Between The Typos

NYC & DC - It's About Time!

2011-10-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

So New York City met IBM for the 2^ndtime and it turned out to be more nostalgic than anything else. Saw some of the great old places that I’d been to before – Broadway, Grand Central, Statue of Liberty, so bustling with life and energy.. and Times Square which really has a special something to it – with the lights and the glamour and the sexy people. Looks like everyone is there, yet you can get lost in your own thoughts and pretend to be a super model, all sassy and in high heels. Sigh, what a vivid imagination I have, and what an amazing place NYC is!

The highlight was the Broadway play I saw – ‘Anything Goes’, mind blowing, crazy awesome and what talent! Being insanely in love with musicals has always been a thing, but these shows are definitely in a spectacular league altogether! It’s a magical feeling with the stage so close, you feel a real connection! I kept imagining being on the stage, or even behind the curtains. How the boy meets the girl secretly at night, and how the gangster helps them and how the comedy is just right. You’re praying for the girl to come to her senses, you feel like warning them when the mother arrives and tell them to hide behind that other door instead. It’s like you’re right there, like you’re an intruder in someone’s personal story, like you just can’t help but want to know everything about every character!

New York is very similar to Bombay (and I’m serious here) just replace the blonde heads with black, and the USD with INR and you have Mumbai No 2 right there on the east coast. The same tall buildings, the same narrow roads, the same Malabar Hill / Marine Drive-esque places mixed with the Malads and the Khars, the same energy, the same, the same! So its really easy to move around, that know-all attitude just flows and I was completely at home. I really felt a kinship to the city, I could identify with everyone, right from the suits to the crazies to the hotties and everyone in between. It’s really all so familiar and yet so new and exciting! But what a city, I think my love for Bombay overflows into NYC and makes me grin like an idiot everytime!

NYC has come to mean a lot to me, and hence it did demand we spend a whole lotta time together, but I wanted to see someplace new as well this time, and I zeroed in on Washington DC. Multiple reasons – close to where I was staying making a day trip possible, easy to reach, was dying to see the American capital and the only other option was Boston (= boring)

Did a proper touristy “tour” of DC complete with a bus full of tourists ooohing and aahing at everything the guide was saying. DC turned out to be a small complex of all the famous buildings you see in movies… everything is within walking distance from each other which made it easier for the lazy me, for sure! But what a fabulous feeling to actually see the White House, the Lincoln memorial or the Capitol Hill building, not to miss the ‘National Treasure’ Library of Congress and even the infamous J Edgar Hoover building (office of the FBI – gave me the jitters like they were watching me and I may have done something wrong) There is definitely a sense of majesty in these buildings (more like monuments than anything else), and they got us invoked of some awe.

They’re very fond of their wars and proud of their soldiers, these Americans. They have gorgeous memorials for almost every war they’ve been in - Vietnam war, the Korea war and even the Civil war & WWII. And even though I felt it was kind of excessive and boastful, they did a pretty good job commemorating and recognizing the sacrifices that were made. I read somewhere – ‘Freedom is not Free’, and that really struck a chord with me. It makes me wonder how they can say such beautiful / meaningful things but then turn around and just start another war.

Best part of the day though – the visit to Madame Tussauds! Pictures with Obama in his office, or with Shakespeare & Elton John, sitting for a romantic dinner with George Clooney, staring at Yoko Ono, Bob Dylan, and meeting Babe Ruth, Oprah and hugging Capt'n Jack Sparrow like there’s no tomorrow!

And the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum! From the original air craft flown by the Wright brothers & their entire story, to Amelia Earhart’s plane, right down to the real Apollo 11 & a walk through model of exactly how astronauts live in space and how they pilot their space-crafts! Sigh, a little boys dream come true - well, mine too.

You know, the lasting impressions I took with me as I left the place were the way things are run there. Not the glitz of NYC or the majesty of DC (which of course will always be there) but the discipline on the roads, or the sincerity of the people I met, or even the cleanliness I saw everywhere. Not that they are perfect, but they definitely have it right – the old Economics theory we learnt - the one about how the common good is more important than the individual makes a whole lot of sense and I wish I could somehow carry it forward here. Coming back here and fighting the traffuck jams of Bangalore is so not something anyone would look forward to.

No Place Like Home

2008-08-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

A very recent, very short trip to my home town, finally gave me reason to write something here. Though I've realised no matter how I much I wax eloquent about home, it just wouldn't be enough...
Anyway, this is why I wanted to write here, reasons why I love Allahabad:

It's home!
It has these wide empty roads that allow me to speed up like crazy.
I was born there :)
I can talk in Bhaiyya language and everybody else does the same: D

"Kaisan ho babua?"
"Sab theek haiyye ki naahi?"
"Oo kidhar gayel?"
"Humka nahi maloom" : D

I have a HUGE house there: takes an hour to walk from one end to the other :P
It's home.
It is quiet.
I know that city. I mean really know it.
And the city knows me. People there know me, you know. I walk into a store and people recognise me... I meet people on the street and greet everyone around :) (And no, Allahabad is not a small town. It's a big city... with a heart)
It is a big city with a heart ( Just to reiterate :P)
It's the only city where I have a secret place.
It's home.
My dad and his dad, and his dad, all belong to this city.
There is a road named after my great grand-dad.
It gives me this warm feeling inside, as soon as I even step into the outskirts.
There are places called Keedganj, Phaphamau, and Fatehpur Bichhua.
There are places called Tagore Town, Colonel Ganj and Allen Ganj.
It is MY city.
It is where I can recharge my essence.
Nothing bad can ever happen to me there.
I feel like I own that city :)
I feel comfort and security. I feel happy.
It's home.

And guess what I'm listening to right now? "Sweet Home Alabama" :D :D

If I were..

2007-09-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

If I were a beginning,I would be: the first
If I were a month, I would be: April
If I were a day of the week, I would be: Sunday
If I were a time of day,I would be: midnight
If I were a planet, I would be: Pluto (It's still a planet for me)
If I were a season, I would be: winter
If I were a sea animal, I would be: a shark
If I were a direction, I would be: North.. straight up
If I were a piece of furniture, I would be: a cupboard
If I were a sin, I would be: wrath
If I were a liquid, I would be: water
If I were a fraud/scare, I would be: causing hysteria
If I were a gem, I would be: a diamond
If I were a tree, I would be: evergreen
If I were a tool, I would be: a hammer
If I were a flower/plant, I would be: Tulsi

If I were a kind of weather, I would be: cold
If I were a musical instrument, I would be: a guitar
If I were an animal, I would be: lazy
If I were an emotion, I would be: happiness
If I were a vegetable, I would be: paneer! Does it count? :)
If I were a sound, I would be: laughter
If I were an element, I would be: fire
If I were a car, I would be: a Dodge Viper
If I were a song, I would be: to dance to
If I were a food, I would be: something exotic
If I were a place, I would be: India
If I were a material, I would be: soft
If I were a taste, I would be: salty
If I were a scent, I would be: musk
If I were a religion, I would be: guilty
If I were a sentence, I would be: long
If I were a body part, I would be: the head
If I were a facial expression, I would be: a grin

If I were a subject in college, I would be: English
If I were a shape, I would be: round
If I were a quantity, I would be: a lightyear
If I were a color, I would be: blue
If I were a thing, I would be: a book
If I were a landmass, I would be: a lonely island
If I were a book, I would be: a companion
If I were a monument, I would be: a storyteller
If I were an artist, I would be: a ventriloquist
If I were a collection of poems, I would be: boring
If I were a landscape, I would be: a rocky beach
If I were a watch, I would be: Titan! :P

If I were God, I would be: omnipotent
If I were a vowel, I would be: I
If I were a consonant, I would be: B
If I were a formula, I would be: irritating
If I were a Science, I would be: biology
If I were a theory, I would be: Game Theory
If I were a famous person, I would be: Shakespeare
If I were an electronic equipment, I would be: a calculator
If I were sport, I would be: basketball
If I were a movie, I would be: Constantine
If I were a cartoon, I would be: loved by millions
If I were an explorer, I would be: having the time of my life

If I were a scientist, I would be: inventing something
If I were a relation, I would be: a daughter
If I were a river, I would be: meandering
If I were intoxication, I would be: irresistible
If I were alone, I would be: quiet
If I were a question, then I would be: why?
If I were a hobby, I would be: singing
If I were a habit, I would be: difficult to let go
If I were in an atom, I would be: indivisible
If I were an end, I would be: terrible
If I were you, I would be: ecstatic?

A day in the life of...

2007-08-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

She wanted to sleep forever, but her mom was a pretty consistent waker. “C’mon Seema, get up, you’ll get late”, she yelled. “Yeah mom, just… just 5 more minutes”. But how could those 5 minutes be fruitful if her mom switched on the radio full blast right next to her ear!

Wincing and cursing Seema got up to face her day.
Soon enough, another tussle for breakfast ensued, “No badams ma. Please.”. However, ma’s look was enough to quell any further protests.

She had to make sure she left her house by 7.50, otherwise she’d get late. And most of her monstrous professors had a habit of not letting late comers in. Running to catch the bus to the train station, Seema looked groggily at the world.
Thought bubble: “Why do I always have to wait for at least 10 minutes before my bus shows up, when everyone else seems to have buses just waiting for them?”
And the traffic… Seema’s worst nightmare! A 10 minute ride always stretched to 20 or more, how she hated every car around her!

The train ride was mostly blissful though. A peaceful 30 minutes wherein she would often listen to her music, catch up on reading, talk to friends or just think. This really was the best part of the day. And the perfect rhythm of a moving train, exactly what she needed to contemplate. And if it were raining, ah, then things would be just about perfect!

Seema reached college, thankfully, with 10 minutes to spare. Her first class is always at 9 in the morning. (Her biggest woe. Being a lover of sleep, getting up early was probably the most heinous crime possible)
Anyway, classes began as they usually do and Seema was busy preparing for her day, the real one, the one that would begin after classes got over. As she sat and counted, she realized that she had to complete around 5 projects and prepare presentations for them, deadlines approaching. *Sigh*
“There is just too much work”, she thought to herself. But she reasoned that she knew this was going to happen, this is what they’d all told her would happen.
A test was announced and Seema panicked. She’d have to go to the library and issue a book before all of them were gone.

Her phone began vibrating. Thanking her lucky stars that she’d remembered to put it on silent mode, she looked at her screen – a message. It was from the society she was working for. Seema remembered that she’d been so proud of herself when she’d gotten though their interview, but now she dreaded that message. It could only mean more work. It read,’ Alumni Cell meeting at 6.00 pm in room no. 8, AJ College’ *Sigh*. There go all dreams of leaving for home early.
The class got over, and they had a 15 minute break. Seema rushed to the Alumni Cell room and got out the list of the institute’s Alumni she had to call. The college believed in touching bases with all its ex-students. Picking up the phone, she breathed deeply and dialed the number. After 5 such calls, it was time to rush back to class for the next lecture. Some quick mental calculation and she realized she’d have to make at least 15 more such trips if she didn’t sit down and do major chunks of the work in one go.

The phone began vibrating again; it was her head editor from the Alumni Editorial Team. “Hey, wassup boss?” “Where are the articles I’d given you?” came the abrupt reply. “I’ve got them all edited, I’ve e-mailed them to you”. There were 10 of them and long and boring, Seema recalled grimacing. The editing had taken away a precious 2 hours from her! Boy!

The next class started and it was her weakest subject: Cost Accounting. Deciding that she couldn’t make head or tail of what the teacher was saying, she took her laptop out and began formatting the Alumni newsletter. The font, the colours, the placement & sequencing of articles, headings and even the margins, everything needed to be done, and soon. The deadline for submitting this was 9 today. She e-mailed a couple of her seniors, asking for photographs for the newsletter.The class was about to get over and Seema had to pay attention, the teacher was taking the attendance after all!

Next up was Quantitative Analysis, another horrid subject. Ma’am came and began spewing all she knew about Maths. Another 1.5 hours later, Seema was busy on the phone again, calling her mom up to tell her that she’d be late, calling some of her seniors for notes and also the guy in her Alumni calling group about his progress.
She went downstairs to grab a bite. She picked up one of the sandwiches because they were made the fastest and ran up again for a project meeting. As soon as she entered the room, one of her group members said,” Hey Seema, would you please write the proposal for our Eco project?” “Oh… ok, tell me exactly what you want?”
A 30 minute meeting ensued, discussions ranged from what was to be done, to who would search for what, to how was it to be presented.

After the meeting, the next class began, thankfully a good and interesting one, Information Systems. Listening intently, Seema wondered whose register she could borrow for consistent notes.

A quick dash to the admin office after the class to book a locker and Seema was back in the main building for another meeting, this time with her Marketing project group.
Someone told her the date sheet was out and the exams were to begin in a month.
Thought Bubble: “Oh dear, when am I going to get time to study?? This trimester system SUCKS”

As she thought these depressing thoughts, one of her friends approached her, “when do we work on Derivatives?” ‘Derivatives’ was the topic for a paper the two of them were writing, for a competition and the last date was rapidly approaching. Luckily, her partner had completed most of the research so it was only a matter of compilation.
After a little discussion, she went for the Paragana Marketing team meeting. The president began," Paragana is our institute's flagship event guys, and we want to make it the best possible. We will invite 20 B-schools for various events spread over 3 days and it is the marketing team’s job to ensure that everyone who matters gets to know about this."
Thought bubble: “Why did I volunteer for this? Oh yeah, for the marketing! But what marketing will I do running around the entire city for sponsors and advertising? *sigh* Why do I do these things to myself?”

Seema looked at her watch, uh-oh, it was 5.59. Time for the Alumni Society meeting. She excused herself from the meeting, drew some dirty looks and ran to AJ College. Another hour of lectures from the Society seniors about how incompetent the juniors were and more instructions and they were left to go. Her head-ed walked up to her and demanded to see the formatted newsletter. Seema spent another 20 minutes explaining everything she’d done and was not surprised when she was asked to make many changes.
Wearily Seema walked out of the campus, and hailed an auto for the station. The guy refused to go. Irritation crept up her spine.
Thought bubble: “I just studied the Consumer Protection Act for my Law project and its illegal for you to refuse me a ride, you jerk.”

Anyway, reaching the station she began looking forward to her train ride home. Ah, 30 minutes of pure bliss! Cool wind in her hair, and her favourite music blaring in her ear, Seema forgot all her pending work and just relaxed.

An hour later, at home, she had a yummy dinner.
Thought bubble: “My mommy is the best!”

She went online, checked all her mail. What once was only full of funny forwards and whacky e-mails was now stuffed with intimations, messages for meetings, more work and project info. She worked on the dratted Economics proposal, made the required changes in the Alumni newsletter, Google-d some more information and read up articles for a couple of her presentations. When she was finally done, she collapsed on her bed at around 12.30.
With a smile on her face.

No complaints from her… yet. This was after all just an ordinary day in the life of Seema.

To the Tag Mobile!

2007-05-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

Yeah yeah, two tag-posts in a row. Didn't plan it this way, but just happened to see this one in some random blog and couldn't resist! It's SO different from all the other tags that we've done!

What to do in this tag? Name some people, give them numbers, answer random questions.
Relax, it'll become clearer in a minute. Here we go..

Name:
A) 2 family members.
B) 3 people on your last dialled list.
C) 5 friends.
D) 2 classmates.

For A- Dad (1), Anant (2),
For B- Ishita (3), Abhinav (4), Harry (5),
For C- Kalika (6), Vidur (7), Jayant (8), Amiya (9), Neha (10),
For D- Ashish (11), Richa (12).

Q: Have you ever kissed number 7? *cough, cough, ahem* yeah, lots of times :P

Q: What's the best memory you have of 9? ALL the time I've spent at her home, velloing and talking! Best ever!

Q: When is the next time you're gonna see 4? Probably sometime soon, when I decide to ask him for another treat in Barista. *evil, evil grin*

Q: Is number 8 pretty? Yes, Jayant is pretty, with or without makeup. Although red lipstick doesn't suit him too well.

Q: What was your first impression of number 10? That she could surely help me scurry away from all our evil seniors.

Q: How did you meet 3? At Mayo, my desk-partner for 2 long, fun years.

Q: Is 11 your best friend? He is one of them!

Q: Have you seen 5 in the last month? Too many times to remember. I'm in her room all the time. She's always giving me advice as to what to study!

Q: Do you think 12 has a crush on you? I don't know, Richa does hide her emotions.. but I can't say I would be surprised if she did.

Q: When was the last time you saw 2? On the 18th. :)

Q: Have you ever been to 1's house? Ok, here's the deal: he's the dad and I'm the kid. In Indian society it so happens that the kid lives with the dad. So, I guess that's a yes.

Q: When is the next time you'll see 10? On the 24th, exam day

Q: Are you really close to 7? Now how do I explain this? Closer than 2 peas in a pod. That answer the question?

Q: Have you ever been to the movies with 4? Don't think so.. Oh yeah wait, I did. Troy and MI3!

Q: Have you ever gotten in trouble along with 2? Come on, we went to the same school.. I'm sure something must have gone wrong sometime. I'm thinking Sundays, bro-sis meet?

Q: Would you ever go out with number 9? Now I'm not saying Amiya is not date-able, but it would raise a lot of questions about my orientation.

Q: What do you and number 3 talk about the most? School and the good old days! We both go gung-ho about Mayo.

Q: Do you even know 5? Trust people to come up with something silly like this. DUH, she's on my dialled list! Therefore, I do know her.. :)

Q: Would you give number 3 a hug? Oh yeah, anytime I meet her!

Q: Are you in love with number 1? YEAH, absolutely crazily! He's my God!

Q: Do you know a secret about 8? Yes, I do. But why would I spill his secrets in here? But oh yeah, deep down inside.. Jayant wants to be the Pink Power Ranger :P

Q: Describe the relationship between number 10 and number 5: 'Best friends' would probably do the job! :)

Q: What is the best thing about your friendship with number 4? I dunno, maybe the fact that he's my brother helps me chill and play joker to my heart's content!

Q: What is the worst thing about number 1? Nothing.

Q: Have you ever danced with number 7? *cough* Well yeah! How come all the imtimate questions are with Vidur?

Q: How long have you known number 12? 3 years!! :)

Q: Have you ever been on a flight with number 8? He he! I don't think he's EVER flown! Have you, Jay?

Q: Have you ever been a co-worker with number 6? Depends how you define coworker. Did a coupla school projects with her, if those count..

Q: Have you ever wanted to punch number 2 in the face? I don't know, think it was more of a kick ;)

Q: Has number 1 ever met your mother? Urmmm, he's married to her. You'd think he would've.

Q: How did you meet number 6? Met her in SMC. Best friends since 8th grade!

Q: Did you ever accidentally, physically hurt number 11? Nope!! Why would I?

Q: What is the best memory you have with number 8? Oh, all the time spent in random conversation, about everything and nothing at all. He being all big brotherly, and me free to do and say whatever I please!

Q: Do you live close to 7? Opposite ends of the city :(

Q: What is number 2's favourite food? Ummm, anything from Subway :)

Q: Out of your top 12, which one would you say is the funniest? I'm thinking, Amiya... although Vidur, Jayant and Ashish do have their delicious moments!!

Q: If you could change one thing about number 5, what would it be? Harry, could you please laugh louder?

Q: Say something nice about number 11: Silly jokes and immense brain power come to mind.

Q: Which one lives the farthest away? Currently, dad. Though in about half a month, it'll be everyone in Delhi :(

Q: Which one do you hang out with the most? Can't answer that, waaaaay too close to call!

Q: Who is the loudest? That'll be me. Oh but in the above-mentioned 12, think it will be... ummm, damn. Nope. Just me!

Q: The quietest? Probably Vidur... Although Harry scores well too.

Q: Which bike does number 12 own? She doesn't! :)

Q: Have you traveled anywhere with number 8? Yeah, to Goa!!! :) Awesome fun for 8 beautiful days, with him running around half-naked too!

Q: If you gave number 5 a $100 tonight, what would they spend it on? She'll die of happiness, I'm sure! What'll she buy: clothes and a recharge card for her cell-phone . Then she'll just go crazy partying!

V, Ami, Jay, Richa: I tag thee. Follow the Tag Mobile :)
PS: Vidur, you might as well do all the tag-posts that we've done. You're tagged, tagged, tagged!

PPS: This Batman title is just a sequel to the Super-man one before this! :P

Tag, tag and away!

2007-05-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

HAVE YOU EVER..

Smoked a cigarette? : Urmm, does one drag count? It was in school, just to see what it's like. Thankfully didn't like it! :)

Crashed a friend's car? : No! I'm a great driver.

Stolen a car? : Don't need to. Not driving-starved like some people I know! And even if I had, why would I confess here?

Been in love? : Yeah! Deep in it right now!

Been dumped? : Not yet. :P

Shoplifted? : Yup. Tons of times. Just today, picked up a spoon from Barista!

Been in a fist fight? :Yeah, all the time!! Have very violent acquaintances!

Snuck out of your parent's house? : No, never wanted to or needed to.

Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back? : Ummmm no. Lucky lucky!

Been arrested? : NO WAY.

Gone on a blind date? : No.. Thank God!

Skipped school? : Oh lost count!! Boarding school makes you a pro at all that!

Been on a plane? : Yes.. Lets count, oh yeah, about 945678 times.

Seen someone die? : No.

Been to Canada? : Nope. But why Canada? Why not Greece or Egypt or Turkey?

Purposely set a part of yourself on fire? : I'm not instable. My life has always been happy!

Been jet-skiing? : Yeah, in Goa!! Awesome!

Met someone in person from the Internet? : Nope. Have an unwritten rule about that.

Taken pain killers? : Yup... But I try to hold on till the last minute.

Flown a kite? : My mom's the pro and she's embarrased with my kite-flying skills.

Built a sand castle? : Oh yeah. One of my schools had a sand-bed. And of course, all the beach going helps!

Gone puddle jumping? : Yeah. But the getting-clothes-dirty part is something I don't like!

Cheated while playing a game? : Yeah! All the time! Helps me win :)

Been lonely? : Very rarely. More like bored. Actually, just once! Made myself really busy then.

Fallen asleep at work or school/college? : Almost, but never completely. Oh wait, maybe I did sleep in one of Joga's classes..

Used a fake ID? : No, never went to a place that needed an ID.

Felt an earthquake? : No :( Is that a good thing or bad?

Touched a snake? : Yeah, once! So gross :) Loved the freakiness of it!

Slept beneath the stars? : Yes, in Benaras!! Every time there wasn't any electricity at night, we used to sleep on the terrace.

Been robbed? : Yeah, boarding school does that to you! I've lost count of all the things that have been stolen from me. My blazer for one :(

Been misunderstood? : Quite some times! People think I'm being rude when I don't even realise I was that.

Won a contest? : Yeah, got a Harry Potter cap with the Hogwarts symbol on it. (Though the emblem looked like a squished gerbil..)

Run a red light/stop sign? : Yeah. Learnt driving in Allahabad where there are NO traffic rules. You can do whatever you want with the car! :)

Been suspended from school? : Nope. I was a meritorious, all-rounder, (forgive me V) brilliant child who never stooped to doing crap.

Been in a car accident? : Yes. Once.
PS: I wasn't driving!

Eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night? : No, don't like ice-cream enough to do that.

Walked the streets drunk? : No. Told ya, good sweet girl! Never been drunk either, if that question is in here somewhere.

Had déjàvu? : Every few days.

Danced in the moonlight? : Only with myself! Oh so amazing! *just imagine a pair of strong arms holding you tight! The romantic in me jagos*

Witnessed a crime? : Urmmm, nope.

Been obsessed with post-it notes? : Yeah. But I have my phases.
As in, exam-time equals lots of post-its. Other times equals 'what-are-post-its?'

Squished barefoot through the mud? : Yes. At home, in my garden! Love the gooey feeling!

Been lost? : Nope. Was smart enough to ask for detailed directions before leaving, even if I wasn't smart enough to now all the routes :)

Been on the opposite side of the country? : Yeah, Kanyakumari! How much farther can you get?? :D

Swum in the ocean? : Errr, does wading in it count?

Cried yourself to sleep? : Yes.

Played cops and robbers? : Yeah, about a gazillion times.

Recently coloured with crayons? : Yup!! Was helping my bro make his school projects!

Sung karaoke? : Not the way they show it in the movies, but yeah, in weird ways that can technically be defined as Karaoke.

Paid for a meal with only coins? : No. Wanna. Just to get those famous dirty looks from waiters!

Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? : Sometimes. Will power is a fickle thing.

Made prank phone calls? : Some, not too many. I always felt bad after making them.

Caught a snow flake on your tongue? : Yeah! Yum! :)

Written a letter to Santa Claus? : No. Even though I did believe in him for some time!!

Blown bubbles? : Oh yea! Hasn't everyone?

Bonfire on the beach? : Not on the beach, but at home, yeah! Fun fun fun!

Cheated on a test? : Yeah, EVERY test! :P

Gone skinny-dipping in a pool? : *cough, cough, ahem* Errrrrr, no!

PS: The title has been inspired by the Super-man theme on my phone :D
PPS: Who should I tag? I am the last one to do this! Oh, the new blogger among us, V, you can do it :D

Trapped

2007-04-28T03:29:00.000-07:00

The girl leaned panting against the tree. She had been running long and hard. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. 1-2-3, slowly she regained control of her wobbling knees. Eyes still shut tight, she listened to the woods. She could hear birds chirping and the insects, all the normal woodsy sounds, everyone oblivious to her dilemma. She also heard the dreaded footsteps, seeming closer than before. They were muffled, but she knew them well. It was cold. She shivered, trying not to move much. Movement translated to noise and noise was something to be avoided. Noise would alert.

Trembling, she peeped out from the protection of the tree trunk. Peering into the green, she couldn't make anything out. But she knew she'd have to locate him before being spotted herself. It was a matter of life and death. Her eyes scoured the area, but in vain. Desperation began creeping up her spine. She wiped her moist palms and looked around more carefully. The fear of being found gripped her heart and she couldn't move. She thought of climbing up but that was difficult in her dress, her bright orange dress. Oh why had she fought with her mother to wear it?! "Mother wanted me to wear the green one!", she thought mournfully.

Suddenly, a sound snapped her out of her reverie. There was that sound again.. of feet snapping a twig. He was somewhere near, her senses warned her. She hesitatingly peered again just in time to see a snatch of red amongst the green. "Where are you?" she heard. That sinister voice! It grated against her ears. She was petrified. He was closer, what if he found her, the consequences were too dire to be even thought about..

She realised she had to move away. She began picking her way through the under-bush. She finched as the leaves rustled around her. Oh dear! She knew she'd alerted him. She turned around and two pairs of eyes met. He saw her and grinned wickedly. Eyes widening in fear, she turned and fled, ran as fast as her little feet could carry her.She could hear him running after her, hear him getting closer and closer. Faster and faster she ran, blood pounding in her ears, but he was gaining on her.

Slowly she realised with a sinking sensation that she wouldn't be able to outrun him. She needed a plan... but what? Running and thinking, running and thinking, she felt herself tiring out. What could she do!? She heard him panting behind her, "Maybe he'd get tired too!" She laughed as she realised that that would happen long after she tired out. He was very close now. If he stretched out his hand, he would be able to touch her. And that is exactly what he did, he stretched out his arm, grabbed her shoulder and pulled her violently to a stop. Fearfully she turned around, all fight drained out of her, and her brother said, "Tag, you're it."

PS: Can't think of a title. Help!

The Best Birthday EVER

2007-04-15T01:36:00.000-07:00

It’s my birthday, yes, that happens once in a while, 14th April, 2007.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEE

So how is it different from any other birthday, you ask? The best birthday surprise ever, obviously!! I’m sure you’re dying to know how did it all happen. *grin*
Well, it was 12th April. (Yes, the best birthday surprise was not on a birthday, but hey, no one dare laugh, it was a spectacularly amazing day.)
So where was I? Yeah, it was 12th April, and I’d just come back from Bombay (Oh all right, Mumbai) and I was dying to meet all my friends after a prolonged break from college. I’d actually come back to Delhi before my birthday, against my parents’ wishes, just so I could meet all of them on our Admit Card Day (Yes, we have that too)
So me and my excitement landed up in good old college at about 11:45 am. Met up with everyone. It was so good to hug ‘em and meet ‘em and talk to ‘em.
So there we were, all 9 of us sitting at Neha steps when someone noticed a little package, hidden by newspaper, lying right next to us (Which hadn’t been lying there when we’d gotten there initially) This was what ensued:

(Note: X, Y, Z, A, B, C represent my bestest friends in the whole world)

X: "Oy what’s that?"
Y: "Somebody see na, what’s under that newspaper."
Me (Sitting right next to that package): "Whatever guys, chhodo na."
X: "Arre dekho na!!"
Z: "Maybe it’s a dead animal."
X, Y, A, B, C: "Eeeeeeeeeeeww!!"
I, unfazed by grossness, continued to ignore it.
A: "ARRE LOOK AT IT."
Me: "Uff!!" *lifts the newspaper* "Oy it’s a cake box. Kissi ne yahan cake kyon chhoda ?"
X: "Open it and see na."
Me: "No yaar, it’s somebody’s cake. Someone must have left it here for a surprise. Lets not touch it." (Egad!! How dumb could I get)
Y: "Oh, just take a peek."
Me *gives horrid look, but lifts the flap, sees the last line in icing (Read:'girl') and quickly closes the flap* "Oh it IS someone’s cake. Leave it alone."
X, Y, Z, A, B, C: "OPEN IT DAMMIT!"
Me *surprised, still not getting it, opens it, turns out to be the most beautiful cake in the world* It read: ‘To the Dragon Girl’ : "Oh *realisation dawned* it’s for meeee!! MEEEEEEEEE!!"

That is why everyone was pestering me so much to open the damn thing. I’d just gotten a surprise! Man, was I acting thick! Awesome awesome awesome!! I looooove surprises, by the way!

So, there was much cake cutting, hugging and thanking. And I was sitting there smug at my birthday surprise!
Then suddenly Vidur waltzed in with Cake Number 2. No, not for me, this one was for Jay (Birthday: 21st April, also pretty close). It said: ‘To J: the bull’. (Yeah, we’re all animals in our little world) Oh wow, you should’ve seen Jay’s face. He was standing there, all satisfied coz my surprise thingie had been executed so well, and there came HIS cake! He looked beyond stunned! So, there was much cake cutting, hugging, thanking and absolute bliss running around. Lots of happy smiles and giggles and ‘I-need-to-wash-my-hands’.

Then came the bad part, when Neha had to leave (Her parents had come to pick her up), then Tarun slunk away (For tuitions, which he had previously never attended! Grr.) and then Harry had to go somewhere too (Some scene). Sucky!
Anyway, so there were 6 of us left (Vidur, Ami, Jay, Ashish, Richa and I) and we decided to go to K Nags for lunch. Decided on 'Momo King' and settled in for a meal.

There we were, deciding what to eat when all of a sudden….. in walks Tarun! Whaaaaaaaat?? Tuition?? He was carrying a big grin and an ARMLOAD OF PRESENTS!! Wow! Mere liye gifts??? Jay and I looked at each other with unsuppressed surprise and glee!
Vidur began explaining the rules of the Present Opening Ceremony, when in came Harry, also carrying tons of gifts! Jay and I looked at each other again! This was just getting better and better! Then I KNEW Neha would come back too! Jay looked disbelieving, but in she came, gifts in tow, proving me right!! A PILE of gifts, you know, like the ones they show in the movies, lying under huge Xmas trees, spread before us, just waiting to be ripped open!! Woooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
So the rules were simple (when they finally got explained), Jay and I had to pick up 1 gift at a time, open it and guess who they were for and what their significance was.
Excited was an understatement, with fingers shivering and mind all gooey, we began the delightful task of opening presents. Some were meaningful, some useful and some downright funny.
Here is a detailed list of my loot (in random order):

1) The Killer Ball : No, this ball doesn't kill. Flashback: Goa 2006, we were playing a new game called 'Killer'. In a dark room, the killer had to throw a knotted hankie (the ball) on someone and 'kill' that person. The lights would then be turned on and the detective had to guess who the killer was. Very simple, but I didn't feel like playing it and just my luck, I picked up the killer chit. So there I was, standing in the dark with irritating pals giggling all around me, ball in hand, I threw it and missed. So I yelled for someone to switch the lights back on, instead of grabbing the ball and trying again. (didn't feel like playing, remember?)
Note attached - For the worst killer player, EVER. (Believe me, if I'd felt like it, I would have rocked their tiny little boats)

2) A silver thumb ring : Probably the only kinda jewellery I sport. Also had a great story behind it. Neha, Vidur, Jay, Ami and I had gone to the IITF, Delhi. We came across this jewellery store and the shopkeeper fleeced Neha, so Ami and I decided to take revenge by flicking a pretty green ring from him. Note attached - In memory of the one we stole at the Trade Fair... in spite of Jay's insisted attempts to keep us from sinning.

3) Passes to Crossroads 2006, all 4 nights : I love attending shows and saving their passes/tickets as souvenirs. Crossroads is our annual college fest, probably the best thing that happens to DU every December. So this time, the theme for the fest was, none other than Dragons!! I was SO drooling over the passes, but couldn't get my hands on any. (I, being an SRite, didn't need them to get in)

4) The Essential Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson : The most amazing coffee-table book on the planet. And my love for CnH!

5) An MB, Sleeping Tiger : For the romantic in me. Sometime ago my friends discovered the strangest fact (according to them) that I enjoyed reading MBs. Presumably, they still can't get over it, hence the gift! I loved it and have already read it.

6) Silver Earrings in the shape of tiny feet : I'm told it all started when they tried to buy me mirchi earrings (I can't eat anything spicy, even if it has one speck of chili in it) When they couldn't find those, they bought these. Really cute, I'll wear them as soon as my ears can take it.

7) A Wallet : Because I love money and I didn't have anything to keep it safe in.

8) An Idea I-card : Last year, I had unlimited free messaging. Yup, you got that right, free AND unlimited. So when Airtel revoked the scheme and made me pay 25p for each message, my darling friends stepped in and got me a new SIM card which has 1500 free messages for me to send! Woohoo!

So there we were, our gifts in hand, looking at each other and loving each person that sat around that table. The poor people of Momo King never knew what hit them when our noise making reached it's zenith. And I was the happiest I'd ever been.
Later when Jay and I were told of the hard work these guys had put in, I was so grateful, so beyond grateful actually, to have such awesome human beings for friends. Thank you Vidur, Amiya and Harpreet (yes, I'm using full names here, to show how serious I am) for the running around in the scorching sun of Delhi for 3 loooong days and making this birthday surprise possible. Wow, guys, you are the greatest. You don't know how all this makes me feel! Thank you Neha, Ashish, Tarun and Richa for all you did and for all you are!

What can I say guys, it is probably the best feeling in the whole world to know that you have a bunch of people who love you so much so as to do so much for you, without asking for anything in return. What can I say guys, words are just so pointless here.
What can I say guys, I can't thank you enough for that beautiful day. I just realised I'm repeating adjectives here, but I wanted to use so many that I've run out of them!
What can I say guys, except that you are THE BEST.
What can I say guys, it'll be a cold day in summer before I can forget this wonderful day!

As I wind up the post, I remember that V and Ami had informed me that I'd three gifts left, which they hadn't been able to give to me as they'd run outta time. Ha, can't wait!
Smug and grinning like a Cheshire Cat, this is the luckiest-girl-alive signing out.
Muah to all those who deserve it!

To Suzanne, From Matt

2007-03-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ummm hey!! *Looks around at the almost new surroundings*
Yup, it's true, it really is. I am here! *Guilty smile*
Please don't drop dead with shock/ surprise/ disbelief/ excitement. I don't want to cart your limp selves around .
Soooooooo, I know I've been a slacker. Got enough reprimands for that. Sorry, but was busy. (Ha!)
Note: For all you original thinkers, this post is not going to be a reprieve! No siree!
I was reading a book when I stumbled over this beautiful piece of poetry. (Again, for all those who know what I think of poems, please don't drop dead with shock/ surprise/ disbelief/ excitement. I don't want to cart your limp selves around.)

So yeah, I'm just going to reproduce something I found, but I HAD to put it up. I dunno how you'll like it, or even if you will, but it really moved me ... almost made me fly.

Dear S,

You are an explosion of carnations

in a dark room.

Or the unexpected scent of pine,

miles from the hills.

You are a full moon

that gives midnight it's meaning.

And the explanation of water

for all living things.

You are a compass

a sapphire

a bookmark.

A rare coin

a smooth stone

a blue marble.

You are an old lore

a small shell

a saved silver bit.

You are a fine quartz

a feathered quill,

a fob from a favourite watch.

You are a valentine

tattered and loved and re-read a hundred times.

You are a medal in the drawer

of a once sung hero.

You are honey

and cinnamon

and Indian spices,

lost from the boat

that was once Marco Polo's.

You are a pressed rose,

a diamond ring

and a red perfume bottle found near the Nile.

You are an old soul from an ancient place,

a thousand years, and centuries and

milleniums ago.

And you have travelled all this way

just so I could love you.

I do.

Love,
M

Mean Streets Of Mumbai

2006-08-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

I saw something today that troubled me for a long time. It made me do some rethinking about the kind of people I thought existed in the world. I was stumped beyond belief at the behavior of a fellow citizen.

We were driving down the beautiful Peddar road where we stopped at the Haji Ali crossing. (Always a red light there) A gang of young boys attacked the waiting cars with armloads of pirated books, hoping to make a quick sale! Now, I’ve bought tons of stuff from these crossing wala vendors and I’m sure that others have too. From the aforementioned books to flowers to toys... It’s always a decent deal.

A young vendor, around 10 years old, was showing his books to the passengers of a taxi. And suddenly the traffic lights turned green. The taxi sped away with all his books and didn’t even pull over beyond the lights to pay up. (As I thought it would and as it was supposed to)
The image of the young boy with fear writ large on his face, running among moving vehicles with all the speed he could muster behind the speeding taxi, a sense of despair which touched an emotional chord in me will never be forgotten. I was hemmed in by cars from all sides, couldn’t even help the poor kid as he ran from that red light to the next crossing looking frantically around for that one elusive car. Panting, he stood there desolate as the taxi mingled with all the other taxis, making it indiscernible.

How callous and how uncaring have people become? Somebody who can afford to ride a taxi, who can buy books on a whim couldn’t afford to pay the poor young guy his due??? How is that possible? Why did he do it? For a lark? For the kick of having robbed the boy of his job? (For he would surely have been fired that evening itself.)
This incident shook the very foundation of my belief that there is a basic goodness in everyone. I had thought people were nicer.

2026

2006-08-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

Barely a month into third year, and that feeling of "damn, is college really gonna be over so soon?" has already started creeping on to us. And the feeling sucks. It's amazing how quickly time flies by when you actually want it to freeze.... but okay, we won't go into any of that depressing stuff now. Soppy weepy "I miss college" entries will be put up later. The genesis of this post took place one lazy afternoon (three days ago) when nostalgia - which should ideally have been reserved for the Farewell week - started flooding us all of a sudden.

And we began planning our 2026 reunion. Twenty years later & all that, y'know. And began speculating who would be doing what, doing whom, and doing how well in life. Well, here it is, our speculations out in the open.

--- Quick background info ---

Date: Aug 4-5, 2006
Venue: Day 1 - Nirula's. Day 2 - College canteen.
Speculators: Amiya, Harpreet, Ishani, Jayant, Neha, Vidur (and Richa, on day 2).

[ Note: Harpreet's a gal, in case the name left anyone in doubt :) ]

Q: In what order will everyone get married?

Sequence decided as per individual vote count:

Neha – Harry – Ishani – Amiya – Jayant – Vidur

Q: Who’ll be the richest?

Amiya thinks. . . Harry
Harry thinks. . . Harry
Ishani thinks. . . Amiya
Jayant thinks. . . Ishani
Neha thinks. . . Neha
Vidur thinks. . . Harry

So the vote counts stands:

Harry: 3; Amiya: 1; Ishani: 1; Neha: 1; Jayant: 0; Vidur: 0

Q: Who’ll lose their virginity first?

Amiya thinks. . . Harry/Amiya
Harry thinks. . . Ishani
Ishani thinks. . . Amiya
Jayant thinks. . . Vidur/Amiya
Neha thinks. . . Vidur
Vidur thinks. . . Harry/Vidur

And the vote count is:
Amiya & Vidur: 2 each; Harry: 1.5; Ishani: 1; Jayant: 0; Neha: 0

Q: Who’ll probably have an extramarital relationship?

Amiya thinks. . . Neha/Vidur
Harry thinks. . . Neha
Ishani thinks. . . Neha
Jayant thinks. . . Neha
Neha thinks. . . Neha/Vidur
Vidur thinks. . . Jayant/Vidur

And the vote count is:

Neha: 4; Vidur: 1.5; Jayant: 0.5; Amiya, Ishani & Harry: 0

Q: Who’ll be the fattest when we meet in 2026?

Amiya thinks. . . Neha/Vidur
Harry thinks. . . Ishani
Ishani thinks. . . Neha/Vidur
Jayant thinks. . . Vidur
Neha thinks. . . Ishani
Vidur thinks. . . Neha/Ishani

And the potential future fat count is:

Ishani: 2.5; Vidur: 2; Neha: 1.5; Amiya, Harry & Jayant: 0

Q: Who’s most likely to have a paunch by then?

Amiya thinks. . . Vidur/Neha
Harry thinks. . . Vidur
Ishani thinks. . . Neha
Jayant thinks. . . Amiya
Neha thinks. . . Jayant
Vidur thinks. . . Neha

And the dreaded paunch count is:

Neha: 2.5; Vidur: 1.5; Amiya & Jayant: 1; Harry & Ishani: 0

[ So I'll be the fattest, but I won't have a paunch. Lucky! ]

Q: Who’ll have the sexiest spouse?

Amiya thinks. . . Harry/Jayant
Harry thinks. . . Harry
Ishani thinks. . . Ishani
Jayant thinks. . . Amiya
Neha thinks. . . Vidur
Vidur hopes Vidur but he thinks. . . Jayant/Harry

And the lucky bugger count is:

Harry: 2; Jayant: 1; Amiya, Vidur & Ishani: 1; Neha: 0

Q: Who’s most likely to have gotten arrested by then?

Amiya thinks. . . Harry (for drunken driving/doping)
Harry thinks. . . Jayant (radical activism)
Ishani thinks. . . Harry (something to do with being too drunk)
Jayant thinks. . . Jayant (activism) / Neha (killing her husband)
Neha thinks. . . Harry
Vidur thinks. . . Jayant

And the likeliest jailbirds are:

Harry: 3; Jayant: 2.5; Neha: 0.5; Amiya, Ishani & Vidur: 0

--------

Okay, just for the record, coming up with great enough questions isn't easy. While this entry only lists some of the more interesting Qs, there were also many that we came up with... then chucked. Sample this:

Jayant: Hmm... Do you think Amiya will have written a book by then?
Ami & Ishani: Dude, will YOU have written a book by then?!
(For those who don't know, Jay's the writer amongst us)
Vidur (thoughtfully): Do you think I will have read a book by then?

And if you happen to know Vidur, you're expected to drop dead laughing here, right here.

--------

Now back to our questions.

Q: How does everyone see everyone else’s future spouse/partner?

Q: What’s the wildest thing everyone SEES others as having done by then?

[ To quote Jayant, so around the time we're all 30, you'll mostly see Vidur naked. ]

Q: And what’s the wildest thing they probably WOULD have done (for real)?

There. This entry shall go up on the net as our final speculation on each other's future, and our 2026 reunion shall reward all those whose guesses came closest to the reality. May the best guesser win.

PS:
If you read this so far, and have decided to leave a comment, please copy your comment & paste it on Amiya's blog and Jay's... that feeling of all-togetherness and soulmate blogs and all, y'know.

Book-Tagged

2006-06-28T00:45:00.000-07:00

Oooooooooookay, I've been tagged again. AGAIN. I told you, didn't I tell you, and let me quote - "By the way, I just KNOW you're waiting for me to finish this tag. So that you can come up with another one real soon, to torture my poor soul. I just know it."
However this tag is close to the heart! It's about BOOKS, for chrissake!! :D
But I'm a natural born cribber, so I will crib, particlarly becuase I wrote this one line which I liked a lot! And that is - As I said, these TAGS will be the death of me. Ah me! Such a martyr! :D :P

Anyway, without further ado let's get down to business......... Here is my book history!

Number of books I own
Ummmmmm.... Damn! Can't believe I got stuck on this one! I think, around 300-350. Not counting my various comics, which constitute a totally different section!

Number of books lent out to others that never came back
A set of 30 'Archie' comics, which I lent to distant 'cousins'. NEVER returned!! Imagine.......30! And I was 12 then and those comics meant the world to me! Sniff sniff! :(
Besides that, at least 4 Enid Blytons lost to stupid stupid STUPID classmates!! Arrrgh! :x

Number of e-books I have
Again.... A toughie! I think around 200. (Maybe I should ask Swetank.)

Last book I bought
'Undercover Economist' by Tim Harford.

Last book I was gifted
'Shantaram' by Gregory David Roberts. Though I still haven't seen it! My parents have bought it. It's my gift. But it's still in Bombay! :)

Last book I read
'False Impressions' by Jeffrey Archer. Awesome!! Awesome!
And I have to mention the second last one too - 'Freakonomics' by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Awesome!!! Awesome!! AWESOME! :D

I'm currently reading..
'Undercover Economist' - Tim Harford
'The Eldest' - Christopher Paolini
'Parineeta' - Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
'Gora' - Rabindranath Tagore
'The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer' - Mark Twain
'Murder Of Roger Ackroyd' - Agatha Christie

AND looking for more!

Five books that mean a lot to me
1) My entire 'Harry Potter' series.
I don't let ANYONE touch those!

2) 'Atlas Shrugged' and The 'Fountainhead'.
Both these books taught me something totally new and different.. Masterpieces!

3) 'Freakonomics'.
It's just a recent purchase but I love it! It's brought about a whole new meaning to our dull economics and it means a lot to me for just that.

4) My 'Shakespeare' collection.
God! I love that man... And his comedies, his romances, his tragedies!! Everything!

5) My 'Archie' comics collection.
Yes, I made another one after losing those 30, and that is why this one is even more special! Around 80 comics in this, I just can't bear to part with them even after my mother's constant admonishing that they take up too much space!

Three books I started reading, but never completed
1) 'The Three Chimpanzees' by Jared Diamond.
2) 'Steppenwolf' by Herman Hesse.
3) 'Ignited Minds' by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Book that made zero sense to me
1) 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari' by Robin Sharma.
Actually all the self-help, I-will-teach-you-how-to-live-your-life-because-you-don't-know-anything kinda books just don't go down well with me!
2) 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho.
Again similar. Let-me-tell-you-about-the-world-because-you-don't-know-anything kinda book.
My most treasured books
Basically EVERY single book I own! I don't think I can part with any of them or bear to lose them or see them soiled in any way.. Books are way too special for me and I just can't understand those who don't enjoy reading! I think they're missing out on something absolutely beautiful!

People I Tag
I didn't tag anyone in my last tag post.... So I think I'll continue that trend.
Though Jay, you might wanna try your hand at this! :D

The MBA

2006-05-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

An MBA....
The ultimate goal of many poor souls like me.... And when I say 'many', I mean MANY. Phew, sometimes the sheer size daunts me in my task...The task of doing well enough in the CAT exams to be called for an interview and the GD, and then the even difficulter task of doing SO well in them so as to be invited to study in those haloed institutions, the IIMs.
Hmmmm, HALOED? Or just plain KILLING...

I know I might sound silly or deranged but, COME ON....We all know the admission procedure is no walk in the park. The entrance exam, the interview AND the GD, all have scared the best of people out of their wits...
Why is it so tough to get into those blessed places? I mean, I know why.... So many people apply, this is probably the only way to cut down the exesses but still....Just a rhetorical question...WHY? :(

Allow me to vent please, I'm feeling damn worried about MY prospects.
First comes the written exam:
I can safely say my english is pretty decent, others have said that too, but that's still not accounting for at least a 1000 people better than me. I suck at maths... so now what? MAJOR trouble spot...Okay okay, practise will make it manageable...fine. The DI part should be alright... So there. the written part isn't scary, but then, for me - it never was.

Now we come the two ugliest words in the history of the English language - Interview and GD. Ugh! ( To use my favourite expression these days ).. Plain and simple UGH!

People say I'm confident. confident enough to give a decent interview. But I, as a matter of fact, know that I'm confident around the WRONG people. I even had a talk about this with a pal of mine, and unfortunately, he agreed. ( Silly fool couldn't assuage my fears! ) That means that I don't think I'd be able to hold my own in an interview. I know giving those is very scary, I've not had a lot of practise but I've given some and they've told me a lot of evil things :(

And the even worse GD, especially designed to KILL students like me.. Again for the same reason, I'm confident around the wrong people.. In my group of friends, I can go on talking, arguing over just about anything...And I'm one of those non-stop talking types :P , but then again, that's the wrong kinda people to be confident around. Now don't get me wrong, dear friends of mine! What I'm trying to say, and doing a poor job of, is that, my friends ( Though highly special ) don't decide my getting admissions in places I want. Public speaking has always been an issue. Even in school, Where I was considered to be a good speaker, debating and the like used to give me nightmares. Give me a speech, I'll learn it by heart and go puke it out on stage...THAT is fine and dandy, but it was the elocutions that used to be my biggest concerns. Coming up with things to say while standing in front of a group of people gives me shivers up and down my silly spine... And that is basically what the GD is all about.

And now the icing on the murderous cake, the new reservation bill...I know pages and pages have been written against it and I agree with almost all of it, but I can't stop myself from mentioning it again... This just makes things just about perfect, don't you think? The difficult task has now been made almost impossible.. The worst part is, all the OBCs etc. have their precious 50%, but IF by any chance some OBC gets in through their merit, they get a seat in OUR 50%, not theirs... So basically, what they have is MORE THAN 50% of the total seats in their hands... Told ya it was the icing.

OH MAN! What's gonna happen to me...My dad has such high hopes from me, it makes things tougher.. Not that he says anything, but I just KNOW. One day he was telling me about some daughter of a friend of his, who didn't make it the first time she tried and now is just sitting at home twiddling her thumbs, waiting for the exams to come around again. He said he doesn't want me to waste a year..And I'm not really fond of that idea myself....CRAP.

So that's the thing which has been bothering me for a pretty long time now... What I want to know is how everyone else is feeling about our CAT exams.. It took me a long while to decide if I should put this up on my blog ; I'm generally not the kinds who'll discuss problems with others...But in the end, the need to get some sympathy (:P) overcame my natural habit.... So empathise, dear readers, EMPATHISE with poor ol' me.

Five points to me for updating my blog.

2006-04-23T04:41:00.000-07:00

So this tag thing...I can never understand why humans come up with weirder and weirder and more sadistic means of torturing their fellow humans....I mean, Amiya, Jayant, Amod ?? I thought we were friends... How could you do this to me?? How....
Bad people.

Anyway..... Jayant (or was it Amiya) tagged me early in my blogging life ( Not much of a life though ). It was one of those write 5 these and 5 those things about yourself tags... Avoided it and was still trying when Amod came long and tagged me again (GRRR). I will choose to ignore the fact that Amod's tag is a write 7 things about yourself tag. So peer pressure and other scathing, sarcastic remarks have forced me to get down and complete this post. (By the way, I just KNOW you're waiting for me to finish this tag. So that you can come up with another one real soon, to torture my poor soul. I just know it.)

Now without further ado, here is a list of the many 5 things that make up my life..

FIVE THINGS I CAN DO

1) Drive a car!!
2) Dance
3) Read and write.
4) Vello for HOURS without a guilty thought in my mind
5) Make people laugh till their tummy hurts.. :D

FIVE THINGS I CAN'T DO

1) Cook ( Where's the kitchen? )
2) Swim ( If I fall in some water? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa )
3) Whistle ( One thing I want to learn real bad )
4) Skate ( I've tried many many times but gravity always had other plans )
5) Be mean

FIVE THINGS I WANNA DO

1) Lots of adventure sports ( At least, I think I wanna do that )
2) Learn 5 more languages ( Notice the '5' again!!! )
3) Get rich
4) One little world tour
5) Become a secret agent/spy and do all the cool stuff they show in the movies!!

FIVE WORDS I USE A LOT

1) Damn ( Read da-yy-am)
2) Oh shit/ crap/ fuck.
3) Nalayak ( For all those who fail to do their living-close-to-Ishani duties )
4) Chill ( For all those hyper-ventillating souls I know )
5) Don't die ( I'm such a good samaritan.. :P)

FIVE THINGS I DISLIKE

1) Pink
2) Chilly in food....Arrrrgh!!
3) Horror
4) Dogs ( Okay, so I don't dislike them, but I do prefer to stay faaaaaaaaaaar away )
5) Empty headed or way-too-full-of-themselves people ( If you get my drift )

FIVE THINGS I LIKE

1) Me :P
2) The rain
3) Shakespeare
4) Cricket/ Basketball
5) ROCK!!

FIVE GIFTS I'D LOVE TO GET

1) A blank Cheque would be perfect, but if you can't afford that then,
2) A car!
3) A new I-Pod. ( My old one is a piece of junk now )
4) Books ( Mostly fiction )
5) Flowers!! ( Ooooooooh! Love them! And lucky me got tons of those for my birthday this time!! Yay!!!! )

FIVE MUSTS IN MY KINDA GUY

1) Chivalry ( I mean, what kinda guy is a chivalry-less guy?? )
2) He HAS to be tall
3) Sense of humour
4) Intelligence
5) Decent clothes. Please. (DO NOT come up to me wearing those awful shaded-patched-wannabe artistic-embroidered jeans or anything in that category. )

Okay, so that' it. That's me. I'm done. Happy now?

POETRY!!!

2006-01-12T04:52:00.000-08:00

Ok this is my first attempt at 'poetry' (Well, not exactly..... but technically? Yes!). So there I was sitting in class and doing what all students do - trying to listen to the teacher, and suddenly the first line of this 'poem' pops up into my head and starts pirouetting all around. So I thought, "wtf, lets create"... and the following is what got created.

((This is also an attempt at a new post when I can't think of anything else...thanks to my exams. Me being my usual lazy self don't really feel like writing something especially for the blog at the moment..Coz I'm supposed to be busy studying! And everyone is asking me to write something and not make my blog a one post thing only.))

If you sit in a dark room

Think about the past present and the future

It will seem not far away

Burn burn burn

What do you see?

An empty space

Where trees line a desolate path

Smiling longing begging...all gone

Fire and ice

Thirst and pain

Far away is the way to glory

Look on look on

Wonder what happens next

Take the lower plane

Conceal the unconcealable

Forgive the unforgivable

Forget the unforgettable

Dream the impossible.

PS - Please do not try to read between these lines ( despite the name of the blog). There are no hidden meanings, double entendres or the like. It is just words strung into lines and lines written one after the other to resemble a 'poem'. Also note that the word 'poem' is in quotes everywhere.

I doubt many people will like it. If you do, then WOW!! If you don't, then DAMN! :P

R.R.isms

2005-11-30T07:54:00.000-08:00

Now I'm sure that each and every one of us has had our share of funny teachers....You know the ones who do those idiotic antics in class that make you start snickering as soon as they turn around. But now and then there come these totally CLASSIC pieces of art that make boring, un-attendable classes worth attending!!

One such fine masterpiece teaches us a subject called 'Money And THE Financial System'. Lets call him RR...won't tell ya the whole (W-H-O-L-E) name coz God Forbid he comes trolling around here, then I'll be dead meat.You must be wondering about the funnies in the last line....don't worry, just sit back and start reading and you'll understand it all!! :D

So here it is.....here comes the much-cherished, much-painstakingly prepared list of crap our dear RR has come up with in the past few months that we've had the honour of having him teach us.It may give you a heart attack to read the stuff he's said...( coz sometimes he can get sooooooooo wonky) So hold on to your seats, dear readers....and BEWARE..

THE LIST:

1)RR: Please be patient. By that I mean you must have patience. Of course, I don't mean you should be a patient. (In Amiya's tute class)
Ooooooooh how caring

2) (He has divided the entire class into various groups & each group has to submit a report on their respective topics. So this one group had managed to impress him and....)
RR: So now the ball is in their court. Of course, there is no ball and there is no court. It's just a manner of speaking.
OMG such vital info....

3) RR:I am talking about an industrial plant, not a real plant. You know the ones that breathe.
Really sir? For a minute I actually got confused. Thank you so much for clarifying.

4) RR: Chakravorty Committee was set up in 1985. Jayant, (An unfortunate soul who happened to be looking up at that time) when were you born?
Jayant: Urm..1986, sir.
RR: See, you weren't even born then.
WHAT??

5) RR:Since you were not available to me 13-14 years back, I have no control over your thought process.
Egad! We are just pieces of meat, ready for sale.....

6) RR: What does Tarun (Another unfortunate soul) do in Ecosoc (Our college economics society)??
Amiya (A brave soul): Sir, he is involved in all aspects, in the whole of Ecosoc.
RR: You mean whole, as in the W-H-O-L-E of Ecosoc...
Our teachers are as DIRTY as us.

7) Vidur: Yes sir, there are private autos in Chennai.
RR: Really. This is very amusing to me.
Not 'this is a surprise'...not even 'this amuses me' but...

8) XYZ (A student): Sir, I think you missed this point.
RR: Yes, I deliberately left it out because I wanted to test you..
Aaaaaaaaah he never makes mistakes, you see!!!

9) RR:If you cannot answer a question you will be embarrassed. Fine.
But if you get embarrassed then I will get embarrased. Ooooooooooook .
And then society will make a fun of us..
I swear, I'm gonna gag any minute.

10) RR:I cannot insult you by giving you something easy in the quiz. Please insult us. Atleast we'll pass that way.
It should be something that you can attack. Huh?
Something that strikes you. You want the questions to hit us?!!?!?

11)RR:If you are the governor of RBI, which you might be one day, ...(Haan haan, dukaan khol kar baithne jitna aasaan hota hai na.) then how will you bring in money?
XYZ (A brave student trying to answer): Uh! sirrr........
RR: You can't ask your employees to sell tomatoes and potatoes to earn revenues.
XYZ thinking....When did I say that?

12) RR:A stitch in time saves nine. But what are you doing here? This is just a loose rope.
XYZ thinking....How do those sentences connect?

13) RR:When both of yous set ups the plant. (The industrial one)
Aaj 's' free mein mil rahe thhe so I'm using em so liberally.

14) RR:There was a lot of hue and cry about it. Not that people were actually crying. It's just that they were reacting vehemently.
Seriously??

15) RR:If you like something then you say this is of a GOLDEN ERA. (We do?) Actually there is no gold around. It is just a saying.
WOW!!

16) RR:If you want to make a quick buck or a fast buck, (Choose the word you like the best) by hook or by crook...(Aaj toh mein dictionary learn karke aaya hoon).
I am using these phrases because you use them and understand them...
Achhaaaa?

17) (He had asked us to make a flowchart and it was spread horizontally)
RR: I hope you have drawn it in the 'landscape' mode and not the 'portrait' mode.
And I also hope that you haven't made a real landscape, just used the landscape mode.
So hopeful.

18) XYZ: Sir, how do you spell 'PROFLIGACY'?
RR: I don't spell it because I do not teach you English.
Avoided the Q....Oooooooohh...He didn't know the spelling himself!!! hee hee!!

19) RR: Austerity measures....now don't ask me the spelling of 'Austerity' also, because I will have to become an English school teacher for that.
He didn't know the spelling of this one either!!

20) (Asks a student something & her reply turns out to be not entirely correct)
So RR: Ankita (Poor thing!!), you were partially true, and I have told you before that 'partially true' is 'false' and 'partially false' is also 'false'. Do you realize your mistake?
Ankita: Yes, sir (Thinking....No sir )
RR: That is very good because now you are on the path to perfection. After all, we only want truth... the absolute truth.... that's what we're seeking.
I pity thee Ankita, for unknowingly treading the path of perfection!!!

OK that's it folks....for now.
Die...die laughing.
Wait (with bated breath) for Part 2.

PS: I know I must have missed a million other fantastic R.R.isms. So all the people who know the true identity of RR [:P] are invited to tell me what I forgot!
PPS: Isn't this a really, really long post!!

PPPS: Happy Budday Vidur!!!

My First Post Ever

2005-11-25T17:42:00.000-08:00

Ok this is the first post on my first blog....oooooooohhh!!! :P

I have absolutely no idea why I've started it...Maybe to facilitate commenting on my friends' blogs (read Richa) or maybe to actually publify (is that a word!!??) my ramblings......(stupid idea really)

I know for a fact that Amiya and Jay will be happy with this development - they'll have one more link on their blog profiles.....
That's what they do - collect silly stuff.... like scraps, friends (on Orkut that is, links blah blah blah!!

I had so much trouble just getting started....HOW MANY NAMES DOES THE RUDDY SITE NEED???
One needs to be highly creative to come up with something for the following:
1) a user name
2) a display name
3) a blog title
4) a blog URL
I mean, whats the difference?? I had to call up somebody to figure this all out....
(Note to pro bloggers:"I am not dumb.")

I, for the time being, am sticking to my good old name. After all, there's nothing better than that, is there?? Sources have told me that everything can be changed/edited/improved etc etc so I'm content... at least abhi tak...

And this is not the grand opening of my blog that I had imagined. It should have been something witty, funny, witty some more that would have had people rolling on the floor with laughter.....but what the heck! I was never meant to be a Shakespeare or a Maupassant. If i were, would I have been doing economics??

So there. My writing abilities are out in the open. LOL all you better-writers-than-me ppl.

PS: I can't believe I've gone on and on long enough to make a decent length post.....PHEW!!! :D