My Oral Fixation

Yet another milestone reached....the time line of my life will hope fully be scattered with many more such joyous and satisfying events. Final Viva, of the final subject of Engineering on perhaps technically the final day of college. FINAL being the operative word...

No more writing journals, assignments,indexes just to see them get tossed away heartlessly at Aakarshan.
No more begging,borrowing, stealing or as the last resort buying, college stationary from that hag that sits at the counter.
No more running around for printouts/photocopies of "experiments".
No more of having to write "studied and implemented" as a generic CONCLUSION for every damn experiment.
No more worrying about what the grade on the file would translate to as term work marks
and Finally No more dealing with the mind-numbing, spirit crushing dilemma of sitting in front of external or internal...
Our thing I'll absolutely MISS though...is hanging out with friends before/after/during vivas. The discussions and the bad jokes and the heart-to-heart conversations....God i''m gonna miss those.

I'm FREE at least from the vivas....and it feels GREAT.

My Empty Mind, My Devil's Workshop

This is my third attempt at posting something today. I have loads of free time now...actually i don't, I'm supposed to be studying for a viva on 7th(DWM) but theres 2 more days left. And I'm sorta confident that I'll manage to read something and vomit it out in front of the external.
Anywhoo third time being lucky according to some proverb i heard, I'm gonna continue typing until i get some decent paragraphs into this post. Actually at first i attempted to write about the toils and turmoils i faced during engineering...but then i remembered I'd already posted something similar a few weeks back..so that draft went down the crapper.
Then i figured i'd go the easy way and post about the movie i saw today...
Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. This film wasnt all that bad but it didnt live up to the hype that S had managed to generate in me. If S would take my advice on films i'd recommend Pan's Labyrinth...totally honest movie with no candy treats for hopeless optimists..especially the end was very good compared to TCoN.
The part in italics was ALL i was able to come up with....so that was a complete waste of a post i thought.
I read a few random blogs today...people out there a either brilliant wordsmiths or complete idiots. I bet that the former category of bloggers that i respect so much would put me in the latter category after reading my ramblings.
Neerazzz isnt publishing anything these days either, infact i rarely find him online these days...sala sudhar gaya kya!! This is really freaking me out coz he was the only guy i would chat endlessly about movies,tv series and life et al.
I'm listening to some really good music right now...mix of The Beatles, Coldplay, Jimmy Eat World...This song Shiver by Coldplay...is it new?? i found it on LAN and i really liked it.
By the way Neerazz has come online right NOW..this is some weird telepathy or something i think or it may be purely coincidental, whatever it is..i'm gonna chat now...LATER Loserzzz ;D

My 25/04/2007

Statutory Warning: Post is too long..reader discretion advised. Also may cause drowsiness on account of poor literary skills of the author.

From start to end, this was the DAY...been a long time coming mind you! Such a beautiful day it was....

Had my Project viva and was a little tense...sitting there in the IT lab watching the external examiners every move. Then it turned out that the Certificate on the Project report was incomplete! G and I grabbed my pendrive and ran towards the printers. While we were getting the correct print outs, N called that we absolutely HAD to come back to the lab..even without the required pages. The printing was almost done and so we set off from the shop in a massive hurry. After crossing the insanely busy street and dodging hordes of college students we finally made our way back to the IT lab. What transpired after this was something we had not imagined even in our wildest fantasies(sorry..too dramatic).
The external examiner was in hurry and was already getting bored to death by another groups never-ending presentation. Our "project guide" was also blatantly partial to that group and so we were left with K to show the presentation to. Suffice to say that he didn't understand even a single word of it and barely sat still in his seat let alone look at the screen.
When G finished with his slides, we were asked to sign the attendance and show the demo to the internal itself. After the demo(successful ofcourse) which the external didnt even see, he signed the certificates that we had so arduously procured and was on his way back, to wherever the hell these guys come from....

After all this we went to the Medical college gym and played TT for a while. I was on my way back to college to take the principals sign when i got a call from my friend whom i'd lent the DC file to, she wanted to return it...plus i also had to photocopy some notes for the upcoming DC vivas. I made my way to RRC and then to auntie's xerox shop on campus.
I had a loooooong chat with S...which again was long time due...as both of us were busy with this project crap. We talked about all the donkey work we had to do in the last few days and bitched about the system. Cell phones and the World Cup came up too.
That time was the most relaxed i felt in what seemed like ages....like all the worries in the world had vanished and took along with it the body pain and headache.

I had parked my bike at N's house the night before so had to go to his house to collect it...G tagged along coz he had nothing better to do anyway. Once there, we had some ice-cream to celebrate the kind of project viva we had( somehow i cant bring myself to call it successful...).
Anywho...at least it was over now and we could worry and obsess about other crap.

After that i went home and had some tea and biscuits(Hide n Seek). Sat at he comp for a while gtalked(sic) for a while. Such a day i had had...my elation knew no bounds. Despite of the body pain, i went out to roam with M. He too had had a similar experience in his project vivas.

I came home, had dinner and watched few episodes of grey's anatomy on the comp. Late at night i caught up with a school friend on orkut. We exchanged scraps and shared latest info. Planned a mini reunion of sorts(like those plans ever materialize). Then i watched some more episodes of Grey's...the third season is really good i tell you. Went to bed at 3.30 and had slept like a log.

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IF YOU ARE READING THIS THEN YOU REALLY CARE....OR YOU HAVE A REALLY BORING LIFE...OR BOTH.
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My Breaking News II or Vision Ahead II...i'm a bit confused

Its disturbing to watch the news these days or read the newspaper.
The world is going to hell and thanks to the electronic and print media we've got front row tickets! These are dark times we live in...everythings fucked up and unfortunately(or fortunately) its gonna get a LOT worse.

Cho Sueng-hui, the Virginia Tech Killer...or as i'd like to call him 'Fucking Lunatic Mass-murderer' took his own life. So thats 33 people murdered...himself included. All the tributes and all the memorial services in the world cant stop what is about to happen next. Because of this fucker theres gonna be mass discrimination against Asians...especially Koreans. Applications and Admits to one of the best university for Asian students are gonna get messed up. University violence may even increase due to lack of trust and the inherent fear of such a mishaps ever happening again.

In other "News"...Mass protests broke out yesterday for the alleged on-stage kiss between Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty. This is one of the best examples of how fucked up the media and the general population is...i mean they were rallying for awareness of AIDS and instead the moral police made it into a personal circus with 'andolans' in Varanasi and even Mumbai! Its a shame for such a thing to happen just plane stupid.

The poor kid Sanjay whats-his-name FINALLY got ousted from American Idol. He had a good run and invited his share of controversy. He had the American population going for quite a while with his alleged lack of talent and hair that cant be tamed. A women went on fast until he was ousted from the show and little girls wanted to hug and kiss the barely legal chocolate hero. This clearly exposed how flawed reality shows are..its almost never about talent but more about popularity and racial bias more than anything. Same is true for Indian Reality TV...where, the progressive people we are...judge on basis of cast and religion and region of the contestant.

Abhi-Ash...match made in heaven. Today you are bound in the sacred bond of marriage. May you live the MOST boring life ever...do more crappy films together and make the media shut up about your relationship. Hire better PR people and keep yourselves out of the news for as long as you can....i BEG of you!!!

In Sports now...Australia is kicking ass in the world cup and it looks like no ones gonna stop them. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed and hope that South Africa get their act together in the semis.

In conclusion to this post...i'd like to pay my regards to the families of deceased and injured victims of the Fucking Lunatic Mass-murderer(Cho Sueng-hui)...may Gods love be with all of you.

My Scanner Darkly

The human brain is amazing...once everyday, for the past four years i think I've lost my cell-phone...and then realize i checked the wrong pocket...
I don't know why i just wrote that....I heard it on an episode of Scrubs i think. See this is what happens when you spend almost all your time in front of the computer...the creativity just seeps out of you...until you are nothing more than a catchphrase spewing idiot who has a lopsided view of the world and the people in it.
Its happening these days especially that whenever i start to have conversations with people, i start associating situations in real life to the ones i saw in some film or tv series. Randomly I'll blurt out a quote or some reference that no-one really has a clue about.
Sometimes I'm lucky enough to be talking to people who have a slight idea of how messed up i am and i get away with it...the other times i manage to jack up the 'crazy-meter' just a notch higher. Theres really no cure for me...unless of course i stop watching so many films/tv series but that sounds ludicrous. I cant just quit cold turkey...I'd never survive a day! But things need to change.
*digression*
Anyhoo i'm glad to be writing in my own blog again...and starting the post titles with "My". The vivas are gonna start this week and as usual i haven't started studying anything. I have four...yes count four tests tomorrow( or today)...and all i can think of is what the motive of that Juliet is...you know, the one from LOST!
*and we're back*
Oh yeah...about the change. Starting tomorrow..that is 17/4/2007, I'm gonna limit the hours of computer usage to 4...no 5 hours per day. This will NOT include the time spent on comp to do project work...(please i need this!). I will make a time table for my studying and stick to it. Also i'm gonna limit my junk food intake, coz those things are starting to mess with my health. Enough said now...don't wanna set goals that i cant achieve...gonna take things one step at a time and try to make some sense of my life...OK that I'm sure was from a movie or something. One step and making sense ...so dramatic isn't it?
By the way..its theres this quote from A Scanner Darkly...i just cant get it out of my head!!
'Because if the scanner sees only darkly, the way I myself do, then we are cursed, cursed again and like we have been continually, and we'll wind up dead this way, knowing very little and getting that little fragment wrong too....'

Pable & I OR The Post Which Doesn't Start With "MY"

Keku riiii !!!!!

So what am i doing over here writing in someone Else's blog ?

The answer to that question resides in my blog , so if u keen on finding out that,go visit it else continue reading this thing which i am writing.

When i first met this guy ,i found him kinda a guy with a theory for every little thingy.For first few sems we didn't talked that much ,just some things in pracs and stuff like that . And then a certain employee of google called Orkut Büyükkökten created this website called orkut which you just might have heard of and that changed everything between us.

Now internet gave us a common platform for time wasting losers like us to meet everyday and share stuff.And along the way we talked more n more discussing slick flicks and gadgets and what not.

I have to say that over the years my outlook towards him has changed drastically.In these two yrs he has become from being just another guy in class to one of my closest mates and partner in crime.

Together we have created so many inside jokes ,man , we find something funny in almost eveything.And the best part of our jokes is that most of the people around us have got no clue whatsoever of what's going on ! they just stare us with a blank look and think "W T F are these two guys laughing at ?? "

We are a class apart, we don't tend to fall for pop-culture although i must say he likes james blunt who i think is a whinny little bastard , but apart from that rest all is good. man. He's got a very good taste in movies and tv shows leaving aside superman and smallville.( i just hate 'em man ) & he always likes the shows which i suggest/give to him(viz Prison Break,Entourage,Heroes) and then he forwards them to his friends circle saying he found it first.Sucker.

The thing i like about him is that he doesn't care what the world thinks of him.He is just the way he is , no pretence , no airs , just simply cryptic.If u like him well and good else i got only one thing to say :G F U .

meet u another life BROTHER !!

Pable rOcks ! !

My Studied and Implemented

Its that time of the semester...the magnificence of HORIZONS (college festival) has faded and given way to the boring and exhausting lectures and practicals. Mind you, i barely attend enough to get me off the final defaulters list and ensure a safe passage to the exam halls. Its the least i can do...i convince myself, after all my parents are paying tuition fees, and the teachers do sometimes teach something useful but the thing that pisses me off the MOST is the mind-numbingly annoying and time wasting activity of assignment/journal writing.
The practicals are the most impractical thing that we do in college. Its just a group of students sitting in a room for 2 hours with no fans/a.c. staring at computers that even you grandmother would find outdated. As if this weren't bad enough, we have to write on a bunch of sheets about the experiment or program that we "supposedly" did in those two hours. This whole concept of getting the write ups for the experiments corrected and then submitting the files on designated days is totally beyond me, especially at RAIT, since EVERYBODY knows what we do in the labs. I really cant contemplate the reason for this denial on part of the teachers about what we do in the labs. Just let us be dammit! after all nobody is making any effort to elevate our sorry asses and actually teach us something about the programming knowledge that the particular problem statement demands.
Recently one teacher actually had the nerve to come and ask what we had done in the 2 hours that we had spent in the Distributed Computing practicals. I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of pointing out mistakes in the random file that we had kept open on the screen, so i closed the window and stared blankly at her face....bring it on! She didn't give us attendance for the time we had wasted, gleefully chatting about movies and politics....good for you bitch! who needs your stinking attendance anyway!
I've been writing on borrowed writing sheets for the past 3 hours and my hand and shoulder hurt like hell but i think this post needs to be written (how pretentious of me..hehe)..because this is the last time I'm going to have to put up with all this bull shit! its my final semester of engineering. These assignments and write ups are gonna be a thing of the past...I'll finally be free of this fruitless and time consuming chore. But until that day finally arrives( in April i think)....
Hence/Therefore we have studied and implemented blah blah blah...

*fuck i really hate this sentence*

My Blue Boys

Its just a game some say. For others it is THE game...they live it and breathe it and get all emotional. For starters let me clarify that I'm not that big a fan but, I refuse to believe that its just a game...i mean so many believe in it...they worship it. Such an entity ceases to be just a game.
With almost an entire nation backing the men in blue...they disappointed us. Yesterday night, all the hopes and dreams of India winning the World cup went down the crapper. Our heroes didn't live up to the expectations we had...and they failed miserably. Team India crumbled under the pressure when instead they should have triumphed and made us proud.
On Saturday morning angry hoards of people marched the streets and burnt effigies of their favorite players....funeral processions were held moaning the 'death' of Indian cricket. The media had a field day reporting incidents in various parts of the country. Some of the players' residences were attacked and property destroyed.
All this mayhem for what i ask??
The players are decent human beings who are proud to play for their country. They may have been distracted by all the fame and adulation they received....but at the end of the day, they are good lads. I agree that the performance in the WC was pathetic and forgettable. But cant we for once just look ahead, instead of dwelling in what cannot be changed.
Indian cricket has finally hit ROCK BOTTOM....theres only one way to go from here, and thats UP(please dont read this as Uttar Pradesh..hehe)
So just stop the violence and the outburst people...and stop watching the hindi news channels for a while...our boys in blue need our support now more than ever. All they need to do now is to get some rest and learn from the mistakes made in the past.
And i strongly believe that rather than forgetting what happened in West Indies, we should accept it and then move on..to bigger and better things.
R.I.P. BOB...you were a good man...
***completely unrelated***
Its about dealing with the past and making way for the future. Catching up with friends and making memories that last a lifetime. Finding yourself and knowing where you really belong. It shows how some people you meet completely change your life. Finally its about coming back to the place one can call home. I saw it again today after dinner, for the Nth time...and still loved every minute of it. Lithium, Loss, Love and Life itself...bundled into a sweet little story. Not to forget one of the best soundtracks of all time.
GARDEN STATE ****

My RAIT

PART I
October 2003
I was tired...tired of filling forms, standing in lines, discussions about fee structure and 'EXTC better than Comps' arguments.
Centralized Admission Process didnt help...fuckin Sangamner, who needs you! engineering students in Uniforms...it was disguting. Stick to Mumbai colleges...Swamis, SIES was out of question...fuckin prudes! Agnels offered IT...yeah right!
Terna seemed good enough..at first. I mean i did get into Comps...which is what i really wanted, but something didnt quite feel right...I was admitted in that place for a week and attended a full day of lectures on 15 Oct.
That same night i got a call from RAIT...that they had seats left (big fuckin suprise that one!! RAIT faced the biggest attrition on the 15th...everyone left for VJTI, SIES and Agnels)
So on 16th October, 2003 i was finally in a college i almost-kinda-maybe liked....

What does not kill me makes me stronger - Friedrich Nietzsche

March 2007
I'm tired again....its been three and a half years....
Getting up, going to college, no teacher in class...waiting for practicals, computers dont work. Try to get some assignments done, no sheets to write on...accountant lady gone for lunch/tea/coffee break. Pushpa offered some respite....meet friends, eat lunch.
'Robotics better than DWM' arguments....teachers harassing for low attendance.
Fucking curfews at Horizons...egotistic burnt out faggots !
Try to do something extracurricular and everybody says they can do better...fucking juniors think they're better than us.
Coffee at RRC...dental college posers!!! (nigga this and brother that)
Parents breathing down my neck 'do something beta...'
...low term work and lecturers who couldn't speak English properly if their life depended on it....completing files and queues for correction.
Vivas, PL, theory papers....vacations, wasting time, Results...disappointments, well tried and better luck next time.
Two unforgettable Goa trips (2005, 2006)...friend for life, and some fuckers i'll never forgive...back stabbers and bitches....A namesake and a brother.
RAIT:: wouldnt have had it any other way.....no regrets, just experiences.

ps. Theres no PART II...losers!

My Vision Ahead

I'm in my head most of the time...thinking about all kinds of weird crap, this is just my vision of the future, not specifically near or distant. At this point i'd just like to see that this post isn't a personal attack on anyone or anything, its just what i think is gonna happen and probably will ;)

Indian Cricket team will still be 'one of the best sides on paper' as they are right now, the eternal underdogs will have some success nonetheless. Sadly Tendulkar will retire, Ganguly will bitch and moan for his Nth comeback('apne Dada ko pehchante ho na...bhool toh nahi gaye?') and the whole composition of Team India will be altered to incorporate Sehwag. To help him get back into form he'll bat at no. 9 with some 'trial balls' and 'rapid warning' perks.

The actress who plays 'Ba' actually dies a peaceful death...and so naturally Ekta Kapoor twists the plot so that Ba is reborn as Tulsi's great-great-great-grand daughter.

The 'Oppressed' and 'Backward' students who benifitted from the reservations imposed in 2k6, will send their kids to college in the Blue Mercedes...to study with the tyrannous open category students, who get better marks...but deny the former 'equal opportunity'.

Every minority will become a majority due to the extreme privileges alloted by the 'secular' and 'democratic' government...but then they'll protest even about that.
( 'Hamari maange matt poori karo!!')

Everything will be Google, and not just on the World Wide Web. Google Shoes, Google Jeans, Google Food....everything.

My Sometimes...

Seems to me, sometimes...
thats its all a part of a big plan,
then sometimes, i feel betrayed...
and the faith in me starts to fade.
I feel so empty sometimes...
and then i try to go back,
to when i wasn't like that.
It happens sometimes...when
everything starts going astray
and you cant reach them
who can show you the way.
i sometimes try to fight on my own
else i wish i be never alone.
Its part of the plan
i make myself believe
but never i think I'll ever be at peace
just seems like that sometimes...

My Re-Viewables

I've been lacking in original thought lately. It could be because i am incapable of originatily-- but i'd like to think its because i've been watching too many movies sitting in front of my computer day and night for the past three weeks.
I go trough some of the blogs regularly including my friend Neeraj's Blog and find great reviews of the films, TV series and documentaries that the members of Blogger.com have been watching. Untill now i have refrained from posting about my favorite movies and why i liked them and why, you the reader should definately go and watch them.
But i've been sitting here, staring at this text field for the past half hour and realized what i have typed in the first paragraph-->NO ORIGINAL IDEA...
So its time to sell out (at least that's what I'd like to think of it as), but i plan to give you the tweaked version of the generic 'Movie Review post'
These are some of the films that I've enjoyed even more when i watched them the second,third or even forth time.

Note: These films are listed in a random order

OCEAN'S 11
This film follows the exploits of Daniel Ocean, recently released from prison, as he is trying to win back his wife or should i say ex-wife Tess. It also involves a heist of over 160 million dollars in cash from a casino owned by Terry Benedict who just happens to be dating Tess.

Watch out for stellar performances by George Clooney, Brad Pitt & Matt Damon and also the slick direction and flawless screenplay by Steven Soderbergh.



THE MATRIX
WHY i had to re-watch this amazing and truly fantastic film wont be contested by anyone who has seen even rushes or a trailer of it.
Although i would like to say that the first time around i was just over-awed by the futuristic special effects and an amazing soundtrack.

Hugo Weaving with his chilling diction as Agent Smith really does it for me every time i watch this movie.
The script is unfathomable by a normal human being and has led me to doubt whether the Wachowsky Brothers are aliens or something.


GARDEN STATE
Written and Directed by Zach Braff, this is one of the most original, heart warming and feel-good type of movie I've ever seen.
Zach also won the Grammy for the best soundtrack for this film.

It is the story of Andrew Largeman, whose been in a Lithium induced coma almost all his life and has come back home to New Jersey for his mother's funeral. Here he reconnects with his childhood friends and also finds the love of his life. A story of self discovery and a beautiful slice of life.
Special mention of Peter Sarsgaard who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors.

TRAINSPOTTING
This film has hands-down THE best opening sequence of all time
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a starter home. Choose dental insurance, leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose your future. But why would anyone want to do a thing like that?
Many people would not have seen this movie because of its graphic content. But its one the best re watchable movies.
It takes us into the world of Renton, SickBoy, Spud and Begbie. From heroin addiction to underage girlfriends, this films packs a punch.
You just gotta love the Scottish accent and the awesome soundtrack.
This film made me an Ewan McGregor fan...one of the best acting performances.

ADAPTATION
This film is one of the most underrated films. Written by Charlie Kaufman, of the Being John Malcovich fame, it takes you into the process of adapting a best selling book to the screen.
But the concept and delivery of this script is out of this world. The film is about Charlie trying to adapt the book "The Orchid Thief"...but he soon realizes that it is unadaptable and hence decides to write a script that shows his attempts at adapting the the book.
Nick Cage and Chris Cooper deliver awesome acting performances.
There are so many underlying jokes, gags and self-references that the film grows better each time you watch it.

PRIMER
You will NOT understand even half of this movie when you watch it for the first time. I'm racking my brains just to be able to simply explain the outline of the plot even.
Its about 4 engineers who work for Large corporations during the day and are also half-assed inventors. They accidentally invent a time travel machine which leads to major problems in their lives.
Its a sci-fi puzzle thriller. the screenplay makes no attempt to dumb down the physics theory laden conversations of the protagonists.


HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Memento
Revolver
Pulp Fiction
V for Vendetta

My Lost Week

HAPPY 'NEW' YEAR!!!
New calendars, new dreams and new disappointments to look forward to...
Oh its the 'new' year, everythings gotta be new.
Lately i cant seem to make sense of what i'm feeling... i dunno, i just don't think that life should be this boring. Something has GOT to change, hence the overuse of 'new'[this is the last time i'm putting 'new' in single quotes by the way ;) ]
Getting back to my point...the newness thingy.
I'm a bit of a control freak and it pleases me that the year has begun on a monday this time around...it feels that its just perfect.In fact if i had my way all the new years would start on mondays *wanders away into world domination fantasy*.... anyhoo its that bitter-sweet feeling you get on a monday morning that i love so much.
But i also am a chronic procrastinator....everything can wait, just a little while longer, oh i can watch one more movie, defeat one more rival on NFS Most Wanted....
So for the past 7 days i've done nothing but watch movies, eat, play games, watch more movies, hang out with friends, watch some more movies and sleep. OK the last one i do very little sleep that is and did i mention i watched movies.
The only positive thing i've done in this new year is to re-re-rejoin the gym and went to exercise at least for an hour for the past 3 days.
So although my back,chest,shoulders, calfs,thighs,biceps, triceps,neck and abs are sour as hell...i am feeling jubilant...for its monday tomorrow,technically today...but you get the point.
Its gonna start from tomorrow baby! My new year is gonna start...January 8Th because 1-7 never happened, distant memory,thing of the past.
Behold the New Year...behold the changes.
AMEN

ps. some movies i watched
V for Vendetta
Underworld Evolution
American History X
Borat: Cultural Learnings something something
The 40 year old Virgin
Forrest Gump
Rocky Balboa
High Fidelity
The Italian Job
Oceans 11
Garden State
The Departed
Munich
The Shawshank Redemption
Schindler's List
Snatch
Patch Adams
Dhoom 2
Khosla ka Ghosla
among others

My Faith, sometimes

leads me to believe...

• That examinations wont suck
• That buses will arrive on time
• That India might win ONE match and not make such a big deal about it
• That once in a while, Indian films will have a good plot,storyline,screenplay
• That India will be rid of corruption
• That justice will be quick in Indian courts
• That i might yearn for something and actually get it
• That the "News" channels will actually start reporting the news and not mindless crap that would only interest soap-opera junkies
• That question papers contain questions on topics that i have actually studied or atleast read once
• That Himesh would just stop singing,acting,talking whatever
• That i will one day be cured of internet addiction
• That Sachin will start playing the way he did in the nineties and be injury free for ever
• That Engineering/Medical colleges will stop behaving like money-grubbing whores and actually think about the students
• That India would be rid of reservation for everything and anything and anyone

My Rules,Opinions,Pet Peeves et al

PART I

On Time Management
(also refer Waking up)

' Set the clock x minutes ahead to avoid delay-- value of x unknown, greater than zero and preferably variable '

On Cellphone Manners

' A mobile phone that is out of hands reach of the owner at all times, ceases to be a "mobile" phone...might as well be a wireless land line '

' What i hate more than people making calls from my phone without permission, is people receiving MY calls without permission '
ps. just for future ref. 'people' include friends and blood relatives

On Laundry

' If you are able to tell, just by sniffing, in which part of the house your favorite pair of jeans are, it is probably the best time to wash them ...'

On Indian Reality TV

' They are as real as Celina Jaitley's acting prowess...'

On Waking up

Rule 1
' Anything said to or by me after i wake up, uptill 20 minutes after, should be neglected, scratched from all records and forgotten for all eternity....i am NOT listening and not at ALL in the right state of mind'

Rule 2
' Always entrust the responsibility of waking you up on a crucial day with a loyal and punctual friend. Also, said friend should be fully aware of Rule 1.'

On Photography

' No matter how small the scientists thrive to make the aperture of the camera's lens smaller, people will still manage to cover the lens with their fingers while clicking '

My Breaking News

Just a few days ago, on 15th Nov to be precise, i picked up the Mumbai Mirror to get my morning started with some fresh gossip about moviestars, fashionistas and ofcourse our over rated 'Men in Blue'. But a particular news item caught my eye...well, actually it was the Headline so it was kinda hard to miss...but anyways, it read

MUMBAI UNIV STUDENTS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

My first thought was.."Well Duuuuh!!!"
On reading further i came to know that this wasnt some big expose' on the pathetic state of affairs at MU, but it was just about 'Corporate India' bitching about the quality(or lack of it) in the students coming out of Mumbai University.
It seems that the head honchos of some of the biggest companies in India have complained that MU students lack practical knowledge to take up corporate jobs and that companies are forced to invest considerable amount of time and money.
Now i know right at this point everyone will start to bitch about their colleges...and how the professors are cruel, labs are inadequate, practicals are a farce and the theory papers at the end of each exhausting semester are worth a rats ass in the 'real' world.
But i have a different take on this so called headline material --"FUCK YOU CORPORATE INDIA!!!"
You assholes bitch about having to train freshers, when you alone are responsible for quality of dumb asses entering your plush offices at BKC.
Whenever placement rounds are held in colleges of MU...you fuckers come with you attitude about being the best in HR, having the best clientele, and your vertical and horizontal development bullshit, when all you people want to take from the colleges...are the honour roll students.
Got an aggregate of above 65%...then your almost in....but you are in the Electronics/Instrumentation/Mechanical branch...NO PROBLEM, absolutely no problem. You managed to score high in your farcical theory tests and managed to weasel out term work marks by being the teachers pet...you ought to be able to learn C#, .NET etc.
Let the Computer branch student, with at least minimal knowledge in the field of your expertise suffer...why? Well coz he couldn't get good marks in App Sciences and Mechanics when he was in the 1st year and he doesn't like sucking up to profs...cant have that now can we!
The recruitment policy of these Corporate Idiots is so flawed that in the training programs designed by them, the freshers who were not supposed to be there in the first place, flunk out or lag behind...meanwhile this is the University's fault that they are failing....
Get your act together 'Corporate India' and then go bitching about us to the press.

ps. The author's sentiments will be clear once selected readers discover that one of the companies mentioned to be not happy with MU is techMahindra ;))

My Blogger's Block

Have been meaning to post something for quite a while now...sometimes on my bike, i even figure out what i'm gonna post. But then when i get to my comp---NOTHING. Absolutely nothing...
Its the Writer's or Blogger's block i tell myself
Writer's Block!!! Ohhh so you some hot-shot writer now?
Shut Up!
But i had managed to come up with some post ideas..during the days that i have so magnificently wasted away...here are some them

My Crash and Burn
This was about how i joined a crash course for Advanced MicroProcessors during Diwali. I had to travel from my house to dadar..in scalding heat,in a stuffy bus...to get to the damn classes. I paid Rs.300 for the whole 5 days course(totally worth it btw)...but i'm sure i spent almost twice that amout on travelling and food . But those five days were totally fun...esp Harish sir's sidelocks

My Garden Vendetta
I got this idea from Neeraj about posting about movies he has seen..and how they're good, bad or downright abysmal. But then i thought...why take the easy way out and copy a post idea. So i dropped the whole thing.
By the way, if you havent guessed by now...i was gonna write about Garden State an V for Vendetta.

My Cellular Troubles
I didnt want to write another whiny peice about the shit going on in my life. Actually my cellphone(Motorola E398) was in the service center for the good part of two months...and i really missed it. But 2 weeks ago...i got it back, good as new. So i let bygones be bygones..

My Hoo-Haa
Team India had miserably been knocked out of the Champions trophy, and all those Pepsi ads were really gettin on my nerves( esp the Ganguly one). So i decided to pen my feelings...but I am after all, and Indian and didnt see fit to 'kick a guy when hes down'.
Blue Billion will return!!! (me thinks NOoooo...Please NO)

My Viva-Voce
This one, i wanted to write...but i also had to actually STUDY for the vivas...
In hindsight, i feel i should have written about the horrible terrible experiences anyways...writing about your troubles is theraputic they say. (Make the horrible Kale nightmares go away!!!!)

And that brings us back to today...

ps. Please forgive this horrible, terrible, insanely stupid post...i promise that after exams or maybe even during exams i'll put more efforts and thought into my posts
Adios

My Day Back

This is my first post in a very long time. I’ve actually been away to Goa for the past few days and before that I was too busy thinking about going there. I returned today morning.

The bus that brought us back from the beautiful place was late as usual and we managed to reach the college premises by about 10.30 as opposed to 8 AM.

I said goodbye to my friends, had a sip of coffee from the college café and headed home. Arriving at my empty house was a bitter sweet feeling. I had spent the past few days in the company of my classmates in sub-standard accommodation and yet the yearning of the place called home had completely gone. I felt guilty for not missing my home.

I kept down my bag, and called mum.

‘Ya reached safely’

‘I’m alright…how’re you?’

‘Had the key with me…no problems….’

‘I’m tired now. Bye’

I sat down and watched some TV. We hardly spent any time in the hotel room in Goa, so watching my Panasonic 29 inch flat felt pretty good. After 30 mins of mindless surfing, I switched the set off and went to my room.

Mum had cleaned it while I was gone…and so naturally I had to dirty it again. I took off my traveling clothes and fished around for fresh garments. The cupboard as well had been neatly arranged in my absence and now smelt of naphthalene.

After changing into washed clothes and freshening up a bit, I made my way to the kitchen and gulped down 5 glasses of water. Whilst in Goa, we consumed very scarce amounts of water as the tap water there was suspect and so we had to buy or borrow water every time we went out.

I looked around in the kitchen and noticed that mum had made me some breakfast before leaving for office. Tasting home made sabudana khichdi after five days of outside food felt awesome. In the hotel where we were staying, breakfast only comprised of bread-omelet and egg sandwich. Despite being a vegetarian, I had to chomp down on egg-sandwiches every morning…which were not all that bad I must say.

After breakfast, I had a long hot bath. This was the only thing that hadn’t changed during my trip to Goa. Sure, the bathroom there wasn’t as big as the one at home, but I enjoyed the hot showers after a long and tiring day of sightseeing and time wasting. While drying off, I noticed how the color of my arms and face was many shades darker than that of the rest of my body. Roaming on the streets and playing on the beach all day long had taken its toll.

On any other day I wouldn’t even consider going to bed at 1o’clock in the afternoon, for it would consequently rob me of the little amount of sleep I get in the night time. But this wasn’t any other day, I was tired from the overnight journey in the bus and just wanted to get a good shut-eye.

The sound of the doorbell woke me up and I looked at the watch to realize that I had been asleep for 5 straight hours. I got up from the bed and opened the door.

It was mum.

‘Kay rey kaalya? Zhoplaa hotas kaa?’ (Were you sleeping or what? Blackie)

I told mum that I was very hungry, and after realizing that it was because I had skipped lunch she started yelling at me. Ahhh…I did not miss her yelling I’ll tell you that. This woman will go on for hours I thought, but only after five minutes I was being served hot tea and buttered toast(NICE!!!).

My LAN card is busted and so I couldn’t go online. It had been so many days since I had been to the Blue nowhere (I call the internet that after reading a book of the same name), what’s one more day I thought. I decided that I’ll go out and meet some friends and catch up on things, and at that very moment it started raining.

It rained the last day we were in Goa. Two of my friends and I had decided to visit the Candolim beach after a late and delicious lunch. It was just the kind of beach I liked…deserted and windy as opposed to crowded and sunny. After strolling on the beach for a while, we had decided to head back to the hotel and just then it had started to rain. We didn’t take cover…just kept walking, it was beautiful.

Anyways, back in Mumbai, it had stopped raining after half an hour and so I went down to the parking lot. The bike wouldn’t start, so had to kick start her. This didn’t work either, at first, but after a few more kicks she was roaring like a lioness. I felt liberated and free, riding my bike after almost a week. In Goa I had to ride in the back of a small car which the five of us had to rent for the duration of our time there.

I met up with a few friends, shared stories from Goa.

I got back a little later than I usually do. Thought of calling up a friend but then decided it was too late to call, so I picked up a pen and made a reminder on my forearm. I had dinner and watched some soaps with mum. After she went to bed at around 11.30 I got bored and decided to play some Counter strike. That too got boring…and so I opened MS Word and began typing away.

So here I am, after an hour of continuous typing. I think there’s a ManU match right now (UEFA Champions League).

Bbye for now…

My Scorecard

epOch 1, Monsoon 0

The rains, they come every year...to fuck up our schedules, flood our gutters and cause horrific road accidents.
Dont get me wrong..i'm fine with the occasional drizzle, riding my bike in the rain...the droplets kissing my face, and the beautiful smell of the soaked earth.
But where i live, Mumbai....when it rains, it pours. Especially in the past few years, the weather has taken a turn...for the worse, more like towards hell!

I'm still lucky enough to stay in Navi Mumbai which is a little better planned than its older sibling(just a little, mind you). But when the rains effect the railway services it hampers the functioning of the whole city.

I used to ride a scooterette Bajaj Spirit since i was in the 9th grade, and every year during the monsoons i got into an accident. Nothing serious...just a few scratched elbows,knees, torn jeans et cetera...but they were accidents none the less.
I dreaded getting out in the rains on the spirit...fearing that i would ultimately end up hurting someone other than myself. Thank God that didnt happen for the entire duration of my riding it.

Last year i bitched and moaned and finally got my parents to buy me a motorbike. Nothing fancy, Bajaj Discover DTSi 125cc...but a bike nonetheless.

June 2006, arrival of the monsoon.

We braved the elements...my bike and i and got drenched quite a lot of times. There was the occasional skidding of the back tire and the sudden braking to avoid the big puddle. I even got a puncture once, but luckily it happened near the gas station.
July and August went by without any incidents(read accidents). There was a huge down pour during the second week of july...but i wasnt stupid enough to get out of the house.
As september dawned i heaved a huge sigh of relief...in its second week, the sun has shone more often than not( especially today was scalding).

Time to throw the wind sheeter out of my back-pack. No more plastic covers for my cell. Wipe the dust off my shades and cruise the streets without fear.
The Sun, it will shine brightly.....thats all i hope for.
God cant hate me that much...again i can only hope ; )

My Bad Morning

I've joined tuition for this subject we have in 7th semester of engineering....Digital Signal Processing(DSP). I usually don't join classes for the obvious reasons that they are always overcrowded, overpriced and have in some cases pure waste of time. But after much coaxing from my friend(s) about the importance of this subject, and the fact that it is the cause for the maximum no of casualties (read KTs) in engineering...i succumbed to joining it.
But what i didn't know and also was too lazy to ask, was that it took place early morning at 7.30 AM!!! that too in dadar...which is like an hour and a quarter commute from where i stay. All this meant that i had to get up at 5.30 and get ready to catch the 6.15 bus.
I had never gotten UP at this time in the morning...that doesn't mean that i haven't been awake at this God-awful time of the day. Pulling all-nighters has been my habit since my 10Th std days. Usually 5.30 would be the time when i was tired enough to sleep. Ahhh...and how i slept after that...dreamless,thoughtless,carefree...not a worry in the world, not even about the 2 chapters i hadn't gotten around reading for the exam tomorrow.
Which brings us to today...3rd of September, when my classes started.
I was awakened by the simultaneous ringing of my cellphone aswell as that of my mum's(on which i had set an alarm for 5.25). As for my phone, i had convinced a friend into being my wake-up service.
Shortly after that came a text message...informing me of the time at which i should be at the bus stop (another friend...same deal...wake-up service..hehe).
So i got my ass out of bed...and looked out the window. It was wasn't even sunrise yet!
I got my act together and was dressed and ready by 6.10. I reached the bus stop at the designated time...on time for something at last. But the driver of the bus that i was supposed to catch...had other plans. S.O.B just drew past my stop...doesn't matter i thought here comes another one. I boarded the bus and asked the conductor for a ticket for dadar.
'Kya! dadar? arrey yeh Thane ka bus hai...'...FUCK!! wrong bus!
So i got down at the next stop and waited for the dadar bus. Lucky for me..i found another friend that had joined the same class...so i waited with her. The next bus in was dadar.
I bought the ticket...put on my headphones and settled down in the near empty bus.
Finally...i thought...now nothing can go wrong, you are on the right bus, its moving fast...today might not be that bad after all.
At this exact time...I'm not kidding...a truck containing what seemed like 200 chickens just overtook our bus.
And then began the worst 35 mins ever...the smell of chicken excreta, and the flying feathers...oh its too awful to describe. Especially the smell...the pungent smell...ewwwwwwww.

Finally the bus halted at Dadar and i gave a huge sigh of relief...little did i know of the mind-numbing,spirit crushing boredom that was the DSP class with Mr. KK Talele.
But that is a story for another time...coz this post must be boring you and i too have to get some shut-eye....
ciao