The Lion and the mouse
View more presentations from Karthikeyan Ravi Kumar.
Showing posts with label Arbitrary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arbitrary. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
My typing speed
I came across this site that throws random words for you to type. Typing comprehend-able sentences is one thing but typing these random words, I realized, is much more difficult.
Check out my score:
47 words
Typing Test
Check out my score:
47 words
Typing Test
Monday, July 5, 2010
Traffic heaven
Thanks to Bharath Bandh, Bangalore is in traffic heaven. Abso-freakin-loutely no traffic. 80KMPH at tin factory. Nuff said.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wery Vell!
Im doing wery vell vit dis blog or am I? This is the kind of spelling that Generation-Y is getting used to. Despite being warned of the consequences of wrong spelling, they are falling prey to using shortened SMS lingo. The worst part is that since it is sub-conscious, they don't even know they're making a mistake.
Image source: http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/86071414/Workbook-Stock
One more problem is that we Indians don't know the difference between the sounds of "V" and "W". We use them interchangeably. Even while using abbreviations in the SMS lingo, spelling "with" as "vit" is completely wrong, according to me. Although I consider any abbreviation of an already small word to be wrong, I can forgive if it was written as "wit" for the lack of space but "vit" is truly wrong! To understand why, you need to understand how the two letters are pronounced. If you paid attention in your school, you will remember this: "Bite your V's and kiss your W's". This, basically, means that while pronouncing "V" you tend to bite your lower lip with your upper, front teeth and you tend to bring your lips together, as though kissing, while pronouncing a "W". To see a demo visit this site: http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html
Although we Indians understand the right meaning even if the two letters are not pronounced correctly, for a native speaker this can be quite confusing. So, please try to be cautious to use the appropriate sound and letter as required.
Agreed that in a medium like twitter and SMS, the restriction of the number of characters makes us innovate to fit what we want to say under the limit, but is it okay to do the same in other places, especially in formal communication? I don't think so.
This isn't the end of it. Even grammar is going to the dogs. Usage of capital letters in the middle of a sentence, usage of all capitals, abbreviations of words that had no standard expansion, utterly wrong usage of punctuation marks, the list goes on. This is utter non-sense! Ask youngsters and they consider this kind of murder of the language to be "cool!”.
Although spell-checkers are a useful tool, they're not an intelligent one. They can identify wrongly spelt words, but they do not know to identify the context correctly, all the time (though with new improvements in technology, this is trying to be attempted).
See this example: http://writingenglish.wordpress.com/2006/09/18/ten-common-writing-mistakes-your-spell-checker-won’t-find/
This leads to the use of rightly spelt wrong words in a sentence. A typo could be forgiven but usage of a wrong word implies that you either do not have a basic sense of the meaning of words or didn't care to spend an extra few minutes to revise your document before hitting the send button which can prove disastrous to you especially if you are a job-seeker.
Whole novels are being written with such language and they go on to become bestsellers! This is outrageous. Youngsters committing mistakes is one thing but THIS is intolerable! How can someone call themselves a writer when they don't even know basic grammar? That's outrageous, don't you think?
A request to the people who use abbreviations/SMS lingo etc - please do so with caution. You might say it is OK with friends but it is not. When you actually have to use the correct language, you sub-consciously use your habitual version without realising it. Try to use proper language to the maximum extent possible. I'm not saying it is taboo to use SMS lingo but try not to. Use it sparingly, only when you have to save characters in the text box. Not only that, there is some etiquette to be followed in different contexts. Please follow them to the extent possible. That is my humble request.
Let me know what you think. Do you think SMS lingo usage is justified? Do you think grammar is of no importance? Etiquette plays no role in today's scenario? Comment on it below.
Request: If you find any errors in my blog, please point it out. I’ll make the correction. Some errors creep in despite our best efforts but I assure you they wouldn’t be blatant.
Image source: http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/86071414/Workbook-Stock
One more problem is that we Indians don't know the difference between the sounds of "V" and "W". We use them interchangeably. Even while using abbreviations in the SMS lingo, spelling "with" as "vit" is completely wrong, according to me. Although I consider any abbreviation of an already small word to be wrong, I can forgive if it was written as "wit" for the lack of space but "vit" is truly wrong! To understand why, you need to understand how the two letters are pronounced. If you paid attention in your school, you will remember this: "Bite your V's and kiss your W's". This, basically, means that while pronouncing "V" you tend to bite your lower lip with your upper, front teeth and you tend to bring your lips together, as though kissing, while pronouncing a "W". To see a demo visit this site: http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html
Although we Indians understand the right meaning even if the two letters are not pronounced correctly, for a native speaker this can be quite confusing. So, please try to be cautious to use the appropriate sound and letter as required.
Agreed that in a medium like twitter and SMS, the restriction of the number of characters makes us innovate to fit what we want to say under the limit, but is it okay to do the same in other places, especially in formal communication? I don't think so.
This isn't the end of it. Even grammar is going to the dogs. Usage of capital letters in the middle of a sentence, usage of all capitals, abbreviations of words that had no standard expansion, utterly wrong usage of punctuation marks, the list goes on. This is utter non-sense! Ask youngsters and they consider this kind of murder of the language to be "cool!”.
Although spell-checkers are a useful tool, they're not an intelligent one. They can identify wrongly spelt words, but they do not know to identify the context correctly, all the time (though with new improvements in technology, this is trying to be attempted).
See this example: http://writingenglish.wordpress.com/2006/09/18/ten-common-writing-mistakes-your-spell-checker-won’t-find/
This leads to the use of rightly spelt wrong words in a sentence. A typo could be forgiven but usage of a wrong word implies that you either do not have a basic sense of the meaning of words or didn't care to spend an extra few minutes to revise your document before hitting the send button which can prove disastrous to you especially if you are a job-seeker.
Whole novels are being written with such language and they go on to become bestsellers! This is outrageous. Youngsters committing mistakes is one thing but THIS is intolerable! How can someone call themselves a writer when they don't even know basic grammar? That's outrageous, don't you think?
A request to the people who use abbreviations/SMS lingo etc - please do so with caution. You might say it is OK with friends but it is not. When you actually have to use the correct language, you sub-consciously use your habitual version without realising it. Try to use proper language to the maximum extent possible. I'm not saying it is taboo to use SMS lingo but try not to. Use it sparingly, only when you have to save characters in the text box. Not only that, there is some etiquette to be followed in different contexts. Please follow them to the extent possible. That is my humble request.
Let me know what you think. Do you think SMS lingo usage is justified? Do you think grammar is of no importance? Etiquette plays no role in today's scenario? Comment on it below.
Request: If you find any errors in my blog, please point it out. I’ll make the correction. Some errors creep in despite our best efforts but I assure you they wouldn’t be blatant.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Midnight reading
Due to my aunt coming over and staying at our place last night I had to go through some inconveniences. What you ask? Well, you know. The usual. She arrived almost at the stroke of midnight and no, that doesn't make her Cinderella. Rather, quite the opposite.
I was woken up by all the commotion of someone arriving from out-of-town. The regular greetings, how are you’s, what's happenings, created quite a whim in my household. Well, I can forgive all that. Mind you that I hadn’t gotten up from bed. I pretended to be fast asleep but neither my mom nor the guests paid any heed to that and continued their conversations right into the night after the very late dinner. I was so irritated that I didn't get any sleep.
I braced myself for appearing to be rude and gathered enough courage to tell them to shut up. They did but not for long. My aunt called up someone on the phone and happily started talking, and really loud at that, as if it was during the day and no one was around.
Image source: Getty Images
Quite unnerved by all this, I decided to study the book which I was supposed to have anyway, which I had procrastinated doing. Perhaps the bright light that the tube emitted made my aunt shut up for good. The air was cold from the fan and it was quiet now. I was wide awake by now. Whatever little sleep I had in my eyes had disappeared. I continued to read.
It is then that I discovered quite an amazing thing. I had completed four chapters and looked up at the clock to find out that only an hour had passed. It was 1:30A.M. The previous four had taken me almost three days to complete. “Wow!” I said to myself.
Perhaps that's how the proverbial phrase “Burning the midnight oil” came about.
I had done this once earlier at 3:00A.M. but not at 1A.M. like this time. So, it has convinced me that reading after midnight is quite effective provided you are wide awake and anyone wanting a serious read should try it. Probably one could sleep during the day to stay awake during the night.
Have you done this or wanting to? Share you experiences.
I was woken up by all the commotion of someone arriving from out-of-town. The regular greetings, how are you’s, what's happenings, created quite a whim in my household. Well, I can forgive all that. Mind you that I hadn’t gotten up from bed. I pretended to be fast asleep but neither my mom nor the guests paid any heed to that and continued their conversations right into the night after the very late dinner. I was so irritated that I didn't get any sleep.
I braced myself for appearing to be rude and gathered enough courage to tell them to shut up. They did but not for long. My aunt called up someone on the phone and happily started talking, and really loud at that, as if it was during the day and no one was around.
Image source: Getty Images
Quite unnerved by all this, I decided to study the book which I was supposed to have anyway, which I had procrastinated doing. Perhaps the bright light that the tube emitted made my aunt shut up for good. The air was cold from the fan and it was quiet now. I was wide awake by now. Whatever little sleep I had in my eyes had disappeared. I continued to read.
It is then that I discovered quite an amazing thing. I had completed four chapters and looked up at the clock to find out that only an hour had passed. It was 1:30A.M. The previous four had taken me almost three days to complete. “Wow!” I said to myself.
Perhaps that's how the proverbial phrase “Burning the midnight oil” came about.
I had done this once earlier at 3:00A.M. but not at 1A.M. like this time. So, it has convinced me that reading after midnight is quite effective provided you are wide awake and anyone wanting a serious read should try it. Probably one could sleep during the day to stay awake during the night.
Have you done this or wanting to? Share you experiences.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
SunFunday? Some tips to get through the work week
I’m an ardent fan of Garfield like the rest of you are but I don’t corroborate with his idea of flying to another country like Ibiza on Mondays because it is not yet a Monday there. Although Mondays mean going back to work/routine/grind, call it what you may, for me it is just a day that is 5 days from the weekend.
Yes, I’m being very optimistic but those who know me well would also know that I’m a practical guy. I firmly believe in the old Tamil saying that goes “ ALavukku minjinaa, amirthamum visham” meaning “Over the limit, even the divine nectar can turn poisonous”. So, when I’m saying this, you can believe that it really works.
Try it. Next Monday, start counting down to the weekend and you’d see that the week will whizz past in a jiffy and before you know it, Friday evening would have arrived.
Another reason that I’ve observed for Monday blues is inadequate sleep the night before. The person who’s well slept on a Sunday night enjoys the week ahead. For most people, Sunday means Fun. They plan(or not) their Sundays with all sorts of activities that stretch late into the night too. This is the gravest of mistakes that lands you in a soup on a Monday morning. I, for one, plan everything for the Friday evening. Though, I’d be dead tired, I stretch myself to finish as much as I can on a Friday evening. Finish all household tasks, catch up on all movies/TV shows that I had missed during the week etc during Friday nights. Going to movies, hanging out with friends, completing tasks that spilt over from the Friday, everything else is done by Saturday evening tops.
I know that I’m no sportsman/athlete or even a person who takes care of his body well but nowadays I try to play on a Saturday weekend just for fun, if not for anything else. I feel more rejuvenated that way.
Then comes the Sunday where I get up late, keep things in place for Monday morning like Ironing clothes, polishing shoes etc., activities that don’t take up too much effort or time or intellect. These are completed in an hour or two after I wake up and have a nice meal, watch some TV, listen to some soothing blues/jazz numbers during the afternoon and sleep. Make sure to get up before 16:00 so that you don’t stay up too late. Have dinner, max, by 19:00 and go to bed by 20:00 if nothing interesting on TV. If there is any then you obviously don’t want to miss it so go to bed max by 22:00. Never exceed that time.
Get up a little earlier than usual on a Monday morning, say at 5:30, do your usual morning activities and leave for office. This also helps you avoid the Monday morning Traffic rush.
This schedule gets me up & running on a Monday without any stress and makes my Sunday a Fun day with the week ahead quite pleasant.
Yes, I’m being very optimistic but those who know me well would also know that I’m a practical guy. I firmly believe in the old Tamil saying that goes “ ALavukku minjinaa, amirthamum visham” meaning “Over the limit, even the divine nectar can turn poisonous”. So, when I’m saying this, you can believe that it really works.
Try it. Next Monday, start counting down to the weekend and you’d see that the week will whizz past in a jiffy and before you know it, Friday evening would have arrived.
Another reason that I’ve observed for Monday blues is inadequate sleep the night before. The person who’s well slept on a Sunday night enjoys the week ahead. For most people, Sunday means Fun. They plan(or not) their Sundays with all sorts of activities that stretch late into the night too. This is the gravest of mistakes that lands you in a soup on a Monday morning. I, for one, plan everything for the Friday evening. Though, I’d be dead tired, I stretch myself to finish as much as I can on a Friday evening. Finish all household tasks, catch up on all movies/TV shows that I had missed during the week etc during Friday nights. Going to movies, hanging out with friends, completing tasks that spilt over from the Friday, everything else is done by Saturday evening tops.
I know that I’m no sportsman/athlete or even a person who takes care of his body well but nowadays I try to play on a Saturday weekend just for fun, if not for anything else. I feel more rejuvenated that way.
Then comes the Sunday where I get up late, keep things in place for Monday morning like Ironing clothes, polishing shoes etc., activities that don’t take up too much effort or time or intellect. These are completed in an hour or two after I wake up and have a nice meal, watch some TV, listen to some soothing blues/jazz numbers during the afternoon and sleep. Make sure to get up before 16:00 so that you don’t stay up too late. Have dinner, max, by 19:00 and go to bed by 20:00 if nothing interesting on TV. If there is any then you obviously don’t want to miss it so go to bed max by 22:00. Never exceed that time.
Get up a little earlier than usual on a Monday morning, say at 5:30, do your usual morning activities and leave for office. This also helps you avoid the Monday morning Traffic rush.
This schedule gets me up & running on a Monday without any stress and makes my Sunday a Fun day with the week ahead quite pleasant.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Mega Movie Magic
Watched two of the most awaited movies this season: “Kites” & “Shrek: Forever After, The Final chapter 3D” in the cinemas and this is NOT going to be yet another review out there on the Information Superhighway although I’d say this: Don’t miss Shrek 4 and stay away from Kites unless you are the kind who likes melodrama and sad endings.
Notice that it is not a multiplex but a regular single screen, good, old Cinema! that I have mentioned. “Why?” you may ask. Well, here goes…
Kites – I paid Rs.60 for middle class. Shrek - Rs.150 for balcony! Trust me. That’s cheap. Gone are the days of Balcony for Rs. 50. I remember watching “Fanaa” in the balcony for that much. And this is because it was a single screener. No multiplex in Bangalore charges anything less than Rs.150 on a weekend.
My question is if these single screen theatres with far lesser audience and limited number of shows can offer such low ticket prices and still make a profit, why do the multiplexes have to charge such exorbitant prices? You may argue saying that their infrastructure and ambiance is way better and that you get what you pay for. Well, I can counter that by saying even the single screen theatres of today have excellent infrastructure and boast of facilities that can dwarf that offered by multiplexes.
A/C halls, Digital Projection, DTS Surround sound, excellent cushion, push-back seats, good eatables and all this with decently priced tickets. I don’t see a difference. Does anyone? Enlighten me.
Then there’s the question of crowd. What is it? Multiplexes have very decent crowd? Is that what you say? Ask yourself. Do you want to watch a movie with no audience reaction to anything, no whistles, no hoots, no yelling, no screaming, absolutely no enthusiasm. For that, I might as well watch the movie at home. After all, what is cinema for? It is for entertainment and enjoyment and without all the above, it is just a load of BS.
If you are the kind who doesn’t mind paying more for a better experience. Think again. What you are actually doing is inflating the prices and making it unaffordable for us lesser mortals. You aren’t paying more because you are getting more. You are paying more because you can and the multiplex owners understand this very clearly and make humongous profits.
Different rates for different days, different movies and different shows. Different movies – I can understand but the others are just ridiculous!
Lesser prices, more shows, more people. That’s the way to go. Don’t you think? No? Then let me know what you think.
Notice that it is not a multiplex but a regular single screen, good, old Cinema! that I have mentioned. “Why?” you may ask. Well, here goes…
Kites – I paid Rs.60 for middle class. Shrek - Rs.150 for balcony! Trust me. That’s cheap. Gone are the days of Balcony for Rs. 50. I remember watching “Fanaa” in the balcony for that much. And this is because it was a single screener. No multiplex in Bangalore charges anything less than Rs.150 on a weekend.
My question is if these single screen theatres with far lesser audience and limited number of shows can offer such low ticket prices and still make a profit, why do the multiplexes have to charge such exorbitant prices? You may argue saying that their infrastructure and ambiance is way better and that you get what you pay for. Well, I can counter that by saying even the single screen theatres of today have excellent infrastructure and boast of facilities that can dwarf that offered by multiplexes.
A/C halls, Digital Projection, DTS Surround sound, excellent cushion, push-back seats, good eatables and all this with decently priced tickets. I don’t see a difference. Does anyone? Enlighten me.
Then there’s the question of crowd. What is it? Multiplexes have very decent crowd? Is that what you say? Ask yourself. Do you want to watch a movie with no audience reaction to anything, no whistles, no hoots, no yelling, no screaming, absolutely no enthusiasm. For that, I might as well watch the movie at home. After all, what is cinema for? It is for entertainment and enjoyment and without all the above, it is just a load of BS.
If you are the kind who doesn’t mind paying more for a better experience. Think again. What you are actually doing is inflating the prices and making it unaffordable for us lesser mortals. You aren’t paying more because you are getting more. You are paying more because you can and the multiplex owners understand this very clearly and make humongous profits.
Different rates for different days, different movies and different shows. Different movies – I can understand but the others are just ridiculous!
Lesser prices, more shows, more people. That’s the way to go. Don’t you think? No? Then let me know what you think.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Supernatural guardian
Supernatural phenomena needn't always have to be evil or horrific as portrayed in movies. It can do some good to people who believe too. I know that I'm starting to sound like some God-man but I can't deny the fact that is happening to me. I don't, for sure, know if it is supernatural but as long as it is affecting my life in a good way, I don't care what it is.
This may sound silly but ever since my dad passed away, I feel like someone's monitoring my activities. It is almost like they're right there watching my every move. When I procrastinate doing a certain thing then there occurs something that forces me to stop and get off my ass and do that thing. e.g. If I'm stuck to the computer on a weekend without even brushing or bathing then there's a power cut. You may say that Power-cuts in Bangalore are the most ubiquitous thing and it was just coincidence but as soon as I'm in the Bathroom, the power is back and this has happened too many times to be just a coincidence.
And for the past few days, looks like someone's listening to my wishes and granting it. Whatever I wished for is happening. My gut tends to always ask "Dad, Is it you?" Who/whatever it may be, Thank you! Thanks a tonne. Thanks for everything that you may have done for me without I realizing that it's you. :)
Observe carefully and you'd notice somethings happening in your day-to-day life that looks like it is being conspired for you. Take a moment to think of the possibilities for all the events in one day of your life and I bet you that you'll have something sticking out without an explanation. Wonder what it is. Think it out and the more you think of it and thank the person who you think is doing it, the more often such events start occurring and before you know it, your life has turned more pleasant. At least for me it has.
Speaking about thanking people, the other thing that I've noticed whenever I go to a place of worship is people asking for this and that - happiness, pleasure, health and wealth and a million other things that exists in this world but the people I've found thanking for what they've got already were far and few between. Since the time I realized this, I've never actually asked God for anything. I admit it, I'm no saint. I do have desires but they remain desires and I find ways to fulfil them but never ask GOD for it. I've only been thanking him for what I've already got - it may be as miniscule as a pen that I bought but I thank him not for the object itself but for the ability he's given me to buy that and the relatively better position in society that I am in compared to a million others.
I heard a story the other day about how heaven is divided into 3 departments. The first department had hundreds of thousands of angels working hard segregating all the prayers received. The second department again was bustling with activity with as many angels sending out the granted wishes. Then there was the third department where there was just one Angel sitting and that too sitting idle without any work. When inquired that was the department to receive thanks for the wishes granted. I guess that pretty much sums up the moral of the story. Thank. Thank God or whoever you may think is responsible for life to be the way it is for you. Whatever you need would be granted automatically if you need it.
Let me end with a quote from "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho: "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." So, stop worrying about waiting for divine intervention and thank for what you've already got and work towards what you want.
This may sound silly but ever since my dad passed away, I feel like someone's monitoring my activities. It is almost like they're right there watching my every move. When I procrastinate doing a certain thing then there occurs something that forces me to stop and get off my ass and do that thing. e.g. If I'm stuck to the computer on a weekend without even brushing or bathing then there's a power cut. You may say that Power-cuts in Bangalore are the most ubiquitous thing and it was just coincidence but as soon as I'm in the Bathroom, the power is back and this has happened too many times to be just a coincidence.
And for the past few days, looks like someone's listening to my wishes and granting it. Whatever I wished for is happening. My gut tends to always ask "Dad, Is it you?" Who/whatever it may be, Thank you! Thanks a tonne. Thanks for everything that you may have done for me without I realizing that it's you. :)
Observe carefully and you'd notice somethings happening in your day-to-day life that looks like it is being conspired for you. Take a moment to think of the possibilities for all the events in one day of your life and I bet you that you'll have something sticking out without an explanation. Wonder what it is. Think it out and the more you think of it and thank the person who you think is doing it, the more often such events start occurring and before you know it, your life has turned more pleasant. At least for me it has.
Speaking about thanking people, the other thing that I've noticed whenever I go to a place of worship is people asking for this and that - happiness, pleasure, health and wealth and a million other things that exists in this world but the people I've found thanking for what they've got already were far and few between. Since the time I realized this, I've never actually asked God for anything. I admit it, I'm no saint. I do have desires but they remain desires and I find ways to fulfil them but never ask GOD for it. I've only been thanking him for what I've already got - it may be as miniscule as a pen that I bought but I thank him not for the object itself but for the ability he's given me to buy that and the relatively better position in society that I am in compared to a million others.
I heard a story the other day about how heaven is divided into 3 departments. The first department had hundreds of thousands of angels working hard segregating all the prayers received. The second department again was bustling with activity with as many angels sending out the granted wishes. Then there was the third department where there was just one Angel sitting and that too sitting idle without any work. When inquired that was the department to receive thanks for the wishes granted. I guess that pretty much sums up the moral of the story. Thank. Thank God or whoever you may think is responsible for life to be the way it is for you. Whatever you need would be granted automatically if you need it.
Let me end with a quote from "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho: "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." So, stop worrying about waiting for divine intervention and thank for what you've already got and work towards what you want.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Bliss
The word says it all. My state of mind, my life, my situation and my environment. All in a perfect state of bliss. I feel lucky to have this today. Not many are happy with their lives and the mess they're in but I am finding everything finally falling into place.
After months, if not years of restlessness, I've found peace. Great Job, Good Financial position, Good relationships, good interests and Most of all TIME. Time and freedom to do what I want, when I want. Unlike others of my age who still have earning parents which enables them to splash their money on all the usual Post liberalisation capitalistic pleasures, I being the sole earning member of the family have learnt pretty early, I should say, to balance my cheques and check my balances.
Although I occasionally indulge in those pleasures, my situation has taught me to be in control. Witnessing, first hand, the torturous life gone through by people who didn't budget their assets & liabilities, has taught me to be frugal yet not cheap. There is a fine line separating the two and I am learning the ropes of not crossing that line.
The factor that inspired me to break my laziness and make this post was "Today". Yes, the day. Today is especially good. Started off on a very nice note. My PC2 saw the light of Windows 7 finally, after a long make-do with Windows XP on a 2.5GB HDD. That enables my sis to watch videos, listen to music on HER PC now without troubling me anymore. My new bike's Engine is becoming more and more used to me and looks like I'm also beginning to read its mind. It's been really smooth ride. The ride to office today was amazing. Just zipped and zoomed.
I know, I know, don't jump off your seat asking how that was possible in Bangalore's Traffic. Yes, I was amazed too. To help my ride, the roads were particularly empty today. The usual culprits - the Lingarajapuram flyover and the KR Puram Railway station under-bridge were also EMPTY. Read it E.M.P.T.Y. empty! I was shocked! Pleasantly. That and the weather. Well, what can I say. Bangalore has always had good weather but it was looking like Global warming has finally caught on to Bangalore too and the heat never seemed to subside but then what happened? As usual, something unusual happened as Bangalore always has surprises for us in terms of weather. Cyclone Laila! Now, it looks like I'm in the middle of Monsoon. The weather's just mind-blowing. Perfect for Garam Chai and Pakoras in the afternoons and also Long bike rides. Although, I can't do it just yet, I'm looking forward to the weekend.
What is it? "My life can be better"? Yes it can but I don't care. The crux here is, as clichéd as it may be, to not look at the glass being half-empty but at it being half-full. Living the moment!
To top all this, I'll finish off by talking about the ever hot topic of all times: Movies. 3 Super movies releasing this weekend. Looking forward to that. You ask which ones? I thought you already knew. You didn't? WTF! Are you locked up in a Bunker in Afghanistan? Get a life. Get your ass off that seat of yours and go watch these: "Kites", "Shrek: Forever after 3D", and if you are a Tamilian and/or understand Tamil, don't miss out on "Kola Kolaya Mundhirika" which has Crazy Mohan's dialogues and is supposedly an out-and-out comedy family entertainer. So, busy weekend ahead. Wishing you all the best for a satisfying life similar to mine. Happy reading. Ta for now.
After months, if not years of restlessness, I've found peace. Great Job, Good Financial position, Good relationships, good interests and Most of all TIME. Time and freedom to do what I want, when I want. Unlike others of my age who still have earning parents which enables them to splash their money on all the usual Post liberalisation capitalistic pleasures, I being the sole earning member of the family have learnt pretty early, I should say, to balance my cheques and check my balances.
Although I occasionally indulge in those pleasures, my situation has taught me to be in control. Witnessing, first hand, the torturous life gone through by people who didn't budget their assets & liabilities, has taught me to be frugal yet not cheap. There is a fine line separating the two and I am learning the ropes of not crossing that line.
The factor that inspired me to break my laziness and make this post was "Today". Yes, the day. Today is especially good. Started off on a very nice note. My PC2 saw the light of Windows 7 finally, after a long make-do with Windows XP on a 2.5GB HDD. That enables my sis to watch videos, listen to music on HER PC now without troubling me anymore. My new bike's Engine is becoming more and more used to me and looks like I'm also beginning to read its mind. It's been really smooth ride. The ride to office today was amazing. Just zipped and zoomed.
I know, I know, don't jump off your seat asking how that was possible in Bangalore's Traffic. Yes, I was amazed too. To help my ride, the roads were particularly empty today. The usual culprits - the Lingarajapuram flyover and the KR Puram Railway station under-bridge were also EMPTY. Read it E.M.P.T.Y. empty! I was shocked! Pleasantly. That and the weather. Well, what can I say. Bangalore has always had good weather but it was looking like Global warming has finally caught on to Bangalore too and the heat never seemed to subside but then what happened? As usual, something unusual happened as Bangalore always has surprises for us in terms of weather. Cyclone Laila! Now, it looks like I'm in the middle of Monsoon. The weather's just mind-blowing. Perfect for Garam Chai and Pakoras in the afternoons and also Long bike rides. Although, I can't do it just yet, I'm looking forward to the weekend.
What is it? "My life can be better"? Yes it can but I don't care. The crux here is, as clichéd as it may be, to not look at the glass being half-empty but at it being half-full. Living the moment!
To top all this, I'll finish off by talking about the ever hot topic of all times: Movies. 3 Super movies releasing this weekend. Looking forward to that. You ask which ones? I thought you already knew. You didn't? WTF! Are you locked up in a Bunker in Afghanistan? Get a life. Get your ass off that seat of yours and go watch these: "Kites", "Shrek: Forever after 3D", and if you are a Tamilian and/or understand Tamil, don't miss out on "Kola Kolaya Mundhirika" which has Crazy Mohan's dialogues and is supposedly an out-and-out comedy family entertainer. So, busy weekend ahead. Wishing you all the best for a satisfying life similar to mine. Happy reading. Ta for now.
Friday, March 26, 2010
What is it about marriages? Why is it such a big deal?
A friend of mine got married recently and then the most irritating question that I had to face from anyone who came to know about this news was "So, when are you getting married?". I know, I know. Everyone faces this question at some point in your life and feel that you aren't old enough, but my case is different. How, you ask? Here's how:
The answer to that question is "I'm not getting married" which means not I'm not getting married now or for a few years but I'm not getting married, ever!
Now, everyone, including you, Yes, you! would immediately start judging me if I'm sane or has something gone wrong with me. Let me make this clear. I have nothing against the institution of marriage and I'm not like Kamal Haasan or anybody to say such things. All I'm saying is that I don't want to get married.
Why is it that people find it so difficult to digest this fact. Whenever this argument pops up, it invariably ends in the other person judging me to be incorrigibly insane and hoping that some day I'd change my decision, eventually and most certainly.
This decision was made, not recently. It was made when I was in school and people said I was too young to understand life so I'd change pretty soon. Now, 10 years later, my conviction has only gotten stronger with my experiences and other's plight in this complex world of social living.
I like my life the way it is. I don't want to introduce unnecessary complications by bringing in another person into it forcibly. Now, here come my justification for my decision.
Point 1: If I were duplicated, the other me wouldn't want to live with me. I'd just be intolerable. I know it. Trust me.
I feel everyone should ask this question to themselves before getting married. It'd reduce the number of divorce cases in the world.
Point 2: I know what all the person (whoever it is) has to sacrifice if they have to be able to live with my family and adapt our culture and way of living. Let's face it, however open and unorthodox a family is, it is still new to the bride. A strange new world unseen of earlier.
This is a major reason why inter-caste and inter-religion marriages are still not done in India. It is not about the religion. It is about daily life. How someone brushes, what time they get up, what duties they perform on a daily basis, how they greet someone, how they move socially etc etc. Each religion and caste has their own unique ways and would find it difficult to accept a new way. Let me make myself clear (in case this blog is pulled-up against me years later by media and before they misquote me, leading to all sorts of controversies). I AM NOT SUPPORTING RELIGIOUS BIAS but let's be practical and think for a moment. How many of you have gone to another city and found it really difficult to cope with the way it functions compared to your home city. "Home sweet Home" as the cliché goes, right?
If that is the case with just a city, then why not for a life partner and the way you are going to live the rest of your life?
There are so many other factors such as financial stability before one gets married which for sure, I’m not even remotely close to achieving yet. Forget spouse. I can't even support myself for a few months if I get laid off suddenly (God forbid). One might say, that's just temporary, soon I’ll be able to do all that but is that completely true? Ask yourself, were you able to buy that dream car after getting married (with your hard-earned money, not got in dowry), that you always wanted when you were a bachelor? And how many people still live in slums and have kids and grand kids to take care of. Have they managed to come out of poverty after marriage? Is marriage some kind of a miracle that solves all your problems? No. Definitely not. Further, it only adds to your woes.
OK. Let's digress a bit and say that I, indeed, change my mind and get married one day. Why does it have to be a responsibility of others to have told me to do so? Whenever this topic comes up, everyone just assume that it is their utmost responsibility to change my mind. Why can’t it be my own decision? So what if I never change my mind? Why can’t people respect that? Why is it so difficult? What is it that makes people detest bachelorhood like plague. Is it jealousy? As the old Tamil saying goes “யாà®®் பெà®±்à®± இன்பம் இவ்வையகமுà®®் பெà®± வேண்டாà®®ா? ” meaning that the world has to experience the pleasures that I have.
The other conclusion that they might jump into is that I might gay. No people, I'm not GAY. I'm pretty straight. Let me make that crystal clear.
Then there is the question of "Who would stand by your side when you're old?” Let me answer that question with another. What if your wife dies before you and what if you aren't blessed with kids or worse, what if your kids abandon you? Then what? Isn’t that just pathetic? I’ll just save enough money to get myself admitted into an old age home and spend my old age with similar people. And there's the Internet for social life. I anyways am not such a social being who needs to be out all the time. I'm more of an indoor person.
Turn to any channel that talks about marriages and the first thing they make fun of is how their partner is a pain in the smallest of things of everyday life. And ask any married man and he’d say don't ever get married but when it comes to seriously considering such an option, they all turn against it. I simply don't understand!
Then there is the evergreen saying of “Behind every successful man, there is a woman”. Well, why can't that woman be one's mother or sister. Does it necessarily have to be one's wife?
Finally, I conclude with the obvious facts that everyone ends this topic with. Is AB Vajpayee married. Is APJ Abdul Kalam married? Who were the women behind these great personalities’ success? I wonder. I urge everyone to respect and accept a person’s decision about marriage whatever be it.
Disclaimer: If this post has hurt the feelings or sentiments of anyone, I apologise as I did not mean to do so. This post speaks in general about everything and does not intend to specify/identify/associate with anyone or their views.
The answer to that question is "I'm not getting married" which means not I'm not getting married now or for a few years but I'm not getting married, ever!
Now, everyone, including you, Yes, you! would immediately start judging me if I'm sane or has something gone wrong with me. Let me make this clear. I have nothing against the institution of marriage and I'm not like Kamal Haasan or anybody to say such things. All I'm saying is that I don't want to get married.
Why is it that people find it so difficult to digest this fact. Whenever this argument pops up, it invariably ends in the other person judging me to be incorrigibly insane and hoping that some day I'd change my decision, eventually and most certainly.
This decision was made, not recently. It was made when I was in school and people said I was too young to understand life so I'd change pretty soon. Now, 10 years later, my conviction has only gotten stronger with my experiences and other's plight in this complex world of social living.
I like my life the way it is. I don't want to introduce unnecessary complications by bringing in another person into it forcibly. Now, here come my justification for my decision.
Point 1: If I were duplicated, the other me wouldn't want to live with me. I'd just be intolerable. I know it. Trust me.
I feel everyone should ask this question to themselves before getting married. It'd reduce the number of divorce cases in the world.
Point 2: I know what all the person (whoever it is) has to sacrifice if they have to be able to live with my family and adapt our culture and way of living. Let's face it, however open and unorthodox a family is, it is still new to the bride. A strange new world unseen of earlier.
This is a major reason why inter-caste and inter-religion marriages are still not done in India. It is not about the religion. It is about daily life. How someone brushes, what time they get up, what duties they perform on a daily basis, how they greet someone, how they move socially etc etc. Each religion and caste has their own unique ways and would find it difficult to accept a new way. Let me make myself clear (in case this blog is pulled-up against me years later by media and before they misquote me, leading to all sorts of controversies). I AM NOT SUPPORTING RELIGIOUS BIAS but let's be practical and think for a moment. How many of you have gone to another city and found it really difficult to cope with the way it functions compared to your home city. "Home sweet Home" as the cliché goes, right?
If that is the case with just a city, then why not for a life partner and the way you are going to live the rest of your life?
There are so many other factors such as financial stability before one gets married which for sure, I’m not even remotely close to achieving yet. Forget spouse. I can't even support myself for a few months if I get laid off suddenly (God forbid). One might say, that's just temporary, soon I’ll be able to do all that but is that completely true? Ask yourself, were you able to buy that dream car after getting married (with your hard-earned money, not got in dowry), that you always wanted when you were a bachelor? And how many people still live in slums and have kids and grand kids to take care of. Have they managed to come out of poverty after marriage? Is marriage some kind of a miracle that solves all your problems? No. Definitely not. Further, it only adds to your woes.
OK. Let's digress a bit and say that I, indeed, change my mind and get married one day. Why does it have to be a responsibility of others to have told me to do so? Whenever this topic comes up, everyone just assume that it is their utmost responsibility to change my mind. Why can’t it be my own decision? So what if I never change my mind? Why can’t people respect that? Why is it so difficult? What is it that makes people detest bachelorhood like plague. Is it jealousy? As the old Tamil saying goes “யாà®®் பெà®±்à®± இன்பம் இவ்வையகமுà®®் பெà®± வேண்டாà®®ா? ” meaning that the world has to experience the pleasures that I have.
The other conclusion that they might jump into is that I might gay. No people, I'm not GAY. I'm pretty straight. Let me make that crystal clear.
Then there is the question of "Who would stand by your side when you're old?” Let me answer that question with another. What if your wife dies before you and what if you aren't blessed with kids or worse, what if your kids abandon you? Then what? Isn’t that just pathetic? I’ll just save enough money to get myself admitted into an old age home and spend my old age with similar people. And there's the Internet for social life. I anyways am not such a social being who needs to be out all the time. I'm more of an indoor person.
Turn to any channel that talks about marriages and the first thing they make fun of is how their partner is a pain in the smallest of things of everyday life. And ask any married man and he’d say don't ever get married but when it comes to seriously considering such an option, they all turn against it. I simply don't understand!
Then there is the evergreen saying of “Behind every successful man, there is a woman”. Well, why can't that woman be one's mother or sister. Does it necessarily have to be one's wife?
Finally, I conclude with the obvious facts that everyone ends this topic with. Is AB Vajpayee married. Is APJ Abdul Kalam married? Who were the women behind these great personalities’ success? I wonder. I urge everyone to respect and accept a person’s decision about marriage whatever be it.
Disclaimer: If this post has hurt the feelings or sentiments of anyone, I apologise as I did not mean to do so. This post speaks in general about everything and does not intend to specify/identify/associate with anyone or their views.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
My Winged beast!
Hi folks. I’ve come back to post the pics of my winged beast that I’m currently taming. The Honda unicorn. 150cc of pure pleasure. Have a look and Enjoy!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Becoming a Wing Rider!
Has been quite a while since my last post, isn't it?
Well, like any other blog, I'm no more going to apologise for the infrequent posts. That's the way it is. You understand, right? Well, otherwise you wouldn't be here.
So, let's skip straight into topic: Becoming a Wing rider. Some people might wonder what that means but those who have been following my tweets/buzzes/facebook status updates etc would know exactly what it means, don't you? Yes, as you might have heard, I'm getting a new motorcycle for myself for my daily commute to work - The "Honda Unicorn".
For those who don't already know, Honda's logo is a wing, that's why the tag line.
Then there are the other minor factors which don't matter to us rich spoilt brats like "mileage" and "maintenance costs". The Fuel economy, Honda claims to be 60kmpl and gives about 52kmpl under actual city conditions. And as for maintenance cost, well, it is a commercial mass produced mobike which means, the costs are reasonable unlike that for an enthusiast segment like the Royal Enfields which need care, I repeat, proper CARE for which we don't have the time nor passion (No pun intended).
So, then paid 1k as advance at Haiku Honda, Domlur and got an estimated wait time of 30 days. It costed Rs. 69125 on-road (including accessories)as of today. Surprisingly, they called within a week asking me to pay the rest of the money and said that it would be delivered within another week. So, paid the rest and waited patiently till today. Got a call this afternoon that it is ready. Will go to collect it tomorrow (Nalla Naal & Neram :P).
Right from the day I booked it, have been looking for some hi-res pics of the silver Unicorn, PDFs of the user manual and any other material but didn't find even a single one. So, if you, oh reader, come across one, please care to share the link. I shall scan all the docs and post it too.
So, the schedule for tomorrow is packed. After office, head to Domlur, collect the mobike, head to Shell, fill up and after a long hiatus, will be visiting the Vehicle Ganapathy temple on Kasturba Road, opposite the museum to perform a Pooja and then head home.
Why Shell? Well, I have first hand experience of the other bunks. I just love Shell for their service and quality: "Namaskaara Sir, Normalaa, Superaa?, Cashaa, Cardaa?, Yeshtu Oil? Zero sir.." and no expectation for a tip. Nice :)
So, see you all later.
Ooh almost forgot, I'm getting the Silver coloured one with the metallic Honda Monogram on the tank because Black's too common and scratches and dust would easily be visible on Black. Watch this space more pics.
Well, like any other blog, I'm no more going to apologise for the infrequent posts. That's the way it is. You understand, right? Well, otherwise you wouldn't be here.
So, let's skip straight into topic: Becoming a Wing rider. Some people might wonder what that means but those who have been following my tweets/buzzes/facebook status updates etc would know exactly what it means, don't you? Yes, as you might have heard, I'm getting a new motorcycle for myself for my daily commute to work - The "Honda Unicorn".
For those who don't already know, Honda's logo is a wing, that's why the tag line.
Be a Wing Rider!
Then there are the other minor factors which don't matter to us rich spoilt brats like "mileage" and "maintenance costs". The Fuel economy, Honda claims to be 60kmpl and gives about 52kmpl under actual city conditions. And as for maintenance cost, well, it is a commercial mass produced mobike which means, the costs are reasonable unlike that for an enthusiast segment like the Royal Enfields which need care, I repeat, proper CARE for which we don't have the time nor passion (No pun intended).
So, then paid 1k as advance at Haiku Honda, Domlur and got an estimated wait time of 30 days. It costed Rs. 69125 on-road (including accessories)as of today. Surprisingly, they called within a week asking me to pay the rest of the money and said that it would be delivered within another week. So, paid the rest and waited patiently till today. Got a call this afternoon that it is ready. Will go to collect it tomorrow (Nalla Naal & Neram :P).
Right from the day I booked it, have been looking for some hi-res pics of the silver Unicorn, PDFs of the user manual and any other material but didn't find even a single one. So, if you, oh reader, come across one, please care to share the link. I shall scan all the docs and post it too.
So, the schedule for tomorrow is packed. After office, head to Domlur, collect the mobike, head to Shell, fill up and after a long hiatus, will be visiting the Vehicle Ganapathy temple on Kasturba Road, opposite the museum to perform a Pooja and then head home.
Why Shell? Well, I have first hand experience of the other bunks. I just love Shell for their service and quality: "Namaskaara Sir, Normalaa, Superaa?, Cashaa, Cardaa?, Yeshtu Oil? Zero sir.." and no expectation for a tip. Nice :)
So, see you all later.
Ooh almost forgot, I'm getting the Silver coloured one with the metallic Honda Monogram on the tank because Black's too common and scratches and dust would easily be visible on Black. Watch this space more pics.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A new beginning...
After some hectic and wonderful time being a PRactitioner, now I'm finally, FINALLY a software engineer. Today is my first day at this new job at Bristlecone and the day began with a lot of hectic activity as any usual Monday but just that today is a Wednesday.
After returning from my 1 week long vacation after quitting my previous job, slept peacefully last night and woke up late today morning. Realised on waking up that I had to photocopy a whole load of credentials to be submitted as part of the joining formalities. As expected, reached office early despite the huge traffic jam at KR puram and was made to wait till the HR arrived.
Then began the marathon form filling - PF, agreement, contracts, blah...blah...blah... and am still not done. Met with the people who interviewed me and took a small look around the office. Had my ID done, had the complementary lunch (not bad but could be better, by the way).
Met my batch mates with whom I'm going to be trained and I must say, we male members of the species are clearly outnumbered 2 to 4. Had a small chat and must confess that I got involved to a certain extent in their gossips.
Now waiting for my first training session...
So far, so good. Will keep you updated, oh my loyal reader.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Long Overdue - Part 2
I'm sorry to keep you waiting, oh stranger who takes keen interest in my updates. Got stuck up with the happenings of life but I promise you that this post is going to be quite interesting as I did things that I've never done before in my life. Had a quite an exciting month - November.
I'll start from where I left off. My sis finished her holidays and went back to college. Kept bugging her about the results. Finally got it in the first week of December. Not bad. Considering that she stands fourth in the class despite her marks :P
And about the web hosting. Still not enough money :P I'm still saving up but it I already see another expenditure coming up in the horizon. As for work, I've been assigned (and I've taken it quite interestedly) a pet project to build a private social networking site. It going quite well. Amazing how you can set up such powerful sites with so much ease these days with the help of ready-made software with just a few tweaks for customisation.
Enough of Tech talk, you say, and I agree. A lot more happened on the cultural side. Had a lot of "firsts" and a few more in the coming week.
Finally got out of my shell and attended the Live concert of Mandolin Padmashree U. Srinivas at the Ambedkar bhavan conducted by the Times of India as part of the Times Bangalore Festival. If you know me, I'm usually the lazy and the stingy kind so you may wonder how I decided to attend this concert. Well, in the past month, something has bitten me and I've become quite inclined to attending public functions and besides, got a free pass to this concert so thought "Why not?". Yes, you caught me there.
After that had a pretty hectic couple of weeks and then just rested for the last couple of weeks. Had a good rest. If you've read my earlier blog then you'd know how much I love my sleep and did quite exactly that - sleep! Got a good night's sleep every single night for the past week.
Last Thursday, my friend Vinny dropped in at my house and during the conversation suggested that we visit Fantasy Lagoon at KR Puram the next morning to shoot some birds (I mean the actual birds of the Avian kind, not the other kind). I agreed. Decided to leave home by 6 but finally left by 6:45AM, reached his uncle's place at 7:15 to borrow his tripod and then went to Fantasy Lagoon. This is a lake, a little after crossing the hanging bridge at KR Puram. They have boating and some other activities that I didn't know of because I had never been there before and the place was closed at the time we had reached. They open at 11AM and are open till 7PM. Anyways, we hadn't gone there to boat so, we went around the place and found a hind-side entrance. Entered the banks of the lake, with the pleasing morning breeze, the chilling cold of winter and the beautiful scenery, we were mesmerised. Started shooting, spotted a few birds and a lot of fish in the lake. Learnt that Videography is quite an art. We had to meddle so much and had to respond so quickly with the zooming and focusing to catch the bird on the recording. Finally, after having spent a good half an hour, we were very refreshed and satisfied and were getting late to office. Hit the road, returned the tripod, went back home, got ready and left for office and you know - the usual stuff happened after that.
Next day, read about a play by Evam at the Alliance Fracaise de Bangalore in the Saturday's newspaper. It was Rs.200 per ticket. Yes, I immediately denounced it from my mind and carried on reading the rest of the paper but throughout the day, something in me said I got to attend this. One of the reasons for this was the cast of Karthik Kumar (a familiar face from his tamil movie roles and sis is a big fan of his. Read that the tickets are available at some book stores near MG Road but the venue is quite close to my place. Again, me being me - LAZY, didn't want to go so far. Found a phone number mentioned there, so called. A girl named Dhanya answered and found out from her that tickets are available at the venue. This was another BIG reason that made me go.
Wanted to go for the 5:30PM show but was late because of my mechanic who had delayed my scooter service. After paying Rs. 200 I didn't want to miss even a single minute of the show. So, brought my scooter back home and asked if my sister wanted to come. She jumped in joy hearing that Karthik's going to be there. Told my mom not to cook dinner as I'll be late and that I'd eat outside.
Took my sis, entered Alliance Francaise, the parking said full but apparently it was only Car parking that was full. Bangalore is becoming choked with cars. RTO needs to stop issuing new registrations or at least limit it. Anyways, that topic is for another time. The watchman there was my ex-neighbour (he moved some years ago), so with his directions, parked my scooter inside the venue.
Remember, that I had many firsts. Entering Alliance Francaise was a first. I'm pretty embarrassed to say this but I've never been inside it though it was so close to my home. Anyways, having done that now, I feel a little less guilty. The premises is quite large. It doesn't look that way from the outside. We were just 5 minutes earlier to the event so the my ex-neighbour watchman uncle asked us to rush in. We did and bought the tickets and immediately there was a queue entering the auditorium. Expected it to be big but wasn't quite what i expected. The crowd was overwhelming. Hadn't expected that. There must've been about 200 people at the least.
The show did not start for a while and there was a power-point presentation being played explaining what Evam does and how we can help them and some western music playing in the background. This was all quite nice fo the first few minutes but then got a bit irritated with the delay. Anyways, waited patiently and the show began.
First act was of Karthik Kumar. What a guy! Followed by Shanon, Rabhinder and TKM. The show was named "Urban Turban - Tall tales from the top of our heads" and quite aptly the utterances of all the four artists were spontaneous (at least looked that way without a hint of it being rehearsed) which made it intriguing. Both the Karthiks - Karthik Kumar and TKM were absolutely phenomenally funny. Laughed my stomach out. Shanon was intelligently funny and Rabhinder told us a story that touched our hearts. Before we know it, we had spent more than an hour and the show had come to an end. "What a show?" both of us exclaimed. Then thought to ourselves that all good things come top an end, a big sigh and we left the auditorium to reach back home. My sis wanted a pic taken with the artists but they had disappeared behind the stage and there were no signs of them coming out. So, I told her "Next time". We collected all the literature about the Alliance that were kept outside for public consumption (I being a hoarder of such literature) and then went back home feeling very satisfied. Mom had cooked despite me asking her not to, but good that she had(How do Mom's have such instincts?). I was very hungry and had forgotten to eat outside :P. Had a satisfying dinner and went to bed.
Then came the Sunday Reunion that I had planned with my old school friends. One my friends - Gautam is leaving to Canada in January and he's going there with no plans. So, we don't know if we'll ever be able to see him again (in case he decides to settle there) so we wanted to have a get together. So, 4 of our closest friends from school - Madana, Gautam, suhas and Avinash got together at Star City, bowled a match, played a match of Air hockey and then Suhas very kiddishly, played a few arcade games which was then hogged by the other kids around. Sad that we wouldn't get another chance for a while and we being in a hurry, the day coming to an end, almost, had a few pictures taken on Madana's insistence. Then, we argued about entering Fun world but then majority decided against it as we were not too keen on paying Rs. 200 (unlimited no. of rides which won't be possible) for just 2 hours. Thought of going to Urvashi Cinema to watch Final Destination in 3D but the called them to find out that they've changed the movie to "Rocket Singh" and besides, it was around 3 and the next show wasn't until much later in the evening. Then, Avinash, very thoughtfully brought along a greeting card for Gautam (with him leaving and all, got very senti), all of us signed it and presented it to Gautam. Then Avinash went his way after his Good Byes and we hit the road to Madana's home for a (very) late Lunch. On the way, being what he is, Madana lost his way and we had to make a stop until he could find us. When he did, co-incidentally we had stopped near our School. He suggested that we go inside. After some initial hesitation considering thatwe might not be allowed inside on a Sunday, we gave it a shot anyways. Luckily we found the watchmen "Rana" who was familiar to Madana during our school days. He happily allowed us in. We did some crazy stuff inside like playing "Pen Fight", remembering our old jokes and laughing our a**s off. Felt really nostalgic. Took a lot of pics with the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music's camera. I know, we need to get a digicam but haven't yet, so made use of what we had. (By the way, I'm not getting anything less than a digital SLR.) Watch this space for pics and a video.
After our wandering the school, went to Madana's house where his mom had prepared some lip smacking B3 (Bisi Bele Bath), Rasam and Thayir Saadham, a salad and Raita. Filled our stomach to our heart's content (this was around 5PM) and after a round of Singing by Gautam and Madana, said our Good-Byes and went back home.
Reached home by 6, skipped dinner, hit the bed straight.
Returned back to the usual routine of Work and home from Monday onwards with the exception that I get up early these days and get ready quite in leisure.
Another interesting development is that I might be out of town and am going to experience a few "firsts" in my life this coming week. First time to visit the Bangalore International Airport, first time to travel by a plane (yeah, I know, how lame is that), first time, I'd be going north of Tirupati.
Have gotten a long leave approved from the 24th to the 3rd for the New years. Will be visiting Trichy and Madurai. Again, a pilgrimage. Seems like I'm becoming very spiritual with all these pilgrimage trips that I'm going on these days. Well, call it what you want but I want to visit these places to know their history and admire their marvelous architecture and planning and to celebrate our culture.
So, until next time...
I'll start from where I left off. My sis finished her holidays and went back to college. Kept bugging her about the results. Finally got it in the first week of December. Not bad. Considering that she stands fourth in the class despite her marks :P
And about the web hosting. Still not enough money :P I'm still saving up but it I already see another expenditure coming up in the horizon. As for work, I've been assigned (and I've taken it quite interestedly) a pet project to build a private social networking site. It going quite well. Amazing how you can set up such powerful sites with so much ease these days with the help of ready-made software with just a few tweaks for customisation.
Enough of Tech talk, you say, and I agree. A lot more happened on the cultural side. Had a lot of "firsts" and a few more in the coming week.
Finally got out of my shell and attended the Live concert of Mandolin Padmashree U. Srinivas at the Ambedkar bhavan conducted by the Times of India as part of the Times Bangalore Festival. If you know me, I'm usually the lazy and the stingy kind so you may wonder how I decided to attend this concert. Well, in the past month, something has bitten me and I've become quite inclined to attending public functions and besides, got a free pass to this concert so thought "Why not?". Yes, you caught me there.
After that had a pretty hectic couple of weeks and then just rested for the last couple of weeks. Had a good rest. If you've read my earlier blog then you'd know how much I love my sleep and did quite exactly that - sleep! Got a good night's sleep every single night for the past week.
Last Thursday, my friend Vinny dropped in at my house and during the conversation suggested that we visit Fantasy Lagoon at KR Puram the next morning to shoot some birds (I mean the actual birds of the Avian kind, not the other kind). I agreed. Decided to leave home by 6 but finally left by 6:45AM, reached his uncle's place at 7:15 to borrow his tripod and then went to Fantasy Lagoon. This is a lake, a little after crossing the hanging bridge at KR Puram. They have boating and some other activities that I didn't know of because I had never been there before and the place was closed at the time we had reached. They open at 11AM and are open till 7PM. Anyways, we hadn't gone there to boat so, we went around the place and found a hind-side entrance. Entered the banks of the lake, with the pleasing morning breeze, the chilling cold of winter and the beautiful scenery, we were mesmerised. Started shooting, spotted a few birds and a lot of fish in the lake. Learnt that Videography is quite an art. We had to meddle so much and had to respond so quickly with the zooming and focusing to catch the bird on the recording. Finally, after having spent a good half an hour, we were very refreshed and satisfied and were getting late to office. Hit the road, returned the tripod, went back home, got ready and left for office and you know - the usual stuff happened after that.
Next day, read about a play by Evam at the Alliance Fracaise de Bangalore in the Saturday's newspaper. It was Rs.200 per ticket. Yes, I immediately denounced it from my mind and carried on reading the rest of the paper but throughout the day, something in me said I got to attend this. One of the reasons for this was the cast of Karthik Kumar (a familiar face from his tamil movie roles and sis is a big fan of his. Read that the tickets are available at some book stores near MG Road but the venue is quite close to my place. Again, me being me - LAZY, didn't want to go so far. Found a phone number mentioned there, so called. A girl named Dhanya answered and found out from her that tickets are available at the venue. This was another BIG reason that made me go.
Wanted to go for the 5:30PM show but was late because of my mechanic who had delayed my scooter service. After paying Rs. 200 I didn't want to miss even a single minute of the show. So, brought my scooter back home and asked if my sister wanted to come. She jumped in joy hearing that Karthik's going to be there. Told my mom not to cook dinner as I'll be late and that I'd eat outside.
Took my sis, entered Alliance Francaise, the parking said full but apparently it was only Car parking that was full. Bangalore is becoming choked with cars. RTO needs to stop issuing new registrations or at least limit it. Anyways, that topic is for another time. The watchman there was my ex-neighbour (he moved some years ago), so with his directions, parked my scooter inside the venue.
Remember, that I had many firsts. Entering Alliance Francaise was a first. I'm pretty embarrassed to say this but I've never been inside it though it was so close to my home. Anyways, having done that now, I feel a little less guilty. The premises is quite large. It doesn't look that way from the outside. We were just 5 minutes earlier to the event so the my ex-neighbour watchman uncle asked us to rush in. We did and bought the tickets and immediately there was a queue entering the auditorium. Expected it to be big but wasn't quite what i expected. The crowd was overwhelming. Hadn't expected that. There must've been about 200 people at the least.
The show did not start for a while and there was a power-point presentation being played explaining what Evam does and how we can help them and some western music playing in the background. This was all quite nice fo the first few minutes but then got a bit irritated with the delay. Anyways, waited patiently and the show began.
First act was of Karthik Kumar. What a guy! Followed by Shanon, Rabhinder and TKM. The show was named "Urban Turban - Tall tales from the top of our heads" and quite aptly the utterances of all the four artists were spontaneous (at least looked that way without a hint of it being rehearsed) which made it intriguing. Both the Karthiks - Karthik Kumar and TKM were absolutely phenomenally funny. Laughed my stomach out. Shanon was intelligently funny and Rabhinder told us a story that touched our hearts. Before we know it, we had spent more than an hour and the show had come to an end. "What a show?" both of us exclaimed. Then thought to ourselves that all good things come top an end, a big sigh and we left the auditorium to reach back home. My sis wanted a pic taken with the artists but they had disappeared behind the stage and there were no signs of them coming out. So, I told her "Next time". We collected all the literature about the Alliance that were kept outside for public consumption (I being a hoarder of such literature) and then went back home feeling very satisfied. Mom had cooked despite me asking her not to, but good that she had(How do Mom's have such instincts?). I was very hungry and had forgotten to eat outside :P. Had a satisfying dinner and went to bed.
Then came the Sunday Reunion that I had planned with my old school friends. One my friends - Gautam is leaving to Canada in January and he's going there with no plans. So, we don't know if we'll ever be able to see him again (in case he decides to settle there) so we wanted to have a get together. So, 4 of our closest friends from school - Madana, Gautam, suhas and Avinash got together at Star City, bowled a match, played a match of Air hockey and then Suhas very kiddishly, played a few arcade games which was then hogged by the other kids around. Sad that we wouldn't get another chance for a while and we being in a hurry, the day coming to an end, almost, had a few pictures taken on Madana's insistence. Then, we argued about entering Fun world but then majority decided against it as we were not too keen on paying Rs. 200 (unlimited no. of rides which won't be possible) for just 2 hours. Thought of going to Urvashi Cinema to watch Final Destination in 3D but the called them to find out that they've changed the movie to "Rocket Singh" and besides, it was around 3 and the next show wasn't until much later in the evening. Then, Avinash, very thoughtfully brought along a greeting card for Gautam (with him leaving and all, got very senti), all of us signed it and presented it to Gautam. Then Avinash went his way after his Good Byes and we hit the road to Madana's home for a (very) late Lunch. On the way, being what he is, Madana lost his way and we had to make a stop until he could find us. When he did, co-incidentally we had stopped near our School. He suggested that we go inside. After some initial hesitation considering thatwe might not be allowed inside on a Sunday, we gave it a shot anyways. Luckily we found the watchmen "Rana" who was familiar to Madana during our school days. He happily allowed us in. We did some crazy stuff inside like playing "Pen Fight", remembering our old jokes and laughing our a**s off. Felt really nostalgic. Took a lot of pics with the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music's camera. I know, we need to get a digicam but haven't yet, so made use of what we had. (By the way, I'm not getting anything less than a digital SLR.) Watch this space for pics and a video.
After our wandering the school, went to Madana's house where his mom had prepared some lip smacking B3 (Bisi Bele Bath), Rasam and Thayir Saadham, a salad and Raita. Filled our stomach to our heart's content (this was around 5PM) and after a round of Singing by Gautam and Madana, said our Good-Byes and went back home.
Reached home by 6, skipped dinner, hit the bed straight.
Returned back to the usual routine of Work and home from Monday onwards with the exception that I get up early these days and get ready quite in leisure.
Another interesting development is that I might be out of town and am going to experience a few "firsts" in my life this coming week. First time to visit the Bangalore International Airport, first time to travel by a plane (yeah, I know, how lame is that), first time, I'd be going north of Tirupati.
Have gotten a long leave approved from the 24th to the 3rd for the New years. Will be visiting Trichy and Madurai. Again, a pilgrimage. Seems like I'm becoming very spiritual with all these pilgrimage trips that I'm going on these days. Well, call it what you want but I want to visit these places to know their history and admire their marvelous architecture and planning and to celebrate our culture.
So, until next time...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Long Overdue - Part 1
You may wonder why no post for more than a month. If you know me, you'd know my schedule. If you know that you'd know that I like my somnolence on weekends. A reason why I haven't been able to complete reading the Rs. 4000 worth books that I bought some time ago.
Why a post suddenly now, you may ask. Well, I didn't want you oh regular reader to feel ignored. So, here goes...
A lot happened over the past month. I'm writing this for my own record although oh stranger, you can bore yourself by reading this journal of mine.
Let me go in reverse chronological order.
Today I got an SMS from BSNL offering me an upgrade to 1Mbps from my current 256kbps unlimited at Rs.1499 and 2Mbps at Rs.2999. It asked me to check www.bangaloretelecom.com for details which I want to but the internet speed currently is so damn slow that I'm just able to write this blog and nothing else.
If you are a regular reader, you'd know that I've been wanting to move this blog and my site altogether to a paid host and have been procrastinating because of financial problems and not able to find the right host. Was talking about it to a friend and he has been using this host called ZnetIndia.com and vouches for their service. So, have decided to try them out once I accumulate enough money.
Earlier this week, got to seeing the Harvard lectures of the CS50 course which came on this month's Digit's DVD and have been hooked to it ever since. Also, looking at Prof. David J. Malan, even I want to get a Mac Book Pro but again, I'm broke. So, if you, the reader feels especially altruistic and want to help a fellow human being, then please donate towards my MacBook Pro Fund by shooting an email to me. :P
My sis has just finished her semester exams and has started making me envy her for she is in her holidays now. College re-opens only 16th next month. That's 20 days of freedom to her. I wish I could rewind a few years and go back to my school days too. Miss it.
In the good thought of not making you strain your eye, oh reader, I shall write the rest of the update in the next post. (Excuse for being lazy, don't believe me.)
Why a post suddenly now, you may ask. Well, I didn't want you oh regular reader to feel ignored. So, here goes...
A lot happened over the past month. I'm writing this for my own record although oh stranger, you can bore yourself by reading this journal of mine.
Let me go in reverse chronological order.
Today I got an SMS from BSNL offering me an upgrade to 1Mbps from my current 256kbps unlimited at Rs.1499 and 2Mbps at Rs.2999. It asked me to check www.bangaloretelecom.com for details which I want to but the internet speed currently is so damn slow that I'm just able to write this blog and nothing else.
If you are a regular reader, you'd know that I've been wanting to move this blog and my site altogether to a paid host and have been procrastinating because of financial problems and not able to find the right host. Was talking about it to a friend and he has been using this host called ZnetIndia.com and vouches for their service. So, have decided to try them out once I accumulate enough money.
Earlier this week, got to seeing the Harvard lectures of the CS50 course which came on this month's Digit's DVD and have been hooked to it ever since. Also, looking at Prof. David J. Malan, even I want to get a Mac Book Pro but again, I'm broke. So, if you, the reader feels especially altruistic and want to help a fellow human being, then please donate towards my MacBook Pro Fund by shooting an email to me. :P
My sis has just finished her semester exams and has started making me envy her for she is in her holidays now. College re-opens only 16th next month. That's 20 days of freedom to her. I wish I could rewind a few years and go back to my school days too. Miss it.
In the good thought of not making you strain your eye, oh reader, I shall write the rest of the update in the next post. (Excuse for being lazy, don't believe me.)
Monday, August 31, 2009
Somnolent Bliss
Hey all, I finally am out of the wormhole after scotty beamed me out. Now, for rest of my arbitrary contemplations and happenings, here goes...
Six hours sleep is a man's sleep, seven hours sleep is a woman's sleep, eight hours sleep is a child's sleep, nine hours sleep is a baby's sleep and TEN hours sleep is a FOOL'S sleep was what I was taught by on of my teachers at college but what I have done last night will clearly tell you that I had not paid attention in class to those lectures.
Usually weekends aren't complete and satisfying without a good amount of sleep so, typically, I would sleep during the Sunday afternoon for a couple of hours and sleep late that night. This would always make me late the next day and I would have to hurriedly get ready on Mondays, but yesterday was different.
My friend told me that whatever business I had with him, I was to finish it by 6 o' clock because he planned to sleep at 7 on Sundays. Then, another friend of ours listening to our conversation said "7 pm? That's early!". So, my friend replied to that saying "If I plan to sleep at 7pm, it would invariably become 9p.m. because on other days I sleep at 3a.m."
Taking inspiration from this, I thought I too would sleep by 7 and I followed it through. I went to bed at 7, though I didn't get sleep at 7. I finally slept by 8 thinking that I'd wake up really early. And guess what, I did. I woke up at 4 but went back to sleep thinking it's too early. I finally woke up at 7 and felt really refreshed. That's 8..9,10,11,12,1,2,3,4,5,6,7... 11 hours of complete somnolent bliss. So, according to my teacher's saying, that makes me what? I wonder.
Unlike a typical Monday morning, today was particularly peaceful and I reached office before time. So, whoever says sleep makes you dull.. "in your face!".
Got work now, so, later folks...
Six hours sleep is a man's sleep, seven hours sleep is a woman's sleep, eight hours sleep is a child's sleep, nine hours sleep is a baby's sleep and TEN hours sleep is a FOOL'S sleep was what I was taught by on of my teachers at college but what I have done last night will clearly tell you that I had not paid attention in class to those lectures.
Usually weekends aren't complete and satisfying without a good amount of sleep so, typically, I would sleep during the Sunday afternoon for a couple of hours and sleep late that night. This would always make me late the next day and I would have to hurriedly get ready on Mondays, but yesterday was different.
My friend told me that whatever business I had with him, I was to finish it by 6 o' clock because he planned to sleep at 7 on Sundays. Then, another friend of ours listening to our conversation said "7 pm? That's early!". So, my friend replied to that saying "If I plan to sleep at 7pm, it would invariably become 9p.m. because on other days I sleep at 3a.m."
Taking inspiration from this, I thought I too would sleep by 7 and I followed it through. I went to bed at 7, though I didn't get sleep at 7. I finally slept by 8 thinking that I'd wake up really early. And guess what, I did. I woke up at 4 but went back to sleep thinking it's too early. I finally woke up at 7 and felt really refreshed. That's 8..9,10,11,12,1,2,3,4,5,6,7... 11 hours of complete somnolent bliss. So, according to my teacher's saying, that makes me what? I wonder.
Unlike a typical Monday morning, today was particularly peaceful and I reached office before time. So, whoever says sleep makes you dull.. "in your face!".
Got work now, so, later folks...
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