Guest Post: 10 Myths About Introverts

Well, this is a Guest post by a friend of one of my good friends...I did credit it to him at the end...

Enjoy...I don't want to spoil the fun by blabbering about this...

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.

This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.

Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.

Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.

On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.

Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.

Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.

Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.

Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.

Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.

A world without Introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. That being said, there are still plenty of techniques an Extrovert can learn in order to interact with Introverts. (Yes, I reversed these two terms on purpose to show you how biased our society is.) Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

With permission from the author - Sai Sandeep Nandyala on Facebook. Link to the original - here.

Western Waves

Feedback. This is what I have been studying for a couple of days now and seriously, I have Sedra/Smith to thank for all I know about it and my Professor too, of course. Anyway, let me dig into the topic of the post. We have all been there. Do you remember the first ever English song you listened to? (not heard, mind you! :P) There is always this "cool" older cousin/neighbor who you notice listening to some hard-rock (or may be Jackson) and you think, Wish I could do that too. But, I dunno where to find any :( (Remember, this was back when there was no internet, none accessible anyway, back in the mid 90's). Then you grow up and start concentrating on your studies and more important things (read whatever you were into, back then :P).

Then finally, you enter your College days (may be Intermediate) and your home gets its first computer. Then a friend comes over (who has had a computer for some more time then) (and I was this friend for many of my friends :P as I had a Computer at home since I was 9 (yeah, bow to me, low-lifes !!:P)). Lots of generalization here, I'll just let this go and tell you my story of my tryst with Western Discography.

The first song. You always start with something simple. It probably was "My heart will go on" (Titanic fame, if you can't place it.). Back then, I did not even see why Titanic was such a big deal :). Anyway, then I moved to Hyderabad, and of course, I was the studious type as many of my friends will be more than happy to testify :P. After a year there, we upgraded our computer and the guy who set it up (I was not allowed to do that back then, but then, I'd probably would have screwed it up big time) gave me CD full of Western music :). I used to listen to them all the time and to be honest, I couldn't understand even a quarter of the lyrics. I even remember phonetically Karaoke-ing the songs :P :P (stop laughing, I know you've been there too :P). Enrique was the first artist I ever started liking by any measure, and then came Backstreet Boys. After being conditioned to the dhin-chak desi music, it takes time to appreciate a whole different genre, you see :). For all practical intents and purposes, my first song would be Rhythm Divine. That was indeed all I needed.

Then you enter your Bachelors' and then your friends introduce you to all sorts of genres. Right from Marilyn Manson (Ugh!) to sometimes even Niel Diamond (Ugh! more). Then you actually start listening to western music and appreciating it. The revelation came to me as Linkin Park (yes, Numb) and then comes Pink Floyd (read as WOW!) continues to this day with Beethoven, Yanni, Satriani, Mozart and Vivaldi. I don't like to brag (you know me! :P :P), but my collection of music is considered one of the best :).

Tell me about your journey through the Western music flow!

Ciao!

P.S.: For those waiting for the Part - II of the last post, you might've to wait until my finals. :)

All the best, anyway :) :).

7 Fictional Characters that changed my life! :)

The title says it all. This apens to everyone. Sometimes, fictional characters are more influencing to your life than actual people. It is especially true when you can connect to the situations the character has been in. Well, this is list is about some of the major of my influences. The list goes as below: (this is exactly how I write my exams :))


1. Barney Stinson: For the obvious reasons. He is simply legen-wait for it-dary! Be it the coolness with which he handles problems, the impeccable suiting-up or the mysterious story-line about his job, Barney simply rocks! If you've never come across Barney, go for any episode of How I Met Your Mother. The kind of gentle comedy (yeah! ;)) and mystery behind his work makes him a sort of idol for me :). And of course not to mention The Bro Code - awesome book. I was rolling on the floor laughing when I first read the book. Rock on, Barney!


2. Eric Cartman: Eric Cartman, the douche-bag from South Park, yes! I know, Eric represents everything that is wrong with the world, for academic purposes, this is probably the most influential of all my influences. I have learnt a lot about the world and people especially from this show and especially Cartman. The "Screw you guys, I'm going home."s and "But, Moooom"s definitely make him the best characters in the show. In spite of being a racist and a pretentious douche, he has touched my life and affected my thinking patterns a lot. Hats-off to Trey Parker and Matt Stone for thinking him up! \m/


3. Holden Caulfield: The protagonist of the popular "The Catcher in the Rye", probably my most favorite book. Well, the informal tone of the narration and the beauty with which he talks about the things around him makes him the frankest character in any book, movie or series I have ever seen. The best part - "All I want to be is a catcher in the rye and not just another phony like everyone else" like Holden says to his sister Phoebe. Awesome!


4. Tyler Durden: Brad Pitt at his perfection, but Pitt isn't why Durden is an important influence to me. The stoicism and philosophy Tyler represents what I would like to be. "This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time." is what sticks. I would highly recommend you watch Fight Club for a better understanding. :)


5. Ross Geller: The geek from Friends. No descriptions, but he has affected me quite a bit. And of course, Science Boy! \m/


6. Bruce Wayne: Typical super-hero inspiration, you might say. But then, there is something very different from any other super-hero. Ever realized that Wayne had no super-powers like the other super-heroes?? All Wayne does is making use of science and technology to get his powers. Wayne teaches me that hard-work and innovation can get you accolades which are usually assumed.


7. Severus Snape: Forget the superb revelations of the real role of Snape in the Deathly Hallows, he was my all time favorite right from the first book. His stoic attitude and the best part, keeping secrets is what touches me :).


List out yours too! :)


P.S.: Feels good to have nothing blabbered at the beginning and the end, right? :)

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.

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

Things I'd have hated to miss - Part II

Let me start with how this (series of)post(s) came about...To be honest, this is just a thank-you gesture (a very long one at that...) to all the things in my life that define me and made me the way I am now. Well, somehow, I hope I've overcome my writer's block and hope to write like 5 post per week (even with my internals and project around...) and keep my writing skills alive...Well, so, here we go, coming in chronological order...next comes middle school and high school...all the events in the previous post occurred when I was under-10.(Man, this is turning out to be an autobiography.. :P) Well, third time I'm trying to complete his post...Fine, I'll do it!!!


Middle School: It was a great experience for me, my 6th and 7th classes. I lived in a small village named Podili (I was like, not gonna take any names in this series, but I figured , this is a place, it certainly won't mind :P). So, it was my first tryst with a small village. Take my word for it, it gets pretty crazy there, everyone literally knows everyone else (usually on first name basis...) and anything you do within a radius of around 10km from the borders gets broadcast so fast, you wouldn't believe it. There was this incident...At the end of some Unit Test or something, a friend of mine (no names here, you know who you are...) and I decided to be the daredevils and to go biking (regular usage of the term, on bicycles...) over some hill some 3 km from my school...In high spirits, we were shouting and drawing a lot of attention (can't say it wasn't wholly my fault :P) and bailed on the way and got back home (we did make it to about 2km). As it happens, the hill is supposed to be infested with bears and likes of other wild animals (a whole load of crap, if you ask me...) and one of the person whose attention we happened to catch was an acquaintance of our neighbor (by this, I mean, they were relatives at some level, another thing that got to my nerves...) and he came and sang to her, who in turn did that to my mom and the chain of screaming continued... Well, that was just one story, I have several better memories from there and I had a chance to meet all kinds of people (you can't believe the diversity there...) and had my greatness (CONCEITED!!) testified many a time...Best person I met - the Math teacher, I keep forgetting his name though although he'll remember me for a long time...And some friends there were pretty awesome, I still remember them.. :D.


High School: After about 7 years in a medium sized town (Kurnool) and 2 years in a village, I gotta say it was pretty overwhelming to come live in a city (no prizes for guessing, Hyderabad...). So, here I was, puny and full of DUF (Doubt, Uncertainty and Fear) and ignorant of the ways of a city (er, I've been to Mumbai and wouldn't dare calling Hyderabad a "big" city...) and lots of expectations and goals... :). Well, the school was pretty much brand name and I had no friends (well, believe me, it's easier that way, I hate to carry around burdens of my past with me wherever i go...). First things first, I studied 3 years in that school and it has been the biggest single inspiration for me, especially the principal... Even now, sometimes I'm thankful I was in that school under that principal although we used to pretty much hate him when at school ;P. Well, worth special mention here...The guy who made me the freak I am now...I said no names, and stand by it...he was this freak who intro-ed me to Harry Potter which I'd later outgrow and be a real bibliophile. then there's this group of friends who are all over India now who work as re con for me (just kidding...) (Clue: Search for community Eternal Buddies on Orkut...Believe me, we are all over the place...). Then, there's this friend of mine, who's so confused and sweet and I don't know the adjective form of this, but the noun is Ingénue, man, is she gonna have a hard time deciding what to do with me for mentioning her! :P.I love everything about my life at that school...About 2 years after getting out of school, I came to know I was pretty popular, had I known this during those times, I'd have had a greater time :D. Although, I should've guessed, I was a topic of speech for one of the teachers who spoke at our farewell (just in passing, I guess, he was praising our whole batch...) and the surprising part, he never taught me personally. So, there we go, I loved my school and the people I have met through it and shall love them forever!!


Well, finally ended another post (part of..)and sneak peek...Books and Music. I assure you, it's gonna be WILD!!


Adieu!!

Things I'd have hated to miss - Part I

P.S. (Erm, I'm starting this whole new thing, where P.S.=Pre-Script :P): This post is spread through like a week, more like a month; somehow, I'm now unable to write anything in a single sitting, hope I can by the time of my exams...

Finding some time to write after a long time... Anyways, I'd like to share things in my life which I'd have hated to miss (now, that's a complicated thing, even if I had missed one of the things, I wouldn't know I miss them, get it? :P). Feels good to get to the point without beating around the bush like I usually do :).

So, the list...this has become quite a habit of mine - making lists. You might possibly find a lot of lists coming up on my blog (yeah, right, I assume that you have no better job than to go through my blog :P). And yes, the list is compiled right from the time I remember...And in a desperate effort to overcome this friggin' writer's block, I'm gonna write about the things I like in installments :P. The first installment has the following two things :).

• Diamond Comics - You read it right, all the stuff with Chacha Chaudhary, Billoo, Pinki, Raman, Agniputra Abhay, Mandrake, Phantom, Tauji and what not, I have followed all of these series and many more for over 7 years as a kid and read them even now for time pass :). Why I adore them so much? It's because they were my first tryst with imaginative stuff. It led me to read other things later although, that comes later. And they were also my first tete-a-tete with real english (not the one in text books...) and although recent editions of these comics are faaaar below past standards, I love them too. (For those who are interested, available in Abids on Sundays :D).
• Math and English: Well, no surprises here, I'm a nerd and I accept it. And anyone who knows me can attest to this success of my almost perfection in Math. And indeed, English is almost my mother-tongue (in my perfection...). But then, this is not all my fault. I still distinctly remember my parents (and pretty much everyone around me) when I was a kid - "Math and English are the only things that are gonna help you out in your life!". And man, did I take it seriously! Sometimes I wish they could've said "Math, English and Quantum Physics are the only..." :P. The reason: I like QP but, let's face it, I struggle to understand some of the concepts. Well, anyway, being as sanguine as I am, I'd rather not complain. You simply can't get enough of a good thing, you know :P. Well, anyway, I'm pretty much thankful to all the people who said that to me, and dedicate my GRE and TOEFL scores to them, not completely though, I worked hard for those :).

Anyway, this was the first installment of this post, the list is pretty long and might be around 10-15 posts...And yes, sorry for being so conceited, simply can't help it when I'm feeling so good :). Anyway, they say modesty comes automatically with success; I have no considerable modesty and apparently haven't succeeded yet!!

Sneak Peek: Middle School, Hyderabad, and High School. (It's kind of chronological you see...)

My first song...

My first try at song-writing...I dunno how this is gonna come off...But I just thought I'd run through you guys to check out and comment...Please do comment.

And yes, the tune...The meter is fine, but I want someone to suggest a tune...

It's a rock kinda song, more bass and a bit of drums with a touch of percussions and rhythm guitar...just imagine them as you read the song... :D

The song is called Cold

now is the time

to cross the line

to find the place that u wanna be

so be prepared

to be paraded

by the bad things that keep u away

(chorus)

let's keep an eye on the things we cry (for)

and try to get what we've been denied

x2

this was the time

to take what's mine

to keep them all from stripping me

'tis but a crime

another rain

to leave this heart wailing for glee

chorusx2

that was the one that keeps me going

the one that makes me going on...

and then the dice that never rolled

calls me to you and keeps me cold....

this is my first song, so there might be little problems with the metre and rhyme, but please tell me how it was...!!

P.S.: Keep the abuse in the comments to a low, or atleast try to... :P :P

Why we like MTV...

DISCLAIMER: This post is totally a personal experience and I'm NOT being paid by MTV to do this...It just has been under the surface and this is just boiling out...And of course, y'all are entitled to your own views.. 

MTV - Music Television India is what I think is the voice of youth today. I just launched into the train of thought leading me to bring out the things that make MTV so much coveted among the Indian youth today a.k.a. Youngistaan. I'd like to share these views, why? Simple yaar, I'm bored and have pretty much no job to do... Fine, let's see...

First thing that comes to mind about MTV is...Roadies?? What say? At least that's what comes to my mind...Roadies might just be a show on the channel, but it certainly defines the POV of the channel...be it the abuse by Raghu or the cool attitude of Rannvijay, the cat-fights of the last season or the politics of the one before this...This show is totally irresistible - we cannot stand not watching it, and our parents cannot stand watching it :P :P...(Ain't I right??). Roadies is everywhere the youth is...Orkut (the Battleground gig...) and is probably the most real reality show I've ever seen (this is pretty much the only reality show I've ever watched apart from Splitsvilla and The Fast and the Gorgeous...I'll get to those later...). So, Roadies is one big reason why Youngistaan likes MTV...

The next best thing on MTV after Roadies, I believe is the talk shows of Ayushmaan, Jose (pronounced Hosey) and Bani to name a few...man...are they relevant? They deal with everything we need to know...actually, I feel that Wassup should be renamed Everything Youngistaan needs to know...kinda long, and I'm sure it won't stick. :). Then there is Fantastic Five which is the most hilarious show I've seen in recent times (not that I've been going about looking for such shows...) all the puns and the innuendos are totally mind-blowing and this is what we want, right??

Then there is the Tickr...Wow!! was what I felt when I first saw the Tickr...It's beautifully interesting, I'm sure you all agree...This makes my mornings...all the funny predictions (which sometimes, creepily enough, come true...) and the IFMs (I dunno what IFM stands for, please enlighten me anyone...) which give some excellent takes on celebrities, roadies and what not...I especially like the "Stuck in a lift" part.. :). The Tickr is also one of the defining things of MTV (especially when some boring song is going on screen...)

Now, the chick parts...Splitsvilla and The Fast and the Gorgeous (half of the contestants are not so gorgeous...) who doesn't want to watch chicks fight over guys (in Splitsvilla) and chicks fighting among themselves (in TFTG), it's just about WOW!!! This is indeed the vision of the new youth (us, that is) in India... I'm sure all of us enjoy these...I just love the way Nikhil and Rannvijay conduct these shows...Hats-off guys...And of course...the tasks are great too....(I'm kinda... not finding words to describe these shows.. :P)

Also, there's FFFF every year...Man, I loved Bechaare Zameen Par, Cheque De India, Jadoo Ek Bar equally well...they were adorable movies...Great effort, indeed...

Then, we come to Discover and Download (DnD), Style Check and Gtalk, which I don't watch so often but know from friends who do...I'm sure these are good too...

Actually, the good thing about MTV is that, if you are tuned in to it, you sure will be entertained...at least by the Tickr

Now, let me get to the parts I hate about MTV...I hate it when Cyrus (Sahukar) gets into some weird clothes and acts like we like him during the Kick-ass Mornings...For once...I don't...I'd rather have some songs to Cyrus in those weird takes...any day...

So, that's it...I simply love MTV and it makes my stays at home worth the while...Thank You MTV and may you do this Forever!!!

P.S.: Looks like this is the longest post I've got on my blog... Yippeee!! :P :D

Against All Odds

Just a couple of days into the holidays and I'm already burned out being bored. This has been a long time coming. Someone has to say it. This is about the batch of students who faced virtually every academic change of this generation for the first time. My batch (mostly with the friends of mine at Krishnaveni...). We were the most daring academics in the recent times. Let me explain why...chronologically...

First, we entered our school in the 8th standard. Our school, apparently, was not recognized by that time. We all had to take a public examination in our 8th class, just imagine, apart from the rough times of 7th and 10th, we had to endure an extra year of public exams, even if we never cared about the results, neither did the school.

Then, in our 10th standard, there was a major change in the pattern (had to take 2 papers for each subject.). Believe me, that was a major pain in the neck, having to take twice the number of papers than was required.

As we entered Intermediate, it was more changes we were about to face. I dunno about the IPE exam pattern, but there was a major change in the AIEEE and IIT(JEE) pattern. Man, did those changes change our lives!! But we all came through all these quite alive :P, we enjoyed it, I assure you.

Then there was the change of patterns and syllabi in Engineering courses. Especially, the guys from JNTU can assure you that, it was not so easy. Then, of course there is this recession which has decimated the number of prospective jobs we could've gotten otherwise.

Now, the icing on the cake. A big splash of water on our future plans and especially for those who planned and prepared for the paper and pencil CAT. Now, we have the Online CAT and hell, we are ready to face it!!

This post is not meant to generate any kind of sympathy among people, this is just gloating that we were the best and hence, we were able to succeed - Against All Odds...

I'm sure we'll be able to keep this winning streak going even with anything that we face.

Let's ROCK!!!

The Uncertainty Principle

Now, this is physics. The Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Speaking with respect to Physics, this is possibly the most basic and un-foolable principle. It's simple to understand. The gist of the principle is that, it is not possible to measure any property of a system without changing the condition of the system. Let me define some terms here first, "System" is the body or group of bodies or practically anything which is being observed. "Observer" is the person or thing or machine that calculates any or all properties of the "System". Now, why am I freaking you out about Physics? I recently realized a certain way to put the Uncertainty Principle. The wording is something to this effect:

You cannot observe anything without changing it.

Sounds weird, right? I thought so too, until, of course, I tried to apply this. This is creepily true, believe me! Never thought Physics could touch lives in such simple ways (knew the complex ways, of course..).I'm sure you might have noticed too. Let me give an example. Now, a couple of weeks back, I was gloating about my book reading. This is something I totally do :P. Here, the "System" is my reading books. The "Observer", my friends. Next thing I know, I suddenly lose interest in books. I must have read like about 10 pages since that happened. It beat me at first, then, I realized the severe repercussions of the Uncertainty Principle. What happens is, you try to "measure" the future, by guessing or imagining. By the basic Uncertainty Principle, you change the future by moving into a little, if not totally, different Multiverse. Er, I just got lost, getting back to the topic. Another example, I have this friend of mine who was bragging about his date and indeed, we were envious :P. In just a few days, what we come to know is he's broken up. This is creepy indeed.

So, why am I telling this now? Well, I just want to see if this stands with the Principle itself as the "System" and the readers (must be a million by now, of which about 999,995 are from other Universes...) as the "Observers". Must be fun to watch the Uncertainty principle face itself!!

Finally, to all the readers, try to see if the Uncertainty principle is true for y'all as it is for me!! And yes, try and tell me about the experience!!

P.S. : By this post, I might make your life tough (believe me, it is tough to face it when it is right into your face...) but, it is a simple science experiment and I hope you help me out with this...and for more explicit examples, contact me personally...