My Dream Jobs!

Well, time for another post! No more news since the last post unless you consider the IIMs considering going back to the pencil-and-paper CAT - which, by the way, is really great news for many of us because of the sub-standard quality of the online CAT among other technical issues. Also, these holidays are literally killing me. I have no work to do (you might say: study. But then, we don't even know the schedule for the remaining 5 papers I have to take, so, just chill! :)). I'd like to take this opportunity to instigate the people in whose hands lie the strings for Telangana to please take a decision fast and make us happy by letting us have the exams. It certainly would be great to have them behind me rather than the other way round. Well, they rightly say - 'An idle mind is a devil's workshop.' and that is exactly what has been happening with everyone of us (I'm sure.). Well, this kind of thinking has led to this post. It is yet another list. A list of my dream jobs. Well, there are many inspirations behind each of the choices which I'm sure I'm gonna mention with each item.

Well, everyone needs to have a list akin to this. When we were kids, there was no end to this kind of surmising and excitement. Each time I saw any super-hero movie or read some graphic novel, I'd imagine myself in the place of the protagonist (the term "hero" is very much sexist, you see...) and sometimes even the antagonist (likewise...)(no pun intended.). Well, now that I've grown up (at least a little bit), I happen to know the limitations of such people. This is a list which could have been possible in a near enough parallel universes. Fine, here goes.

• Writer/Thinker/Philosopher/Experimenter: Well, this is something I like to be and somehow, am to some extent. The idea that, I can simply write and do nothing else is so enticing :). Just imagine, just sitting at home thinking and trying to find words and trying to describe life. It'd be like a dream come true for me (literally). Having all the free time in the world and actually getting paid for it. Who wouldn't want it? (just a rhetorical question, I know a lot of people who wouldn't want it...). Inspirations: Sir Isaac Newton, Edison, Tesla, Mark Twain and many others. Thing is, there is a kind of stigma regarding this in the society. Also, practically, to do this kind of thing,you'd have to be rich or at the very least, care free, so, not much of a possibility of this in this universe (unless I win some kind of game show giving out a billion Dollars... :P).
• Bounty hunter: Well, a giant step away from the previous one. Somehow, the idea of catching the bad guys and being paid for it, without being in the limits of the law as an employee, should be fun. And never forget the incredible amounts of pay-offs you might get from the bad side (*wicked smile*). Major inspiration: Clint Eastwood as The man with no name in The Dollars Trilogy (if it doesn't ring a bell, try A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.). Major setbacks with this: it is not legal in India, it is in the US, though. Also, I don't practically see myself beating up bad guys - not my cup of tea. :)
• Adventurer: Well, an ubiquitous choice. Everyone wants to be an adventurer. Reasons? The thrill, the fame, the girls (who'm I kidding?). Well, the adventure in itself is a calling and someday, I wish I can do it! (not much of a chance there either, you don't adventure in an Electronics lab... :P) Inspirations: Indiana Jones (I revere him), Ben Gates in National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Professor Lidenbrock of The Journey to the Center of the Earth (not the recent movie, which was really bad, I'm referring to the original book by Jules Verne.).
• Mathematician: It is not about doing math. It is about loving math. I love it, but doing it while loving it is something else (yes pun intended ;)). Anyway, playing with numbers is one of my passions and I'd certainly love to make it my profession. Pretty good chance of doing this here - if I choose math as my major for my Masters or Doctoral. Inspirations: Ian Malcolm (Jurassic Park), Harry Adams (Sphere).

As you might've noticed, Crichton plays an important role in many of my career choices :). Well, there are many more, but I don't seem to have them coming to me so easily. I'll settle for these options, though. I'd like to know what you want to be. Try and be as creative possible ;).

Adios!!

P.S.: No Post-Script this time :P. In case you don't care about all this, skip this post :).

All the right reasons

It's been quite some time since my last post and it's not even like I'm busy with exams or anything. I've been asked as to why I'm not writing more, and hope to comply by that request (yes, it's true, some people like my blog... :P and thank you people...). There was this website I stumbled upon - http://www.wordle.net/. And ran my blog for a word cloud and well, the result was obvious. "Anyways" is apparently my most used word and somehow, I'm surprised, mostly because the word itself is so redundant ;). Anyway, here's the word cloud for your perusal (yeah, like you even care... :P):

There goes. Before moving on to the crux of the post, let me tell you something else. It is just a stop-gap between what happened between the last post and this one. Well, I wrote my CAT (and please don't ask me how it went, I have pretty much no idea myself; for all I know, I screwed it big time...). And, yeah, due this friggin' Telangana issues, I have completed only one of my 6 exams and it is very boring to sit at home with no idea about the schedule of exams and whether my degree will reach me in time (for what? :P). Anyway, if you ask my views about Telangana, I'm undecided and rest assured, it is not the reason for this post - I'm not as cruel as the TV channels to drone about the issue here too, I'm not affiliated to any TV channel, see...


Fine (I'm trying to avoid the A-word (see above :)) from now on, it is pretty unsettling for me that, I use it so much... :P), the same old question - what is this post about (I'm assuming you can't guess because I haven't titled the post yet :P). Reason. Just humor me and try to define the word; to yourself that is. It is undoubtedly a simple enough word to know (sorry if I sounded condescending...). A reason is something you use to defend your actions or stand (I'm sure the definition is pretty close to the money...). I'm 20 now, and it would be pretty fair if I say I've had my share of watching the world around me and everywhere I go, I find people using reasons for, literally, everything. Don't get me wrong here, I'm all for using your reasons. Science is all about reasons and I have nothing acrimonious about using reasons. Using reasons is one thing, using the right ones is altogether another. In fact, having reasons is important; having the right ones is much more so. Call me old-school or whatever you like, but I believe having the right reason to do something is more important than doing it. I read in some book something about "Ends justify the means.". Well, I beg to disagree as I'm sure, would many of us. Well, let me elucidate. I've heard people saying - "Let us study well." I'll have you know that I'm all for it. But the reason you study should not be to get marks or to impress someone (I happen to know a few people of this kind... :P), or whatever else. The reason to study, in my view, should be to gain knowledge, period. Leaving all that, if you use your wrong reasons, you end up hating the things you do, and sometimes even yourself.


Another example - "Why did you take up Engineering?" (which, incidentally, is the most common question we face in interviews or sometimes even rhetorically, especially by our peers...). I've heard virtually all the answers there can be; ranging from "My parents...", "My brother...", "My teacher..." to "I had no other option.", "Software Job.". Well, no wonder our Engineers today are probably the some of the most incompetent among all the other countries. There are, of course, some people who answer with beautiful reasons - "I love making things.", "I want to make the world a better place." et. al. Well, these people, I tell you, are the real engineers. 


Let me spread out a little. I've been talking about esoterica which we can understand very well. But, I've been thinking about this (it's probably the only useful thing I'm doing in this break.. ;)) and have found that, it is applicable to everything in life. I have seen people who build their paths around money and power and I have seen very few people building their paths around their passions. The latter usually have the right reasons to do anything. There is never a dearth of people with the wrong reasons -  marrying for money, studying just to board the bandwagon (doing things just because others are doing them too..). All the wrong reasons. All they end up being is pretentious pricks whom everyone hate because they are never them. Life (philosopher me again... ;)) simply boils down to having the right reasons to do the right things and sometimes even the wrong things. 


Well, I have a lot more to say about many things and I have this teensy bit of a feeling that, the post ended in a non-sequitur. Nevertheless, I hope I keep writing regularly, at least during these T-holidays.


P.S.: If you like my blog, it is highly possible that you'll like the writings of JRR Tolkien. I re-visited The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit and found some creepy similarities. Go ahead and enjoy his works.

All the Best!!

Well, exam season, and I'm not gonna waste my time blogging (doing other things, yes.. :P)...


Anyway, All the best; Best of Luck, and whatever works for you... :)


ALL THE BEST!!

P.S.: Please pray for my success too... :)

De-what??

Well, long time since the last post, but then, I'm a busy man :P : I gotta maintain my farm on Farmville, maintain my Mafia in Mafia Wars and of course, complete my quota of everyday's TV Series episodes (South park, Frasier, Numb3rs) and updating myself with all the bond films (right from the 60's). Yeah, I know what you are thinking. And yes, this is what people do when they have too much time to waste. In other related note, another semester has gone by and man! Are they fast! Never saw this semester come and go at all and miraculously, my attendance is not short!! You know, writing a blog is tough, take my word for it : for the past few days, every time I sit to write, I end up deferring in favor of other things. Why, just yesterday, I was about to start and I ended up going to a 2nd show movie (for the first time in my life, for all practical purposes) and thus denying my friends' claim that I was either (A) a studious guy or (B) I was something like Cinderella or something :P (midnight - magic dress etc...on those lines...). Anyway, in other unrelated notes, check out "She" by Elvis Costello (which I first heard recently) and "Woman" by John Lennon, they really inspire my feminist side. Anyway, seems like this semester's weird and abrupt end has brought out the philosopher in me and of course, you guessed it right, this is what this post is all about.Alright then, here goes.


Did you notice that sometimes, when you don't get what you want, you feel real bad. Yes, that's me, just stating the obvious (sometimes I feel I'm turning into one of my favorite words - cliché, I'm sure you'd have noticed this if you interact with me regularly.. :P). Alright, after stating the obvious, let's get to the less often occurring thing. Just reflect, how many of us think before wanting things - whether we deserve them or not. This occurs very often: one is carried away by the delusions of things around them and start to put a lot to one's store. If one were to think before hand, before wanting that is, if or not one deserves the thing they are wanting, it saves a lot of depression. I seem to have no good examples (bad ones, a lot...) for this up my sleeve, but I'm sure you'd understand. Anyway, succinctly put, what I'm trying to say is simple 

Desire only for what you deserve.

Now, let me biopsy the statement for you.First things first : the "you" reference. You see, you are the only person who would be able to decide this. Who better to decide what you deserve than yourself? Like Paulo Coelho says : "We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation." and someone else says "Don't judge me, because we're two different people, living in different worlds." No one knows you better than yourself and this is what I'm trying to put forth. Then let's get to the desire part. It is but human, to desire but then, it is also the root cause of all of man's problems. That was a bit too much of a funda, right? :P Anyway, this method of desiring only what you deserve is a completely tried and tested one (by me, of course...I don't go around collecting stats from people around me... ;)). Thing is, abstinence is what you could call stopping desiring unlimitedly. So, like I already mentioned, make your own example. And the pluses?? There are many, you don't get depressed for one thing. And whatever people might say, Life is fair and believe me, you only get what you deserve. Just like in Entanglement theories in Quantum Physics, even things you cannot connect at any level one can comprehend might be related and cause the equations to topple. Anyway, just had to put forth this thought of mine. And anyway, this comes mainly because of the marks I'm about to get in the internal examinations and I'm certainly keeping fingers crossed. I know what I deserve, do you??


Think about it. And I wish you all the best for you exams coming up, although there will be another post dedicated for that sometime this week :P.


G'Night, Sweet Dreams!!


P.S.: Please comment on my Philosopher side :P.


P.P.S.: Happy Halloween!! :)

Blog Action Day - Climate Change

Dated: 15 October, 2009


Blog Action Day: An awesome idea! I just wanna congratulate the person who had this idea. Anyway, I don't wanna waste post-space by writing an elaborate eulogy for the idea; I'm supposed to be writing about climate change. I'll have you know that, I'm no meteorologist to be able to give you hard numbers and other stats than can corroborate my views. I'd like to deal with my personal experiences with climate change and hope people understand it better and try to do something about it.

Anyway, here comes. I still remember that, when I was a kid, the seasons used to be in time, as opposed to now, seriously, it is October and yet, the sun is as hard as it would be in mid-summer. And rains. It's been quite a few years since it rained in time of monsoon. (who'm I kidding?? this isn't the kind of stuff I'm good at explaining...). Anyway, let me do something I am good at: use semantics to do what I like. And yes, I even looked up the Oxford Dictionary for any connotations and viola! Climate can also mean "prevailing trend of opinion or feeling", so here I am, all set to do something so easy. Anyway, no offense to the guys at the "Blog Action Day" who are trying to make the world a better place to live in, but then, so am I; I'm trying to make the world a better place to live in by dissecting the kind of "climatic changes" like I see them, like I said before, I'm no meteorologist to talk about the stuff like temperature, humidity and stuff. This is just a new perspective on "climatic changes". Anyway, while I'm at it, I'm supposed to give this link someplace in the blog: http://www.blogactionday.org/. Don't bother visiting it or anything, just a formality.

So, climatic change, huh? Well, there is an almost constant change of climate (from here on, climate will only mean "prevailing trend of opinion or feeling") in our homes, schools and everywhere around us. Sometimes we call it generation gap, sometimes something else. Whatever we say, our parents (why, sometimes even our elder siblings) can never understand why we listen to Rock, watch movies or even why we hang out with friends. This reminds me of something Shakespeare or someone else once said: "Love is one of the most beautiful thing you can experience, until it happens to your daughter" :P. Anyway, this is one of the things (climate) that hasn't changed since then, some respite! But then, like one of my favorite Professor says "Change is the only constant." and life would be dull. (I do realize that I'm just blabbering something without even thinking about it... :P). Anyway, I have no more thoughts because I have this lab internal tomorrow (today) and gotta prep for it... Hope the "Blog Action Day" people don't mind this (like they'd even care, for my post, that is... :P).

And of course, a great idea, keep it going :).

Bubye...!!

We don't need no EDUCATION!!!

Not my usual "posting" time, but then it is a weekend and thus, new rules :). Thing is, "Dead Poets' Society" aired on Star Movies in the afternoon and I ended up speculating how much the current education system in India (not to sound too *blah*, but our education system!!) is similar to that shown in the movie (Hell-ton Academy, as the students call it... :)). Seriously, on a totally related note, everyone must watch this movie at least once, it is an awesomely inspiring movie.


Anyway, let me paint you a word picture of what happens in our education system. Classes 1-7, you are taught to learn things (literally everything) by heart. You are taught to follow text books, never question new things (at least some of the teachers I had/have did that, although it was just because they were not so good at answering questions...). You are taught to remember things which you might end up never, ever using in your future and even if you do, you'll end up finding that, you did not need to remember it at all. (This post also draws from "Surely, You're joking, Mr. Feynman", Dick Feynman, my most favorite physicist...). Next, class 7-10, you are taught that marks are the things that are the most important things you could pursue. And that is not the worst part, the worst part is that people manage to believe it up until later in their lives and some never grow up. Anyway, the picture is quite changing and now, what was a priority of our generation during our 10+2, is now right since the 1st grade. Today, you find schools which apparently give you "IIT Foundation" right from the 1st standard.


Anyway, after everyone leaves the 10th std with flying colors, all start thinking 'all right, now what, IIT, AIEEE, EAMCET??' Seriously, same questions all the time and some of us didn't even know what other options they have. Anyway, here, you are taught that life always comes with four options and as long as you manage to get the right answer by hook or crook, it doesn't matter whether you know about it (like Shakespeare says: All's well that ends well or rather, ends justify the means, which is pretty much a flawed argument...). One more thing is, when you get a good percentage in your 10th standard, you are tagged to the IIT sections and you end up having nightmares about what your life is gonna be. Of course, this was the decision (of taking IIT as the optional in Intermediate) that changed my life a lot; for good or bad, is yet to be seen.


Then comes Engineering (I'm just taking up my own case...). You just care about not having any backlogs and care about percentages. And end up being just as confused as you ever were. Now, that was the picture of the current education system, and what is missing?? Go ahead and read the rest...


Where is the originality? Ever heard of a different and more profound (from other ones...) definition of the Newton's Laws? Or a new perception of Frost or Kipling in the English text book?? Or a different view of the Covalent Bond??? Never are you gonna come across these things, not in our education system, at least. And you know why that is? People (esp. parents) prefer looking at straight 'A's in a report card rather than come to know that their ward is doing something new and you know what get straight 'A's? Reproducing what is given in your texts or notes as it is, pathetic!!


Then comes the question of what you need to remember. Do you really think you need to remember the Periodic Table back and forth? Or the values of Sines and Cosines of odd values (any values, at that...)? Or the height of Mt.Everest, length of Nile?? I'll tell you what the thing is: You don't need to remember these things. And why? Because you can always look up the things you need for your work (no, it is not cheating...). There's this story in the book I mentioned earlier by Mr Feynman: Map of a Cat (or, something like that...) which I'd urge you to read if you ever happen to lay your hands on that book. Anyway, the point of education is not to improve your memory, it is indeed the exact opposite: don't remember things when you can get to them by using your mind. I have this nice analogy to this: Your memory is like the RAM of your computer and your brain obviously is the CPU. All I'm saying is that, when you can process data you already have to get what you want, why waste your memory? Anyway, education is not about testing about how much you can remember; it is about how much you can perceive: Education is perception.


Then there is this thing about judging people by their grades. How can you know about everyone by just a number? This is especially for teachers (none of whom, I'm sure, is reading this...). Grades do not show what kind of person you are. No more comments about this, though. I can't say much about it :).


Then there is the pressure. Especially from parents (your peers are in as much water as you are, right? :P). Get good marks, get a good Software job, get a 5 digit salary, HELL!! It doesn't matter what we want. It doesn't matter even if the thing they want you to do is something you hate. Like Keating says to Neil in Dead Poets' Society: 'You are just playing the role of a dutiful son'. Neil is so much the representation of what we face in our lives from our parents (not since, we grew up, in my case, thankfully...).


I'm kinda done with this system and feel like screaming out the Pink Floyd lyrics in my classes:

We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control, no dark sarcasm in the classroom...

So, let's all do this!! And try to do this and change our system for ever and hoping the coming generations not have to salvage any of this fury.

One more thing from Dead Poets' Society: CARPE DIEM!! (Seize the day!!). Stop following your precursors and let icons be bygones...

CARPE DIEM!!!!

Confessions of a Blog-a-holic a.k.a. Biopsy of a blog

Another day, another post. Sometimes I wonder why I do this. I could be doing a lot of better (for me) things like preparing for my semester exams or may be for CAT or doing my application processing work (seriously, it's getting no where, please pray for me...). Anyway, it feels a lot guilty doing this (yes, I have a conscience too :P...). I'd like to share my feelings about maintaining a blog, something I've never expressed to most people, I guess.

For knowing why I blog, you might want to refer to my previous post (again, I show the insensitivity of a *whatever* and assume that you have no better job to do... :P). So, if you are planning to start a blog yourself, you'd better read this post first...

So, the first consequence of having a blog (I'd rather list this, makes me feel better...)

• Knowledge: You expect people to know the fact that you have a blog. (This totally got to me at the beginning, but then, one gets used to being ignored...) You stop mentioning your blog to anyone after about a couple of weeks and then forget it yourself too. This is when a blogger needs to be very patient and keep on writing. You know what they say : "Every blog has its day!" (If you didn't get the joke, remember that, "Every dog has its day :P").
• Condescension: Look it up if you don't know what it means. (The purpose of the sentence is to demonstrate the point...). Anyway, it is important to get through this stage, as it may lead to alienation of people and then you start getting depressed and one thing leads to another; it's a vicious circle see, and might lead to bad things.
• Requests: You start asking your friends to read your blog, but then, most of them are either busy or too self-centered and narcissistic to be able to do this and you even give up on them.
• Acceptance: This is when you lose all hope and decide that you are just another good for nothing blogger who cannot do a damn to the world around you. But then, if you are strong at heart, you keep on blogging in some silly hope that someday, someone will go through your blog and praise your effort.
• Doubt: There comes a stage when you wish you had a dollar for every post that never left the scribble pad, you'd be a 100-aire (forming new words shows creativity on your blog :P). And then you realize: what is important is not the number of posts but the the quality of those that matters.
• Guilt: You get addicted to your blog. This is the stage this blog is currently in. You start seeing this as a big waste of time and is interfering with your other works. I am not able to be so articulate when it comes to writing about this thing itself.

Well, I cannot surmise as to the next steps but will try to keep you updated about the changes. :) Anyway, all the best to anyone who's planning on starting a blog!!

Good Night!! :D

The more important F-word

Great! Just friggin' great!! Somehow, my Google related sites are loading so slow that, I have gotten very fed up with it. Please, the-guys-at-Google, do something about this. I can't stand it at all. And in case you are trying to see if I can live without the Labs in Gmail, forget it, I really can't :P. So, anyway, I'm kind of going through a "phase" in my life; isn't that what people say when they can't explain their behavior in recent times? If yes, I'm pretty much spot on! That is my problem exactly. Now, about this post: All the contents of this post are figments of my imagination and I haven't (so far, at least) come across any of the phenomenon I explain in the following lines/paragraphs (I really don't know how long this post is gonna be :D). So, anyway, this post is about the one word that can make us bunk classes, go to movies we know we're gonna hate, make us laugh 'til we cry or vice-versa (no big difference, no?), can make your day, can change your life, can give you the push you need, can make you live hell (or heaven, yes, heaven sounds better; what say? :P), can do literally, anything!! Somehow, I don't know why I haven't written this post before. And yes, the word, what say? Any guesses?? (no prizes for guessing, though... :P) Actually, this doesn't work so well on a blog...really, you can't keep the suspense for as long as you'd like...Anyway, the word is FRIEND. On a totally unrelated note, check out "Tu Hi Haqeeqat" on the Tum Mile OST, the lyrics are awesome!!



Back to the "f-word". I'd love to, actually, not love, but like: as friends :P, to express my views about real friendship. Thing is, my perception is slightly twisted as compared to the conventional way in which people usually say what friendship (PJ alert : can anyone tell me why it i called that and nor friend-car or friend-plane) is. Actually, you might as well get used to this kind of wry humor all through this post (just something I wanna give a try :D). What is a friend? You could look it up in a dictionary and yet end up not knowing what one is. Hell, some people even lead their whole lives without any real ones and assume they know what a friend is. Well, let me not get into semantics. Anyway, a friend is someone who... (kind of a clichéd beginning, so I'm discarding it :D). If you think a friend is someone who understands your predicaments and keeps you comfortable at all times, you cannot be farther from the truth. Seriously, if you call people who do that your friends, a better word would be acquaintances, or may be, well-wishers. Point number 1: Friends are not well-wishers. They are so far away from being that that, they appear to be the exact opposite (sometimes they actually are.. :D). I'll tell you clearly what a friend should be like: When you are feeling down, instead of trying to cheer you up, he/she must make you feel worse if you deserve it and try to make you cry out loud (tests have proven that, it is a great way to relieve feelings...whoever does those tests?? I'm just making it up...). Anyway, a friend should be someone with whom you can share anything, and when I say anything, I mean anything, literally. It should not be like: 'hey, that guy doesn't have the security clearance yet, may be in a couple of years...'


Ergo point number 2: No Secrets. It might be that, you have a crush on his girlfriend (my being male is totally limiting this...but you can understand...), or you spreading a funny albeit may-be-hurtful kind of rumor about him/her, or anything like that. It just boils down to not being all touchy and stuff. It really pisses me off when a friend takes these things seriously, c'mon, you listen, you laugh, you forget, right?? Anyway, somehow, I've totally gotten over GRE style writing and keeping the natural flow of writing i.e., writing as it comes to mind - I'm happy for me :D.


Hmm...Then there is this thing about fealties. You know, a friend is not expected to declare his allegiance to another (no, being in a serious relationship doesn't count as friendship and hence, allegiance is necessary there...). In layman's terms (not that you are a layman...) your friendship with one person should not engender hatred or ennui towards another; for heaven's sake, we are humans, not super-powers, third world countries or stuff like that. If you have something with someone, keep it to yourself, why deny the chance of being another person's friend to another friend (kind of a sloppy sentence, but I'm sure you'll understand...). Hence, point no. 3: No rules, period. No conditions about being a fan of a celeb or something like that: no strings attached, literally.


I'll jump straight away to point no. 4: Don't be a sissy. Rephrasing it: trust your friend. If your friend says you can have fun if you bunk a class, you do it, no questions, no doubts. I might be coming across as pretty wound up now, but I'm sure it is OK. Just be with your friend. Next, be yourself. You know what they say : Do in Rome as Romans do (no pun intended), yeah, for once, they were wrong. Do what you want to do, not what your friend wants (man, this is tough, I'm opposing myself, but not intentionally...).


Next point: No apprehensions. Don't fear your friend: that is totally antithetical to being a friend. If you don't like a person, just ignore (as opposed to hate :)) or tell it on their face (I wouldn't recommend this, though... :D). Anyway, if you want to ask anything, play a practical joke, throw a dirty pun or anything, no fear. If you can pull this off totally, I assure you, you have a good friend indeed.


Putting it succinctly, a friend is a person who can complete your sentences before you are even half done, a person who can understand you so much that you ask him/her what you are yourself, a person so important in your life that you cannot stay even for a minute making fun of his/her short-comings and yet, the person loves you all the same, like you that is, as a friend (all this confusion because of movies where love can only mean a relation...). Anyway, I guess that is all I gotta say. If I remember something, I'll surely add it in some post :D (no, i'm not gonna leave you so easy...).


Anyway, my posts only seem to be getting longer, brace yourself :D.

Seminar Blues

You could say we were lucky. After all, the LCD Projector (I wonder why they call it that... :)) which was non-functional for the past few weeks suddenly came back to life for our Project Seminar and surprising, after A was late, our turn got postponed. Although I would have not had one of the people in the hall (a M, from the other section...) Actually, let me start from the beginning...


Project Seminar is this boring thing where you are expected to know what you are gonna do in the coming 6 months and explain it all to all the people of the class with a Seminar In charge breathing down on your necks (totally figurative :P). Anyway, it's no big deal, but it is supposed to be important because it carries some marks and one is expected to be professional (something we usually aren't : passing time in the canteen doesn't exactly count as professionalism you see...) during the seminar. And because of our roll numbers, we ended up doing the seminar at the end of the semester (somehow, there are just about 3 weeks left this semester, time really flies when you are having fun!! :P). Anyway, the main aim of the project seminar is to assess the work done by project groups towards the project.


Now, my group. Let's call them A and B and Me (no names policy of my blog, remember?). A is this lethargic fellow who only wants to stay up late and wake up late (frankly...). B is this fellow who is so frank and outspoken, sometimes he makes me freak out in public places (seriously, you need to be careful around him if you are in a public place, he might pass some snide comment at someone and you might end up getting beat up... :)). Anyway, somehow B is very serious at studies (thank God...) and takes technical studies seriously, like me and unlike A. So, we were all set to take this seminar up since we finalized an in-house project at our college under the guidance of one of our Prof.s. We were psyched (at least me an B were, A as usual was stoic about it...). I'll not bore you with the topic and stuff, if you were present at the seminar, you'd have known.


So, we were done with the presentation (yeah, we copied some parts, but that was legit stuff...) and ready with the details and well prepared to face the questions too. Coming clean, I'm not good at speaking to crowds. It totally freaks me out and yet, I try my best. Anyway, as it turns out, neither was each of my group-mates.


To start off the day, it was raining cats and dogs in the morning and yet, daringly, I set off to the college wearing my rain-coat (my friends call it Hagrid's coat, if did not get the joke, I'd love it :P). But then, the magnitude of the rain was so much so that, I got soaked anyway (from the waist down...believe me it looked ridiculous...). All wet, as opposed to all set which I was planning to be, I was riding as B started calling me continuously. Man! Is he a worrier!! Anyway, I reached college in good time only to find that, we would be having the seminar in the afternoon session, although it worked fine for us as A could not make it to college until around 11. Trying to dry myself and simultaneously explaining some of the seminar stuff to B the time for our turn was up. Somehow, A got stuck up (in conversation outside the seminar hall...) and we almost conceded our turn to the next batch who were almost about to start before we even entered the hall. Anyway, why I wanted to do it first was that, I simply wanted to get it over with and couldn't have the responsibility on me until later. And of course, I was dressed in formals like a dork and couldn't stand it so much.


Rule no. 1: Look professional. Yeah, I looked that and so did, surprisingly, A. B on the other hand, the first one to reach the college incidentally, came in a freakingly shiny shirt one of those you wear only to night clubs and stuff. Every time he came in front of the projector, his shirt was shining like hell :D. Apparently, he mistook professional to be stylish... :P


Rule no. 2: Be well prepared. Honestly, by some cosmic joke, A was the only guy truly prepared. Me and B on the other hand, being true engineers (A wants to be a Manager (MBA)...), had prepared to think on our toes and do our preparation through the seminar :P. And this was one of the biggest mistakes one can make.


Well, these are pretty much the rules and there is one more...Don't alienate the people by asking them questions during their own seminars, it doesn't help, although it did not hurt our seminar much.


Anyway, the seminar started (finally!!). Then started the problem. A started the presentation and was explaining things at an excruciatingly slow pace that everyone was freaked out (see comments on FB for more details... :P). He had the longest part of the presentation and somehow managed to call B by his "Orkut name" which freaked B out. I was to know later that, A faced one of the problems B and I faced during the seminar. Anyway, after double the time A promised to take up for his part, I was called next (feels weird to be called Mr. Munaf Hussain, sounds too dorky... :)).


My phobia set in. There I was, in front of a crowd (around 35 people, no less... :)). Anyway, I started off well. But I have this stupid habit of looking at the people I'm speaking to in the eye (most of the time, no pun intended... :)). And what was more, a couple of people (you know who you are, I'd be surprised if you were reading my blog, no offense...) in the audience (if you can call the group that...) started smiling (although it was more like laughing, mocking, whatever...) at me and I started to feel like laughing too and lost track of what I was saying, and although I ended up doing the presentation well, it could have been better. I managed to forget some of the jokes and funny analogies in my presentation which I was keen to say, that was more because of my crowd-o-phobia, though...


Apparently, B also faced the same problem as I (not the crowd-o-phobia) did. Anyway, it was not so loud though. He should have been a bit louder. Then came the question session. I was totally prepped to answer all the questions. This part was a bit disappointing. I expected a lot more questions, what with my freaking people out with my questions during their own seminars, I guess it is Gandhi-giri season :P. Anyway, our seminar in charge took up the mantle and asked a couple of questions and we were excused. I, as usual, spent the rest of the time LP-ing (ask someone from MJ what that means.. :P) in the last row :).


Anyway, facing the crowd still freaks me out, somehow :P. It was lucky though, many things could've gone wrong but didn't - in your face, Murphy!! For more on Murphy's Law, click on it. This was my experience today, do share yours in the comment (Anonymous comments are OK too.. :P)


P.S.: If A and/or B are reading this, don't mind my frankness :D.

Internet ke side-effects!

Well, I've got to say this: Verdana Small Bold (the font I've been using for my last few post) is so awesome and cute, although I've kinda grown fed up of it. Anyway, being to college after some intermittent holiday has been fun, seriously. You see, too many holidays can so get to your nerves (too much of a good thing, I guess.. :P). Anyway, it was a nice repose to get to the college and-what do you call "dum karna" in English??-do that to my classmates and a couple of lecturers. Anyway, feels good to be listening to "Viva La Gloria (Little Girl)" as I fire away my thoughts through my fingers on the black keyboard (man! wasn't there too much information in that sentence?). So, what is this all about? Hmm...by now, if you have been reading this blog for sometime now (yeah, right, I assume people all around me are job-less) know that I have this incorrigible habit of thinking about things that usually don't concern me (although they interest me immensely... ;)) and rubbing your noses into my thoughts. So, what got me thinking was -  is the Internet really a boon?? Well, feels some hypocrisy here? I do too, I hate hypocrites but then, one needs to face the truth and of course, everything has its pros and cons. So, anyway, for my eulogy on the Internet, click here.


So, here comes the dirge. Yes, it is more of a mourning than it is a tirade because the things make me more sad than angry. Well, I have no idea where to start this. Well, right from the start of my experience with the Internet, there was one looming demon that hasn't seen any end, even today (as far as I know, that is). That is the abuse of the Internet as a communication medium. I've regularly heard stories about people (mark this notation: people) who cause emotional, monetary and/or security troubles to others. This includes but is not limited to people who send spoof mails about bombs (I don't even know if it is allowed to say the word in a blog :P) or other epidemics or any other personal issues (it is very comforting though, that spam filters of your mail servers keep them away from you) and of course, good riddance. Anyway, somehow, fake profiles on Orkut or some silly e-mails aren't what entice me into this post. It is a bit more personal and close to the heart. It is about the way the Internet has affected some of our lives. This gives me the scary visions of "The Matrix" where machines (computers in this case) control the lives of humans. I'll do that in a new paragraph though :P.


So, everyone goes gung-ho about all the benefits of Orkut, Facebook, Communities  (online of course...). I do too, hell, I still do, but it needs to be kept in mind that, there are limitations to any advancement. Well, first, let me make this very clear, I derive this post from experiences and personalities of various friends of mine and you may comment on the effects on me in the comments section if I haven't dealt with them. If the people whom I refer to (not by name, of course, that shall never happen on this blog, Insha Allah) are reading this post, please don't mind...actually, mind. Then try to change the things about you, but no hard feelings. What are friends for? :P


So, the 2nd paragraph from where I said i'd be starting :P. Anyway, first, the waste of time, the biggest side effect of Internet. Although one might argue that, Internet is meant to time spend on, I beg to differ. Yes, it isn't waste of time if you are trying to study. Yes, it isn't waste of time if you are discussing something important with your friends. Yes, it isn't waste of time if you are talking to family and the most cheesiest of all: it isn't waste of time if you are blogging :P. But, coming to the other side of it. Everything else other than the things I mentioned above is virtually waste of time, unless you consider something that's good for you (like Adam Smith says, and I paraphrase, what's good for you is good for the group you are in...). Try to change the world, yes, but don't do it at the cost of your feeling good. So, that was about wasting time. (in retrospect, this seems a bit rich coming from someone who is online 24x7 on Facebook, nevertheless true...)


Then, online communities and chat. I'm all for them, but the same rules as above apply. Well, I know some people who literally live in those communities. If something new happens in a sporting event they like, there is like this big fuss about getting online and discussing that with the "comm buddies". And, stop living ion communities. C'mon guys, we can be deeper than that, try to do something constructive than filling up community spaces, what say?? And then don't get me started on this chat culture (sounds a bit oldie, but still...). Hell, I've people say "lol" instead of actually laughing out loud at jokes. When they read something funny on the chat, they no longer smile, the reflex is the same morose expression followed by the reflex action of the fingers reaching for colon (:) and close parentheses ()). That's something that freaks me out, if it's funny, laugh, damn it! Then there is "OMG" for surprise and some other obscene stuff for other things, and all with the same morose expression while typing (although the recipient doesn't see that...)


Anyway, I've spent like, a loot of time on this post, gotta eat too, right? Anyway, try and think of ways the Internet is spoiling your life, and do tell me!!


Bye!!

Yeah, right and...

Hey, it's me again, plain, you see again (Courtesy: "Voices" by Cheap Trick). Anyway, I liked this part of the song ever since I first saw (heard, rather) it on HIMYM. So, getting to the point. It was a great experience for me recently, from about a couple of days, to know the power of one emotion that I never tried before. Sarcasm. Well, I've always viewed sarcasm as insecurity on the part of a person. But now, after experiencing it myself, I certainly would differ mostly because, I happen to now for a fact that, I, of all people I know, am not insecure (Damn, I can't seem to help being so conceited...).

Well, change of seasons has certainly brought out something very different in me. I'd like to explore the reasons for this change in my persona. Well, my - erm, adjectives fail me, imagine an appropriate adjective here :P - psyche has seen so many things recently that have made me see things from an altogether different perspective, most of them are TV Series. Anyway, I'd like to share my view about sarcasm itself. Well, it seems to me after this little amount of experience that, it is irony and almost nothing else that engenders sarcasm. And man, have I had my part of irony in the past few days...Well, how it works is: let us say A is something I wanna do or want to happen, and B is the exact opposite of that. Then, there is C which is a condition that is essential for the occurrence of A and D is the opposite of C. Well, now, what usually happens with me is, C prevails for up until the last possible moment for it to take a total 180 and turn into a friggin' D. Then, all my plans for A get dampened and I end up doing either nothing or B, as a hail-mary pass. Well, there is a reason why I'm putting it in such an abstract way. It happens virtually all the time and I'm very pissed off at it. I'd implore (I don't know a word that conveys the same meaning in a weaker sense...) you to look at your own life and see if things fit into this pattern.

Now, for the reasons for me to embrace this persona of incorrigible sarcasm : Most of the comedians (like Chandler of FRIENDS, Barney of HIMYM, Charles of Two and a half Men, Russell Peters) use this as a tool to make people laugh and I thought, what the hell, let me give it a try too. Then there was Dr. House, MD of the TV Series of the same name to entice me headlong into this endeavor. Anyway, it is fun because I'm now killing!! My jokes aren't anymore things only i think are funny. So, go ahead and try out this tried and tested method to kill (figurative, totally...) people with your jokes just by being quick on the wits...

P.S.: And as for the title, that's a great way to start a sarcastic joke, and yeah, to start a blog post too... :P

BTW, beware of me, these days, I just crack me up too... :)

Things I'd have hated to miss - Part IV a.k.a. Google Inc.

Hmmm...Feels good to be back on my fingers, trying to make another of my posts pass...Well, I'll start by telling you why I started this series of posts: It all started with my Writer's Block...I was unable to write anything for like a couple of months after my last semester examinations (come to think of it, I didn't even write much in the examinations ;)). The major reason was, no topics (somehow, even in the exams...). So, after a month or so of my college reopening, I decided to do something about this - this was my "thing", you see. I figured, the best way to do this is to write about things I am very very conversant with, and viola what better than things I like, things I am thankful for...Anyway, some of these things are trivial, some are personal, some need to be told and some are simply weird :). One more thing: I just love the feeling when people tell me voluntarily about my blog (whether positive or negative things, I don't mind, really...). It gives the pleasure of getting through to people and helping them in understanding me better :). Thank You (I ain't being subservient, but you guys deserve it... :)). So, anyways, what is this post about? Don't worry; I don't expect you guys to know the topic... :P Read On!


Google Inc. Well, find me a person (I'm confining myself to Youngistaan... :)) who isn't familiar with this name and I'll show you an oldie :), no offense to any of the older guys reading my blog (of whom I'm sure, there are very very few to none... :)). So, why am I thankful to Google? Tell me who isn't? (a bit presumptuous on my part, but reasonably true...) So, I'd hate to imagine what the internet would be like if Larry hadn't met Sergey (Larry Page and Sergey Brin are the founders of Google...). I'll tell you how it'd be...We'd have been cluttered with Search Engines that did everything but search, because of all the ads that crept into search results and most of the services that Google Inc. offers for no charge would burn a big hole into our pockets, like Blogger, GMail, Picasa Web Albums, Chrome, Chrome OS, GTalk, Analytics, Adsense. This is just the list of Google services that I use, and I shudder to think of other services which I have no idea how to use. So, anyway, I'd rather narrate why Google is important for my personal development...


Well, first things first, Google was my first tryst with the Web (this was something like 8-10 years back, like I say in my current FB status, "I am still trying to figure out the exact moment my life got so messed up", ;)). So, anyway, Google was just the Search Engine back then, may be even AdSense and AdWords, but I had no way to know about them back then and I used Google for assignments and time-pass :). So, then came along GMail. Well, there are so many awesome things about this and I wonder why people stick to the clichéd Yahoo mail. Anyway, if you are still using your Yahoo mail account, I request you to try GMail (not superficially, try the Labs features...) and tell me how good it is. Anyways, Gmail ROCKS!! Had Google not purchased Orkut (the site), I doubt we'd ever have heard of it and have platform to meet up friends and stay connected. Same goes for Blogger. Before Google took over Blogger, all the services that are free now were charged (not too much though). Google Groups: I needn't say much, as most of us are familiar with this. I'm sure you've noticed that, these are in the order I first used them...Then came along Google Docs and Google Calender, Google AdSense and what not. I love the browser too...It's so simple to use and so beautiful to look at :). Coming soon is the Google Chrome OS for Netbooks which I'll surely use if someone gifts me a good Netbook for my coming birthday :).


Well, I hate doing this, but it is very inspiring, the story of Google (or should I call it the rise and rise of Google?). I suggest you read the book "The Google Story". It's totally awe-inspiring and simply superb (I've run out of superlatives to describe this Corporation..).


Anyway, any doubts?? Simply Google it!! (I might sound like one of my last semester's lecturers, but he got at least this part right!! ;))


www.google.com (for those who haven't been there yet...)

Things I'd have hated to miss - Part III

Back again! So, time to tell you about two of (and probably the only ones apart from...nothing else actually, everything that influences me can be traced back to either of these...) the most influential things in my life. Well, these are the things that made me, literally. Let me dive right into it!


BOOKS: Well, I was introduced to books by a friend (he was more like this snob at that time, not now though, we are on great terms...). In retrospect, it seems crystal clear to me that, it was pretty much an issue of peer pressure (just a decent term for envy!). He was all high-nosed (if you're reading this, USB, try and ignore it, that's what I felt about you back then :P) about all the books he'd read (although I didn't believe him half the time, 'til that time, in VIII class, he probably had just read Harry Potter...). Anyway, there it all began...I started reading too...Harry Potter first, of course. And let me tell you, it is totally awesome - reading. It gives something to do for your mind to do, and no, I don't read mechanically, I try to get to all connotations of the book. Anyway, there isn't much to tell about books as such, I'd like to name some of my most favorite books of all time and suggest you to read them once, at least.

1. The Catcher in the Rye: Well, if you don't like to be yourself, don't ever lay hands on this book. I love it because of its awesome informal tone and because I can totally relate to the character Holden Caulfield. You know what, I don't want to spoil it for any of you, just go ahead and read it! Munaf's rating: ****3/4 (out of 5).
2. Michael Crichton's books: Well, I began with The Jurassic Park and became a die-hard fan of this guy. For more info about Late Mr. Crichton, check out this.
3. Swami and Friends: Being Indian never felt better. This R K Narayan classic has all the things you'd look for in any book. Set in the imaginary town of Malgudi, it describes the life and times of Swami, the hero of his own imagination. It's a great book for starters. If you never felt the urge to read books, I'd suggest you start with this. Excellent vocabulary used and beautiful sentences. Munaf's Rating: *****.
4. Books by Robin Cook and John Grisham: Well, this awesome duo is probably a whole new definition to professional writers. Dr. Cook is a medical doctor and Mr. Grisham is a Lawyer and they write these books in their own fields of expertise. Well, anyway, I love reading their books especially because of the excruciating detail of their technical topics.
5. Harry Potter series: I can't believe I forgot to mention this before now, but I'm a BIG fan of Ms. Rowling. Anyway, the imagination that goes into this book is just post-human. Well, anyway, my favorite books in this series in the order from most to least are 6,7,4,2,1,3,5. Munaf's rating: **** out of 5.
6. The Lord of the Rings series: You must've seen the movie series, but believe me, the books are a looot more awesome than the movies series. The excellent descriptions by Mr. Tolkein and the (adjectives fail me...) characters are just out of this world!! Munaf's rating: *****. P.S.: Don't read this unless you have loads of time to waste, I read this in my Intermediate and wasted a lot of time, affected my acads a lot...
7. The Motor-cycle Diaries: This awesome book by Che Guevara describes his journey through Latin America though disease and poverty and to his journey to greatness as a revolutionary. Munaf's Rating: ****1/2.
8. And of course, there are several books I have read which are very interesting more because they weren't suggested to me by anyone. Contact me personally for this very long list, or leave a comment, I'll get back to you :).

MUSIC: Well, music here refers mainly to English music. I've been listening to regular Telugu and Hindi music for a long time, but the intro I got to English music was simply awesome (I am using this word more than necessary, don't you think? :P). Anyway, Rock, my favorite genre of music, is such a remarkable way to vent your feelings about anything, really. Anyway, you can't explain in words what music does to you (I mean, neither can I... :P), so, I would like to list my favorite artists and why I like them...

• Linkin Park: Well, definitely top of my list! Right from Super Xero to Minutes to Midnight, there's this innate beauty and pain in the lyrics that gives me the goosebumps every time I listen to these songs. It is simply awesome how they fuse mainstream Rock and Rapcore into one package! Chester and Mike, two of the best vocalists of Modern bands, keep you in the high mood all the time you listen to these songs. I don't wanna degrade any songs by mentioning some as the best ones...Rating: ****1/2.
• Air Supply: Well, kinda old, but this Australian duo blows my mind with beautiful, meaningful lyrics (something I forgot to mention about Linkin Park...). Be it "All out of Love" or "Lost in Love", it is simply exhilarating to be listening to these guys and taking in the lyrics...Rating: ****
•  Michael Learns to Rock: a.k.a. MLTR, is one of the best soft-rock band I've ever heard. The lyrics are simply incredible and give me the goosebumps (I'm using this a little too much too, ain't I? :P). Anyway, best picks, "25 Minutes", "Lonely Satellite", "Walk With Me", "Love Will Never Lie" and lots more...
• Nickelback: Stumbled on this band while I was looking for songs on LimeWire...First song I heard by them, "If Everyone Cared" was simply swell. The texture of the lead vocalist's voice is so awesome that it keeps you awake to listen to these songs. Best Picks: "If Everyone Cared", "Photograph", "How You Remind Me" and more...
• OneRepublic: Just one word: Lyrics!! Best Picks: "Apologize", "Mercy", "Someone to save you" and almost every song has lyrics to die for...

Well, I'm getting past myself...I don't mean to bore you and so, I'll just list the artists..."Savage Garden", "Nirvana", "The Beatles", "Switchfoot","Sting", "Led Zeppelin", "Westlife", "Simple Plan", "Red Hot Chili Peppers", "Hoobastank", "Pink Floyd", "Queen", "Hinder", "Enrique Iglesias", "Breaking Benjamin", "Bryan Adams", "Bon Jovi", "Avril Lavigne", "3 Doors Down" and "Green Day". Now, you might have understood why I was not going to mention about each of them... :)

Anyways, it feels real good to be expressing myself so much!!

ROCK ON!!

P.S.: For my new phone number, click here (FB link : it will be my status for a couple of days, at least...) (there's no way in hell I'm gonna post my phone number open for spammers... :P).


P.P.S.: I forgot to add one of my most favorite authors in the Books column : Dan Brown. Writes AWESOME-ly!!

Way to go!!

Well, somehow, I have grown up. Assignments don't seem important, nor do may other things like exams and stuff. I don't even know why I feel that to be "growing up". Anyway, I was thinking about something today (well, a tiresome part of "growing up", no other job to do, right!). So, I got to the point where you go on thinking about why people behave the way they do. For me, it seems un-construable how people lead all their lives hating others. It is important to love. Not in the crass sense though, I mean the love you show to mankind. Well, here, I'd like to explain how my mind works. For me, whenever I meet or rather, get to know someone (however shortly) they start in this gray area (like the one between black and white...). Virtually none move onto the "black side". Somehow, I find myself inarticulate to explain this, but, I'll try my best...They say hate is the opposite of love, I beg to differ: Indifference is the opposite of love, although that isn't the gray area I was talking about. So, as I was saying, I don't hate people per se, but sometimes, I hate being around some people. It might seem pretty much the same thing and I'd love to explain this... I don't hate people for what they are, no, neither for what they do, neither for what their effect might be on me, no sir. Being around people, sometimes that makes me uncomfortable and/or some sort of ennui I cannot explain in words. It simply makes me not feel good. This is a totally different list of people on my mind (the others being those who I like and like being around, and those in the gray area, and the black area which is virtually empty). And the interesting pat: I do not hate the people as separate persons, just keep me away from them and I might even enjoy knowing them as humans. So, moving forward, as I come to know more about people, my mind decides (I hardly have a say in it, kind of an alter ego issue...) into what list to put the person into. So, roughly speaking, if I know a hundred people (hypothetically of course, I know over 200 from my college alone (just trying to prove I'm not anti-social :P)) around 55 would be in the gray area ie., they are just acquaintances, around 25 in the white area and around 20 in the don't-be-around list.

So, why am I telling you this? Let me get to it, I have seen people hating others for all their lifetimes, seen people abuse and degrade others because of really small reasons (don't even get me started on this, at any point of time...). I mostly hate to stay around from such people mostly because, you cannot talk reason into them, no one can. As Gandhi rightly says, "Be the change you want to see in the world", I'd like to start off by staring to know better of these people who cannot listen to reason. It is important to love, to like and to promote the universal message of peace. It is a need. A smile, a salaam, a wave, a hug, a hand-shake,whatever, why have we become so "sophisticated" to forget such basic human traits, to forget how much your attention can mean to some people?? Why do we hesitate to move forward when we meet someone new? Why do we judge people by being so narrow-minded? Why don't we try to be in the person's shoes before saying something bad or affecting about them? WHY????? Why have been brought up to doubt everyone? Why have we no trust in another person? No, I'm not asking you to trust everyone blindly, every person deserves some amount of trust and it is your duty to give it to them (sorry for being so hard, but I am pretty much toeing the line of my irritation because of seeing people around me hating most of the people around them...).

The answer to all the above questions can only come from inside our hearts and I still emphasize that, it is important to love your fellows. I hope this post, more than any other reaches your heart and you act on it. Spread the love, because life is too short to be spending hating others. You're not gonna get out of it alive anyway, you might as well make others smile in the short time you have. I know this is probably not one of my best posts but, I tell you, it is straight from my heart, this was a long time coming. I just urge you to try to love everyone you meet, even if that's not how my mind works, I'm trying hard too...

Love y'all!!

Nightie Night!! :D

Three years, a CAT and one heck of an internal!!

Well, end of internals and here I am, back again, wasting my time without guilt!! Well, it has been a wonderful experience though, because of many event that took place during the internals. Well, it has been more like a discovering myself even more...Well, thing is, this internal marked my first bunk-of-an-internal. Well, it took 3 years, and the commencement of application forms for one of the most popular exam in the country. Well, it also made me realize what I really wanna do (not do, more like) and then about how good I was in some of the exams I didn't bunk...

So, the story...It all started with the sad demise of the CM of AP, Dr. YSR (please pay homage by staying silent for about a minute...). Well, it was also sad for another reason: our internals got postponed. We had all this plan lined up to bunk the first 2 classes today and get to the bank and get the application process over with. Well, anyway, our plans were dampened by the announcement of the postponement. Anyway, I wonder why we have become so...I can't find words...that we absolutely have  to write tests and have  to study for them. Well, I had to lose the test today. I just wanna change myself to be more...I still cant find the word, but it is the opposite of the previous one :P, and bunk more internals ahead! Well, anyway it is surprising and revolting (not so much, but a little..) that I haven't done this before (even this time, somehow, it was with the permission from the faculty member who gave the test, though he didn't promise much compensation...), it is fun, I tell you!! So, finally, it took me 4 years and a CAT to bunk one internal in all the time of my engineering life...

And the second part, I had this exam in the afternoon, it's called IAFM (Industrial Administration and Financial Management). Well, it is, to be frank, BORING!! So, I was all prepared to prepare for the test, although tired from the ordeal of standing in a queue for 2 hours on top of fasting (really draws the line). Anyway, i realized, this is not for me! Come on, do I really look like a guy who cares about how an industry is to be organized or whether I'd buy 10000 bags of wheat for my biscuit factory in installments. Anyway, I had fun with the paper. An example, I was asked the major definitions in Break-even Analysis and I literally defined break, even and analysis :). So, what I realized was, this kind of subjects are not, no, definitely not for people like me. Ironical really, because it happens on the same day as I apply to the entrance test for some of the best B-schools in the country.

Anyway, hope you all did well in your internals...CHEERS!!

P.S.: If you haven't applied for the CAT yet, please do read the application instructions thoroughly before starting and don't forget to mark SSC, HSC and Bachelor's degree in the educational qualifications column...ROCK ON!!

P.P.S.: Can someone please explain to me why my name is not on the shortage-of-attendance list? Not that I wanna be on it, but I should be on it technically... :P

Thanks to my readers!!

Well, with a couple of exams tomorrow, there seems to be no way I'm gonna leave the monitor-lit spaces of my computer chair :)! It's pretty common though, never been any serious for internals...Anyway, a bit away from my "series" of posts, I'd like to take a little time to thank all the readers of my blog (I dunno how many there are for sure, yet...). Anyway, yesterday was a great day for the blog!! Somehow, the 4-day stint at home made many people read my blog. I had no less than 7 people complimenting the blog and I tell you, it felt really awesome, because my word were reaching people and I was getting some real feedback...


Well, the important part, THANK YOU ALL!! Thank You for wasting your valuable time on this (I happen to understand that, many of you have more important things to do...). More importantly, thank you for letting me know of your feelings, it's a great boost...Um...I guess that's all, unless you want me to eulogize your magnanimity of compliments :P (just kidding, I loved being complimented).


Well, anyway, for all those who have an exam tomorrow, ALL THE BEST!!


P.S.: Yesterday was my first earning on AdSense.. Thanks for that too :)


P.P.S.: I appreciate all your feedback, but please try to give your feedback on the blog, on the blog...It makes me feel good :).