English Humour.

Steve, my project manager, as he was leaving home, on a friday, quips,
"Wish you luck on the implementation, this weekend".
Rob, Steve's team mate, who was close by remarks, "Luck perhaps, would do for Jay. I need a MIRACLE, for my implementation". :D


The train from Croydon to London Bridge, is delayed by ten minutes. The train driver, remarks on the Public Announcement system, "I apologise for the slow running of the train. This happenned due to a member of staff taking ill. They tried their best to find, a smart, young attrative male for the job ............unfortunately i was the only one available. We will be reaching London Bridge by 8 30" :D


The lift in my office, ceases to move with five of us, all in a hurry to attend a meeting. All the buttons are illuminated, yet, there is no effect. One of them quips, "Perhaps, its Monday Blues ...... " :D


A manager, asks Steve who is from the client team, in a meeting, "So, Steve you will circulate the notes to all of us?". Steve, retorts, "Oh No! I have a habit of writing notes to myself." :D

As we approach the cafetaria, we catch up with Mark, who seems to have a two day old stubble. Peter, one of Steve's colleagues, comments to Mark, 'So, buying yourself a razor, this Christmas?' :D. Mark, remarks, 'Nope, thought, i shall just get myself a beard'. :).

A moving tale ...

So, the client I work for, is amidst moving to a new office, down the road. The building, they currently work out of, apparently does not meet the requirements. I agree. There has been hectic activity, in terms of professional movers (and shakers should have been their name) taking over the office from a week. So, as people kept shedding, stuffs, that they seldom required, there seemed to a solemn silence, in the background, which i seldom realized.

So, the move,culminates with a small get together. Amidst wine in abundance, the unit head briefs, the team on the move and the moves implications. Perhaps the abundance, of wine led to the team members coming up with impromptu limmericks. Some of the them were really spontaneous! The members then lined up starting from the seniormost starting from the west end. Unbelievably the senior most manager had worked for the last thirty four years in that very office!

Thirty four years! Perhaps the solemn silence ....needs no explanation! Indeed, i feel kind of attached to this place, and i've just been about five months here, no doubt, the others felt a vaccum, at this change!

I am ......... am I ?

I am religious.

I am, somone, who can't stand bribery.

I am insensitive.

I am scathing.

I am just being ME.

I am, somone, who can be quite cold and aloof.

I am, someone, who loves to be alone at times.

I am who, I am !!!


Strangely . ...... very strangely, sometimes those statements, in my mind play as 'Am I' !!!

Darkness .....?

Light

Happy Diwali :).

Lost in Halloween?!

The term, English winters , somehow do not have a zing as the term English summers ! Blame it on Wimbeldon? (Oh ... I've been watching Bjorn Borg's biography .. and hence .. ;-)). I somewhere firmly believe, Emily Bronte was subjected to too much of these winters ...... where the sun sets by 16 00 hours and time is wound backwards by an hour,that her mood throughout her 'Wuthering Heights' novel was sombre and gloomy! The female lead in that novel was 'Catherine Earnshaw' wasn't she? (I know ...... it's right!Can't you see its a rhetorical question? :p)

Anyway, this post after a break is not about why i took a break ....... but it's about a break - in that happenned in my place! Oh ....yeah a break in ... a burglary!

Yes, it was the Halloween. The city was acting all spooky with folks in the tubes dressed as Frankenstein and shades of crimson red oozing all over themselves. Some, I personally thought actually, didn't have to try too hard for that spooky look ...! Yeah .. yeah ... i am cynical at time :-). Nevertheless, I started home on a hitherto unimaginable time of 1700 hours as my project had moved into implementation. The walk between Monument and London Bridge is perhaps 9 minutes ... by when you would have been offerred a free tabloid newspaper atleast ten times. A forty minute ride and i was at house .. sweet house. (House, intentional usage).

Crossing the protocol of three secured entrances, i am at the main entrance, where a sticker claims,'Winner of the House of the Year' award. As i enter , i see all my room mates in a confused state. One of them blurts out ...... 'Burglary .....dude .....'. What followed, was just confusion! My flat is perhaps the most secure places. My first thoughts were my laptop, and above that all the data that was in it. (My pics and all my collection of prized possessions). Closely followed by that, i wondered if the camera was gone too. I rush into my room ...... and check my laptop and camera. They are intact!! Wondering, why the double exclamation? That's because, collectively my room mates had lost four laptops, eighteen watches (No, my room mate doesn't steal. He collects!), expensive perfumes, hard disc drives, suitcase, some money and along with it some miscellaneous stuff! To think, that my stuff was left untouched ....... was confusing and relieving at the same time! The burglar(s?) have struck sometime, when we were all off to work. He/They have broken in through the balcony door. (sadly, we are in the ground floor). They have taken all the stuff mentioned, moved into my room mates, room and took his suitcase as well! Worse, of two beers are missing from my refridgerator! Some, wicked sense of humour. After stealing a whole lot of stuff, he has partied at home .. with beer from the fridge!

Yeah, and amidst all the stuff that was stolen ... my stuff saw the light of the day. Yeah surprisingly! Anyone, at this point says, 'How come, then it has to be you' would be subjected to the same treatment my friends are being subjected to! 50 lashes! (Virtual to all of you all ... be happy!). Yes, indeed, thus, i call 999, the emergency number in UK to log in my complaint. However, thanks to Halloween keeping them busy, they could only come in a bit late to take in the descriptions!

Halloween and spooky? I guess we should make it Halloween and stealthy! But the guy ... whoever stole .... what a cheapskate .....he stole beer??! :O

Swizz Guard!

'To go .. or not to go ...?'

Sounds like a corruption of Shakespeare's famous line?

Naaah .... those were my thoughts on whether to go on a trip to Switzerland.
Does it sound like a proposition, most would say, 'YES!!!', without batting an eyelid?

Possibly!

Luckily, that period of insanity passed and i booked my flight tickets and my accomodation at Interlaken, our base camp.

Additional to the same, i was also randomly chosen, to organise a project party, at my account level the same weekend i was flying towards Switzerland. So, amidst visiting Oxford Street to buy all the winter clothing i may need, I needed to book a cruise and arrange for a decent Indian caterer.


Did manage to pull off all the above and head to the trip towards .....a land many said .. is a paradise on earth ...! Being a firm believer that paradises are a figment of imagination of lesser mortals .... i decided to validate the veracity of that claim .... myself.

Jaya Haae!

The week that was .....

Yeah ..... i haven't been posting for a while ................ thanks to a bully called procastination,who stopped me from letting loose ....!

Now, that he has been taken care .....of .. I'm back for good !

As of last week .....

Monday - It's a Bank Holiday. Unwind. A visit to WGC. A gruelling trip to Nottingham. A thrilling ride on GNER from Stevenge. Oh .....what a trip it was .....!! Indeed!! [:)]. Folks, never miss this 'Tales of Robin Hood' when you all go to Nottingham.

[WHAT? My mobile number?
Oh ..i have changed that.
No .. i don't live in that place anymore. Don't tell me i did not warn you .....!]

Tuesday - R was leaving office, so made her a collage to walk her through all the nostalgic momens our gang had in office. Ah ..... it feels good to make people's stay memorable in office. Will miss all the candid talk and the awesome coffee breaks. We will miss you R. [:(].

Wednesday - S's birthday. Attempts in full swing to put her on air, as it was her birthday. Attempt ...remained an attempt. So, an attempt to 'mug' was unanimously decided. Ah .... its great to make people's day. It indeed is!

Thursday - Chase clients. Chased by my team. Chase the team. Chased by clients. Sandwiched.Review meetings. Mile stone reports. Delayed submission details. Yeah, the monday activity still runs in the background. SIGH!

Friday - Somone pings random, on Skype! I decide to speak to them! For a while. Never done that before!!

Saturday - Understand that the house i was suppossed to move in ...does exist only in imagination! The house is gone .....! To risk being homeless in London, need to start locate ..... a place .....!

Thanks H and V, you folks really came up when help was needed!

Sunday - Move into a bachelor pad!! Clothes strewn all over. The next best thing ...all across. Footwear mela at the place. Lids of bottles consumes time! [;)]. Freedom in some ways.

Sunday again - My life starts to be normal and 'bright' again ....!

Perhaps ...

A snippet from the movie Big Fish:

Edward Bloom (Ewan Mcgregor) in conversation with Jenny (Hailey Anne Nelson), the kid ....

Jenny : How old are you?
Ed : 18
Jenny : I am 8 now ..... Quite some difference isn't it?
Ed : Yeah ...
Jenny : So by the time i am 18, you would be 28.
Ed : Indeed.
Jenny : By the time i am 28, you would be 38.
Ed : Good. You are great at arithmetic.......
Jenny : But when i am 38 ...... you would be 48 ......
Ed : yeah ......
Jenny : Now ...... that difference isn't big ... isn't it?



Perhaps .................. Jenny is right!

Thoughts speaketh .....

Thoughts speaketh ....

'Hey .... I'm sorry!'

'Oh .....!!'

'Dood .... ?!!! She is just as old as your daughter'.

'Huh? Well, i thought that was your middle name!'

'Ofcourse, you wouldn't understand that! It's all business isn't it?'

'DAMN'!

'Yes, i do, any more questions?'

'Perhaps ...... i would do that ......'

'I really am!'



Yeah .... .I'm not responsible for the interpretations! Go figure!

Me.

Offlate ..... depending on what, me have been thinking it has been ......

Me?

Me ???!

Me

ME.

me.

ME !!!

me.

ME.

The trouble of being me, can only be matched by me alone!

Is this a rant, that has gone tangential? Never mind ..

London Calling .....

Speakers, warn the passengers 'Mind the Gap'.

Trains overcrowded, during peak hours ........ grappling with the evergrowing additions to this city.

Trains delayed, in the entire Northern line, as a passenger has taken ill ....... in the adjacent station.

Tabloids every morning and evening, free.

A summer temperature of 15 degrees.

Rains. All of a sudden.

Aachi Masala. Chennai Dosa.

Cooking.

Bright at 11 30 PM.

Hang on ...... lots more to come ....... in the coming posts.

Life is .....

Life is beautiful .............,

but is short and can change suddenly too!!!

Live Life ...from today ...tomorrow may be late to begin!!

PS: R.I.P :(

Directions : Venusian Vs Martian

Thanks to all of you all, who wished me, through emails and messages. Do find, a treat in your inboxes soon. :-)

So, a couple of friends had met up for a treat. Ofcourse, i was the host!

Barbeque Nation, the venue for the treat, is a place i would recommend to folks who would want to revel in ambience. The barbeques at ones' table with the sweet aroma wafting is all excellent, if its only at your table. The salivary glands were already in overdrive. However, the treat was only olfactory, till now, as we were waiting for another friend of mine to join in.Apparently, he was somewhere around, as he did not know, the exact location of this place. K, calls on him to check where he was ............ (In typical Venusian fashion,following is the conversation that ensued)

K: Hey .... where are you?
P: Somewhere around that place. Right now, near E.S.I hospital. How do i get to this restaurant?
K: Okie ..... you are near E.S.I now?
P: (wonders if its a paraphrasing class ....) Yeah!!
K: Okie... come straight ahead ..... you know Levi's Showroom?
P: Ok .......
K: Hm ... do you know the Lee Showroom?
P: Hm ......
K: You know, that other X showroom on that road ........
P: Hm ..... Okie, how do i come from here?
K: You come straight ahead ..... there used to be Nandini ..... now it is not there ....
P: Okie .....
K: This place ... is right opposite to that!
P: Huh ....! So ....
K: Okie ... wait .. let me give the phone to Jay.

So, i am roped in to this loop .....

Me: Dood ... from E.S.I , come straight ahead, to Khivraj Bajaj. Next to that is this place.
P: Cool dude, will be there in 2 min !

K, to all the rest............ : Hey, where is this Khivraj Bajaj?

:-).

Anyway .... nothing to take away from the fun i had that day. This blog was just to show the differences in approach taken by Venusians and Martians. :-).
The surprise birthday cake.(I loved that and for the first time, it was not splashed on my face). The nostalgic memories. The chat that lasted for quite a while. Ah .. it was all great!

Thanks to Ket, Pad, Laksh and Khushi, for reducing the impact of moving from 25 to 26.

I love you too ...

Mobile Phone!

Quickly .... what came to your mind when you thought about that? Yes, yes, yes ...... i hear it. It's almost indispensable isn't it? One of the few technological inventions that have bridged gaps quite substantially. As i found out, sometimes not the way we exactly thought, it did :-).

A few days back, I was browsing through the "features" of Nokia 6030. A fairly simple mobile, that promises music to the ears with its FM receiver and of course value for the money invested. When it was launched it was a big success. One of the features, i came across were the impressive in-built templates. (Main Menu ---> Messages ---> Saved Items ----> Templates). Yes, before you crucify me, i understand these templates are means to save time. They are to help you in sending a response, as some of the default responses are stored in these in built templates.


Sample a few of these templates:

1) "I am late. I will be there at" - Yes, agreed. You are late and thus, you do not have the time to type the complete message and hence you edit that template, add a time and lo ....... your job is done.


2) "I am in a meeting. Call me later at" - True. A booming economy, means business is bustling with activity . Considering most of us are "agents of change", we would be busy with our meetings. Thus, we being unable to attend a phone call at that point of time, seems justified.


3) "I am busy right now. I'll call you later" - As explained above.


4) "I will be arriving at" - Yes, its a dynamic world out there and who knows ...... what eventuality may strike and thus, our schedule is subject to change. Thus, this template.


5) "Meeting is cancelled". "See you in". "See you at" - Yes, yes. A combination of factors above.


6) "I love you too" - Believe me or not, that is indeed a template, that is default available with this mobile. The argument, that templates are developed after some amount of research done, it clearly goes to show how wonderfully, we have been understood. The research should have clearly shown them, that the most common exchanges couples would have had is the utterance of these words. Like, we following some of the customs without understanding, these words are reduced to a ritual.

A customary exchange of pleasentries.

A mere expected response.

A template.

:-)

Name Game.

"Why, did you choose someone whose name starts with the same letter as yours?" asked a friend of mine, as i had been a unintended recipient of an SMS, from her, actually meant to be delivered to "someone".

Well, only after i answered that question of hers' i pondered ...... on some associations i have/ had ..... purely on account of my name, beginning with the alphabet, in the vicinity of the alphabet their names began with. Quite a few of them. Some of these folks, i would have never mingled with otherwise. Some of these folks i may have missed if not for that stroke of luck.


In Pre Univ, i met some elements who changed my perspective on certain issues quite drastically. They tried their best to narrow down my view. I am happy they lost in their excercise. These folks whom i had to share two years of my life taught me a lesson or two in tolerance (They tested almost how long i could withstand them!). I felt like being subjugated to an array of experiments on testing the limits of personality destruction!


In college, i guess no one would have hated me as much as roll no 64, simply because according to him, in jest, " i destroyed his otherwise brilliant academic record". Actually, i sympathise with him! :-). Maybe, he was right to a certain degree. I was an average student (Naaaaaaah! I am humble! ;-)) in college. I had one nasty habit that started off in school. A dude who copied an answer from my paper, flunked a paper and had to leave school. Probably, that's when i decided i should be the recipient of the accolades or brickbats and that i wouldn't want to put in someone else's results in jeopardy. Thus, it was always that way. Poor, 64, had to face the brunt of it in our engineering days!


My training days in my corporate life was a splendid experience too! Quite a few of us ..... were in a group forced, by the company policy of linking a few folks alphabetically. Ah ...... what a stroke of luck. :-). That was by far one of the most enjoyable group i have had to "work" with! :-). I even got paid for that! :-). Life can be unfair at times .......... to others! :-).

Indeed, sometimes we are forced into a group on account of our names. Sometimes its good ..... because ... even you couldn't have chosen a better group yourself! :-)

It takes one .....

Happiness comes in all shapes and sizes .........

But seldom, did that statement ring a 'bell'. Perhaps,wedding bells are exceptions. :-).

As, goes the saying, It takes one to know one. :-).

Congratulations!! Wish you lots of you ahead :-).

Clairvoyance.(?! )

55 words, bug hits me too. :-). Below is my attempt.


A dark room. Mobiles ringing ceaselessly. Blinking computer monitors. Cigarette smoke wafting. HQ of clandestine "Operation Victory". A few hustled voices. His view was fixated at the television.

"How much have we made?"

"800 Crores".

"Reverse- Swing it", he said, with a sinister grin.

The next day morning newspaper's headlines screamed ........

"MILLIONS OF DREAMS SHATTERRED".

Performance Appraisal : Explained

Many a times, we encounter this queer excercise called Performance Appraisal. Ever wondered, what are the meanings of some of the expressions used in that meeting?


Goal-Oriented (n): One needs to work towards a goal. Well, the goal here ... is to impress your manager!! Silly, not by your work, though!
Usage : X, you need to be more goal-oriented! We haven't completed the 20 man day's work, yet! Didn't we agree, we would finish it in 4 man days?


Focussed (n): To be the SPOC (single point of contact). Many folks, mistake this word to mean, to concentrate on their job! That's not true. I t means, you must be so effective that you make your manager *redundant* !! (Hint : Remember Focal point in Physics? Here, you must be that focal point as far as your project is concerned).
Usage: Y, is a focussed resource, he has seldom left office early. Wonder, why he keeps screaming, "SIX" and "four" now and then!

Learning (n) : The act, process, or experience of gaining knowledge or skill. In this case, it means your ability to cope with the fact that you have a bad rating. It means, extraordinary courage and grit, to accept the unfair!
Usage: You need to take this rating as a learning!


Proactive (adj): Acting in advance to deal with an expected difficulty; anticipatory. In this case, this word goes closely with clarivoyance. One needs to know, how to have conducted three more sessions on a topic, that never existed prior to two day before appraisal. Unfortunately, this would be communicated to you only when in the meeting! Tough luck folks, that's indeed a tough nut to crack!
Usage: You could have been proactive and have conducted a session on "Team Selection for 2011 World Cup". See, we are one spinner short already!

Visibility (n): The fact, state, or degree of being visible. Well, this should'nt be taken literally! Think of your self as a flight needing to take off when engulfed by a thick fog! Assume all your appraisers to be having an eye sight of -4. Now, do you see the picture? Good! If that's the case, assume what all pyro techniques you need to get their attention. Yeah .. Yeah .. thats the way!
Usage: WHOA! This guys spams my mailbox so many times! It sure is improving his visibility.


Key resource(n) : Well, you hold the key to the project. Remember, thats the only reason you are even valued. Give them an oppurtunity to duplicate you and that's the day you are sold! See, focussed above.
Usage: Ask, y, where he has placed the start button, to my computer! Oh it's at the bottom left side? Good! What would i do without you? You are my key resource!


Potential (adj) : Capable of being but not yet in existence; latent. Yeah, that clearly means ... you are around, but havent yet arrived. Keep tapping, wood pecker.
Usage: You have the potential to be the President of the India. Oh ..... you are just twenty five? Tsk. Tsk. You are too young for that post.


Responsibility (n): The state, quality, or fact of being responsible. Again, do not make the mistake of assuming this holds true for just your job! The scope of that word is more than that. It means to be responsible for your manager's job!!! Yeah, read focussed again!
Usage: He has handled multiple responsibilities. He can substitute four others!


Show Stopper (n): Yeah, quite literally. You need to stop the show, if you did not solve the same. Ah .. if you have resolved a few of those, during your last cycle, a recognition (?) maybe on your way! If you were the one who induced it .... "High five! Join the club of the Rest".
Usage: Resolve that quickly, thats indeed a show stopper! All the show i have put on till now .. will be dead and gone if that's not resolved!


Resource (n): Another shrimp in the sea. Read key resource and focussed, to get a life! Another dispensable element in your area of work!
Usage: He has the potential, a good resource.


Opputunity(n) : Chance. In this case, a reward. If its not the one you want, then you have wasted a gifted oppurtunity!
Usage: You want an assigment away from your country? You already had an oppurtunity to work on outdated technology here! Oh .. you think thats not good .... you have wasted a golden oppurtunity!

Maturity (n) : The state or quality of being fully grown or developed. Well, in this case, its consoling you! You have a bad rating because, you have nt yet matured in your role!
Usage: B, do not take this serioulsy. You have to mature in that rolel. Take this as a learning.


Well, there you are! Your guide to excellence in your organisation has been explained. Make the best use of the tips above and get successful.

Is Venus Brighter today?

Whether it is ......




Or .......

Or .......

Or .....

Or .....

As a planet Venus, is the brightest. Did it just seem a tad brighter today? ;-).

So, keeping my shout out simpler, Wish all you venusians a great day!

You folks make this world a better place to live in. :-).

21.6.23 !!

The Summer of '97. ICSE exams. The examination, on "English Language", had a section on compositions, where, we had a brief series of events, that were provided to us, and we were expected to extrapolate the same and come up with our composition. Well, back then, if i had the topic as, " 10 years - A few friends -Meet at - A coffee shop", i am not sure, what i would have written ....... But i am indeed happy .... last Saturday, i was'nt writing any composition. This was reality ...... :-).


Contrary, to the saying, "Reality continues to ruin my life", the meet, that was arranged as a surprise, indeed took me on a journey to Nostalgia ville, with the pathway being adorned with trees called memories! 10 years .... yes that feels old. Although, tracing the path once again din't seem all that difficult at all.

A lot can happen over coffee ... :-)

Eight of us, ,met at Inch(9.14.3.8). Inch, a coffee hub, at hundred feet road is not "any other" coffee joint. The ambience is good. From swings to bean bags, they have it all. Above all, the folks who run the place, have loads of patience. How else, do i explain, that we were one of the noisiest crowds in that place and we hung on for about four hours and did'nt get thrown out? :D. Hey folks at Inch, thanks for being so kind, we will definitely be back again soon ;-).

In these ten years, after school, we folks had diversified to multiple disciplines. V, had struck gold down- under , and now works as a team lead with e four e. L, has ofcourse, followed the mahatma, to experiment with truth, unfortunately, this truth belongs to Ramalinga Raju :D. K, has moved on to reduce the market capitilzation of some Business machines. P, ensures risks are mistigated and keeps a close tab on, JP and Morgan's chases . ;-). H, seems to be keeping pace with E without questioning Y. M, was the soft spoken management graduate from a premier institute of this nation. Vi and me , however are powered by intellect and driven by values. However, i never denied that the others weren't powered or driven ;-). (Man..... one needs a disclaimer everywhere! :D).

Slowly, the time gap seemed to fade away and we were all transported back in time. Incidents, which had then given us sleepless nights, were all stuff we could laugh about now ......! CE ,aka , the Principal,well it would a take a couple of blogs to even explain who that individual was.He was an enigma. Maxi and Maggi duly took their positions as joint second as we had so many anecdotes to share about them. Those wedding ring impressions, that indeed wiped your smile off your face. Science, was indeed never this interesting. :D. However the litmus test for "basic" compounds could have been done near the assembly hall itself. Bunsen burners, which i think were made to order and the shape was customized specifically to my school. The "Library-detention hall- lunch room" was a feature of civil engineering brilliance, that had exploited the "overloading" phenomenon completly! The teachers. The crushes. Marathon. Relay competitions. Badminton. Marching and Display. A few dudes, who get the top slot in MAX X (thanks to I & B, AXN is back :D). The dudes include, Altaf and Michael, Sod Twins and alike........ The rented Grounds. Concerts. Ballet dances. The Slaps that landed from nowhere. The Canes, that landed everywhere. Boxing. SUPW. Crowd. Elocution. Inter School Events. Natasha Rodrigues (Ah ...). The Mathematics debacle. (SIGH :-/).................


WHOA! Each of them, if explained would take another post ......... :-).


Ah, having to discuss all this under one roof, was like winding back and running, "My life" at around 5000 X. It was awesome to recollect all those incidents and laugh at them. They say, hindsight is 20/20. How true. When we iterating through those incidents ( Yes, i am geeky ;-)), I pondered over a few things, and how they would have been different if i had reacted differently in that situation. But, life would have never been interesting, had it been any different!! :-). Anything can happen over coffee, says the punch line of a popular cafe chain. I agree. :-).

Yeah, for those who haven't yet figured out what the title for this post means ..... well they are the positions of letters in the English Alphabets, which translate to UFW .... (Unforgettable Weekend :-)). Thanks for all those who made it happen ....... and a special thanks to the "organisers" :-).

'Unarmed yet dangerous' Kids .....

Just a second...... before you start judging me that i hate children, for no good reason, hold on!! I am not anything like that .....! What put's me off , are these bunch of over-pampered kids, whose parents think, that their kids swishing and swashing a kitchen knife, dangerously close to you, is actually "cute" !! CUTE??? Damn ...... Guys .. you got to be kidding me ....! (No puns ...!)

You folks do not find that convincing enough? Okie, here goes ....

A family function. Well, those are events where, these brats get the license to kill. You need to curb your instincts to resist from reacting to their provocation. No! No, i am not somone who advocates domestic violence in any form ....! But listen to this .... I was browsing the net for some attractive (read cheap ;-)) air fares , for a cousin of mine who had to travel. A harmless(?!) brat, comes close and flashes a harmless smile. I smile back. He then enquires, very calmly, about air fares for a round trip, to a location in India, where his mom works. The kid, was missing his mother and i could see that ...... I key in the details and tell him the fare ... and carry on with my work. The kid left the scene and in a brief while ..... i can hear a lot of howls ..... ! Surprised ... i get out to see .. and there i see this same harmless kid ...... fallen on the floor and wailing .... big time. All my relatives had assembled around him and instead of resisting him from putting on a show, they were sympathising with him .... ! The entire fuss was because his dad had apparently dismissed his idea, of wanting to travel, as his mom would be coming down in a week. If you are wondering, why, i *hated* the kid for this, when i need to be sympathising .... huh? Well, the entire family turned against me .....as they felt i *was* the reason ...... he was so frantic! They felt i had incited him by giving him all the details .....! Damn! You decide ........


Yeah, that was one of them. Dismissing, the above as an one off case, i carried on with my life.That was until yesterday. At my place, we have rented out one of the portions in the first floor. The family living in that is of the quiet kinds and i am not somone who goes out of my way to make friends. Thus, i know, they exist and they are a family of three ,including a kid, aged about four. Yesterday happenned to be this kid's birthday. His parents have invested in a Digital Camera, a new Canon S2 IS. They had some issues, with the same, as it wasn't booting. Since, I am a proud owner of S2 IS myself, and i had encountered a similar issue, when i had purchased mine ... (Vasanth, stop smirking ;-)), my dad had recommended my name to them, as somone who could help them with their problem. I am not somone who offers help unsolicited . This was different, here the parents wanted to capture, their son's 5 birthday celebrations, so i decided to go out and help them. At their place, there was frantic activity, in inviting me as i had never been to their place, and then i saw this brat, winking at me! He came running into me and in order to avoid, a possible collision, i elevated him. (Huff ..) . I went, in putting on my "debugger hat", to resolve any Canon IS related issue ...... , the parents went in to bring, their brand new camera. As they placed the camera at the table, the pressure cooker shrieked..... getting them onto panic mode as they rushed into the kitchen. The grandparents were in the other room ... now that seems like a setting, where i could work in peace right? No ....! There was this brat, watching me closely. That's when it happenned. He came rushing to the table, forced himself, to open that camera from its pack, and in a split second, as he attempted to click ........ dropped it ............. down .....................!!!! :O :O :O :O !! I mean .. there i was .... shell shocked ... i mean ....there we no witnesses to what happenned here .... and as i took the camera, i tried to boot it and ..... splashed the error message, on the LCD scree, "Error - Unable to retract lens". His parents came rushing out and they saw the camera in my hands .... and as i tried to say, that the kid had dropped it ... the kid started tp claim that he was not even close to me ... and starts crying and they start cuddling him ...........! Then, they look at me and say ... "These kind of things happen .. "! I mean ... what is that? I did'nt do it! I am not trying to defend by saying the kid should be punished ....... but what's with the ... "my-kid-is-an-angel" thing ....??! Huh!


These are just two episodes .... there have been many such ........! Huh! Kids ... may look unarmed ..... but if you thought .. that they aren't dangerous .......... do so at your own risk ...... :D

A world without .....

I see ..........


A world without any prejudices.

A world without any boundaries.

A world without any discrimination.

A world without any fascism.

A world without any bias.




*Splash*

*Splash*

Ah ... that's right .....! I am asleep !

Thanks ... for waking me up ... reality .........

Intelligence ..... ?

Stumbled across, an article by Isaac Asimov, on intelligence.


We, always associate academic brilliance as an absolute measure of intelligence. Well, tasks that are seemingly, simple, sometimes manage, to fuss us. Intelligence itself, should be evaluated in perspective. Cricketing Intelligence, driving intelligence, academic intelligence, Verbal intelligence ..... and so on. The list can just go on .......





Link availed from : Thomas Kyte's Blog.

'Light' year ahead ........

Light, is an electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength, is a pretty insipid definition, i would say. The term light, in itself triggers a multitude of emotions, in us. Like .......

Hope.

Vibrant.

Happiness.

Solemn.

Celebration.

Simplicity.

Excitement.

Brilliance.

Light, when incident on a prism, reveals it's true colours ;-).

Just how true, is that? ;-).

Many Happy returns to the light in my life :-).

Have a bright year ahead.