I pinged a certained someone today to ask them what their new year resolution was. The reply was " to kick you out of my life". I ask why and he says " you have a negative take on everything".
Well my friend, your observations were bang on target. But have you stopped to wonder why I was so negative? Was it only with you or was it with everyone else?
Though this new year started with a loss, and continues to do so, I've begun to gain valuable insights into the minds of different kinds of people.
I've been pessimistic in the past, my new year resolution is to be more positive.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Thursday, December 20, 2007
One of the most memorable days
Sunday the 16th of december 2007 will be cherished in my boring life as one of the most memorable days. It was on this day that I had my first experience of carol singing, and the joy and happiness I got on that day makes me feel that life is indeed worth living.
It had been a while( about a month or so) since I had last attended the youth groups meeting. So I thought I'd just make a courtesy visit and show my face. For the past couple of weeks while I had intentionally kept away, the youth group members had been going house to house, singing carols. So when I miraculously showed up that day, I happened to get a seat beside Larrissa. Customary hi's were exchanged and then larry asks me " why weren't you coming for carol singing?". I gave a sheepish smile and told her that i was no singer. But i mumbled that I such a low voice that even I had some trouble in deciphering what was just said. Nevertheless, that days meeting was devoted to practicing some of the carols. Dennis gets a confirmation from me that this time I'm going to come along. I had nothing better to do that evening.
So all this said and done, I arrive at St. Peters at bang 17:00 hrs and lo!!! I was just the third person there. Shweta and her friend had arrived a bit earlier. It was a little hard for me to strike a conversation, as they were just acquaitances. However a clumsy effort on my part resulted in the very cliched conversation of when is it going to start, what is the time, etc etc. Larry and sherwyn turn up after a couple of minutes and that was a relief, coz i thought i could get acquainted with both of them and get a few tips from sherwyn on how to play some pieces on the guitar( shery is an exceptional guitarist). Larry, being her friendly self, again comes and strikes a very casual and light hearted conversation. After chatting with her for a bit I go to sherry and again pass some time there till the rest of the gang pours in. We would then leave for carol singing after having tea in the manipal canteen.
During the time I was having tea with the others, I was just the silent observer, enjoying the sarcastic and light hearted conversation the other people were having. I did not feel like pitching in because I felt that I am still a stranger, and that it would be out of place to poke fun at anybody there.
We then went back to church and were trying to figure out who goes in whose bike or car. I was felix's backseat driver for the rest of the evening. Even felix seems to be a very quiet person, and so our time both on the bike and off it seemed to be like a story of friendship blossoming in a silent movie.
The carol singing began at about 6 in the evening. Visited lots of houses. However, with all the fun and excitement around, I somehow felt left out and, like in the canteen, was just listening and enjoying the light humour that was going around. At this point, Larry comes up to me and asks " Why are you so quiet? Are you feeling alone? Maybe its because you are new." And then proceeded with some kind of conversation.
To me it was a really touching gesture. something which no one in my entire life has done before. It made me feel that love does exist in this crazy world. Thanks larry...thanks a lot.
Another event which i really liked that day was dennis' doggie samantha. She was so charged up to see so many people around, she just kept jumping and rubbing and playing and wagging all around, more often than not, spilling the eats and drinks on us.
It was 11.30 by the time we finished. I returned home and had a very good sleep. I just loved the enthu and bonding between dennis, roger, sherry, larry, sujay and vivian. They sure are a very very special group and true friends.
Cheers.
It had been a while( about a month or so) since I had last attended the youth groups meeting. So I thought I'd just make a courtesy visit and show my face. For the past couple of weeks while I had intentionally kept away, the youth group members had been going house to house, singing carols. So when I miraculously showed up that day, I happened to get a seat beside Larrissa. Customary hi's were exchanged and then larry asks me " why weren't you coming for carol singing?". I gave a sheepish smile and told her that i was no singer. But i mumbled that I such a low voice that even I had some trouble in deciphering what was just said. Nevertheless, that days meeting was devoted to practicing some of the carols. Dennis gets a confirmation from me that this time I'm going to come along. I had nothing better to do that evening.
So all this said and done, I arrive at St. Peters at bang 17:00 hrs and lo!!! I was just the third person there. Shweta and her friend had arrived a bit earlier. It was a little hard for me to strike a conversation, as they were just acquaitances. However a clumsy effort on my part resulted in the very cliched conversation of when is it going to start, what is the time, etc etc. Larry and sherwyn turn up after a couple of minutes and that was a relief, coz i thought i could get acquainted with both of them and get a few tips from sherwyn on how to play some pieces on the guitar( shery is an exceptional guitarist). Larry, being her friendly self, again comes and strikes a very casual and light hearted conversation. After chatting with her for a bit I go to sherry and again pass some time there till the rest of the gang pours in. We would then leave for carol singing after having tea in the manipal canteen.
During the time I was having tea with the others, I was just the silent observer, enjoying the sarcastic and light hearted conversation the other people were having. I did not feel like pitching in because I felt that I am still a stranger, and that it would be out of place to poke fun at anybody there.
We then went back to church and were trying to figure out who goes in whose bike or car. I was felix's backseat driver for the rest of the evening. Even felix seems to be a very quiet person, and so our time both on the bike and off it seemed to be like a story of friendship blossoming in a silent movie.
The carol singing began at about 6 in the evening. Visited lots of houses. However, with all the fun and excitement around, I somehow felt left out and, like in the canteen, was just listening and enjoying the light humour that was going around. At this point, Larry comes up to me and asks " Why are you so quiet? Are you feeling alone? Maybe its because you are new." And then proceeded with some kind of conversation.
To me it was a really touching gesture. something which no one in my entire life has done before. It made me feel that love does exist in this crazy world. Thanks larry...thanks a lot.
Another event which i really liked that day was dennis' doggie samantha. She was so charged up to see so many people around, she just kept jumping and rubbing and playing and wagging all around, more often than not, spilling the eats and drinks on us.
It was 11.30 by the time we finished. I returned home and had a very good sleep. I just loved the enthu and bonding between dennis, roger, sherry, larry, sujay and vivian. They sure are a very very special group and true friends.
Cheers.
Phase II
On the IT boat did I start sailing
Happy and boisterous about the new beginning
But alas, these ghosts, they keep haunting
Keeping me neither awake nor sleeping.
Yet the battle continues, never ceasing
At every fall, my resilience increasing
This is phase two, will it have an ending?
Happy and boisterous about the new beginning
But alas, these ghosts, they keep haunting
Keeping me neither awake nor sleeping.
Yet the battle continues, never ceasing
At every fall, my resilience increasing
This is phase two, will it have an ending?
Me and You
You give me your humanity, I will give you my divinity
You give me your time, I will give you my eternity
You give me your bonds, I will give you my omnipotence
You give me your slavery, I will give you my freedom
You give me your death, I will give you my life
You give me your nothingness, I will give you my all
You give me your time, I will give you my eternity
You give me your bonds, I will give you my omnipotence
You give me your slavery, I will give you my freedom
You give me your death, I will give you my life
You give me your nothingness, I will give you my all
Monday, December 10, 2007
What next?
Dad keeps telling me about the potential dangers of being in the IT industry. So commonplace are ailments like lack of sleep, bone problems, eye problems blah blah and blah, that most often that not these perils do not figure in the course of discussion. His main contention is what if there is an IT meltdown? What if some lunatic plants a bomb in any of the major financial and IT capitals? Where will you be. Seems to be a pretty valid argument, and it got me thinking.
While coming back after a nice dinner last Saturday, ayyo sumik had mentioned something which about the entire booming economy tied up with IT. When one examines todays economic scene more closely we would find that most if not all of them have had a resurgence because of the IT industry. For example, the high prices quoted for drinks and food in various pubs in the city still does not see them suffering from any losses. The reason is because people have amassed a lot of disposable income. A vast majority of people visiting restaurants and pubs are IT professionals. With this, comes a greater demand for bouncers, DJ's, waiters, card reading machines, power and a lot more. In other words, when people spend money, they propel they economy skywards. The more money people have, the more they are likely to spend. The middle and upper middle class section today has been to a very large extent, the fruits of the IT revolution.
Now, should I decide that I quit IT and join some other industry, say the automobile industry, then how secure would my job be? The answer is, I'm afraid, about just as secure as my current job.
The differences though, would be of salary hikes and promotions and job satisfaction.(Let us ignore those health effects from now.) That is something for people who seriously know what they want to do in life to worry about. For us ordinary mortals, I guess we should be happy about the relatively easy money we get. Let us take it and pursue our hobbies with content.
While coming back after a nice dinner last Saturday, ayyo sumik had mentioned something which about the entire booming economy tied up with IT. When one examines todays economic scene more closely we would find that most if not all of them have had a resurgence because of the IT industry. For example, the high prices quoted for drinks and food in various pubs in the city still does not see them suffering from any losses. The reason is because people have amassed a lot of disposable income. A vast majority of people visiting restaurants and pubs are IT professionals. With this, comes a greater demand for bouncers, DJ's, waiters, card reading machines, power and a lot more. In other words, when people spend money, they propel they economy skywards. The more money people have, the more they are likely to spend. The middle and upper middle class section today has been to a very large extent, the fruits of the IT revolution.
Now, should I decide that I quit IT and join some other industry, say the automobile industry, then how secure would my job be? The answer is, I'm afraid, about just as secure as my current job.
The differences though, would be of salary hikes and promotions and job satisfaction.(Let us ignore those health effects from now.) That is something for people who seriously know what they want to do in life to worry about. For us ordinary mortals, I guess we should be happy about the relatively easy money we get. Let us take it and pursue our hobbies with content.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
anime
Ever since I can remember, I've been fascinated with animation. Mom had recorded a few cartoons like tom and jerry on tapes and I've watched them over and over again, always fascinated each time I saw it. As I grew up I encountered animation by marvel comics....most notably spiderman, superman and x-men. I fell in love again, and the adrenaline rush which came through each time i watched them was overwhelming. However, the novelty of the storylines slowly started wearing off. By the time I had entered engineering, my fascination for cartoons like x-men (which was my favourite at that time), johnny quest, jackie chan adventures had started its downward slide.
While in my third year, I happened to notice a particular file named samurai x on the hostel LAN. This marked the beginning of a seemingly unending exploration into the world of anime(Though I must admit that I had a brush with hentai while in high school). However, pressure of placements and landing a good job (give me a break!!!) made anime take a back seat and I had almost forgotten about it until about a year and a half later.
Enter anima. Except for my roomie, I had never expected to see anime fans. Why so? Because of the 400 odd people I knew in the hostel, there were just two people (me and roommate) who adored anime!!!!! And when I meet this character, I am humbled. Her "otaku"-ness surpasses my craze by a huge and incalculable extent. Come to think of it, she even paints anime in her spare time, writes anime stories, eats with anime and will probably have an anime character and punchline on her epitaph. Phew!!!! After putting me on the anime track, I encountered lots of beautifully written and aesthetically made anime. However, none of them matched samurai x. I had watched samurai x in english. However, anima preferred japanese. I really wondered why. Isn't it a pain to keep one eye on the subs and the other on the screen while simultaneously trying to absorb the context, the intensity (or humour), and understand the text? I thought so.
But as she and I have discovered, the Japs are different. When one compares a dubbed and subbed version of the same anime, the dubbed version sounds like a shakespearean play. The tone and manner of speaking adopted by the japs are best suited for anime.
Just after I shifted to SAP I was again blessed(cursed) with long periods of free time. I made full use of the freedom given and my anime exploration started its next leg. Here I got to watch tsubasa chronicles whose music I absolutely adore. I watched around 60 episodes, but couldn't find the remaining. I loved the anime except for one small teeny weeny part. Every time saoran makes a statement about being with and protecting the princess, she looks at him with those humongous eyes and in that very irritating voice, says saoran-kun. aaarghh!!! It gets on my nerves even when I think of it, even when I am writing about it!!!
Then came nodame cantabile. This dorama was quite inspiring. Plus, I love music..so this was a double whammy. After that came claymore. It had all the elements to make a guy happy. Lovely chicks with great assets, great fight sequences, abundance of fan service and a plot which does not drag. The series lasted for just 26 epsiodes and had an open ending. I'm surprised that it does not make a mention among the most popular anime. My guess is that its because there have been loads of previous anime which have a similar storyline.
The high note of my anime journey came after I watched bleach. I don't want to say anything about it here as those who watched it know how good it is, and those who didn't ought to do it the first thing after they finish reading ma post. 155 episodes of pure entertainment. (Okay..you can subtract the fillers and a few cliched humour scenes.)My new roomie who until a few days back used to think that it was kiddie stuff has beome an anime fan. And in the course of flirting with the technical leader of his project, he scored thousands of points BY GIVING HER MY BLEACH DVD!!!!! So you see that the realm of anime's influence streches far beyond the virtual world.
While in my third year, I happened to notice a particular file named samurai x on the hostel LAN. This marked the beginning of a seemingly unending exploration into the world of anime(Though I must admit that I had a brush with hentai while in high school). However, pressure of placements and landing a good job (give me a break!!!) made anime take a back seat and I had almost forgotten about it until about a year and a half later.
Enter anima. Except for my roomie, I had never expected to see anime fans. Why so? Because of the 400 odd people I knew in the hostel, there were just two people (me and roommate) who adored anime!!!!! And when I meet this character, I am humbled. Her "otaku"-ness surpasses my craze by a huge and incalculable extent. Come to think of it, she even paints anime in her spare time, writes anime stories, eats with anime and will probably have an anime character and punchline on her epitaph. Phew!!!! After putting me on the anime track, I encountered lots of beautifully written and aesthetically made anime. However, none of them matched samurai x. I had watched samurai x in english. However, anima preferred japanese. I really wondered why. Isn't it a pain to keep one eye on the subs and the other on the screen while simultaneously trying to absorb the context, the intensity (or humour), and understand the text? I thought so.
But as she and I have discovered, the Japs are different. When one compares a dubbed and subbed version of the same anime, the dubbed version sounds like a shakespearean play. The tone and manner of speaking adopted by the japs are best suited for anime.
Just after I shifted to SAP I was again blessed(cursed) with long periods of free time. I made full use of the freedom given and my anime exploration started its next leg. Here I got to watch tsubasa chronicles whose music I absolutely adore. I watched around 60 episodes, but couldn't find the remaining. I loved the anime except for one small teeny weeny part. Every time saoran makes a statement about being with and protecting the princess, she looks at him with those humongous eyes and in that very irritating voice, says saoran-kun. aaarghh!!! It gets on my nerves even when I think of it, even when I am writing about it!!!
Then came nodame cantabile. This dorama was quite inspiring. Plus, I love music..so this was a double whammy. After that came claymore. It had all the elements to make a guy happy. Lovely chicks with great assets, great fight sequences, abundance of fan service and a plot which does not drag. The series lasted for just 26 epsiodes and had an open ending. I'm surprised that it does not make a mention among the most popular anime. My guess is that its because there have been loads of previous anime which have a similar storyline.
The high note of my anime journey came after I watched bleach. I don't want to say anything about it here as those who watched it know how good it is, and those who didn't ought to do it the first thing after they finish reading ma post. 155 episodes of pure entertainment. (Okay..you can subtract the fillers and a few cliched humour scenes.)My new roomie who until a few days back used to think that it was kiddie stuff has beome an anime fan. And in the course of flirting with the technical leader of his project, he scored thousands of points BY GIVING HER MY BLEACH DVD!!!!! So you see that the realm of anime's influence streches far beyond the virtual world.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
alternatives
Me : How long will I be here?
manager: why?
me: umm just curious.
manager : why?
me: want to get transferred to my original office.
manager: why?
me: i don't like this place.
manager: why? because the place is nice thats why? because the food is good thats why?
me: its not like that. i'm just used to that place and have lots of friends there.
manager: you will be here till the end of february.
me: is it not possible to get transferred earlier?
manager: yes, put down your papers and thats it.
me(in my head): ( wtf? why do i need to resign to get transferred?)
manager: there is no third alternative. ( where was the first one neways?)
me: ( walks away from manager with head down, shocked and angry, mumbling a half hearted thank you)
manager: i will see if i can get it done earlier that that.
me: ( yea you scumbag....i owe you my life) yes sir.
manager: why?
me: umm just curious.
manager : why?
me: want to get transferred to my original office.
manager: why?
me: i don't like this place.
manager: why? because the place is nice thats why? because the food is good thats why?
me: its not like that. i'm just used to that place and have lots of friends there.
manager: you will be here till the end of february.
me: is it not possible to get transferred earlier?
manager: yes, put down your papers and thats it.
me(in my head): ( wtf? why do i need to resign to get transferred?)
manager: there is no third alternative. ( where was the first one neways?)
me: ( walks away from manager with head down, shocked and angry, mumbling a half hearted thank you)
manager: i will see if i can get it done earlier that that.
me: ( yea you scumbag....i owe you my life) yes sir.
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