This has been a one-of-a-kind, in fact, the first of its kind of vacations for me. Yes, a vacation minus the computer makes Jack a dull boy. The motherboard went for a toss. And it’s yet to be repaired and tossed back to its rightful place. Picture this. A room with all the other computer peripherals, tons of DVDs(movies and sitcoms) and a dangling internet cable. And I can’t do nothin with anythin that's around me.
Without the comp, it's become so tough to pass the time now. The dynamics at home are very different from good old school days where me and my bro did the major chunk of the channel surfing on the TV. Outdoor sports like 7 stones, maar n peeti and gully cricket would consume the rest of the timepass time. Now, its only the internet and movies. I've lost all interest in TV. Hate those reality and talent-hunt shows...ugghhh...they're despicable to say the least!
A vacation has its own dynamics and a computer with internet is an integral part of it. Its the one thing that helps you effortlessly sail over all the idle-time patches during the vacation. The prelude to the vacation, I feel, is the most fun part of the entire vacation. The wait for the day to leave for home, the joy when you dust your airbags and stuff it with smelly clothes, the lure of the home-food, the excitement of meeting old pals, endless discussions about which train/flight to take and why...all this is quite exciting. But once you get there, after the initial high of coming back to the home-ground, it all dampens out a little, coz there's nothing much to do!
The weekends are when everyone else is free and you have lots of people to attend to. While the weekdays are so void of any activity that you contemplate doing things like creating spicy toothpastes(pepper, lemon and cardamom), ultra-sweet toothpastes(maple syrup, litchi essence and honey) and non-vegetarian toothpastes(sprinkled with ants and deliciously sliced cockroaches). You also try your hand at melting a 'Mint-o Fresh' candy with just your palms, use the vacuum-cleaner to quick-dry the already semi-dry just-out-of-the-washing-machine clothes, chew a morsel of food in front of the mirror and follow the movement of a particular bit until it gets totally mixed up and can’t be found and last but not the least, give yourself a manicure and a pedicure once every 3 hours.
The very fact that I'm writing such a piece of drivel shows the extent of my joblessness. Oh wait. It would've been better had I tried to write this with my left hand on a glossy chart paper using wax crayons. That would be 'uber'-lame :P
To add fuel to fire, the telecom operators could not have called for a strike at a better time (in the NCR region, where my college is). I just had 50 paise left on my prepaid thing before leaving for home, couldn't get a recharge coz of this blessed strike, hence couldn't receive incoming calls on roaming, hence dint know of the change of electives announcement, hence couldn't change mine on time and hence I'll have to "SEE the GAME!"(Rural Mngmnt), prepare case studies before each lecture (SOM) and attend horrible lectures at 8:30 AM(Strategic Leadership).
I haven't seen the sun in 3 days, haven't shampooed in 6. The Telangana bandhs and the hiked bus-fares have further lowered my already low inclinations to step out of the house. This has by far been the worst vacation in a long time. It’s yet to end but I don’t see it getting any better unless an Xbox 360 or a Gisele Bundchen drop on my lap.
Dated : Jan 13th '10
Thursday, January 14, 2010
A computer-less vacation
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
To and fro
"You know, why we’re here? To be out, this is out…and out is one of the single most enjoyable experiences of life. People…did you ever hear people talking about “We should go out”? This is what they’re talking about…this whole thing, we’re all out now, no one is home. Not one person here is home, we’re all out! There are people trying to find us, they don’t know where we are. “Did you ring?, I can’t find him.” “Where did he go?” “He didn’t tell me where he was going”. He must have gone out. You wanna go out: you get ready, you pick out the clothes, right? You take the shower, you get all ready, get the cash, get your friends, the car, the spot, the reservation…There you’re staring around, what do you do? You go: “We gotta be getting back”. Once you’re out, you wanna get back! You wanna go to sleep, you wanna get up, you wanna go out again tomorrow, right? Where ever you are in life, it’s my feeling, you’ve gotta go."
Right from the time I started going to school, school was the 'out' for me. Once I'd get back from school, the routine would be to drink some Bournvita and rush 'out' to the playground. When it'd get dark, it was time to get back home, have supper and end the day. My life comprised of many such micro-cycles of "in and out", "to and fro" everyday. Every now and then, there would be the long vacation(once or twice a year) where we'd be 'out' for a couple of days or so, and then get back to the trivialities and banalities of daily life.
Once the uniform-days got over, by some freaky twist of fate(am yet to know whether it was for the better or worse), I ended up in a university that was 'far' from my place. I mean real far. My definition of 'far' took a real big change. Until then, I'd always crib that my coaching center was 45 mins from my place, was very 'far'. But this was a different 'far' (24 hrs by train). It was a 'far' from where you couldn't return home daily. A 'far' from where your parents could not keep a tab on what you were doing, a 'far' so far that no one in your earlier "world" could see or know of the antics you were up to, unless you told them yourself.
The power was with me. I could decide what to tell, when to tell, what to do and when to do. I was 'out', and it was totally on me to decide when all to get 'back' home from the 'out'. Initially, it was thrilling, having all that decision making power. 'The power to make your own destiny' as the wise fools put it. Planning a trip back home was never easy. The challenge was to combine the holidays with the non-volatile working days so as to minimize the effect of the wraths from the profs(estimating their tantrums and surprise quizzes) and also to not miss any important event in and around college(read: cultural/fashion/rock shows).
But there was always this urge to go home, to get a hero's welcome, to meet old pals, to catch up with the trends in the city, to attend those boring functions sporting the "sheepish constipated smiley look" all through and to get recharged by eating some gr8 home food. And then, it would be time to get 'back'...Back to the 'out' which had become the new 'in'. Hostel was the new home and the original home became the 'out'. I'd get back to college, all recharged and fresh, with my airbags filled with home food, all set to take on the world. But after sometime (read: 2 months or so), I'd find myself on the losing end of the battle, all drained out and all set to get back home.
But here's the other deal. Each time that you do come back home, you notice that things have changed. And if you've come back after a reasonably long time, then you're at sea unable to cope up with what's happening around. Slowly but surely, there's an alienation of sorts. You are treated more like a guest, offered all the comforts and liberties (unlike earlier, when you'd be accountable for each and everything) and you just can't help it. I remember the time in class 12 when I was lambasted for getting back an hour (or two) later than expected. A year later (in UG), when I did something similar, the response was radically different.
I've been oscillating "to-and-fro" between home and away for the last 7 years now, still not sure as to which is the 'home' and which is the 'away'. If it depends on just the quantum of time that one spends in a physical place, then it’s evident and elementary. But it’s not so simple. If you look at it qualitatively, the one week at home (the one with the parents + siblings) can be more worthwhile and create more memories than the 2 odd months in a hostel or at a PG accommodation.
On one end, I envy those buggers who get to stay at home all their lives, or at least get a job back in their home town (or close to it) after a brief hiatus away from home (for their UG or PG). But I consider myself luckier than those few who've left their homes for distant lands across the seven seas and cannot return home as and when they want to. The fact is, in this new westernized-India, moving away has become an integral part of our lifestyle. But our cultural and homely-roots keep pulling us back with almost as much force, time and again. I’m tired of this see-sawing. Is there no way out of this? Can't things be simpler....sigh !
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
A Swine flu over my ass !
If you cut the crap and look into the facts, you'll find that swine-flu has a lesser mortality/death rate than diarrhoea, pneumonia or TB. Yes, its caused mass-hysteria, but can you blame the poor virus. The media has had such a major hand in spreading exclusively the negative news related to the H1N1. Let me talk about a virus that is far deadlier and has spread beyond control in this country. Its the D.O.R(Death on Roads) virus. It has two variants : death due to driving or death due to being a pedestrian on road. Now you'll ask me as to why D.O.R is deadlier than H1N1. Lets talk some core statistics here.
a) Swine-flu
Deaths reported(till date): 26
Number of infected cases : more than 1000
Estimated loss to GDP(if it becomes an epidemic) :1 - 1.5% of GDP (as given by World Bank)
b) D.O.R
Now you tell me, which one is deadlier and should get more media coverage! Lets look at what the government can do about this. Regular road review programs, more number of roads, strict rules and regulations and the likes. I'll start with the driver's license test. It's a joke, a mockery, a sham. This test is a very serious affair in developed countries. Dubai's driver's test is presumed to be the toughest and the most rigorous. I've heard of people flunking the test as many as 20 times. Their test is so trusted that the same license is valid in many other countries. And what happens in our 'Shining' India ? (oh how i hate it when someone calls it that)...You needn't know to drive to get a license, you can use the license to practice 'Live' on the roads along side 'Live' people. That's the value we give to our lives(and to that of our fellow Indians).
I got mine only coz I went through a broker. I barely managed to drive a 4-wheeler for which I was bestowed with a combo license(the 2 cum 4 wheeler one)...a license to kill. But I've decided not to unleash my madness on the roads and be a danger to myself and the society at large.
All this aside, the one thing that the government can't do is to change your mindset. They've given you the road, but its upto you as to how you drive. If you as a driver choose to be illiterate, ignorant of the road rules and not valuing your own life, even Lord Ganesha(whose gonna be immersed soon this month) can't help you out. And for god's sake, don't drink and drive. Develop a road-sense if you don't already have one. Follow the rule whenever, wherever possible. Rules are meant to keep you from succumbing to D.O.R. And if not for your sake, think about the countless other fellow drivers and pedestrians that are likely to get injured coz of your callous driving. Unless you develop this superior-sense, India I'm afraid will never shine.
And before you go buy one N95 mask for the flu, buy yourself a helmet, get your vehicle insured and get it serviced(if need be). And the irritating media will still not take notice, but do your bit by educating your peers about D.O.R. You'll be saving many a lives, I assure you of that.
A small addition...here's a foreigner's view on 'driving in India' - http://www.pixelatedimage.com/blog/2009/08/driving-in-india/
Monday, July 13, 2009
Some awkward moments
Disclaimer : This post is not intended to be funny. Its intended to bring the 'awkward' feeling/emotion out, and may be some chuckles in passing.
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And then he left. Boy, that was embarrassing. Awkward and embarrassing. I dint know where to go and hide my face that instant.
Moment 2 : All that glitters is not 'Gold'
Was in Dubai doing my summers. Got a call from mom(at home) asking me to buy some gold jewelry. This was the first time that mom had asked me to buy something so huge(price-wise). Till date, mom had only sent me out to make low-value purchases, such as buying coconuts or milk from Latha aunty's store or Bournvita from the Departmental store or Kaju barfis from Halwa-ram Mithai bhandar at most. I was thrilled and also tense. I had to buy something big and the choice was in my hands. So I went the jewelry store, painfully went through all the chains and ear-ring models that they had to offer(thinking long and hard as to what kind of stuff would mom want to sport) and I made my choice. I picked up two chains, both really pretty. Was really confident that mom would like them and laud my taste for jewelry and my choice-making/decision-taking abilities. Summers got over, I went home. Bro was happy with the stuff I got for him. Went over to mom and handed over the chains. I was expecting the "Oh wow. They suit and fit me perfectly. Thank you son :)" kind of a reaction. Mom, on the other hand said "Nice chains. These are for your wife." This one-liner turned an all-smiles environment into a rather weird one. I laughed, looked puzzled, took deep breaths, blinked furiously, sneezed, coughed, but could not manage to speak. It was way too awkward. Here I was, buying something for someone whom I dint know, whom I may never know, who may be allergic to gold(ok, this is rare), or there's also a chance that I may never want any 'someone' too(for life). I wonder how someone else would have gotten outta such a fix-ey situation.
Mom : Go get some coconuts from Latha aunty's store.
Moment 4 : The girl classmate
You get to know that a school's classmate of yours has been selected to join a 'better known institute of management in northern India'. You feel real happy that someone from your old school's class has done real well. With no one else around to share the good news with, you goto dad with the news.
You : Dad, Serafina cracked the feline test and got through to the 'Better known Institute of Management in Northern India' (BIMNI).
Dad : Whose she ? Is she the one from your school ? The class prefect ?
You : Yea, bingo. You've got a great memory.
Dad : If I remember well, you used to get better grades than her in school rite ?
You : Yea, most of the time.(I was already sensing trouble, with the way this conversation was shaping up)
Dad : Then how is it that she has gotten into BIMNI while you're learning management from the 'Lesser known Institute of Management in the Crime-capital of India' ?
You : Awkward pause. Awkward-er smile. Feel stupid. Regret opening your mouth. Get Irritated. Angry.......Shout @$$#0!e...@$$#0!e in your head.
The transition from being happy to feeling stupid to getting angry is so swift, it feels like you're sliding down a steep spiral until you fall with a loud thud. And that's when you reach Ground-Zero(GZ...another acronym for the 'crime-capital' where I'm living right now).
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Dubai chronicles : The Summer of '09
A year back, if some astrologer or parrot holder would have told me that I'd be seeing the Burj Al Arab daily on my way to office or I'd regularly watch movies in a 1 million dirham home theater system, I'd just laugh it off . But then, reality did have something else in store for me.
Before the summer
The moment I was told by the Head HR that I'd be doing my summer internship in Dubai, I was like 'Dubai....ummm....doesn't ring a bell...where is it ?'....and its then that it struck me. An international internship would be an amazing experience, this was what I thought at that moment. When I saw the complete list of ppl selected for the company, my thoughts took a shift. I knew none of the other selected guys/gals. It is then that I realized that this internship may not be so much fun after all. Yea, 2 of them were frm my class but I'd hardly known them over the course of last year. A day before leaving for Dubai, I'd loaded my comp with movies and sit-coms so that I would not get bored on the trip.(Later did I come to know that even the rest of the junta was as apprehensive as I was) I am kinda anti-social and it takes me eons to get to know people. So I'd settled for the lame reality that I'd be going to Dubai alright, but it would be a drab and dull trip where all we'd discuss about would be work and movies and cigarettes and may be liquor.
The beginning
But the very fact that I just watched one movie on the entire trip, never worked overtime in office, spent around half my stipend on Johnnie Walker(the other half on cabs) and a whole lot more on touring, shows that this has been one of the most rollicking trips I've ever been in. The start of the trip was as mysterious as it can get. We just get a mail from the HR saying that we'll be picked up from the airport and taken to a hotel(sounds a bit like those James Bond movies where he's sent over to strange places and picked up by stranger ppl). So we get out of the airport and we wait. We wait. We roam around lookin for ppl holding banners. No luck. We wait. We smoke. We wait. As a desperate measure, we buy a caller card but don't know how and where to use it. We're just about to go all out shouting for help when we see one guy coming towards us holding the right banner. Oh what a relief. We get to the hotel, unpack our stuff and then get together to decide 'What next?'. We go to the receptionist in the anticipation that he might know about our schedule for the next day.
Me(to the receptionist) : What do we have in store for tomorrow ?
Receptionist : Breakfast starts at 7 AM sir.
Me : Did the office ppl inform you regarding any pick up from the hotel.
Rcptnst : No sir, but breakfast timings are form 7 to 10
In essence, the only thing we knew about the next day was that breakfast would be served. Nothing else. This internship was getting more mysterious by the minute. And so we slept. And we woke up the next day. We had our b'fast as instructed, not knowing what to do next. Some of us thought that we'd have a vote-out session, something like the MTV roadies do and that only the survivors would be taken to office on the next day. Some even started searching the room for clues which our company ppl might have left for us to find and figure out what to do next. Anyways, we did reach office by 10 the next day and thus began our internship.
The regular schedule
Not once did any of us take the regular office pick-up cab coz it was way too early. We'd get ready at our own sweet pace, have a sumptuous breakfast(oh how I miss that b'fast spread now) and then take a regular cab to work. On the pretext of going on 'store visits', we covered all the major malls in Dubai(yea, all of 'em).
Creek
The AM-PM mindset shift was drastic. Sitting idle in the office at 10 AM would be the most boring thing, while having hukkah at the 'Creek' at 10 PM on the same day would give you a surreal feeling. The first part of the day would sap the energy out of us(sitting idle in office all the while) while the later part would be great fun(read: awwwessome). The Creek was our regular hangout joint. One boat ride and a hukkah by the Creek side is more refreshing than even a couple of gallons of Glucon D, blv me :P
Crazy
In one word, this Dubai trip was crazy. The hindi song 'Kaise' that played during the fountain show was crazy, the prices in Buddha bar were crazy, the architecture in the malls were crazy, the size of the popcorn bucket(for 30 dhms) in the movie hall was crazy, the fines were crazy, having hukkah every other day was crazy, finishing a carton in 8 days was crazy, the lively audience at the music and dance concert were crazy, the expressions on each of our faces when we converted our whole expenditure into Indian rupees on the last day was crazy too.
Giving elaborate descriptions for the rest of the events/places will make this post a humongous one. So am just jotting down a few things that we did, a few lines that we spoke and a few things we shud not hav done :)
Malls
WAFI : Egyptian pyramid style architecture
Mall of the Emirates - Snow park and Lebanese food
Dubai Mall - Aquarium, Fountain show, the three pretty violinists, the one sad female harp player
Burjuman - was exotic
Markato - English style ka mall
Deira City Center - apna Big Bazaar type, Coldstone ice cream
Times Square Center - Subway :p
Ibn Batutta Mall - Marble Slab ice cream there was yum
Marina Mall - amazing views all over
Places
Madinat Jumeirah, JBR Walk, Open beach, Jumeirah beach, Buddha Bar, Snow Park, Desert Safari, Palm Islands, Ice lounge, Cruise dinner, Carrefour, Karama center, Starbucks (twice), Coldstone (thrice), Bananas pizza
Quotes
'Dubai ke do sabse faalthu phone apan dono ke paas hi hain' - Nitin
'Cute hai' - Nigarish
'Arey nimbu nahin, Nigarish' - Me
Tujhe patha hai, wahaan pe sharks hai yaar....it was sooo amazing - Hemali
'Wat nansense !' - Me
Davidoff 'One' health ke liye acha hai - Alok
'Main Hemali ke paas nahin baithoonga' - Nitin
'Yaar, I think we should get a camel and ride on it in the desert' - Nigarish
'Marina mein ghar saare awesssoooome hain yaar....tujhe patha hai, wahaan pe authentic arabic food miltha hai' - Hemali
Somethings I'd never do otherwise
Order for water worth 1200 bucks in Buddha Bar
Pay 600 bucks for a cab to go to office(daily)
Have a bubble bath every alternate day
Activate a smoke alarm with just a steam bath
Ask a sales executive in a mall as to where the 'exit' is and she replies saying 'I don't know' (wtf !)
Poach on someone else's wi-fi from the hotel room (favee123, favee maatha ki jai ho)
Buy a carton of cigarettes
Eat prawn flavored crackers
Work in firm where not one person seems to be happy with his/her job
Do spade work for 2 other interns for their final presentation
See Burj Al Arab daily on my way to office
Make 4 others wait for a 7 seater cab(for 45 mins) after getting wet on the beach
Watch movies in a 1 million dirham home theater system
Have two bath-tub baths on the same day
Have a buffet b'fast for a whole month
After summers
All I'm left with now is a group of gr8 memories, a few new friends, a series of stories for all the people back home, and all this backed by 9 GB of pics and videos. Not bad huh...For an internship that was rumored to be shelved and even when it did start, it started in the most untoward fashion. Yes, the trip dint start too well; yes we did have an explosive feedback session with the HR on the last day; yes we did spend a hell lot more than the stipend we got; yes we got cranky during the return flight home(almost high) and yes, we all are yet to get over the Dubai hangover. But all in all, this was one very memorable trip.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Online protocols
What spurred me to write this piece is a small but irritatingly idiotic norm that has gained acceptance in a group that I have to forcibly be a part of. I'm a part of a 60 member class in a b-school. I became a member of a yahoo group that represents the class. The idea of having an online group primarily was for the CR(class rep) to mail the important announcements to the whole class at once. Some people also exercised the liberty of forwarding "important" (read : shit-piece) articles to the whole group once in a while. But idle time coupled with the ability and power to bug 60 people at once has changed the whole scenario. The people use group mails mostly to have frivolous discussions, to pull one another's leg(like it was done in primary school), to chat about liquor as if its something exotic and out of the world and to vote for the hottest slut in class(there r none btw). And now, there's an addition to the already existing chaotic nonsense. People have started wishing their classmates on their birthdays on the group mail id. Doesn't sound so bad does it. But imagine, you getting 60 mails saying the same "happy b'day XYZ" on every birthday(60 days a year).....won't that bug you ? I don't know, but it bugs the hell out of me. If its someone's birthday, wish him on his id, why do you want the whole fuckin group to know that you're wishing him/her. I've no interest whatsoever in knowing that.
Am I being anti-social here, YES. But am I being pragmatic, double YES!
But its not just this one instance. People abuse the online platform to a great deal just because its a relatively new way of talking and the rules and norms haven't been established yet(they actually have, but we just aren't aware enuf).
People type 'brb' on their messenger windows, never to return back. If a person who types 'brb' doesn't return in 2 minutes flat, 25 GB of gay porn should automatically get downloaded onto his/her PC.
People who say 'gtg' abruptly, with no care for the guy at the other end should have nightmares about having a date with Himesh Reshammiya, their 'knight in shining armor'.
The number of insane "fraandhsip" requests on orkut and facebook is a testimony to the fact that for every one non-despo, there are a million despos in this country (a blaring example for 'unity in diversity' in our country).
I realize that chatting online does reduce inhibitions, doesn't mean that you go full throttle and flirt like there's no tomorrow. I've seen break-ups happening online(in my hostel), and it isn't a pretty sight....People slamming the mouse pads, kicking the dust bins close to the table and screaming at their room-mates just coz the girl has gone offline and won't take their calls no more.
People use fake profiles on social networking sites to bug their childhood crushes and to stalk their current crushes online(voyeurs or Peeping Toms). I've seen profiles with names like 'Shakila ki maa Tequila', 'Lola kutty in my mutthi' with status messages like 'I want a hasina with pasina', 'Faad ke panty, c*** de aunty' etc etc. For the record, creating a profile with all censored pics and raunchy stuff filled in it is a very cheap and lame idea to create humor, although it works sometimes :p
People uploading their photos(standing in front of a stupid rock or just posing for the heck of it) and forcing everyone in the colony to view their online albums should be castrated, to say the least(or atleast given 100 lashes with a leather whip).
Proposing online is not a good way to go about doing it. You never really know if you're proposing to the girl or to her brother (the girl went out to buy some lipstick...the bro, with his group of friends, has been chatting with you all through your flirtatious build-up to the proposal question...how embarrassing).
The 'Busy' status message is by far the most abused one in today's messengers. When someone is 'busy', don't ping them unless your life depends on it. Seriously, its really bugging. Its almost like knocking on a door with a 'do not disturb' sign on it. And there's the other side of the coin where we find people who have the 'Busy' status msg whenever they're online. People just like to look busy, most of them are never busy. Just for the record, if you're taking time off to dig your nose or to eat your ear-wax or scratch your sweaty ass or to refresh the 'orkut' main page or to scroll up and down on your messenger list, you are NOT busy.
And when you've gotto end a conversation, just say 'bye' and end it. Don't prolong it with all those unnecessary words and abbreviations like bbbye, gn, tc, cya, ciao, haffun, gnite and gud luck, cheers, alvida, shabba khair, khuda haafis, boy boy, sheeyaa....all typed one after the other...its mighty irritating for the person at the other end to think of one other thing or to retype the same thing that you've just typed, just out of courtesy.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Most of us just don't get it. So many more protocols get formed and broken online, all it needs is some common sense to see this nonsense and go senile.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Of gifts and gate-crashes
When all is it appropriate to gate-crash at a party or a gathering ? On the same lines, when all is it ok to not give a gift to the people whose party you've come to ? Any purist would say 'never'. But we aren't purists, are we ? We live in the real and messy world where all the boundaries are blurred. So we chalk out our own interpretations for such situations and spread them to one and all like its the gospel truth.
For instance, I'd recently been to a friend's elder brother's marriage. My friend had invited me and a couple of other school friends to the gathering. Now while we were driving to the party, I was a bit uncomfy coz we were going there empty-handed. Till a few years back, when I was a minor(in every sense of the word), I wasn't expected to bring a gift to the party. That was mom and dad's headache. I just had to be there in my best outfit and gorge on all the delicacies and ice-creams. But now, things are different. In 2 yrs, am gonna hit a quarter century (and most probably, have a quarter-life crisis too). So, its expected of me to behave as a responsible 'major' social animal and buying a gift for the bride and groom is part and parcel of this behavioral pattern.
But the rest of my gang were adamant that we need not buy a gift. They say that we need to buy a gift if it is our friend's wedding, but if its his brother's or sister's wedding, we needn't buy anything. They say that the friend should not bother about gifts & presents from us and would be happy just coz we have graced the gathering with our presence :O.....I don't seem to get the reasoning behind this social norm. I mean, I'm being invited, offered free food (and drinks) and in return, I'm expected to wish the bride and groom accompanied with a material offering. Its that simple. Whether its my friend or his brother or a complete stranger. As long as I am invited and I am present at the function, I am supposed to do the needful.
This is just one incident. It becomes worse when one is tagged along to a birthday party or a farewell or a freshers or a completely unrelated party. The place is new, no one knows you, you get a lot of "who the fuck is he ?" stares & you seem to be the only one with no gift in your hand.
A booze party is all the more tricky. Everyone is there for the liquor. And you need to be in a group to get a table to sit and drink. If you're alone, you won't enjoy the liquor and you'll get the stares from the bartender & waiters. Even a guy who's had 15 vodka shots will make out that you're a gate-crasher.
The trade-off is simple. Its the level of uncomfy-ness versus the quality of food and drink that's gonna be available. If the uncomfy-ness is on the lower side, take the risk and go gate crash, no matter how remotely you know the person whose party it is. If its a bit high, then weight the pros and cons and take the plunge :)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
April 1st
Well, its All Fools day again. For those who wanna know the reason behind this day being called so, have a look at this :
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aprilfools1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools'_Day
Just finished my 3rd term xams yesterday, which officially completes my first year of stay at this place. Its been a year.....Whoosh..... Time just flies. And I'll be flying off to Dubai in a couple of days for my summer intern. I just remembered what I was doing this time last year. Waiting for all the b-skool final results. I'd goto office, open pagalguy and browse through every minimally related thread and would do this for the whole day(with lunch and tea breaks in between...oh, and work too).
Once the group-discussion and Personal Interview stage gets over, all that an aspirant can do is wait. And the wait seems endless. So many post posts on pagalguy, where people write inane insanely repetitive, dumb and retarded stuff.
Thread name : IMT Ghaziabad results 2008-10
Dumbfuck1(Trainee pagal) : The wait is killing me.... :S
FireInMyAss (Major paagal) : I can't wait to end this wait.
MrNoSocialLife (Expert paagal): Hey puys, I talked with college authorities yesterday. They said the results would be declared soon. So chill.
nishu84 : Hi, I am nisha. I am new to PG. I got 97.8 %le and have 2 years work-ex in IBM. Will I get a seat ? When will the results be declared ? (without reading any of the previous posts in the thread)
Wandering aimlessly through PG during the months of March and April is called puy'ing I believe. I'd be reading such stuff all day, seeming busy. My manager and team lead were always at loggerheads with me for not doing my work in time. There were a couple of others too, who'd be doing the same thing. When the results get declared, its hysteria, madness. PG has provided so many kinds of smileys that people make use of each one of them in that one post. There's nothing short of fireworks. Ahh....It all seems to have happened so long back now.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Because *I'm that* bored
Because I'm *that* bored.
Name: Abhay Krishna
Nickname(s): chris,A.K,A.B.K,abdul,chachi,420, bai babu(i hated this one)
Single or Taken? : ummm....not taken
Sex: Male
Birthday: Nov 24th, every year.
Blood group: O +
Sign: Saggi
Siblings: a brother whoz a bass guitarist
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Brown
Shoe size: 7/8/9....I dunno, somewhere in that range
What are you wearing right now? A striped shirt and a dockers trouser
Where do you live? Hyderabad.
Have You Ever:-given anyone a bath? : nooooooooooooo....(as russell peters says)
bungee jumped? : want to, not yet.
broken the law? : yea, luv it :)
made yourself throw-up? : bad question
gone skinny dipping? : Nope
been in the opposite sex's bathroom? : ummm....hmmm :)
eaten a dog biscuit? : wat !
put your tongue on a frozen pole? : done worse, put it on a hot plate
broken a bone? : Yep...bone, tendon,cartilage,muscle
played truth or dare? : Yes, but always dared
been in a physical fight? : Show me one guy who hasn't been in one
been in a police car? : Took a lift once :P
been on a plane? : Yea...wanna be on a copter
been in a hot tub? : Yep
swam in the ocean? : No way.....i only swim in pools
fallen asleep in college? : I find it hard to sleep in awkward postures....i get very jealous when i see my feloow ppl happily dozing away while the prof pours all that verbal diarrhoea on the class.
Cried when someone died? : No
Flashed someone? : Nah
Lied? : Nope. Dammit, did it again.
Laughed so hard you fell off your chair? : Yea. have fallen off every piece of furniture at least once.
Sat by the phone all night waiting for a call? : Yes....waiting for an sms in fact.
Saved e-mails? : totally
wished you were someone else? : hmm, we all do that.....I wanted to be number 23 (MJ)
wished you were a member of the opposite sex? : Nah
Been rejected? : hmmm
used someone? : hmmm
been cheated on? : Not that I know of.
Done something you regret? : Lots of stuff. I blabber too much.....hav caused a stir or two many-a-times
First Thing That Comes to Mind:-
Yellow: Sun
Blue: Robin blue
Happy: the song 'Egire Egire' (frm the movie KIKK)
Autumn: leaves.....doesnt ring a bell otherwise
Cow: Moooo.....RSS trying to sell cow urine as the new coke
Have you ever had:-
chicken pox? Yes
sore throat? Yes....am having one now
cold? Yea
stitches? Yea
bloody nose? Yea
sex? that's a good build up for this question
Do you:-
believe in love at first sight? : Yea, u're still in love with your mom nd dad rite :P
enjoy parks? : Not quite
like picnics? : Nah....picnics used to be good back in school
ike school? : totally....missin skool like hell
hate anyone? : I'd be damned if i say i don't.
Who:-
is the last person that called you? : Swaroop
makes you laugh the most? : quite a few....off late, its been Mr.OK
can make you feel better no matter what? : Hmmm, that's bit too personal
was the last person you touched? : Bro
you hugged? : Don't quite remember
you yelled at? : Bro
told you they loved you? : Mum
Do You/Are You:-
like yourself? : No :)
dye your hair? : Nope
have piercings below the waist? : eww....gross
stolen anything over $50? : not in cash, but in kind....stole optical mice frm the comp lab.
like ice cream? : wat kind of a question is that ?
Flavor : bavarian chocolate, Place : Softy den
like cold coffee? too expensive
Smoke? uhhhhh.
have beer? : yea
obsessive? : ummm....yeah.
Compulsive? : yea....i hope i get points for all this 'yea' answers
Depressed? : Not quite
suicidal? : Not in the recent past
Random:-
Prized possession: lost it just recently....was in my wallet which got stolen :(
Last thing you said? : hey bro, what's the spelling of 'bass' as in a bass guitar ?
"What is beside you? : a guitar, some dvds, lots of orbit chewing gum(un-used), a dictionary, a novel, a pen drive, guitar stubs, playing cards on the floor....man, this place is a mess
Last thing you ate? : murukulu..yumm
Are you right handed or lefty? Right
Favourite song: I can see clearly now - Johnny Nash
Worst thing that has happened to you this year: Losing my wallet...had lots of good stuff, lucky charms in it :(
Time started: 12:44 pm
Time finished: 1:13 pm
To share my boredom, am tagging ppl hu r equally bored.
Ginny
Satish
Puneet
