Horses are pessimists

They're just a bunch of neigh-sayers!

And with that I shall bid goodbye, for now. The stream of idle thoughts feels like a cassette tape on loop. Which is why I'm shutting this blog for now. I'm not gonna approve comments on any of my other posts.

I'll still be writing in my other blog though notquitealchemy.blogspot.com I hope you'll drop by there once in a way. And I promise to not let things turn too nerdy over there :)

Look!

Pune in the monsoon is a sight to behold. Sure the roads are muddy, clothes don't dry and you need to carry a brolly with you wherever you go, but it is a SIGHT to behold. Lush greenery offset by the sky that's alternately grey and blue, with the Western Ghats as the backdrop. I guess there's more than one reason they call this place the Oxford of the east :)

Something not nearly as pleasant is that they've installed Linux on all the common systems in the institute. Now I'm all for open-source software, but not for crappy execution. Being able to log in is a hit-or-miss affair. There's no guarantee that you'll be connected to the internet. And Firefox takes a full two minutes to load and crashes at the drop of a Red hat (pardon the pun). Plus, there's this whole red theme, which just makes everything seem very Orwellian.

But the biggest news is that the new batch of students will be thrice as big as my batch. Which means we'll be up to our ears with 12 std pass outs. Good or bad? I'll know in a couple of months.

In the meantime, I'll keep beholding :)

Don't gimme red!

So it looks like a verdict of some sort is coming out of these elections. I just hope the UPA without the commies is a different beast. What I do not like is the fact that Dayanidhi Maran, A Raja and TR Baalu are all coming back to power. In order they are, Opportunistic bastard, Thieving bastard and Nepotistic bastard. Yes, I know there are worse politicians around, but these three really get on my nerves.

The vacation is going nicely so far. Although I must say at this point that I feel completely and utterly inept when it comes to handling kids. My nephew and niece (bless their heart) think I'm pretty cool. Yes, take your time to shake off the shock. And I just feel, well, old and what's worse, very "adult". I'm going to be in Hyderabad a while longer, so let's see if things change.

I met up with a senior from school on Thursday. It was fun to look back at "the way we were". And I found out that I'm not the only one disillusioned with my school. It's almost a rite of passage of some sort. It's like, "Welcome to the 11th standard. Here's the remains of your shattered beliefs" . And it's been that way for nearly every batch before and since mine. Meanwhile, the principal goes on YouTube talking about how India should lead the global economy. Seriously. I mean, get your own house in order before worrrying about the rest of the world.

Apparently the Next Big Facebook Thing is the "How well do you know me?" quiz. Really. Every day when I log in, either somebody's posted a new one, or somebody's taken another one, or there's a whole lot of commenting about how correct the "correct" answers are. Pish.

Enough negativity for today. Go out and do something positive !

40 degrees and rising...

I'm typing this as I'm watching Kings XI Punjab getting creamed by the Mumbai Indians. Now I'm not going to apologise for not posting in such a long time and I'm not going to call this a comeback post either. This is just a post to make a very important announcement.

I'm on VACATION!!!!!!

(Come on now. Where's the wild cheering and thunderous applause???)

Anyway, coming back to the mundane details, I won't be able to vote in this, the first election I'm eligible to vote in. I won't be in town when the bandwagon passes through. Call it poor planning. And spare the brickbats. I don't feel good about missing it, y'know.

Right now I'm in Hyderabad. Visiting a cousin. And to be honest, the weather ain't much better than Pune. In fact, Pune is slightly better, since we have fully air-conditioned classrooms. But hey, the weather's just one side to the whole thing. I've been to Hyd only once before, and I haven't seen too much of the city, so if anybody has any suggestions let's hear 'em.

Other positive news this week is that now it seems that instead of having a race car that's both slow and unreliable, the Ferrari F60 is merely unreliable. So that's a step forward for a team that only a few years ago could do no wrong.

I'll keep you posted over these vacations, but don't hold your breath. And stay safe :)

A question of knots

I did it! I finally figured out a permanent fix for that annoying way Word 2008 automatically inserts a space at the end of a paragraph, so that when you copy everything you’ve typed onto something else all those spaces disappear. And most importantly, I figured it out by myself. I know it makes me sound like a bit of a spaz, but then I don’t have to type stuff out all that often. (okay, now that sounds even more old-fashioned. I should stop)

Earlier this week, somebody told me that I’d be the first in our old gang from school to get married. It didn’t make sense to me for two reasons. One, I’m a boy and let’s face it, social pressure comes in a lot later for us boys than it does for girls. And two, there’s no way I’d get married while I’m still studying/establishing myself at work. I’m not willing to compromise on my development as a person.

And yet, and yet, I see so many men around me, somewhat successful in their own ways, settling down to lives of domesticity at fairly young ages. Seriously, there’s something amiss about a man who gets married before 25. (and don’t you dare say there’s nothing amiss, there’s only a Mrs. We do not tolerate poor pjs)

Why do men do it? And not just men, why do people give in to marriages when there’s a whole world out there waiting to be conquered? Why do they give in to moulding themselves to suit the life of a grihasta, when you should really be out there finding yourself? Does anybody out there have answers? Or is it just me, labouring under the illusion that I’ll figure out what I am one fine day in the future?

On a less self-doubting note, the notebook view in Word 2008 is super cool! (never thought I’d say that about a word-processing software)

Going round and round once again

The new Formula 1 season is under way. Brawn GP (formerly Honda racing, (formerly British-American racing, (formerly Tyrrell))) (Man, I do love brackets!) scored a dramatic one-two finish in the season opener in Melbourne on Sunday. And this by a team that almost didn’t make it to the grid, because Honda decided to pull the plug on their F1 program in December last year. Bet there are a lot of people in Tokyo kicking themselves right now, because that Brawn race car was developed with Honda money. And now Honda has nothing to show for it. Poor saps.

Summer is upon us. It’s always funny to watch people agreeing with Al Gore about global warming every April, and then promptly denying it in November. (No really, Madras has had fairly cool “winters” the last few years.) I’ve seen it happen enough times over the last few years. It almost seems cool in a way to blame bad weather on global warming and climate change, without actually knowing anything about either, and then simply crank up the air con. FYI chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant gases are still legal in India, even though there are non-CFC alternatives that will work with existing machinery, forget buying new compressors. So if you’re in the market for a new air con this summer, try to stay clear of those that use R-22.

I’ve been writing a science blog as well over the last few months. Not very regularly, though. If anything, it’s even more irregular than ymitif. Check it out if that part of you which wasn’t quite a nerd, but still liked poking, prodding and looking at things isn’t quite dead yet.

And... ACTION!

It's been a hectic couple of weeks since my last post. I was in Hyderabad for a few days after pongal. Spent some time with my cousin and her family. Good fun, although I didn't get to see too much of the city. I'm a total flop as a tourist, so no surprises there. But what I did see of the city, I like. Naidu did a pretty damn good job sprucing up and streamlining the place while he was in power, and it still shows. It makes infrastructure in Madras seem very outdated (which is no surprise, since MK only has time to change the Tamil Calendar, hold the UPA for ransom, stick up for Stalin and write movie scripts. Who has time to actually govern a state after all that?)

Our college annual day is coming up in two weeks, and I'm directing four skits for it. After Hyd, the days have just disappeared in a blur of meetings, classes and rehearsals. (Meetings, because for a while it seemed as if the function wasn't going to happen at all. Strictly speaking, this isn't an annual day. It's more of a fest for students in all the different campuses of my college. So, cancelling it would be a pretty major blow.

Anyway, it's happening as scheduled so I'm going to be pretty busy for the next two weeks. I just hope I don't reach the point where I stop caring SO THAT IT ALL JUST ENDS!!! The upshot is that all this hard work is going to give me new "insights" into the way people behave, so look out for new posts.

I'm off now. A director's work is never done...

P.S. Many thanks to TheDropper for the list on how to deal with a 1/5th life crisis. I rather like the voodoo doll bit

Very hand-waving, but that's what most comeback posts are

Happy New Year! Yeah, it isn’t exactly New Year, we’re already two weeks in. And I’m sorry that there’ve been no new posts for over a month now. It’s just very easy to go M.I.A. when I’m on vacation.
It was a pretty great vacation though. Hectic, but good fun. We had a class reunion type thing. My dad’s old college batch had a reunion. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet estarra, soupy and a lot of others. I didn’t get to some things I’d planned to either (I didn’t finish more than 4 chapters of the Compulsive Confessor’s book). But I can’t say there were too many dull moments in the last month. Especially not after I started playing Ultimate Frisbee with the gang at evam.

I was working at evam again through most of last month. Went with them to Bangalore on Christmas day, where they premiered their latest production “The Importance of Being Earnest”. Made some new friends, got some pointers from the actors. All in all, good fun. If you’re in Madras sometime this coming weekend, try to catch “The Importance…” You’ll get discounts on tickets at their website.

Now that I’m back in Pune though, things are going a lot slower. I watched Quantum of Solace and Goldeneye this weekend. Quantum… has a somewhat complicated plot, and it didn’t help that I got a very poor print, which had half the dialogues missing. Goldeneye, though, is just plain lame. Frankly, I’m happy they made Bond grittier, less gadget-y and with fewer lame comeback lines after Brosnan.

I’m off for now. Happy pongal y’all!

The one with the chrome grille

Exams are done. Another semester has passed. I’m four months older, but I have no idea how much wiser I am for it. Actually, I’d say I am considerably wiser. This has been one very busy sem, so if anything I’ve learned that things do not get easier with time :D

I read this article about the Fiat Linea today. Fiat will launch it sometime early next year. It will go head to head with the Honda City, Ford Fiesta, Maruti SX4 et al. And honestly, I think it’s the best looking car in its segment. There’s something about Italian cars. They’re beautiful. No other words. Just beautiful. Even the ones that aren’t easy on the eye will end up grabbing your attention. I guess it’s in their blood. The Italians have been masters of aesthetics and proportions ever since da Vinci put brush to canvas. You’ll never see something as radical as a Swift or as boring as a Corolla roll off an Italian assembly line. (Even the really boxy ones like the Fiat 124/Premier 118 have some redeeming qualities. They look noble and imposing from some angles) It’s another matter that until recently all those pretty Italian cars would break down at a moment’s notice. But they’ve been getting better all through this decade, which is a good thing. Art that you can live with.

One thing that struck me about the Linea is the fake chrome grille. Very few modern cars can actually pull off a full chrome grille. Some do away with the grille all together (A-Star, Spark), some have a barely-there grille (new Fiesta). Most have chrome bordering a black/body colour grille. But chrome on the Linea looks elegant, not overdone.

It reminds me of our car back home. We have a Premier Padmini/Fiat 1100-D. When it was launched back in the ‘60s it had a full chrome grille too. I love that car. Just thinking about it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and nostalgic. The fact is that older cars have soul. Some quirks that you get used to, that make them more endearing.

Call me old-fashioned, but I’d much rather have a column-shift than a floor-shift. You can actually feel the gears in this car slot into place, instead of the slick-but-vague feedback an 800 gives you (and I can’t really compare it with anything else, since these are the only two cars I’ve driven) Yes, it is very underpowered. But how fast are you going to go in the city anyway? You barely floor the accelerator and you’re already at the next signal. Or there’s some fool cow on the road. Plus, the engine’s simple enough that pretty much any mechanic anywhere can fix it. And it’s much safer than half the vehicles on the road. I don’t see any reason why I should get a new car.

In other news, I’m reading the compulsive confessor’s book right now. It’s very light and breezy, like her blog. And I like that the protagonist doesn’t refer to herself in the plural in the chapter title, the way eM does in her blog. I guess we all do that from time to time. It just seems more flattering to refer to yourself in the plural. (Note to self: If I do write a book as well, I can’t title the chapters “The one with…” I need to come up with something new)

My ticket back home is still in RAC. Hope it gets confirmed soon. Fingers crossed!

The one with the background music

The semester is winding to an end, and I’ll be back home in exactly six days. And the weather is just as glorious as ever. In fact, it’s even colder now and I’m starting to appreciate things I didn’t mention in my other post about the winter. Like even though the water coming out of the geyser can be scalding, it’s actually better this way. Or that concrete is a reasonably good insulator (Okay, fine. There’s nothing romantic about the temperature going below 10°C at night. Happy?)

Really, there’s very little to upset me right now. Yes, my exams are going on. And yes, there is that extremely crazy terrorist attack on Bombay (which seemed to have ended, but not quite) But then, exams are a part of life when you’re a student. And as far as Bombay goes, well, just remember that far more people die on the road in that very same city every year. I mean, yes it is a despicable act. But how many of your freedoms are you willing to forego in the long run, to defend yourself from something that may or may not happen? Remember that at the end of the day most people are living longer, healthier and happier lives on an average. If you live in urban India you’ve got a better chance of developing diabetes than of dying in a terrorist attack. What do you say about that?

All I’m saying is that let’s not go overboard here. Yes, we need to take some action. Yes, we can’t let this keep happening. But tackling terrorism needs a change in the whole system, a change in people’s mindset. Cursing the terrorists and then promptly forgetting everything about it when the crisis blows over won’t cut it anymore. And since my blog isn’t the place to talk about this kind of stuff, I’ll stop here.

I watched Casino Royale again last week. And ever since, I’ve been compulsively listening to the title song, “You Know My Name”. Hell, I’ve even made the chorus of the song my ringtone. I’ve realized that what life really needs is background music. I guess every blogger must’ve been tagged at least once to make a soundtrack for his/her life. But just think how cool it would be if you could have the Mission Impossible theme playing while you work on a tough paper. And then have the Ode to Joy play after you hand in your answer sheet and walk out of the exam hall. “Danger Zone” when you’re stuck in rush hour traffic. Think of the possibilities!

Maybe all those iPod junkies have the right idea. Create your own mood wherever you go. And with the insanely huge memories that these portable players can have, it isn’t bloody difficult. And they have earphones, so that what’s in your head stays in your head. (Now I know what I want for my next birthday!)

Hopefully, I’ll squeeze in another post before I go back home. But if I don’t, this is my last post of the year from Pune! (And that’s what you should do with life itself. Make the little things seem big so you actually want to do them :D)

The one with the rest of my life

It's always fun to talk to Undefeated. She gives me perspective, and she claims I give her perspective as well (you'd think we were a couple of giant mirrors. Okay, one average-sized and one small mirror. Don't tell her though. She's touchy about her lack of "tallness" :D)

Anyway, there's this one thing I told her on Sunday that's coming back to haunt me.

"In six months, you're going to have to face the rest of your life"

She graduates in April and she's not quite sure what to do next. But the reason it's coming back to haunt me is this. I can't believe I was still in school only three years ago. It almost feels like it happened in another lifetime. But more importantly, when I graduate in three years will I be ready to face the rest of my life? I mean, all my life I've been trapped in this cocoon. I haven't ever had to go out and fight for myself or live in the real world, so to speak. And when I chose to do an integrated Master's program, I bought myself more time in an idealized world, where everything works (for the most part) and life is cushy.

My capacity to fight on, to try and hold on to the past surprises me. Scares me, actually. The only reason I've stopped going to my old school to meet my teachers is that the school itself has changed so much. It's like some monstrosity that hires out its premises for "coaching classes" and does whatever it can to get corporate funding. The only people I'm really close to outside my family are people I've known from school. Granted, it's probably my fault for not getting to know the people here in college better, but I don't know how to proceed when this is what my roommate has to say about me (check out the comments as well). And yes, a substantial portion of the time I spend on the phone is with a girl I'm supposedly over. (I don't know for sure if I am, so don't ask)

I don't know. Maybe this post isn't so much about the rest of my life as it is about the things I'm afraid of in the present. Maybe exam season, and the weather are getting to me. Maybe I just need to blow off some steam. I'm gonna go get a double shot of espresso and play darts.

The one with the maroon lampposts

I apologise for an earlier post where I said there was no way that the development work for the Commonwealth Youth Games would be completed as scheduled. As it turned out it did happen as per schedule, and now the road outside my hostel is a smooth, wide 4-laner. Sweet!

What’s even better is that they’ve put up new lampposts and benches on the pavement. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill silver lampposts, or flat benches. No sir, the lamps have pseudo-wrought metalwork, and the benches have curved metal armrests. Also, this road is filled with Central Govt. establishments, whose compound walls have all been painted brick-red very recently. Plus it’s a very green part of the city and not too many people live here. The result is a road that's so much easier on the eyes. I daresay it even looks faintly colonial. However, the lampposts have been painted maroon and that just looks wrong.

It’s fun to sit on one of these benches and watch traffic whizz by, watch the sun set, the sky slowly fade to darkness, feel the chill of the evening creep up on you, try to recognise the constellations overhead (I was interested in astronomy while I was in school). Later in the evening, you put on a sweater, fold your arms across your chest to keep your hands warm and keep watching. You see everything, and yet you see nothing. When I’m sitting on a bench and watching is when the loneliness really hits me. I mean, I can totally picture me there with a girl, both of us in warm-ish clothing, my arm over her shoulder, sitting on one of these benches. It kinda makes sense that Valentine’s day is in February. The romance of the past three cold months needs dramatic release, and that’s exactly what happens. (By that logic, there should be another Valentine’s day in August for the Southern hemisphere. Wonder if anybody else has thought of that…)

As far as I’m concerned, winter is most definitely the most romantic season of all. I like the crisp air in my nostrils when I step out in the morning, the clear skies at night, the warm clothing. Mostly the clothing. Personally, I find sport jackets and overcoats sexy, sweaters laidback, and sweatshirts casual without trying too hard. Plus, it never goes below 20°C in Madras, so any kind of cold weather is exotic! (Although technically it can’t be winter when the maximum temperature is around 30°C, can it? That’s what the weather is like in Pune now. Weird.)

There’s something very captivating about the idea of caressing a hot latte in your hands on a cold evening, maybe even making it Irish to deal with the weather. I haven’t been able to shake it out of my head all week (and the milky crap they serve in the canteen doesn’t help matters) It’s been nearly a month since I last went to a coffee shop, and I guess it shows :D And of course, ice cream doesn’t ever taste as good as it does on a cold night. Neither does soup. Mmmm, noodle soup [Note: Friends reference ;) ]…

Really, the only thing that can mess up cold weather for me is the cold virus. And being the virus magnet that I am, I’ve caught my third cold in as many months. You might say I deserve it for my late-night ice cream runs. But I don’t care. Ice cream on a cold night is just too good to pass up!

The one with the stretchable time

The words just don't seem to flow these days. Verbal constipation, of sorts. So I'm just going to write about random things that have been happening to me, and you'd better like it.

Although to be honest, not many random things happen to me. My life is just too organized and set in its ways for random things to happen. So scratch that, I'm just going to write about things that have been happening here.

First and foremost, Chitra gave me the first six seasons of Scrubs while I was in Madras a couple of weeks back (Bless the LAN in IIT-M!) And another friend over here in Pune gave me the first 9 seasons of Friends (I don't particularly like the 10th season. It has a very rushed feel to it, making it very obvious that they were wrapping up the series)

Anyway, after watching over 100 episodes of one and all 236 of the other, I'd have to say Scrubs seems the more "natural" show. With Friends, it always seems as if one character is setting the other up for a joke. Whereas in Scrubs the comedy, even though it's more over-the-top, seems to flow more naturally. (Okay, I watch too many sitcoms. Happy?)

My institute hosted a conference last week, on "Trends in Modern Biology" We had scientists who'd come in from SOKENDAI Japan, TIFR and other places in and around Pune. I was a volunteer at the event, and I went to the airportto receive some of the delegates. After we'd introduced ourselves, one of the delegates said "Hira means diamond, doesn't it? I feel very rich here!" Her name was Hirata :-)

It wasn't all positive though. When we said we'd send them a car sometime around 8 the next morning, the leader of the delegation said "Sometime around 8? Indian time!" And they all laughed. So, yes, the whole world knows about Indian Stretchable Time. Remember that the next time you fix an appointment with someone abroad.

The conference itself was fun. Although some lectures were kinda technical and filled with jargon, it was pretty easy to follow for the most part. Plus all our lectures had been cancelled, which was even better. The flip side however is that I'm working both today and tomorrow. Even though officially both days are holidays. It's a low blow, but then again it isn't as though anybody in the hostel had planned something big for Deepavali. An atom bomb at 3 am to wake up all the poor souls who imagined they'd get some rest. That sounds about right ;-)

And on that note, I shall be off. Have a safe Deepavali!

Note: Since I'm just that much of a Friends nut, all posts till the new year will have titles like episodes of the show. Love it or leave it :-P

...where we try to slip back into the blogosphere silently

I realize I've been M.I.A. for over three weeks. Many apologies. I don't have an excuse of any kind, except maybe blogger's block. But I'm back, and I'm not gonna disappear again without giving you a heads-up.

Since I'm not one to do anything with a bang, least of all a comeback, I'm doing the tag I was tagged with twice, by pseudo and sia. However, since I'm not a big fan of tags I'm not tagging anyone else. This tag dies with me!

The rules for the tag are:

RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?

Denial, I guess. Of her betrayal, and of our relationship. If she's truly sorry, I might take her back.

2. If you can have a dream come true, what would it be?

Dunno, probably one where I beat Schumacher in a Ferrari on a wet track!

3. Whose butt would you like to kick?

A lot of people I know, but I don't want to name names. Plus hooligans with those tricked out exhaust pipes that sound like they're driving a piece of heavy machinery.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?

Buy my own Formula 1 team! And use what's left over for research into alternate fuels.

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?

I already did, sort of. And it's a very tricky situation when that happens.

6. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?

Being loved, of course. As long as it's not some weirdo stalker-type. I'm not gonna be a martyr for love!

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?

Till the seas curdle over and the sky falls on my head (hey, if I'm gonna be a martyr I'm gonna do it right!)

8. If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?

Walk away, with "Raindrops keep falling on my head" playing in the background. (yep, I'm one for filmy situations!)

9. If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?

Rational education for everyone. Everything else would fall in place if people could just think.

10. What takes you down the fastest?

Emotional pain. Whether it happens to me or anybody else.

11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

I hope its in some sort of career related to science and the media. And hopefully in a relationship of some sort

12. What’s your fear?

Being told that all of my self-doubts are actually true.

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?

(Considering that I've been tagged twice and I know pseudo personally, I'm just going to write about sia) Peppy, vibrant and wants to speak her mind. At least that's what she's like in the blogosphere.

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?

depends on how rich is rich and how poor is poor... :D

15. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

Lie in bed silently cursing the fact that I have to wake up.

16. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?

Somewhat unlikely, but everything else being equal it'd have to be the one I can connect with better.

17. Would you give all in a relationship?
Totally. Eventually, you find out that that's the only way.
18. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?

I might forgive, I probably won't forget. I would most likely try to block the whole thing frm my memory.

19. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?

A relationship for sure. I'm needy! :D

And that's all for now. I'll be back soon at a computer near you!

'tis the season...

Exam season is here again. Funnily, this has been a semester of mini-seasons. Late August was the season for clubs. The last two weeks were cold season. And no, that wasn't just me. Nearly 10 % of my classmates had colds, coughs, sneezes, sore throats and the like. What can I say, misery loves company. And so does the cold virus.

Of course the flip side to exam season is that I get to go back to Madras once they're over. I get the first week of October off. So, yay! It's a pity that good things come in small packages, but a week is better than nothing at all. The bigger pity is that my first exam is tomorrow.

The other good thing is that because I've started specializing this year, I only have 4 papers this semester. And probably no more than 5 papers in any semester till I graduate (evil laughter) That feels good. I haven't done the evil laughter bit for quite some time now :)

In other news, Vodafone is acting up again. For some reason I can't call non-Vodafone numbers between 8 and 10 pm. And that sucks because that's when I do most of my calling. The worst part is that I can't even call the Vodafone helpline and blast them, because calls won't go through to them even! Am I the only one with Vodafone woes? (BTW, the only reason I'm not switching networks is that Airtel's connectivity is bad in my area, and Idea's customer service is worse than Vodafone)

I suppose the right thing to say now is that you'll hear from me once I get back to Madras. But that would be a lie. I'm pretty sure that my portions are going to frustrate me, and that I'll get bored often enough to write at least two more posts here before I leave. Watch this space!

Things I have realized in the past week:

Colds suck: Okay, this isn't a new realization but I’ve had a particularly persistent cold all of this week. And it didn’t respond very well to the regular cold treatments (Coldarin, strepsils, steam inhalation…the works) And waking up with a blocked nose, scratchy throat and pounding headache isn’t pleasant at the best of times. It’s worse when the weather is wet.

Climate change is real: Not that I needed any more evidence (Al Gore did a brilliant job of scaring me with An Inconvenient Truth) but this is the wettest weather that Pune’s had in September as far as I can remember. Granted I’ve only had two years experience to go by, but still it shouldn’t be this cloudy and damp in September!

There’s no way the CYG will go as per schedule: Pune is the host of the 3rd Commonwealth Youth Games. And as would be expected they put up countdown clocks in different places across the city. Now there’s less than a month to go. Plenty of roads need to be widened and re-laid. And other support infrastructure stinks. For all my misgivings about Pune, I want them to put up a good show, since the stuff they build now will serve the city for some time. And yes, the rain is certainly not helping.

It’s very easy to go into a blue mood: Normally I’m the wet-weather fan. I’d love nothing more than to walk in the rain and get soaked. But a week of cloudy skies just doesn’t cut it. Hell, I’ve even gone to starting my conversation over the phone with “It’s still overcast here”

You always need someone who’ll make you feel like a million bucks: Especially when aforementioned blue moods strike. Somebody who’s close enough to have an interest in your well being. The last thing you need when you’re feeling down is flattery (the last thing I need, at any rate) It’s amazing how a kind word can drive the blahs away.


I have no right to impose the crap in my life on to anyone else: Least of all on to somebody reading this blog. I’ve written about this before already (Incidentally, that’s why I haven’t posted anything new in here for nearly two weeks)

Downloading torrents isn’t as great as it ought to be: For one, it’s hard to find a good torrent client for Mac. For another, it’s pretty slow. Direct downloads are so much faster right now. And the worst part is that there’s no net in my hostel, so I have to do all my downloading by Wi-Fi.

I need B cups: According to a men-only quiz I took on Facebook, I would need a B-cup bra. Not that I ever asked, but it’s good to know :-P
Incidentally, by a show of comments, how many of you actually like the “new” Facebook? I don’t particularly like the tabbed separation of your profile contents. But that’s just me.

And latest realization: No matter how self-involved it seems, it's fun to link back to your own posts!

What are they feeding you?

It's the season for clubs here! No, neither night, nor Old Fellows'. I'm talking about those associations that every college has. For dramatics, speaking, art, sports etc. etc. etc.

See, for the last two years we didn't have the numbers or the space for any kind of club activities. (Remember, new institute) Now that we have the space (sort of) and the numbers (again, sort of), clubs are coming up like toadstools after a rainy night. It's nice to see some extra curricular activity happening here for a change. After all, too much science never did anyone any good.

I believe that now I'm officially addicted to Scrubs. I've got around a hundred episodes downloaded so far, and I must've seen all the ones I downloaded at least twice so far. All within the space of two weeks, mind you. (That's good use of a widescreen laptop, in my opinion :D) I guess what makes Scrubs so appealing is the fantasies. They're all so totally over-the-top that you have to drop everything and watch. Like the stand-up sequences in Seinfeld. Or Phoebe's songs on Friends.

Gotta run now. I have to send in my proposal for a quiz club today, or I may for ever hold my peace (actually, until the next sem. But this sounds cooler, don't it?)

P.S. I just noticed that ymitif is 50 posts old. Yay!

More new vistas

Tata launched the new Indica yesterday. It's called the Indica Vista. (Feel free to groan, or retch, as you see fit) That means Slow start up, frequent stalling and it's gonna be a resource hog like nothing before. And people across the board will want the old version to come back. Oh, wait, sorry. We're talking about Tata here, not Microsoft :D

But seriously, when it comes to car names, why would you give it a name as blah as "vista"? Especially given the kind of bad images that the name "vista" brings up? Judging by the design, Tata wants it to be an aspirational family hatchback, if I'm not mistaken. And it will cost more than a lakh over the current Indica. Why vista, then? Why?! Automotive forums are already filling up with jokes about how the car will need more RAM and crash more often.

About the car itself, well, meh. The design is no great shakes. It looks like a blend of a European and Korean hatch in profile, but the front is bad. Finally, there's a front end that looks worse than the Swift. Honestly, what's with the swoopy, slash headlights? And the angled grille? It just looks jarring, if anything.

Thing is, I'm a big fan of the old Indica's design. It looks cute and hides its bulk well (admit it, the Indica is the most spacious hatch in its price range) The new car just doesn't look right, somehow. But hey, that's just my opinion. Judge for yourself.

Little boxes, little boxes...

Ever realize how easy it is to fall back on your identities? The boxes other people put you into. Right now, the ones I choose to fall into are bio-geek, non-jock, tamil. Never mind the fact that I just met a couple of 1st year students discussing families of fungi to pass time, I took up running and making a conscious effort to get into shape. And that it’s been over 5 years since I wrote a full sentence in tamil.

Why do I choose to fall into these boxes? It’s simple. Bio-geek means I don’t have to be particularly bothered about my physics grades, or anything my physicist batchmates say in general. Non-jock means I don’t have to try to play football and look stupid. And tamil means I don’t have to pretend to enjoy, well.. anything “northie”. I know, it makes me sound like a wuss of the first order. But that’s what you do in the face of change. Go with the tide. Go against the tide strong enough that you look eccentric, but people follow you anyway. Or box yourself in, hiding, hoping it all goes away. Hey, I’m cancerian. That’s what I have my shell for. To hide in.

AV, you wanted to know about the “back to Pune blues”? Here they are.

In other news, a new batch of students have joined my institute. It’s a little scary that so many of them look like they’re straight out of the classic nerd mould. You know, thick-rimmed glasses, awkward build drooping shoulders. The works. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe as a percentage of the batch they’re not very much more. Damn, I hope I’m wrong.

Tagged again

Chitra tagged me. And since I was just bored enough to do it, I did. There are 30 - 3 questions in the tag. I'd like to know who came up with them first...

1. What's your latest addiction?
Chocolate chip cookies. Just rediscovered the addiction, actually

2. What are you listening to?
Kangal irandal from Subramaniapuram. The tune is simply fantastic.

3. How late did you stay up last night and why?
Midnight. I was supposed to keep tabs on a friend, and fell asleep on the job :(

4. Who were you with last Friday night?
Technically, alone. My roommate doesn’t count, cos I see him every night.

5. Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 months from now?
Unlikely, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed :)

6. When is the next time you'll see your close friends?
Probably around October. (That reminds me, I really have to go book my ticket to Madras)

7. What were you doing this morning at 7am?
Sitting up groggily, trying to shake the sleep out of my eyes

8. What radio station do you listen to the most?
92.7 F.M.

9. What was the reason you last cried?
It must’ve been over a year back. I’m kinda sketchy about the reason, though

10. Have you ever talked to someone when they were high?
Yeah, unfortunately.

11. What's the fifth text in your inbox say?
“Processing request for a refill of INR 100.0. Please pay to retailer” :)


12. Where was the last coffee shop you went to?
Coffee Day in IIT-M, about two weeks back

13. What's your outfit right now?
A polo and sweat pants

[No 14 and 15]

16. What were you doing at 11pm last night?
Watching Scary Movie 3 (yeah, yeah. Think what you will)

17. Who was the last person you talked to last night before bed?
Arpit. I needed some software for Albus (Yes, I'm going to work Albus into as many posts as I can)

18. Will you be driving in a year?
I already have my licence, if that’s what you’re asking…

19. Is there anything that you are craving right now?
Right now, no. But I woke up this morning wanting some of Mithali's delicious garlic bread.

20. When did your last hug take place?
August 1st, with dad and mum just before I boarded the train to Pune.

[No 21 either.]

22. Have you ever started a sentence with "No offense, but..."?
Occasionally, yeah.

23. Do you drink tea?
Yes. Black with no sugar and just a hint of lime. Chai is just too sweet.

24. Have you ever been arrested?
No. And I don’t intend to be.

25. Have you rode in someone else's car today?
No

26. Have you made a mistake this past week?
Not that I know of.

27. Who was the last person you texted?
AV

28. Are you happy with your life right now?
Well, not over-the-top happy. But I’m content with my life right now.

29. In the past 72 hours have you been under the influence?
No. Nobody good to drink with here :D

30. What's the connection between you and the last person you texted?
Best friend’s sister. Plus counselor, when she has the time.

I'm not tagging anyone. Take it up if it looks interesting.