowered. I love you OneManga.

The day it finally happened..

2009-01-11T17:21:00.006+05:30

I couldn't hold the feeling anymore. I went downstairs, looking for him. He knew I'd been watching him everyday in the park now, and not-so-subtly at that. He seemed to acknowledge my presence, but I couldn't be sure. I was going to find out today what he thought. No more subtlety, it was time go offensive.
He had spotted me when I was still far away, and kept looking at me as I walked up to him. I thought I saw a faint smile spread across his face.

Me(slightly stammering): Hi, I think my roommate knows you and told you about me.
Him(looking amused): Yeah, she did. I think you wanted to talk me long before today, right?
(I blushed, he continued)
Tell me..
Me: (Pointing down him where he was sitting)- Can I play with it?
Him(No shock in the slightest): Sure, but here? In front of all these people?
Me: Um.. you're right, not here.
We proceeded to another, slightly open but less crowded area. He tapped me from behind.
Him: Wait. I want something from you too.
Me: Huh? But..!Him: It's all give and take babe, not just take, take. Right? So I'll tell you what I want. (He bent forward to whisper in my right ear)
(My eyes grew wider, I couldn't believe he was suggesting this!)
Me: That's just impossible! I just can't! It's been forever since my last time.. I possibly can't do it!
But he was determined. After almost 2 hours, we had both got what we wanted. It was a memorable day. Age gap didn't matter anymore.
**************************************************************************************
I couldn't hold the feeling anymore. I went downstairs, looking for him. He knew I'd been watching him everyday in the park now, and not-so-subtly at that. He seemed to acknowledge my presence, but I couldn't be sure. I was going to find out today what he thought. No more subtlety, it was time go offensive.He had spotted me when I was still far away, and kept looking at me as I walked up to him. I thought I saw a faint smile spread across his face.

Me(slightly stammering): Hi, I think my roommate knows you and told you about me.
Him(looking amused): Yeah, she did. I think you wanted to talk me long before today, right?
(I blushed, he continued)Tell me..
Me: (Pointing down him where he was sitting, to his cute little puppy)- Can I play with it?
Him(No shock in the slightest): Sure, but here? In front of all these people?
Me: Um.. you're right, not here. If it ends up biting me or chasing me all over the place, I'm gonna be so embarrassed!
We proceeded to another, slightly open but less crowded area. He tapped me from behind.
Him: Wait. I want something from you too.
Me: Huh? But..!Him: It's all give and take didi, not just take, take. Right? So I'll tell you what I want. (He bent forward to whisper in my right ear)
(My eyes grew wider, I couldn't believe he was suggesting this!)
Me: That's just impossible! I just can't! It's been forever since my last time.. I possibly can't do it!
Him: Come on, just one game, didi! I know badminton is about the only sport in the world you're good at.. your roommate told me! I have my own racket! Please didi!! If you don't, I won't let you play with my dog!
Me: Fine! Fine!

After almost 2 hours, we had both got what we wanted. He beat me in every single game, and I got my consolation prize- playing with his cute lil pup after that. The pup didn't chase me around even! It was a memorable day. Age gap didn't matter anymore. I think, I should socialize more with 15 year olds.

You know you've had Southpark overdose and turned Cartman fanatic when-

2009-01-10T04:07:00.003+05:30

1) Your conversations have a generous dose of 'dood'(When speaking formally, it starts with 'dude'), 'lame', 'sweet', 'weak/super weak'.
2) The conversation with your father goes like this:

You: Dood.. sorry, dad.. I need cash.
Dad: But beta, I transferred half my salary of this month already to your account. At this rate, we(your mom and me) will be on road, and you'll still be after me to sell my torn blanket and my money collector bowl to pay for your shopping. What are you doing with your own salary anyway?
You: But daaaaaaaaad(tone imitating of Cartman's 'but muuuuuuuuuuum').. my salary is so less! The morons hardly pay me enough to get a couple of manicures every month. And what with the rising prices of oil and everything, you don't expect me to take care of my own expenses anymore(at which, you pause for a second, hoping your dad never notices the blunder you just made) on my own, do you? Dood, I'm totally seriously, that's just so lame!
Dad: Okay, okay, fine, I'll break my FD's tomorrow and send you whatever I can, leaving aside enough for food expenses for your mom and me.
You: Sweet!

3) You suddenly find yourself big-boned, as opposed to 'fat'.
4) You resent the fact that you're not a guy simply because you can't technically say, 'you're breaking my balls, mister', while negotiating with the vegetable seller.
5) You hopelessly try and find a Jew friend to pick on. That you're not a Christian doesn't make any difference.
6) You end up saying 'screw you guys, I'm goin home!' to your roomie after a disagreement, inspite of sitting in your own room while saying this.
7) You decide to replace your Facebook profile photo with that of Cartman's.
8) You go to the extent of comparing The Joker with Cartman, and can't decide who wins! (this is very serious!)
9) You write a post on how much you love Cartman at 4:30 in the morning.
10) You try fervently to write a valid 10th point here. The fact that you tried matters more than your failure to do so.

I'm totally seriously you guys, if you can relate to even 5 of the above 10 points, you need a South Park break.

Happy New Year and all that jazz..

2009-01-03T02:39:00.002+05:30

So.. been almost 3 days after the big eve thingy.. how's it goin y'all? Resolutions and stuff? Gonna try and do a few things and try and not do a few things? Me? Dunno.. kinda unsure. Was thinking of the following resolutions on the New Year's eve, but had the intuition that I wouldn't follow 'em anyway, so cancelled the plan. And boy, was I right in doing so or what! Read on to find out how-

1) No procrastion. Have already delayed my first New Year's post by 3 days.
2) Be more proactive. Called up a couple of friends today after receiving their hurt messages- "How come you didn't even wish me!:( "
3) Be more health-conscious. Subway sandwich was the closest I got to this in the last 3 days.
4) Ensure a brighter future, career-wise. Called up dad and cried and asked him to marry me off to the next rich and hansum dood he spots next.
5) Take German language test within one week. Haven't gotten beyond - 'Iche heisse Beatnik', yet.
6) No wasting time/money/energy on crappy movies. Umm.. let's go to the next point.
7) Read less(no, seriously! The way I read.. it can screw my eyes). Bought a fresh batch of chick-lits today from Crossword.
8) Stop obsessing(about things in general). I was sooper hysterical about my expanding bottoms, dearth of money(it's never enough anyway), not-yet-long-enough hair, and a bleak everythingwise-future today.
9) Do not be cynical anymore. Huh, what's so great about the New Year anyway? It's just a time to buy new calendar.
10) Do not post anything negative about yourself. This post will give you an idea of what I was trying not to do, but had the insight on the New Year's that I would do it anyway, so decided against trying to not do it, and thus, did it, making my insight correct in the end.

Yeah, so, Happy New Year and all that, people.

You're not welcome.

2008-12-10T00:32:00.005+05:30

How selfish are you? Me, I'm selective.. but when I do select a particular thing to be selfish about, boy, can I be mean or what. And strangely, I am not possessive about the usual things, the common things. Like, I don't care if my crush is close to my best friend and hardly acknowledges my presence, or if my mom loves my brother more(she doesn't.. it's just an example. Note to self- call ma and confirm.) or if Robert Downey Jr. is seeing some stupid dumb blondie. I love him nonetheless.. and I leave him alone. I mean, the guy is all grown up, he should have a hot GF.. it's just his misfortune he doesn't know me yet. Er.. ah.. so, to sum it up, I'm not selfish about people. Nope, I'm very materialistic. I love and am extremely possessive about small small things, maybe even inexpensive things.. things that are dispensable, re-buyable and often unimportant. A few examples-

1) My coffee mug. No, it ain't a gift, nor is it some pretty and round and cute little piece of china. On the contrary, it's your typical Nescafe red-coloured mug that's able to hold barely enough coffee. But, I have to.. HAVE to drink every single cuppa from it, and if anyone as much as even touches it, I get all twitchy and panicky. Once, my roommate's mom came over and she wanted to have tea. Obviously, as my luck goes, just at the moment I was going to hide my mug somewhere, she spotted it and wait for it.. 'drank' from it. She'd made tea for me as well, but I waited till she was done, and then washed my mug and had my cold tea. From MY mug.

2) Food. Any food I love, you're not welcome to share. 'Joey doesn't share food', and nor do I. I mean, why in the world everyone seems to want to 'have a bite', or 'taste a bit' or 'just try' the exact same thing as I am having?! You like Ferrero's? I'll buy two boxes, one for you, one for me. I'm not stingy. It's not about money. It's about parting with something that I LOVE. Not done. And it's not restricted to any chocolate or such.. hell, people have wanted to share my vegetables- RAW veggies- when I'm having em. To elaborate- I love green peas, the ones in a pod. I love to take them out of their pod and eat them raw. Who'd even think people would wanna try that! But yep, you guessed right. While I was at it once, my ex-roommate actually came up and asked me if she could have a few. A few became half a kilo. Then she even helped herself to my share of raw cauliflower. I would've eaten her raw if she were in a pod. Damn food snatchers!

3) Books. The ONLY conditions on which I'll share my awesome novel collection with you are-
a> I have a secret crush on you and want to interact more with you on the pretext of exchanging books.
b> I got the book as a gift from someone I don't care about and the book is in a pathetic condition anyway.
c> I have already read the book a million times and I'm damn sure a million-and-one time is not happening.
d> You have a offer I can't refuse.(I'm talking book exchange, dodo)
Other than that, I'm always going to refuse, and in a way that you wouldn't even realize I'm turning your request down. Ha.

4) My expensive tops that don't fit me anymore. I might share them, I might lend them, I might even give them away for free.. but trust me, it would always hurt like hell.. to part away with MY tops.

5) My guitar. Before you get all impressed on hearing about me having a guitar, lemme tell you I can't play it. I'v e had it for almost 3 years now, and all I do is drag it alongwith me whenever I change flats. I know I'll never learn it, for more reasons than one, but when my cousin asked me if he could keep it for a while, I gave him a look that could've burnt him alive. Let it rust and wither away, but no one dare touch it, geddit?

Following items add to this list but do not complete it-My teddy, my comb, my kohl pencil, my nailpaint, my nailpaint remover, my cellphone, my blanket, my Ducati poster.

Anything other than the ones mentioned above can be safely asked to be shared/borrowed. In case I still raise an eyebrow, it might be 'cause of habit.. I do it so many times a day, what with everyone in the world wanting this or that from me. Go buy your own red mug, you cheapo!

Screw you!! :D :D

2008-12-06T23:56:00.004+05:30

Back after a much needed break. Funny how a simple task of blogging everyday can get so daunting. Anyway, another reason why I didn't blog was 'cause I was mad. At a lot of things in general, but more so at the whole Mumbai 'war' episode. A LOT and more has been said/blogged/argued/etc about it, and I'm in no mood to spoil my blog by posting a fuming post, so I'd rather spoil it by telling you about the one fantasy I've had for long. Yes, I fanatsize about cussing and swearing and doing it like a pro.

You heard right. It's not a trick statement. Of course, how difficult can it be to say an F or a B or an M or S word, right? Very. Trust me, if you were me, and saw the whole world take out their anger, frustration, desperation so easily, by uttering a simple swear word; and not be able to do so yourself, you'd understand the gravity of the situation. No matter how hard I try, I just can't abuse. In fact, the situation's so bad that I can't even swear at a fictional foe when I'm alone in the room. Nope, tried a thousand times in front of the mirror, to get that angry look and that deadly tone and utter that forbidden F/B/M/S word- to no avail. All I can manage after these 24 years of existence is a 'jerk' and a 'A-hole'. Sigh.

It's not like am one of those 'haw' girls, you know the ones who go "Haw! He said F**k! What a dirty mouth!" The irony in my case is that I love swearing- when others do it. Especially females. I'm sure I'll be considered a nutcase to be saying this, but there's something very bold and beautiful about the whole female-swearing thing. Only I can't do it. There was a time when I got so deperate to learn how to abuse people out loud that I asked a few of my guy friends to teach my curse-words in their native languages(now I know profanities in at least 5 different lingos)- the languages I don't know. What I don't understand won't hurt(I never asked the meanings, only the pronunciations). The guys were absoultely delighted and amused.. they too wanted a change it seems. But the moment I uttered my first ever swear word out loud without any guilt- 'hahhah.. how cute!' and "I'd love to be cussed at everyday if you say it like this!" is the reaction I got. Seriously? Cute?! Why couldn't I get the tone right? Why couldn't they overlook the 'cuteness' of the tone and concentrate on what was being said and feel offended by it! It was a blow to my aspirations of evolving into a female hardcore dirty mouth and becoming an elite member of the one of the rarest clans left on this planet.

I dedicate this post to Les Grossman, the man who remains my idol, and inspires me to learn how to talk. One of my most favourite dialogues from his movie?- "Look, F**k-stick, I'm incredibly busy. So why don't get the hell out of here before I snap your *ahem* and jam in into your *the synonym of human posterior*?"
What the eff!! I can't even type it! What won't I give to actually mouth these words.. once.. just once!! :(

When the star came down..

2008-11-23T19:28:00.005+05:30

Let me tell you a very enlightening story about one of God's angels.
On this same day, exactly 24 winters ago, God decided to send one of his favourite messengers to Earth, for he knew that people here needed her more than He himself did. He told his precious- "My child, you shall warm up the hearts of those who have the luck of knowing you, you shall bring joy to those distressed, your face will chase away the darkness that abounds this little planet these days, and you shall do deeds great and kind. You, Oh Beatnik, shall be the Destiny's child."
With those words, my Father sent me down here, today, exactly 24 years ago. And though I haven't really accomplished any of those great tasks that He primarily sent me down here for, I still am the Destiny's child.

*All those dummies who STILL don't get it- wish me!! :P*

Bitten by the B-B bug!

2008-11-22T19:12:00.001+05:30

Tomorrow is a big day.. not a BIG day big day, but yeah, a day of slightly more importance than today and day after. I have a few committments, so I will be busy for the next 2-3 days, I'm guessing. If it were not for my incomparable dedication(*ahem*) to blogging daily, I would have happily taken a break for a few days. I get these blocks so often- writer's block, blogger's block, poet's block, homo-sapien's block(yeah, on a lot of occassions I have felt the need of stopping to be a human, and become a buffalo and go rest all day in a dirty pond somewhere).. so today is the blogger's block day. And like I said above, I'm busy.
But have you noticed how much can I ramble even when I'm having the B-B? I wonder what would happen if it weren't so. Maybe I'd have blogged a lenghty one on the art of crossing roads or something. Hmm. Now, now, don't you dare steal my idea for your next post! :P

The sun rises in the.. West..sorry.. East!

2008-11-21T16:57:00.007+05:30

Q) Where might one need a compass? Your options are:
a> In a desert,
b> In a jungle,
c> On sea,
d> In a city they've lived in for more than 6 years,
e> a,b,c
f> a,b,c,d.

If you have a decent IQ, I'm guessing you'd have picked e. I pick f. No, it hasn't got anything to do my IQ(which is pretty decent btw. In case you're not convinced, read all my entries from start to end. Or not.), but the simple fact is that I'm as lost in a jungle as I'm in this city where I've spent years together.

A few examples-
I still do not know all the roads by heart. Forget the places I've never visited, or visted relatively less number or times, I'm talking about the roads on which I've commuted for more than a ..umm.. 1000 times at aleast? Drop me at some junction which is just a few minutes walk from where I shopped/hung out with friends for years, and I wouldn't know if I should take an auto or walk down. I'm not exaggerating, this exact same thing happened to me yesterday.

How about my sense of direction in general? Poorer than this. I have to always go 'East-West-North-South' to determine South if you asked me. My brain cannot process the fact that South is always behind my back, no matter where I face. You tell me once where the sea is, and then turn me around and make me face some other direction and then ask me the same question. Chances are, I'll give a wrong answer.

I can never tell which side, right or left, will the station be when I get down the train I've taken all these years when I go home. Agreed, I go home after long gaps, but any dummy would know his right from his left in around 6 years I believe.

To most people this comes as naturally as knowing A is first alphabet and Z is the last, and there are quite a few people I know who seem to have inbuilt compasses in their heads- "Oh, I think we'll just take the first two lefts, then a right, and yet another left and then 200 m down the road, on the right hand side, is the house of our best friend where we've partied everyweekend for the past one year." Of course.

It's not something to joke about , though, it can be a big pain. I'm always clueless about where I'm heading if left on my own. I can never remember the paths, have to rely on the rick-drivers to take me to my destination.. I have do not know which side will be the platform, even when it's the same station I've always boarded my train from for years.

Oh what the hell, I'd rather pay the rickshaw-walla a couple of more tenners for taking me the longer way rather than trust my instinct and take that short-cut which I've take a million times before with friends.

Look before you leap, for what you sow is what you reap!

2008-11-20T22:42:00.005+05:30

Do you believe in Karma? That you reap what you sow? That things go round and round in a circle, and you arrive at the same point where you started towards the end of your life? Well, the last one was for the dramatic effect, but I do believe in the first two. There are a plenty of incidents which I could attribute to the work of Karma. Like, how do you explain this terrible hairfall problem that so many women(including yours truly) face? Dandruff? Think again mate, a stronger force is at work. It's Karma. Consider this scenario- You see a woman with a long silky flowly mane(say, your roommate), and you get jealous. Naturally. What do you do? You go tell her that the shampoo she's using is rumoured to have been loaded with harmful chemicals, which could very well lead to frizzled hair. She's alarmed, changes the shampoo and bam! She gets dandruff. And then, her mane is not the same again.
Maybe you didn't intend to be the 'root' cause of this tragic loss of hers, but believe me, Karma is gonna get you for this one. And so, if you end up with a similar fate, don't blame dandruff, blame your past actions.(just so you know, it's not me I'm talking about! Duh.)

I think every single thing that happens to you can be explained by this Karma logic. Like stomach ache(you subjected some poor soul to your cooking), heartache(you'd broken someone's heart long back), failing in exam(you didn't help your neighbour cheat in 8th standard), your maid stealing your ration bit by bit(the way you used to steal money from your parents' wallets whenever you could.. smartly of course).. the list is endless.

So these days, I'm living my life very cautiously. I'm making sure I don't give my Karma a chance to, say, give me a pimple, just because I lent my roommate a cream that ruined her flawless skin. And in case you're wondering what made me think of posting this extremely enlightening post today, I'll give you a hint: I missed out on a large box of Ferrero Rochers today. Now keep figuring!

I love you? I hate you?

2008-11-19T00:12:00.006+05:30

This post is dedicated to the (current) love of my life- my GPRS. It's been a while since I've been wanting to write something to tell the world how indebted I am to this cute little technology( cute?? Yeah, I'm a girl. I like and use this word a lot, especially when I don't know the apt adjective). But, but, but.. it's not all sunny in our relationship these days. It's more like, let's say, someone's relation with their wife, after 20 years of marriage- can't live with her, can't live without her. There have been n number of times when my GPRS activated phone(Cool phone +cool phone's cable+GPRS= complete package) has helped me show-off, saved my life, made me happy and made me proud. To elucidate:

Saved my life- How do I even list all the times when my handy net connection helped me meet crucial deadlines! Remember my bus post? Another example is all those times I had to fill some form online and didn't want to go to cyber cafes in order to avoid using credit card on public computers. Who saved my ass the time the last day for a particular exam was a few hours later? GPRS.

Made me proud- Our relationship started 4 years ago when I was still in college, and since we were in an economically challenged hostel, which was WI-FIless, I was one of the first few people to show the prudence of getting my GPRS connection activated. It was an instant hit. I remember girls from a 100 rooms flocking my place just so they could check their Orkut scraps or upload a pic, or do something equally trivial. They were generous in praising my decision that helped make their lives so colorful ;)

Made me happy- This is so obvious, you have net handy anywhere you go. That's bound to make you happy.

Helped me show-off - This is one of my favorites. One day I was in lecture and in the 2nd row at that, when I decided to check my mail. My neighbor(one of the toppers of the class) couldn't help asking-'what you doing?'
My reply- 'Nothing, just checking my mail, you know. GPRS'
Her look- priceless ;)
Reason for her look- she thought I was a hopeless engineer to-be. Actually, she was right, but the whole GPRS espisode made her change her attitude towards me.

Alright, this was all about the good part. But it ain't so rosy rosy these days. Apparently our relationship has hit rock bottom of late. There hasn't been a single day when I don't curse my fragile net connection at least 10 times. I don't like it when I'm screaming in frustration or cussing, but seriously, I haven't much choice. The cons-

Betrayal- The same GPRS that helped me meet deadlines of various online exams is proving to be a big hindrance these days. Been trying to fill that darned form for days now, but everytime I fill all those thousands of details and click 'next' - yep, you guessed right- the 'web page cannot be displayed'. What the *beep*! Twice today I tried to make that extremely essential online payment(190$ at that, no joke), and twice after filling all the card details and clicking 'submit', I got a 'page cannot be found'. I almost got a heart attack. Luckily, both the payments were not processed. Gonna find an alternative to my comp as well as the cyber cafe soon. Hmm.

Moodiness- I thought only females were moody. Or is this applicable to non-living things as well? Is GPRS a female non-living thing? Heck, just imagine the thing's temper nowadays, it refuses to be up in the first place! Yes sir, no GPRS connectivity for you today, and thus begins my endless calling to the service providers, reprimanding them for such an undependable service.

Speed- Really slow. Period. Probably the only thing slower in the world is a snail whose ass is on fire. Or me, when I (pretend to) jog. Er.. you get the point.

Acting pricey- Literally. I agree it's pretty cheap compared to the various broadband options around, but seriosuly, a 333 bucks per month for a few KBPs speed without any scope of any kind of downloads('cause of the speed, not because you can't d/l on GPRS), and absoultely no dependability is quite a wastage of money.

In case you're wondering why I STILL use GPRS, I don't have a permanent address for the time being and as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I keep changing flats more often than not.

So you see, I'm confused about our love-hate relationship at the moment. Maybe GPRS IS my old wife who I can't live with or without.

What is your mobile number? WWW. ?

2008-11-18T17:02:00.005+05:30

Disclaimer: I love my parents and this post is NOT making fun of them. I'm just stating facts.

With the authority of being my parents' kid(yes, I'll always be their kid, 24 or 42), and let's say, due to the pent up frustration from my last visit home, I'm taking the liberty of sharing the following facts about my parents' technological know-how. Now, I'm a short tempered software engineer, and I desperately want my parents to gain some basic knowledge in computers and mobiles. No, I'm not asking them to remember the comp's configurations(probably 'cause I don't remember them myself :D ), nor am I asking them to download songs and softwares on their cellphones(not tuff for us, but wayyy tuff for them). I'm just simply asking them to get technology literate. I want them to understand what amazing creations the computers are and how the distances reduce immensely once you use your cellphones.
Just listing a few memories from the years gone by..

It was a 3-4 summers back when my mom and dad finally found the courage to get themselves a cell-phone. Being hardcore medicos, the part of their brains that is responsible for gadget-handling is as small as that of my brain responsible for cooking. Sample this-

Phobia:
-- Ma didn't venture near the comp when we first bought it, for quite sometime. She wouldn't even dust the comp, or its vicinity. When finally after years we convinced her to start learning the basics of operating a comp, this is what her learning record was-
First, I tought her how to switch on, shut down and turn off the UPS. I left. Bro got home a few months later, tought her the on,off thing again and left. Then I got home a few months later. Repeat. This continued for the next two years.
After nearly 3 years, she's not even confident of the on-off thing anymore. And she's back to the not-venturing-near-the-comp routine. Last I saw, the comp was covered in dust.

Amazement:
-- This time I went home, I took my laptop with me and dad finally showed some interest in exploring it out. He was amazed to see the screen get brighter when I connected the adapter.

Confusion:
-- Dad: Beta, please create an email id for either one of us. We will need to start using the mail facility.
Me(thoroughly amazed and proud): Sure, mom's account already exists.
*Tell him the id(xyz) and password*
Dad(after a full 3 minuted silence): So we just go and type 'www.xyz.com', right?
Me: Um.. no dad, see, it's an email account. You need to give both id and password.
Dad: What is a password?
This last question came when I'd already given him a 30 minute info on websites, emails, passwords et al this time when I'd gone home. I should have known better then.

Differentiation:
-- Mom finally learnt how to use her cellphone to make/receive calls and send SMSes. But before she became the pro she is(*cough!*), she would be majorly confused about anything that remotely sounded like an SMS. Sample this:

Ma: I sent you the email. You got it?
Me: Huh? What email?
Ma: You know, you told me to send you one from my mobile for practice?
Me(pulling her leg): Ah, that.. no I didn't receive it. What ID did you send it to?
Ma(confused): I sent it on your mobile number.
Me: Come on Ma, you don't send an email from your mobile to a phone number!
Ma: Okay, so what should I have typed? www. ?
Me: *speechless*

These are but a few examples of what I have to endure every 6 months when I go home and start their training anew. But you know, Ma's finally finding her way around the mobile thing. Now she makes calls, send SMSes and stuff. My proudest moment?- When she forwarded, I repeat, forwarded, an SMS JOKE to me. Maybe my hard work of years is gonna pay someday :)

Of friends and eggs

2008-11-17T15:12:00.005+05:30

******
I'm missing my best friend a lot today. This is for you VJ, although you'll never read it I know.

That was six summers ago when we first met
We were poles apart and still
It took us only 4 days to become friends
And I knew you were special

You were loud and insanse
I would just keep quiet and listen
But your words filled my heart with joy
And I knew you were special

We went shopping together and we went for movies
We'd be up during exams wrapped in shawls on cold November nights
And you'd come to me and tell me I'd do well on the test
And I knew you were special

We would go everyday to that little tea shop
And make fun of all the guys around
You loved tea as much as I did
And I knew you were special

We always wore lenses when going out
Even when no one would look at us
You'd let me borrow you cool new clothes
And I knew you were special

For four years we were together
And we fought only once during this time
It was you who came to make up for it
And I knew you were special

Then you found your soulmate, your love
And you drifted away from me
But you'd still call me everynight we couldn't meet
And I knew you were special

You flew away to another land and left me far behind
You got a new life and never called
Except for my birthday that year, but when you did
I knew you were special

I missed you my friend all the months we didn't talk
You were the sister I never had
And after months when you called me one day to cry your heart out
I knew you were special

I want you to know my friend
I spend every day thinking of you
Everytime a relationship goes sour at my end
I know why you were so special

Because even if we don't talk for months
Or don't see each other in years
You'll always be my best friend, my dearest
I know you'll always be special, very special

*******
On a lighter note...

When I used to hear people say, 'I can't even boil eggs', I used to wonder what their IQs must be. Until today. My IQ is 129(according to Facebook), and I can't boil eggs. And no, before you jump to conclusions, I'm(finally) comfortable with the whole cooking thing. I can cook, not only to survive, but also to fill others' stomach(when in dire need of course), and at times, I surprise myself by cooking absolutely delectable items. But there was one thing I'd never tried in my life before today- boiling eggs. I mean, it may sound like the easiest thing to know, almost as natural as say, boiling water, but it isn't! How does one know when an egg is boiled? Seriously. Everytime I think I've boiled them enough, I end up having a half boiled egg in my cup, with its gooey stuff on my hands and the egg finally in the dustbin. I tried timing the boiling even, but somehow it's never enough for the new sets of eggs. I don't even what happens when you overboil the eggs, so I'm afraid of attempting that. I read somewhere that hard boiled eggs should not be eaten(do you die if you do?). Oh, what the hell. Them stupid eggs are on the stove once more, and I'll stop eating eggs from now on if these don't boil right today.
*******

Say Cheese!

2008-11-16T21:03:00.005+05:30

You don't have to pose while saying this though, because I ain't clicking any pics. Just got back from a cheese exhibition. Now, I am not a cheese connoisseur, in fact, not a connoisseur of any food, or art form for that matter. But I love cheese. I love the cheese slices, cheese cubes and cheese dips and spreads et al, that is available in the market. To me, cheese is just another white thing(is it the real color?) that tastes like heaven. But other than that, I knew nothing about its various tastes, names, colors, till tonight.
I must say I sampled a lot more cheese than my stomach could digest. Let me run myself a memory test. The various cheeses present at the exhibition were-
Yak milk cheese, marble cheese, Colby, Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, Edam Ball with Basil, Goat milk, Diet cheese, Parmesan, Rum and Raisin, Whiskey and Walnut, Cognac and Almond, Wine cheese, Cheese spreads, dips, cheese cakes, umm... that's about all I remember.

Confession: I remembered only one name- marble cheese- which I liked the best and bought some. Rest all names I've copied from the pamphlet :D
My memory ain't that good, but at least I am honest ;)

Of this and that

2008-11-15T19:50:00.004+05:30

So, we did catch that early morning show of that new movie I was dying to watch. And contrary to what I'd imagined, the show was house full! I mean, fine, it's a new movie with a huge starcast and popular songs and all that jazz, but seriously, I didn't know there would be so many more cheapos like me in the city who wouldn't mind getting up at 8 on a Saturday morning just to save some 70 bucks. Jeez! Does no one else have a life too? What happened to the famous Friday night party scene that the place is so famous for! And to further my notion that this is a town of misers, the next show at 11 was house full too. Yep.
Considering I had slept at 4:30 am(as usual) last night, I should have had some tough time getting up early today. Did I? Not at all. In fact, I was the first one to wake and get ready. If at all I'd showed just extreme devotion to the studying cause a few years ago in college, I would have done myself a world of good. You know, better grades, better paying job, more work to crib about and ultimately a weekend full of work too, leading to non-movie Saturdays. Er, I take my words back. I'm glad I saved my dedication to the correct cause.
I never gave it a serious thought before, but how many such things are there in this world for which I'd gladly give my sleep? Let me just try and list a few-

1) Movies. And there's no need to explain this one.
2) Novels. My personal(new) record stands for a continuous, I repeat, continuous 12 hours one night- 10 pm to next morning 10- for Angels and Demons. What else is surprising? It was a PDF. So, I was up allllll night long, and a little more, reading a book on comp that turned my eyes into buttons the following day. I feel so proud of myself! :D
3) Parties. Duh. This shouldn't need a mention, but since I'm not a big and obvious party-goer, I thought I should list this one, lest a few months down the line I forget the life I'd lead during my sunnier days.
4) Sickeness. Yes, since I'm one of the few constantly unwell(in mind or body or both) people I know personally, this is one of the major reasons why I stay up till late, days on end.
5) Fear of rats. Yes, thankfully my current flat is on the 6th floor where the rats don't reach(yet), but otherwise I have this slight phobia of those slimy, ugly, terryibly disgusting creatures. I just keep wondering all night long, if the rats are anywhere in the vicnity of my room, when they'll come and chop my ear off. I fear only this- rats chopping my ears off. Brrr.
6) TV. And no, I never watch anything- I hardly watch any show, not even the news. But I like to constantly fidget with my remote control and browse through those 100 channeds all night long. Trust me, I can browse all night long.

I hate to leave the list incomplete, but that's all I can think of right now.

There ain't no money plant in my house, yo!

2008-11-14T22:23:00.006+05:30

The cheapsters join the club! Have you ever been so stingy, that you made yourself cringe in disgust but at the same time made you want to pat yourself on the back for accomplishing something truly out of this world? Well, I haven't. Because I do not own a purse to pull it's strings together tighter everytime there's a danger of spending involved. On the contrary, my money lies loose everywhere so that it's easy to reach for- on the couch near the door so that I can easily pay the pizza guy when he graces my house with this presence(which is almost every other day), on the bed where I like to kill time stacking all my cards(debit/credit/membership cards) and play some newly invented 'money game' with them, in my almirah drawer which is technically there to provide safe-keeping of my money, but which is never locked. Then there are my jeans and jacket pockets which almost everytime I put my hands inside them, return me with a heavy monetory surprise. Okay, I lost track of what I way saying. Yeah, something about being cheap.

The whole point of the above non-understandable ranting is that I am not stingy. Far from it, but there are times, very rare though, that I feel like indulging myself in certain activities that'll make my resume look rather different and interesting. I mean who would like to hear about another shoppaholic girl, right? So, I'm just trying to compile a list of things I've done so far in my miserable little life that can be counted as my personal best acheivements in the field of penny-pinching. Here goes-

1) I cooked for an entire month once when the money was tight. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nope, no order-ins, no maggis, nothing.
2) I went without reading a single real book for around 2 months. All this while, only PDFs which my kind cousin mailed me.
3) Bought only ONE-yep a solitary, single, lone- top for my birthday.
4) Went for an entire month without making a single international call from my mobile. And only 10 SMSes.
5) Lied to a group of friends about not being in town when there was a plan to throw a surprise party for someone. I didn't want to pull in for the party.
6) Ran away to another town last year on my birthday so that I wouldn't have to give people a birthday treat at that obscenely expensive restaurant they wanted.
7) Got only 2 streaks of hair colored instead of the whole crown in a bid to save money. Had to walk almost 2 kms in order to find the only salon in town offering this facility of 'pay according to the number of streaks'.
8) I haven't changed my glasses in the last 2 years. Not even the frame, or the lenses.
9) Used to go for the early morning 9 am show for animated movies when in college to save money.
10) Going to do just that tomorrow after almost 2 years. There's a 8:45 am show of the movie that released today and I will be saving 50-70 bucks by waking up a few hours early tomorrow.

So, how do you compare?

Grumpy Grumperson strikes again.

2008-11-13T21:16:00.005+05:30

I'm not sure taking up the NaBlo challenge has done a world of good to me, personally. If I ever read my November entries ever in future(which I'll try and avoid as much as possible), they are going to be either
a) A collection of grumpy posts, or
b) A mention of NaBloPoMo or NaNoWriMo in every other entry.

Why oh why did I choose this fate for myself! I'm talking only about me every day because I have to post every day and I cannot think of anything interesting to write about! Then, my eyes have started hurting as hell since the last two days for I have sooo much work online. Then this stupid blogging and novel writing task. I need a break! Why can't I simply break my commitment to both the Na's when no one's looking/reading?! No one is reading anyway, and no one will ever know. Except me. Sigh.
I hate internet. I really do.

...

2008-11-12T19:47:00.003+05:30

I am sad today. Had an overdose of hearing about the sadness of so many of those who I truly care about. I want to pray hard for all of them, but over the past few months I've just turned faithless. But still, all you people, I just wish you guys well. Hope things get better soon. I love you more than you know.

So, what just happened?

2008-11-11T18:56:00.005+05:30

Has it ever happened to you that you woke up one day and realized that you aren't you anymore? That things aren't the same with you and that you can hardly recognize yourself? Well, I'm a victim of this paranormal phenomenon, and trust me, it's very bewildering. The whole list of differences between the me a year before, and the me now-
1) I've gotten super obsessive about cleaning, a la Monica Geller. I mean, maybe a tad less than that, but obsessive nonetheless. Around 10 years back, my father had reprimanded me for my messed room saying, 'even dogs clean the area where they're about to sit'.. it did hurt then, but not so much as to change me completely some 10 years down the line. In fact, I didn't realize how obsessive I'd gotten of late till I found myself cleaning every single dish(that was already washed), both for daily use, and on display shelf. I must have washed some 70 dishes in one day, alongwith cleaning all the glass tables, windows etc, AND wiping all the woodwork with some special spray I had at my disposal. I dusted and I mopped and I broomed and I grumbled all this while about how unclean my parents were!
2) I developed an interest in cooking. Till late last year, all I wanted to enter the kitchen was for preparing my daily 3-4 cups of tea. But one day suddenly out of the blue, I just decided I wanted to prepare a wholesome dinner for my roommate and me, and was in the kitchen for hours together working like a professional chef. The surprise factor? I'd never prepared a meal before, but it turned out to be excellento.
3) I started sleeping less. And by less I mean, less than my compulsory 8-9 hours every day. Till last year, I would sleep everynight for an average of 9 hours on workdays and more on weekends. And now, I hardly sleep for 6-7 hours everyday, come what may.
4) And this is the one that stands out. Yesterday, the whole of yesterday, I went without tea. Yes, not one cup for more than 24 hours. And if you cannot understand the gravity of this situation, try going without air for more than 3 minutes. This is how my tea is important to me. And the reason why I'm stressing this point so much is because only today did I remember that I didn't have tea yesterday!

All the above changes in me call for serious contemplation on my part. The only possible explanations I can think of are-
a) I was abducted by some aliens who conducted experiments on me and who, before sending me back to earth and in a bid to erase my memory, also messed up the part of my brain thereby changing my basic personality, or
b) I fell down, hit my head, got partial amnesia or something, and now I'm living a new life.

I would have listed a third possibility of a split personality, but the fact that I still watch endless movies and read novels like insane and hate tomotoes and onions, rules out this option. So, the question remains unanswered- what just happened?!

Somewhere I belong?

2008-11-10T21:07:00.005+05:30

This is the 3rd time I'm going to change my flat in less than a year. It's too much, even by my standards. I'm a self-confessed wanderer, and I just can't be rooted to a single house/city for an entire lifetime. I'm not even a homebird for that matter. But the way I'm running away from all the new people and places is scaring me. There must be something wrong with me, right? Well, there is, and I know what it is, and also that it can't be helped. It IS difficult to put up with some random 2-3 more women for long, especially when we're talking about TWO-THREE RANDOM WOMEN, but I can't keep running away for the rest of my life now, can I? It's just that, I don't feel like I belong somewhere even after spending a considerable period of time at one single place. Classic example is my parents' home(note: it's my parents' home, not mine). I fought with my dad to let go of me some 8 years back, because 16 years at one place.. that was more than I could ever think of! I like living in new cities, big cities. I have no phobia of unknown destinations, nor do I get attached to one single place. In fact, my record tells me that I've stayed at a single lodging only for one year max at a stretch in the past 8 years. With the exception of my college hostel, where I was for 4 continuos years, with the same roomies, in the same room. Now when I think about it, I can't believe this fact.
I have already made plans of moving out of my new would-be flat by next April or so. Where am I going after that, I know not, but I know that I'm footloose and no room can hold me for more than a few months anymore. Will I ever settle down and call a house, my home? Will I ever belong?

Catching the 'Na' fever this November!

2008-11-09T22:58:00.008+05:30

My writing a novel dream may finally be materialising, thanks to the NaNoWriMo thing. I feel glad to have got to know of both NaBloPoMo and NaNo.. for blogging regularly and starting off with that novel I wanted to write for so long were two things I'd been postponing for God knows how long. I lack inspiration, I used to tell myself. And lo and behold! Inspiration came my way in a very inspiring way.. er.. :D
Alright, I still don't have a good plot for my novella(let's face it, that's what it's gonna be, not a novel novel), but what the heck.. NaNo has a got a nice forum for me, with quite a few inspired and inspiring(how many times am I gonna use this word tonight?) fellow amateur writers, and it gets me motivated(yes! found a synonym :P ) everytime I read how much they've written already. We're even planning for a meet for the in-town writers once this crazy writing spree gets over.
I wish there were another similar platform for movies you know, something like watch one movie daily for the next one month, or something like that. I would looove to participate in that! Almost as if preparing for some such event, I'm gearing myself up. Starting last Thursday, I've watched one movie per day, both in hall and at home. The rental store guy even allows me to rent the CD on credit.. somehow it happens to me all the time. All these video rental guys seem to trust in the relatively new customer that is me, I wonder why. Or wait, it just struck me- is it because they know I'm going to shell out enough moolah to help them retire in a year? Damn, I need to watch my wallet! I can already smell something. Guess it's the burning hole in my pocket. Hmm.

Yeah, you got engaged my friend, so what?

2008-11-08T22:53:00.001+05:30

Just got back from my friend's engagement. Can't believe we've all grown up.. it was only yesterday that we'd met up for the first time in hostel, and suddenly it's 6 years laters now. When we were still in college, we used to imgaine a whole lot of things- getting a boyfriend, getting good grades, getting a high-paying job, going abroad.. so many things.. but there was one thing we could never imagine, visualize rather, and that was this- getting all grown up and getting engaged and getting married and all that. We were always young and silly at heart, and we always will be. Getting older doesn't necessarily mean getting wiser/maturer/soberer(er..). And it definitely doesn't mean getting distanced from your friends.
I asked my friend M, whose engagement it was-'how do you feel finally?' She said, 'nothing. The feeling's not sunk in, and I dunno how long it'll take to sink in.' The same's the case with all of us. It didn't feel like an engagement party of one of us, instead it could've been another free dinner treat, and we couldn't bother less. We were still cracking silly jokes, pulling each other's legs on the same topics we used to do so way back in college, and basically, just taking it easy.
Maybe things will get more serious when we all get married, or maybe not even then. I hope it's the latter. I KNOW it's going to be the latter. No matter how many people enter our lives, the friends that we made 6 years ago will always remain close and special. It's lovely to have some bonds like these.

Grumbling all the way

2008-11-07T22:04:00.003+05:30

ife is so frickin' unfair right now. You know what all is wrong with my life? Here goes:
1) I have a major headache. Took med 2 hours back, no sign of things getting better anytime soon.
2) My roomie has suddenly gotten hard of hearing. She's watching TV at full volume, and my repeated pleas of turning it down a bit aren't working. And she's watching a show I'm hating.
3) I wasn't at all remotely hungry when I went out with friends, even when I watched them hogging. But now, 'soon as I got back home to an empty kitchen, I'm suddenly famished.
4) I have to be at a close buddy's engagement tomorrow and I have nothing to wear. And no, it ain't another typical girlie physocology(where we never have any clothes to wear anyway).. I honestly don't have any traditional attire befitting the occasion.
5) I have a 1000 bucks gift voucher for Lifestyle, and the collection there sucks right now. I have 750 bucks voucher for NUN, and the collection there sucks too.
6) I have to yet to start with my novel for NaNoWriMo, and the idea I initially had panned out really badly. So gotta think of a new plot AND finish 50,000 words in the next 3 weeks.
7) I haven't been able to get my hand on the CD of Step Up 1 even after 10 tries in about 4 different rentals.
8) The noise is making my ears bleed.
9) The hunger is making me very irritable.
10) The 'L' key of my keyboard is getting stuck.

ife is so unfair right now.

Before my tum goes burst..

2008-11-06T23:17:00.002+05:30

Today I went with my team for a dinner.. for the first time in almost a whole year with them I felt at home.. I felt like I belonged to them. The food was good, and I was told that wine was good and the hukkah flavour was nice too. I don't have a large apetite, but tonight I hogged like a pig! All in all, good times. Waiting for the pics to come out tomorrow. Too tired and sleepy to write anymore.

*Yawn!*

I salute thy spirit, human!

2008-11-05T21:29:00.004+05:30

So, yesterday was very hard on the poor NaBloPoMo participant that is me. You see, I was travelling the whole day, and that too by BUS. 24 hours of bus journey carrying my laptop and my purse which is more like a rucksack. All the 3 of us had to share just one seat! The mere aniticipation of such journeys(though they are rare) makes me break in cold sweat. And yesterday, I had to more than mere sit on the bus and wait for the journey to end- I had to blog.

I reminded myself, we humans can acheive more than we can ever imagine. There have always been firsts- the first time a human landed on moon, the first time a human unfurled a flag on Mt. Everest, so on and so forth. So take this day as an opportunity to do a 'first' yourself- blogging for the first time when on the bus while trying to adjust everyone(bag, laptop and myself) on one small chair AND trying to connect using the fragile GPRS connection. I am truly grateful for this technology called GPRS, and am especially grateful to my dad for buying me a kewl phone that supports this technology. But there are times when things get tough, despite these technological advancements. I mean, how can your GPRS enabled phone let you connect to the internet when there is no signal? Or when the cable connecting the phone to the comp comes loose every 5 mins because there is no place to keep the phone properly? Or simply 'cause there are higher powers around you that plain don't want you to acheive your target of one blog per day? All these and more were the odds I braved yesterday. And I emerged a winner. After 5 tries to post an entry, I finally managed to do so with a mere half an hour remaining before the date changed officially.
This was not my victory people.. this was OUR victory- the victory of the unrelenting human soul.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank an angel for the role he played in my success- my bus conductor. If it were not for his unparalleled chivalrous gesture, I would not have got 2 seats for the price of one. He must've sensed the misery that had befallen me and so, for the noble soul he was, didn't let anyone occupy the seat beside mine- "It's ladies' seat, sir"! (Fortunately for me, no more ladies were around to claim it). And so, the young woman, her laptop and her ridiculously oversized purse internetted happily for the rest of the night.
The end.

I won't be defeated, you hear me Blogger dot com?!

2008-11-04T22:59:00.006+05:30

This is like the 5th time I'm trying to post an entry!! I can't believe odds could be so against me! I'll write in detail about my internet nightmare tomorrow when I get off this stupid bus.. But for your sake, oh NaBloPoMo.. this is my entry for the 4th of Nov. No one can stop me from posting it!!!!

The ABCs of me

2008-11-03T23:53:00.003+05:30

Disclaimer: This idea has been borrowed shamelessly from another blog(though I had the courtsey of informing the blog owner that I'm doing so!)

A is for age: 23(gonna be 24 soon..sigh!)
B is for burger of choice: I'm not a sucker for burgers really, but I eat McD's Alloo Tikki more often that I eat anything else. Mostly due to lack of options.
C is for the car I drive: Don't have one! :( And I've no idea when I will be able to earn one for myself.. although I CAN afford a Nano right now :D
D is for your dog's name: Don't have this one either, and this remains the biggest reason of my heartache. I sooo badly want a dog!! I don't mind if I don't get married ever, but I HAVE to have a dog soon. Pretty soon. Name? Oh yeah, I decided his name back in my college time.. Woofer. That's a type of speakers if you don't know- Woofers, Squeakers, Qwakers.. Woofer just clicked! ;)
E is for essential item you use every day: Glasses is counted? If yes, then good. If no, then, cellphone without a doubt.
F is for favorite TV show at the moment: FRIENDS rules the idiot box, whether or not it''s aired no more. I like My Wife and Kids too. And Mile Jab Hum Tum.. Er.. :D
G is for favorite game: Spider Solitaire wins hands down. Not much of an outdoor sports person, but if I have to name a sport, badminton it is.
H is for home state: Rajasthan. Now you know why the state is so hot! ;)
I is for instruments you play: Casio, Harmonium.. and um.. I own a guitar :D
J is for favorite juice:Fresh mixed fruit juice with no sugar. More the variety of fruits used, the better.
K is for whose bum you'd like to kick: Just one asshole's for turning out to be this horrible jerk- nick starts with C and name with D. I hate you.
L is for last restaurant at which you ate: Kalyani Veg *most embarrassed grin*
M is for your favorite Muppet: None. At all.
N is for number of piercings: just the usual 2- one in each ear. Boring I know!
O is for overnight hospital stays: Nil.. yet! (Touch wood, quick!)
P is for people you were with today: Mom, dad, Grampa, and an uncle who we visited
Q is for what you do with your quiet time: Read/blog/sleep like crazy.
R is for biggest regret: Have lots actually, and all big ones. But I like the way it sounds when one says, 'I have no regrets. I learn from my mistakes' and stuff like that.. so er.. ditto for me! :D
S is for status: Blissfully single and not ready to mingle
T is for time you woke up today: Ask me when I slept! Was up all night till 11 AM. Slept from 11-3. My sleep cycle got reversed a few months back, so am essentially nocturnal nowadays.
U is for what you consider unique about yourself: my abililty to give people perfect advices/solutions to their problems, yet always ending up messing my own life.
V is for vegetable you love: Green peas.
W is for worst habit: Thinking too much and worrying over my future too much.
X is for x-rays you've had: Chest and back, as a part of general health check up
Y is for yummy food you ate today: Aloo Pakodis!
Z is for zodiac: Saggitarius.. one sign to rule them all ;)

Annnd.. we're done! :D

P.S. If anyone's reading this, you have my permission to borrow this idea for your next post, shamelessly. Heheh.

Trouble is relative!

2008-11-03T01:56:00.004+05:30

So, I don't like my relatives. Now before you jump to conclusions and label me an anti-social being , lemme just make clear that I'm not completely anti-social. Only partly. Especially when it comes to my relatives, or petty colleagues or emotionally choking friends.. But let's stick to the relatives part.

Well, to begin with, these are my closest relatives. These are the ones who live in the same town as I do, and since I visit my home only once or twice a year, that exactly the number of times I get to meet these relatives too(at times, even less). But yeah, even then, meeting them is a dreaded time for me. You wanna know why? I'll list out the top 4 reasons(list- for the sake of readability):

1) They ask you only the following 4 questions. There have been only a couple of exceptions this time-

a) So, where are you now? (As if I change cities every 6 months)
b) In which company? (I tell them and get the look which says, " Um.. what's that?" I work for a world-renowned MNC for Chrissake!!)
c) How come you never visit us?(I tell them that I visited the town after a whole year. They are still sulking)
d) So what's the plan now? (Followed by the wink/smile that says it all. Fortunately, many of them still have the courtsey of directing this one to my parents rather than me)

2) Awkward silences. These fill 90% of the time I spend at these relatives' places, after they're done asking the above 5 questions. You know, once it so happened that I visited a distant cousin after years, allll by myself.. we still had nothing to talk about after the first 15 mins. So my cous left me to play with her kid(Which is fine to a certain extent), and then got me... wait for it.... a cup of hot boiling Horlicks! I agree I was very young then.. but puhleez!! Horlicks? To fill in the conversation gaps? I haven't visited her after that.. I think it's been almost 7-8 years now. Brr.. still makes me shivers..

3) The whole you-look-so-pale/ill/stressed/thin etc comment. For God's sake.. I've gained weight consistently over the past whole year! In fact, I must've gained some 5 kilos during the last 15 days itself.. and still saying how PALE I look.. outrageous! It doesn't make me feel good, you know, especially cuz I'm already frustrated that my jeans ain't fitting me anymore and I don't have enough long tops to hide my ever expanding bottom.. and still these people comment such nasty and wholly untrue things that make my mom come back home and worry over... It's just not done! Call me fat when I do look so.. I can handle the truth!

4) When they almost punish you for perhaps not visiting them more, or for having gotten so 'pale', by forcing you to down the innumerable sweets decorating their drawing room tables. Mind you, this happens only during festive seasons, like this time(Diwali).. and when it happens.. you've no idea how painful it can be for your poor tum. You can't refuse, for that's the primary reason you've visited them- to eat Diwali sweets, and you can't take it anymore..'cause your jeans don't fit you anymore. Sheer torture.

I'm wondering if I should change the title of this one to 'Relative is trouble'!

Old wine in new bottle-2

2008-09-16T20:07:00.001+05:30

And this one's my fave. Written more than two years ago, I'm sure everything said here still holds true!

2)Friday, April 07, 2006
Life in a girls’ hostel.

It rocks…and that’s an understatement. I still remember the day when I first entered the campus and saw what seemed to me like a like a vast expanse with a big herd of grazing cows. No kidding. The campus ground was bustling with activity- the loading unloading of all the belongings- bedding, pillow, bucket, clothes’ bags, et al …and then finally the ‘vidaai’ scene, wherein the girls never wanna let go of their mommie’s pallu, and papaji just stands beside , fighting back the tears , trying to put a brave face forward.Cut to present . 4 years have almost passed ever since I first came here. And strangely enough , it never needed me to outgrow of home sickness, I always felt at home here. For most it’s a different story though. The initial few months are the toughest for those who’ve left their homes for the first time. The typical symptoms of home sickness include meal-skipping, crying at the drop of the hat ( while for those who are more easily embarrassed , the loos provide the perfect shelter to cry their hearts out), et al. However, it’s more of a smooth sailing after that . You make friends the very first day, but the real friendship begins a little later. And more or less lasts till the day you leave the hostel.Anyway, lets not dwell upon the senti aspect. Lets take a look at the more interesting part. The characters I’ve met here in hostel can very well give all the saas and bahus of the soap operas a run for their money, and just the day to day activities , politics here can inspire Ekta Kapoor to produce another ten serials. And the best part is that all this is for real. Nothing like it if something spicy happens to you, then you can proudly brag in front of your peers and juniors… about how the other day you got caught ragging the freshers, or about how the wardens of your hostel hate you and are contemplating throwing you out.Birthday celebrations are always fun, probably because they are forbidden ( at midnight that is ), and almost ensure that you’re going to get a very sound scolding from some poor hassled soul called the warden . And the icing on the cake is when you laugh at her face, while she compares you to uncultured brats, having no sense of respect for the elders whatsoever . And as if its not enough for you, you go overboard by repeating the crime over and over again, when ultimately she has to send letters at home. And when even this doesn’t work, she swears to take you to your principal!Then there is the gang politics. Not always very dirty, but annoying nonetheless. Almost always it starts with one gang wanting to be hailed the best. The girls in this group consider themselves to be hipper and ‘happening’er, and look down upon those from the other group as the lowliest creatures ever alive. While the other one maintains that it is more sober , sophisticated , and more importantly, the higher scoring group. And the irony lies in the fact that neither can do without the other. At the face value , everyone’s everyone’s friend. The very people who smile at you when bumping into you on the way, are the same people who laugh at you the moment you’re gone.The girls in a hostel can be broadly categorized into 2 types- those having a boyfriend and those without one. The ones who have boyfriends are the more populated species, and can be spotted from a kilometer’s distance . They are the ones who are stuck to their cell phones as if it were another limb . At night , they occupy the least crowded spots in the building , more preferably the ones near the loos. And many of them can be seen hanging out of the windows by their waist,as if prepared to jump out of them in case the boyfriend doesn’t say “ I love you” for atleast a hundred times during that particular call.And then there are the females belonging to the species , almost on the verge of extinction. They don’t have a boyfriend, the reasons of which could be anything , but I won’t go into the details. In any case , they are the ones who wear an expression of sheer frustration on their face , and desperation in their eyes.Then you have your very own AIR’s (All India Radioes). Need any information about who’s going around with whom , or who’s breaking up, or who supposedly fags and boozes or sluts around? They’ll dig out the minutest details , making even Sherlock Holmes squirm in his grave.And then there are the scheming bitches, sans the pancake though. What they do , why they do it, where do they go, who do they meet , is always a matter of curiosity for the more curious types. They are the models of the hostel, with the attitude of a Ms. World. But yeah, you can always spot them around the more intelligent of the lot , especially around the exam and submission time.Then, there are your friends. The only people who stick to you though thick and thin, and never leave you , no matter what ( atleast this is what is expected of them). But they are also not without their flaws . There are spats , misunderstandings, frequent cursing and swearing , but you always end up returning back to them. They are your friends.

Old wine in new bottle-1

2008-09-16T19:55:00.005+05:30

Interpretation: Old posts in new blog.
Yeah, something just reminded me today of my old blog which I had ruthlessly abandoned after leaving college. At the risk of sounding immodest(which I very much am anyway), I found quite a few posts there pretty interesting. Hehe. Now that these award-winnable posts never got any recognition during the older days, I'm gonna copy-paste them here in the hope of making them more, er, recognized? (of course, since my present blog is the most popular thing on the net right now, with it even being voted a 'Blog of Note'). Whatever. There were some fond memories which were rotting away in that older blog, so I'm simply gonna dust away the layers of dirt on them, and bring them here, all new and shiny.
Not gonna edit anything, not doing any spell-check either.

1) The treat (aka Parte~)
Sunday, April 09, 2006

went to yet another treat last night..although my frenz prefer me callin it a 'parte~'.It was another one of those placements treats, that I simply detest attending. No, no, the reason is definitely not another severe bout of irrational insanity(afterall, you get free food there), and definitely not jealousy. Its just that such treats are organised(?) at the 11th hr, with time enough only to put on your lone unwrinkled top and make a dash towards the rick.So, it happened yet again last night. Me was blissfully orkutting, and simlutaneously playing tissue paper for a hapless friend, while my roomie storms in and roars- " Get your ever expanding bottoms outta that chair, we've got a treat to go to." While am still trying to absorb her words, i find myslef being literally dragged outta the chair, and pleading with her to atleast lemme bid adieu to my chat friend. But to no avail.Anyway, I franctically look at my bed, in the despearate hope to find one decent top that aint black in color ("wear something more feminine in my party, or dont come.."). What the heck, it's easier to borrow.Finally, we split the whole gang into groups of 3, and reach the venue, still mad at the other 2 rickshaw partners, for supposedly having hogged all the space in there."Nandu's" is a great parantha joint, no doubt.. but I'd have preferred some place wherein I wouldnt feel full even before beginning to order. Then began our ordeal with the ordering part.. while everyone mouths "kya khaoon", am the only one who goes "kya kya khaoon"! This is precisely the problem in eating out with your girlfriends. They never eat, while you end up looking like some malnourished kid from the hunger-stricken land of Somalia, who hasnt eaten in weeks.And another problem is the kinda hullaballoo these girls create at such public places, which not only scares the coochie-coo couples away, but also incurs the wrath of the poor waiter. "Please try and not upturn the table", "Please order in one go, and not call me another 100 times", "Do you at all wish to order", "Are you done yet"...et al.But the paranthas no doubt are yummy. And filling, for a change. As much as the seemingly one tonne of butter spread onto the rounder-than-my-face parantha made me go week in my knees, for others, it was sheer torture. (one girl even went to the length of proposing a ban on the fattening butters and ghees- "I'd aimed to get a boyfriend atleast this sem!" ).All in all, if something compares to 'maa ke haath ka parantha', it's Nandu's.
(p.s: had to skip today's lunch cuz of last night's dinner. Pure sin!)

Games children play

2008-09-14T20:59:00.000+05:30

So, I finally bought that little gameboard for my teeny cousins for a present. Now I'd been planning to gift them something worthwhile, for as long as I can remember. But the problem earlier was, they were too young. And whatever the little guy gets, the elder sister wants the same for herself, plus her own gift. So this time, when they're finally 'old' enough(3 and 4), I went ahead and bought that perfect present. Fine, perfect by my standards. I mean, who doesn't love a gameboard! And not just another Snakes and Ladders-cum-Ludo gameboard, but that fancy one, wherein you're given cute and multi-coloured dies and have all those adventurous break-points(er, whatever they are called!). Something like, you have been bitten by the lovebug, go back to the starting point and stay there 'cause now you're good-for-nothing. you get the drift. Maybe it was nostalgia of playing such games endlessly with all my brothers, sisters, friends, neighbours, their relatives et al, that gave me the go.
I've no idea how the kids will manage, surely my aunt will have to work extra hours to make sure there's no ruckus, but hell, I'm sure I'll immortalized as the fun Di.
I'm a sucker for indoor games, both cards and board games. Give me a pack of cards, and I can while away endless hours, just playing Solitaire or inventing some stupid games where I always win. So this time, when I was at the toys' section at Landmark, I finally bought something for myself that I'd always wanted- Uno. Yeah, I'm sure every soul on this planet has atleast once encountered that fun game, but me. I vividly remember, we never had Uno cards at home. Every attempt of getting ma buy me a pack was futile that time 'cause she badly wanted my brother and I to engage ourselves in outdoor activities. So, my brother found himself an outdoor activity- he would go out to his friend's place every evening and enjoy hours of Uno. Obviously I was never welcome. But the loving brother that he was, he always made sure I knew what an amazing fun game it was. That was more than 15 years ago. And suddenly a week back, I stumbled upon this very pack- Uno. Wow. All red and stuff. Now I don't really have a company at home, willing to 'waste' their precious time over a stupid round of cards. Do I care? Bah! I play it all by myself, thank you very much. And guess what, I never lose a game.
I also love word-games. You know, the ones played on comp. There's this amazing game called Boggle(most of you should be knowing). I'm not really the best player around, but what the hell, I am a dedicated one, and that's all that matters. Okay, winning at times feels nice too, but if that can't be managed, one should make do with the being dedicated part. Anyway, so I remember, at my previous job, after we ended up getting illegal internet connection, I devoted myself to the cause of the word-game whole-heartedly. I mean, the mere mortals would spend hours and hours on chatting, or mailing or googling and such. But I, instead of this, spent hours and hours honing my skill with words. Not that I ever came close to even getting into the top 10 in that online game, but sure as hell I helped enlighten those mortals(mentioned above), and led to the development of the EBA(EPDB Boggle Association). So now, earlier when people used to run to the loo every half an hour, and take coffee breaks every 2 hours, I ensured the team remained rooted firmly to their seats. There were many unforeseen advantages of this. First, there was an increased sense of healthy competition(though I could always hear a 'got you 'f***er!' or a 'i'm going to beat the s**t out of you in the next game' from the neighbouring cubicle) in the team. Second, my manager discovered profound sense of relief since the teammates were no longer gossiping about him(that's what he thought!) over a cuppa. Third, we were all finally getting those language lessons we ought to have got way back in kindergarten(DM- 'What the hell are you doing Dumbass! Type M A I L' .
PR-' I was gonna type that after M A L E'.
DM- 'What the hell is that??'
Me- '*beep* *beep*')
Last but not the least, the guys leant some decency. They would never spell S*X or its derivates whenever I was around.

The Olympic Redemption?

2008-08-21T01:34:00.000+05:30

So, big day for India today. 2 medals in Olympics(1 bronze and another ensured medal), alongwith the win against Sri Lanka in cricket. The media went berserk(afterall, they got some 'real' news to broadcast after quite a wait), which was totally welcome(for a change!). As opposed to Abhinav Bindra, the guy who got us the FIRST individual gold in the country's history at the Olympics, the guys who did us proud today(Sushil Kumar and Vijayendar Singh) come from a very humble(to put it mildly) background. And the sad-but-true thing is, all these 3 wins have come along after eons of waiting. In fact, the medals won for shooting and boxing are the first ever for the country, while the medal in wrestling came along after a painful 56 years. This primarily is the reason for country's elation, rather, euphoria. All these years we kept on complaining, cursing the system, casting doubts on the players' efforts, et al.. and kept coming up with theories explaining the below par performance of India at the games, despite its having a potential 1 billion sportspersons. A lot has been said and done in the past, but finally, maybe the country has embarked on a journey that will only bring fruitful results in the future.
Here's wishing luck.. to us all.
These 3 guys have made the country proud, paved way for and encouraged the other promising young men and women to do their bit in the coming years, and well, truly deserve all the attention, all the crores of rupees of awards(also the promotion!) and the larger than life treatment. Big thank you to all the 3 of you!
Take a bow, guys!

Funny, really..

2008-08-20T03:24:00.000+05:30

It's funny how much I can want to hold on to a pain, that given the choice,most others wouldn't even contemplate deliberating enduring for a minute longer. I want to feel that pain, not just to break the monotony of my sad little life, but also to remind myself for as long as I can, that humans are not divine. That they should not be raised to the status of Gods,and not be believed and trusted in with all your heart. For, in doing so, you only endanger yourself getting seriously hurt and embittered.
It's funny how I end up giving more importance to people and things that never were, and never will be, real. Virtuality has almost completely and very credibly replaced the reality around me. So much so that, every little thing that existed in my virtual world, even if ages ago, continues to pain me even now; while the cruelties of everyday real life, well, I can forget in an instant.
It's funny how I convince myself everyday that the past is to be forgotten and forgiven, but still I make sure there is atleast one single thread attached to my past; just so I can take myself back whenever I want.
It's funny how I laugh and cry at the same time. How I put up that winsome smile everytime my heart starts to bleed, how I join some crowd when my need to be alone gets overwhelming, and how I crave loneliness when with people, but search franctically for someone when all alone.
It's funny how I've become another face in the crowd, in my quest of achieving that ultimate recongnition. The more I try and create my mark, the more obscure my existence becomes.
It's funny how I had nothing to write about tonight when I started, but now I can't stop typing.
Funny, really..

When insomnia creeps in..

2008-08-19T04:54:00.000+05:30

What do you do when you don't want time to fly as fast as it does? You don't sleep. Or atleast, 'I' don't sleep. Yeah, I've suddenly discovered this very effective way of delaying the dawn of a new day..stay up all night. I mean, that's almost 7 extra hours to each day..whole lotta time to ponder over life's cruelties, no?
Anyway, it's not really recommended if you need to stay sane through the day though. Otherwise, you'll be practically a zombie, a very hungry zombie. The hungry part is really true.. The way I eat when am up all night.. man, it's scary as hell. And funny. If you can, try picturizing a very much awake young girl(who's been up all night), reading the newspaper peacefully in the living room till her mom gets up at 7..and on finally spotting her mom, cries-'Mom, breakfast!' lol
But it's happened, it's very much true. And it makes for a good blogging material. Ah, it's 5 now.. good morning!

Whatta scare!

2008-08-18T02:28:00.000+05:30

Hehe.. okay, it ain't as bad as it sounds, but I just had a good scare some 15 mins back. Right around 3:00(am), as I was wondering what to blog about next, I heard a scream from somewhere nearby. And some bikes screeching some 5 mins later. Now, my parents are sleeping upstairs, and I'm all alone on the ground floor.. with my extra strong imagination. So, a scare is what i got. But, but,but. As it turned out 10 mins after it all started(after my parents joined me in peeping through the window), some guy had tried to break in the house right next to ours, had fled when the owners woke up in time, but was caught almost immediately.
Awesome :D
I mean, I'd even changed into my pajamas from my wrap around(just in case I needed to run :D ), was wondering who to call first in case of some emergency and all.. but well, the story ended in 10 mins flat. Some anti-climax, this. Guess am glad it was the neighbour's house, though!

Random Ramblings

2008-08-17T18:46:00.000+05:30

Ah..feels good to be back on the blogger circuit after a long hiatus. It's difficult to write you know, if you get the blogger's block. Anyway, I'm back, and that's what matters.
So, I'm home after almost a whole year, although for only a few more days(alas!)
It's surprising how used to I've gotten of staying away from family in all these years..so much so that, being with them now makes me claustrophobic. Yeah, that's exactly how it feels, being with around those 8-10 people, who ironically, matter the most to me. Festivals are a time that I dread, nowadays. It spells doom both ways- if I'm celebrating with family, it makes me feel suffocated. If without them, I crave their company. Weird, but then life always is so.
I wonder if 8 years away from home(starting at a young age), has taken its toll on my sanity you know.. I want home and hearth, but I don't really want it. Argh!

So how young do you feel today?

2008-01-06T13:08:00.000+05:30

I was miserable on my birthday eve. I was going to turn 23 the next day! Now that's a whole lot of years. My entire life was flashing in front of my eyes, almost the way it does when you're dying(I've heard this happens). Alright, this may sound taking things a bit too far, but I really wasn't happy getting old(er). Till about 21, I was fine. 21 is a good age..in fact, it's just the perfect age. Not young enough to be a teen and not old enough to be, well..23.

What is ironic here is that 23 is my lucky number. It's my birthdate, and I'm obsessed with the number. But still, this time it just does not provide me with any consolation. I feel old. Probably because I still remember my 16th birthday. It was a great feeling, turning 16. Then came the late teens- 18, 19.. I was getting mature, but not 'old'. 21 was my favorite as I have already mentioned. At 22, I started panicking. 23..sigh..i'm old.

Or am I? I joined a new team recently, and as it turns out, I'm the youngest there. Hmm, not bad. And in my flat, I'm the youngest again. In fact, my roommate is quite older than me, and she's loving it. She calls me the baby of the house..and somehow, even I'm loving it :) Perhaps this 23 is better than 21.. afterall I'm a bit more mature, a little wiser and still not 24! ;)