Monday, June 30, 2008

"Monday Morning Blues" should be a legally allowed reason for taking leave from office like annual and sick leave.


Update: Comments on the new masthead are welcome - just don't use defamatory or abusive language.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Time for a New Masthead...

I'm bored of my blog's mast head picture. Much thanks and appreciation to SP for allowing the use of his Iced out road in Leh picture but I think the time has come for a new masthead picture.

But I can't make up my mind on what should the image be. A few things i'm clear about - it has to be a composite image, striking but may or may not have any meaning as such.

So here are two images I made today. I'll put up more too as I make them. I'm targetting Sunday to change the image.

Option 1:



Now this is a very fresh and happy mast. The tang of lime and life itself.Joy. Happiness. Passion. Innocence.Exuberance.

Option 2:




This more abstract. Mystique. Sinister(ness?). High. Hallucinogenic trip. Pagan rituals. Raves. Pschosis. The One.


So tell me which one I should go with? And suggest some more themes for my oh-so-awesome-imagination to work.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Interested in Everything, Committed to Nothing...

Interested in everything,
Committed to nothing


What a brilliant line. The author of Shantaram (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantaram_%28novel%29 ), Gregory David Roberts was described this way by one of his former girlfriends. (About the book, read it. Its brilliantly written and very captivating. The fact that its based on a true story makes it that much more real, plausible and affecting)

This is the line that made me put down the book, lean back and think. Would this be the way in which someone would describe me? Is this the way I would, in a moment of pure honesty, describe myself?

Yes. Definitely. Any man can be described this way until there is that one one burning passion that engulfs him. And till now I haven't found it. In any sphere. I'm a good non-sore loser at sports, equinamous in professional life, not too concerned in personal life. All in all no real passion about anything. And without passion there can be no commitment.

And interested in everything - definitely again. Interest and excitement about new things and activities and people but with a very limited time period. One of my closest friends once told me that I get tremendously interested in a person and then without any discernable reason I have the capacity to go totally cold and formal leaving the person completely bewildered at this change. I started noticing this after he pointed it out to me and he's absolutely correct. I keep doing this. Same is with a particular activity.

Thats why its weird that my blog still exists after an year in operation.Is this giving an idea about that burning passion I'm looking around for?

Friday, June 13, 2008

Morning Tales...

Something's wrong with me. I got up this morning at 5:45 without an alarm clock. It gave me an opportunity to verify what people over the years have told me about getting up at 6.

Rosy sky - check
Gentle breeze - check
Wafts of fragrant wind - check
Totally refreshed and cheery person - do NOT check

I am not refreshed, and I'm certainly not cheery. Nada. Not by a long shot. Can I please go back to sleeping effortlessly through 6 am...and 7 am ... maybe even 8?

And to top it all my car music cds have gone with RBs car to Delhi. So I borrowed a couple from my residual roommate (snigger if he reads this he's going to kill me - this makes him sound like something leftover which is not true). Surprisingly even after staying with him for so long I did not realise how poles apart our music tastes are. So this morning I came listening to Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, Spice Girls and before I slammed my music system off, Jennifer Lopez crooning to 'Waitin' for Tonight' AAARGGHHH

Raise your hands all those who think I need a new flatmate!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Of Court Battles...

No, no don't worry, I don't need a lawyer...yet!

The court I refer to is a tennis court (aarrghh what does this guy think he is, Roger Federer. Every second post has an element of tennis. AAARGHH...ok, so you've screamed and ranted - now can i go on with my post? right, thank you)

So anyway since my earlier tennis partner moved to the US I have infected two more people in my office with the tennis virus. Infact they've sort of exceeded me in enthusiasm for the sport with one of them buying a four thousand rupee racquet

(wait NO, its three thousand - or atleast thats what his wife believes. Apparently if he had told her the obscene amount of money he spent on what she believes is a 'passing phase' she would fry him in slow boiling oil. Which brings us to digression one:

Digression 1: Its crazy the way people follow curfews and budgets and no drinking and what not after they're married. I guess I have the advantage right now to laugh and sneer and make fun of this till I succumb. But till then I WILL laugh. Point a finger and laugh :) )

Anyway to cut a long, winding and mostly pointless story short we've started playing in the evening after office as well. Or atleast we play when we can win the only court in the office I go to. And there is this mean devious pair of people from finance department (why am I always at loggerheads with people who know the difference between debit and credit?) who seem to just manage to come minutes before us and occupy the court while, what else?, laughing deviously. These finance people, I tell you, they have no work. Grumble grumble, occupy the court at 5:45 grumble grumble - sack the lot!

Why can't we play doubles with them you ask? Well thats because those guys play really really well. And.they.smirk.when.they.see.us.

I don't mind losing to a better player, but getting sniggered at? No way.

So we finally had our revenge today when we managed to get to the court before them. H and I were at 5-0 in our last set and we were just about to close up for the day when these two guys came in. But we relentlessly stood our ground and kept on playing. We played game after game with their exasperation growing every minute as they ran out of elaborate stretching exercises to do. Finally they had to face the final dishonour - they asked us to play doubles and we refused...and played another couple of games!

Ah, bliss. Small joys that hold my life together and give it that zest.

I shall sleep with a satisfied smile (er..smirk) on my face tonight!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Addicted to Heroes...

And I used to laugh at people obsessing over Desperate Housewives and other such addictive serials!

Yes, I’m an addict.

In the last two days I have watched an entire season of Heroes. That means 23 episodes = 23 multiplied by 42 minutes = 16.1 hours of Heroes . in . 27 . hours.

Late last week, I think on Thursday, a colleague at work told me about her complete addiction to House MD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_MD ) and Heroes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_%28TV_series%29). My ears perked up at the mention of House MD. It’s a very sarcastic, dry, biting humor serial and I love watching it myself, though not to the level of unhealthy obsession. Now this lady was taking House and Heroes name with the same drooling awe. Interesting. I had been told about Heroes by DU as well but it was a long time ago and I had primarily scoffed when she tried to explain to me how a series about people having genetic mutations leading to amazing powers like telekinesis, invulnerability etc could be interesting for full grown adults (Unless of course they're X-Men – who are extremely slick and cool).

So despite such misgivings, I started on the first episode on Sunday evening. I wasn’t feeling too well and thought that I’d watch a bit of it, laugh at what silly things people watch, make fun of the writers of the series and then go to sleep.

Instead, bleary eyed and full of curiousity I gently moved my eyes towards the clock to see the hands pointing to 3 am. I had watched the first episode, second, third…sixth episode straight on the trot and was cursing that the next day is Monday and I need to go to office.

I woke up with a delighted grin in the morning when I realized that my illness had increased over the fitful sleep I had that night (I’ve been told that screams of ‘I can fly!’ ‘Meester Eesaaac!’ ‘ Save the cheerleader, save the world!’ were emanating from my room.) and I was in no position to go to work (On a totally unrelated note – what do you think of fevers that rise in the morning and disappear in 3 hours normally on work days? Are they actually psychologically generated? Totally unrelated to the main post this ,by the way)

So I curled up in bed after adjusting the speakers and the laptop screen for optimum viewing pleasure, and disappeared for 10 hours at a stretch. The only time I’ve ever done anything for 10 hours without a semblance of movement was when I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on the day it was released (Sigh, that was an awesome series and I’m so sad that its over.). Then I got up to get the pizza I’d ordered from the door. Without wasting any time or energy I took the pizza to my bed and settled down again to watch more episodes. The way they end each episode – crazy. You just HAVE to see the next one.

Still I wasn’t able to finish the series on Monday. I mean I’m not in college where I can bunk complete days of classes when I got my hands on an interesting book (Sigh, again those were the days.). I’m a responsible professional who has things to do and objectives to achieve. The commitment and drive towards my work takes me to heights of joy at work everyday.

All day long I was staring at the clock; waiting, waiting for it to show six pm. I was staring at it so hard that I almost did what Hiro Nakamura does in Heroes – bend space time continuum to teleport himself. And FINALLY it was six. I raced back home, drove like a maniac. Brilliant that I am I hadn’t shut down my laptop thus saving 2 valuable minutes before starting on the Heroes spree again.

With a sigh I was able to finish the 23rd and final episode (How to stop an exploding man) before dinner.

Totally excellent series. A must watch. And don’t listen to people who scoff at these powers. I swear I was staring at a pen on my desk and it rolled an inch towards my hand!

Telekinetic I am, YAY!!