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Many Happy Returns, C :-)
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
Love Struck? - Part I
Disclaimer:
The below story is a figment of my imagination. A work of fiction. The places, events and the newspaper columns are all very specific to London. It's my take on, "What if ..." those situations , did occur. I for one, do not believe, that column has any success rate at all. For more information on Love Struck, check this.
Yes, all those questioning my 'committment' after reading this piece of work, will be subjected to 50 lashes, individually, or forced to watch 'Aap Ka Suroor' dubbed in Chinese and with Swahili subtitles. 100 times, back to back! :D.
End Disclaimer.
*********************************************************************************
It was 6 PM, when he wound the meeting at the client's office. It did not, go as well as he had expected. As he exited out of the building, the now, friendly, security guard, held the door open for him, with a smile. The same guard, who a few days back, had struggled to get, his name right. Huh! It was quite dark, already.
'The winters ....... ' he thought, as he walked along Fenchurch street.
'Good Evening Sir! Your copy of Londonpaper, Sir' , an earnest voice, of a newspaper delivery boy.
He ignored, the voice and walked along.
Twenty yards, ahead, another guy, wearing the trademark violet jacket, offerred thelondonpaper once again. This guy, met the same dismissive look. As he neared, Aldgate bus stop, he crossed a signal, that had the green man flickering. He ran across the zebra crossing, almost colliding with a guy standing on the other side. As he got up, he noticed, the other guy was ..... who else ... other than a londonpaper agent! It was as though they had taken over London! To make up for the collision, he decided to take a copy of thelondonpaper, from the guy. It was free anyway. As he cut along the road, crossing over to the Little Somerset street, he crossed the Duke of Somerset pub and headed to Mansell street, as he started to scan the paper. The newspaper, had hosts of articles that were typical. Madeline Mcann, Tories in lead, Increase in crime rate, unruly gang culture and a collapsing Northern rock. As he sifted through the pages, there was one column, that caught his attention. Lovestruck! Some samples .......
'To the brown-haired guy on the DLR on Saturday, 5 January. I smiled when I got on the Tube and you moved closer. You looked amazing but, instead of saying hi, I pretended to read. Drink? The Blonde"
"To Paula, the cute brunette living in Walthamstow. I’m the French guy too shy to ask for your number. We met between Seven Sisters and Tottenham on 28 December. Would love to see you. ANON"
"To the guy trying on the jacket in Zara on Oxford St on 6 January. I asked about it. Drink? ANON"
It was amusing, how people provided generic descriptions, and expected,the other to actually read that and respond and indeed meet up through that! :D. What could be the odds!! He reached his office on Mansell street, packed his stuff and boarded the bus 40, towards Dulwich Library. As he neared London bridge, he looked out of his window .......
The below story is a figment of my imagination. A work of fiction. The places, events and the newspaper columns are all very specific to London. It's my take on, "What if ..." those situations , did occur. I for one, do not believe, that column has any success rate at all. For more information on Love Struck, check this.
Yes, all those questioning my 'committment' after reading this piece of work, will be subjected to 50 lashes, individually, or forced to watch 'Aap Ka Suroor' dubbed in Chinese and with Swahili subtitles. 100 times, back to back! :D.
End Disclaimer.
*********************************************************************************
It was 6 PM, when he wound the meeting at the client's office. It did not, go as well as he had expected. As he exited out of the building, the now, friendly, security guard, held the door open for him, with a smile. The same guard, who a few days back, had struggled to get, his name right. Huh! It was quite dark, already.
'The winters ....... ' he thought, as he walked along Fenchurch street.
'Good Evening Sir! Your copy of Londonpaper, Sir' , an earnest voice, of a newspaper delivery boy.
He ignored, the voice and walked along.
Twenty yards, ahead, another guy, wearing the trademark violet jacket, offerred thelondonpaper once again. This guy, met the same dismissive look. As he neared, Aldgate bus stop, he crossed a signal, that had the green man flickering. He ran across the zebra crossing, almost colliding with a guy standing on the other side. As he got up, he noticed, the other guy was ..... who else ... other than a londonpaper agent! It was as though they had taken over London! To make up for the collision, he decided to take a copy of thelondonpaper, from the guy. It was free anyway. As he cut along the road, crossing over to the Little Somerset street, he crossed the Duke of Somerset pub and headed to Mansell street, as he started to scan the paper. The newspaper, had hosts of articles that were typical. Madeline Mcann, Tories in lead, Increase in crime rate, unruly gang culture and a collapsing Northern rock. As he sifted through the pages, there was one column, that caught his attention. Lovestruck! Some samples .......
'To the brown-haired guy on the DLR on Saturday, 5 January. I smiled when I got on the Tube and you moved closer. You looked amazing but, instead of saying hi, I pretended to read. Drink? The Blonde"
"To Paula, the cute brunette living in Walthamstow. I’m the French guy too shy to ask for your number. We met between Seven Sisters and Tottenham on 28 December. Would love to see you. ANON"
"To the guy trying on the jacket in Zara on Oxford St on 6 January. I asked about it. Drink? ANON"
It was amusing, how people provided generic descriptions, and expected,the other to actually read that and respond and indeed meet up through that! :D. What could be the odds!! He reached his office on Mansell street, packed his stuff and boarded the bus 40, towards Dulwich Library. As he neared London bridge, he looked out of his window .......
Majestic, as ever was the Tower Bridge. It was a brilliant sight, a sight he was never bored off. Watching this architectural marvel over all the seasons, as he walked along the London Bridge, was always something he looked forward too. He got off at the London Bridge stop, and as he strolled down to the London Bridge station, crossing the Coleschurch house , and the Carphone Warehouse ..... his mobile Sony Erricson, w810i, belted out ......' Someone's callin you .... Baby .....Please pick up'. This ring tone, had got him into trouble in a team meeting, when he had forgotten, to change .... the profile to 'Meeting'. It was his offshore team, who had encountered an issue. After quite a while of haggling on the phone on a way to fix the issue, he decided , it could be speedend up, if he got back to his office. Anyway, his team was stretching far more and it was way past 11 PM in Bangalore.
He headed back to his office, walking along the London Bridge to the Monument Station. He was always amazed by the Underground network. An elegant set of 13 routes with interconnections at important junctions. Any place in London, was'nt far! It was expensive, but you got what you paid for! Yes, these tubes provided ample reasons, for people to get love struck he thought ...... ! As the display board, read, '*****Train Approaching, stand back***** ' and the tannoy system, warned people to 'Mind The Gap', indicating them to stay behind the yellow lines marked. He boarded the District line to get off at Aldgate East and head towards his office.
It was well beyond 11 30 PM when he solved the issue. As he made way to Aldgate station, to board the Circle line towards Monument. It was regulation journey of three minutes, from Aldgate to Monument .............. but not today .... that's when it happenned .......
To be continued ...... (Naaah, this is no influence from Soap Operas).
Picture Courtesy : Vyas Sreenivas. For more of Vyas's magic with a Nikon, check his flickr site .
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
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'. :).
"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'. :).
Saturday, November 24, 2007
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!
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!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
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' !!!
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' !!!
Friday, November 09, 2007
Sunday, November 04, 2007
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
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
Thursday, October 04, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
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 ....!
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 ....!
Saturday, August 04, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
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!
'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!
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