Just finished a marathon conversation with one of my best friends. She got married last year November and I was the ‘brides maid’. We are as close as sisters. And now she is late. It has been less then 6 months since her wedding and she is late. I didn’t know what to say. She had just begun to live her life the way she wanted..just begun to explore her career options, her husband (‘love marriage’) herself. And now this! Oh its not confirmed news yet, we’ll have the results by tomorrow...*fingers crossed*. I don’t believe in abortions but ...she is only 24 for god sakes!!

Got mail from a friend…one who has been more like a kid to me always.. he is sleeping with someone but is totally not involved in the romantic sense. No wait. Correction, he is sleeping with TWO women, and he has no romantic feelings for either. My lil kid all grown up. Who is this guy? This is off the wall. I live in India where this sorta thing is not common place, yet. I mean guys get married at 30 being a ‘virgin’. I’m all for exploring oneself..and have nothing against premarital…just that he has just gotten out of a serious relationship and I hope he is not doing any of this because he is not ‘burned’ off commitment…I know him, it would kill him to hurt anyone…especially the women he is ‘involved’ with. I hope no one gets hurt…

Me? …how come this blog is ‘my blog’ and deals so rarely with me? Wellllll.. loads of reasons. This is something I thought most people didn’t notice…infact I know most people don’t even realize it..just that a person I recently got acquainted to made this comment bout my blog..and it threw me off kilter. I know this to be a fact, lets see if in the coming months (years?) I’m able to reveal…be myself here. Atleast here.

This man’s comments to my posts always make me think. Not that other’s comments don’t inspire thought...just that this guy seems to have the knack of hitting home. Zeroing in on something I may not be comfortable facing. Even ready to face.. his comments about lawyers which carried on to his views about profession…so akin to my views bout what one should do to earn one’s livelihood. His cutting through the chaff and seeing though I’d mentioned I wanted some me time, I took off..to be with ‘others’.

Life is weird that way. People can know you your whole life, but they don’t really know much more then ‘about you’..where as someone who is a complete stranger can ‘know’ you with just a few meetings/conversations. I met someone a long time ago who was like that. He knew me without my having to tell him about myself. He would just magically know. He was quite possibly one of the best friends anyone could ever have. We were just that, friends. Never anything more. And as far I knew he never wanted more. Until he just ‘disappeared’ from my life.

I may crack but I'll never shatter
I may crack but it doesn't matter
I may crack but I'll never shatter
I may crack but I'll never shatter
Cuz I still have a secret
In the dark I keep it close
I still have a secret no one knows
I may crack but I'll never shatter

Taken from the song Shatter by Meredith Brooks

Life is weird that way.

(Caution : dry reading ahead. Please stop here if you hate rambling nonsense, which goes absolutely nowhere.)

I do so “get” that song sometimes. So I did just that.

Ran away.

Oh no, not in a “I’m running away from home” sorta run away.

It is just that I’ve not had any ‘me’ time in a long, long, LONG while… so this weekend I just took off.

Saturday morning saw with me feeling real lazy, so I thought I’d catch up on some sleep and quit supporting the horror show look – thanks to under eye blackness. This whole new job whistle trying to figure out which direction I want my career to head has not been easy. That coupled with most of my close friends getting hitched or almost there (with me playing the agony aunt as usual!), while there is noooo hope for me, not even in the distant horizon, has a.. well, not a very nice effect.

Then I spoke to this very like-minded cousin of mine with whom I had loosely made plans for the weekend but as we hadn’t spoken over the week, assumed were off. She left genuinely bad for forgetting to call me and tried persuading me to hop on a bus and come right away. I was being difficult when her pal jumped in a cajoled me into coming. Have got to say, am yet to meet anyone quite that tenacious!

Well the place I was to go to was Pune..which is a good 3 to 4 hours away from Bombay. Hadn’t asked my dad whether I could go in advance so he was giving me the third degree. By the time I finally got outta my place it was past 6.30…reached the place where I could get a bus/cab from at 7!…unfortunately there was no one else who wanted to share a cab (they have a system that they take 4 ‘seats’ and divide the cab fare between the people) so I figured I would have to spend the day doing nothing at home after all…my darling cuz calls at 8 to find out where I am, just when I am about to turn back. I update her about the situation and tell her that I’m going back home..she goes “no way!” tells me to take a ‘full cab’ and she’d pay for it..her treat… I am wondering why either one of us is even contemplating this at 8 in the night! Firstly, it would be a colossal waste of moolah! Secondly, it was going to be 11 at the least by the time I reached! But…well.. I went :)

I met her outside Le Meridian and we went straight to the disc. Had been a while since I went to a disc so I thoroughly enjoyed myself (usually abhor discy typo place – too much smoke for my liking not to mention arbit men ‘bumping’ into you accidentally) She is a fabulous dancer and is an inspiration to all around her. The vodka shots helped too I guess!! I had a fabulous time. We eventually made our way back to the company guesthouse in the wee hours of the morning (she is a C.A and has gone there for an audit)
We sat up late into the night, no, morning bitching about men. Coming up with all sorts of theories about why all men we meet are such absolute wastes. Why it is impossible to have a relationship with any one of them! Then we saw Pretty woman and decided there outta be law. There oughta be a law that a woman shouldn’t look as beautiful as Julia Roberts does in that movie. We wanted to know why we didn’t have Richard Geres climbing up our balconies? Guess meeting men off Hollywood boulevard might help.
Got up really late on Sunday, the day I was supposed to get back to my city. We cooked up a storm for lunch, with different cuisines...panner tikka masala & rasam I now realize are a deadly combination! Felt like an over stuffed python so we made our way back to bed for an afternoon siesta! Reluctantly got up in the evening...when my cousin and her buddy decided to convince me to stay another night!! (that man’s middle name ought to be TENACIOUS!) I knew I had work Monday morning..and dad was going to give me hell for it..then again, its not everyday that I get outta the city...so I stayed. (it meant I would have to get up at 5 am, leave by 6:30 & go straight to work, I stayed!)

And thus began another round of male bashing. For all you guys who wonder what we women talk about during pajama parties, we don’t talk. We just get down to some solid bitching. Oh it doesn’t begin with the intention of bitching. It usually starts out with recounting some incident…some bitter sweet memory.. which triggers of a million unanswered questions. After which yet another stab is made at trying to figure out WHY things didn’t work out, figuring out how a guy’s mind works. Resulting in churning up past anguish. THEN the male bashing begins!

The stories that are most upsetting are not ones where a relationship was attempted and consequently failed. It’s the ones where one doesn’t have a clue what in the blue blazes happened. One second the guy is hinting he wants to spend the rest of his life with you, and the next has taken off, forever, without so much as a goodbye.

Where he says “I dunno whether you good for me or bad for me...but you are the only one for me”

It must have been love, but its over now...

(The weekend is here! YAY!! Am in a rather lazy mood plus have some mailing to catch up on so I am going to leave you with something I wrote to a friend yeaarrrrssss ago, four years actually, which unfortunately still holds true about me)

This a personal mail.. as in its written by me though it was sent to everyone on the list... hope it still qualifies as personal mail?

Happy reading folks!

pramila.

Hi there people!
So, didja just see the movie? (look at the TITLE folks!)...I’ve seen the movie before but star movies showed it a lil while ago... ummm some movie...have seen it before too… and love it each time I see it.... y? ..well ..*sheepish look*...probably 'cause I can identify a teensy weensy bit with it... no no Oh no! I do NOT leave men standin at the alter (as if I cud even drum up even one single solitary guy to want to go up there in the 1st place!) ;o).... i mean maybe I’m just as scared of commitment as 'Maggie' is...though thankfully (n LUCKILY) i don't have to live with the thought of having lost out one my 'one true' love (my best friend’s wedding is a movie that haunts me!!) ... but I guess that is the reason why when I meet a guy, especially n “interesting” guy, I try n din it into his head "we r just _PLATONIC_ friends".....without giving either party a chance to get to know each other better... ummmm, this has been pointed out to me... quite a few times... am workin on it...
whokay, enough about moi! :o)
Don'tchya think the proposal "I guarantee it won't be easy. i guarantee that at one point or another, one of us, or both of us, is going to want to leave. But I also guarantee that if i don't ask u to be mine I'm going to regret it for the rest of my life, because i know in my heart u r the only one for me" is not only the MOST honest proposal.....but also the mostest romantic one..ever?
My parting shot....there are too many things mediocre in life, love shouldn't have to be one of them, wot say you?
p.s: one word of advise before I say good night... "find yourself..... before u set out to find your 'someone' " ... a confused person cannot make him/her self happy .... let alone anyone else.... :o) goodnight ladies n gentlemen, may u find the love of your life.. and have the sense to RECOGNISE it!

(The below is the then reply of a friend – actuality.log – thanks to whose reply I had the above mail!)

wow.. really.. u write beautifully :).
my umm mails r just i dont really know the word.. like some scrap paper in comparison. i do mean well but _NO WAY_ can i ever put something across like that.
and .. what u've said makes perfect sense. and finally .. "may u find the love of ur life.. n have the sense to
RECOGNISE it!".. i hope so too :).
ps . initially, i wuz like.. _HOW_ can a "personal" mail be typed for one person n sent to somebody else.. but that changed after the first few lines.
and .. i will really treasure this.. its beautiful.. sniff sniff.

This blog is going to cover 3 topics (you didn’t really think the words that made up the title were in anyway connected didja!?)
Bombay High court was paid a visit by yours truly yesterday. No no! Don’t worry..wasn’t hauled into court for a misdemeanor. Merely went there ‘in lieu’ of my boss’s friend. The person had purchased some land in an auction and all sorts of complications had resulted…and as the friend didn’t want to fly into town for the first hearing, we went in his stead.
Quite amusing the whole incident was! Many of you may not know this, but many moons ago I wanted to become a lawyer – my not clearing the NILSU exam (a VERY tough exam – over 50,000 take it and only 80 clear. Many take it twice, some even thrice) post my 12th standard put paid to that dream – but some embers of the long ago dreams still burn bright..the court room visit was an eye opener of sorts..
The Indian legal system & courtrooms are much maligned and the judges widely criticized for their delayed verdicts. Nothing of the sort was in evidence at yesterday’s court. A Mr.Despande was holding court, and must say he did it rather well. He told lawyers things like “Ever since I’ve had the misfortune of setting eyes on you, you have done nothing but lie! Everything you say must therefore be taken with a pinch of salt!” the clueless lawyer says “Yes your honour!” god!! I could barely stop myself from laughing out aloud! REALLY loud! Very swift in delivering his verdicts, he was.
…with judges like this chappie…wonder if the legal profession deserves to be looked at once again..
In other news, as is visible – a lot of changes have been made to my blog’s layout. Most of you have been really helpful, but I need to specially thank a few people.Adorably green tops the list for being prompt in sending me a detailed mail about how to set up my links… but being dumb as I am, I needed princess Zia to actually do most of the spade work for me! Thank you!! :) ….and then bring up the rear was the wonderful El loco lucho who decided to go a few steps further and incorporate things like an ‘about me’ etc in the side bar…under his and princess Zia’s tutelage I seem to have gotten myself a pretty ok side bar (phew, that’s beginning to sound decidedly like an ‘award’ winner’s speech, so I better put a cork in it! As one of my much liked critics told me today
! says: the workplace rantings were ok (your boss may not see it)
! says: but the 'thought pieces' are dead boring
! says: you write too much
! says: cut it down, make it trimmer and neater
! says: you aren't James Joyce, stream-of-consciousness doesn't work
about my last blog!)
And finally – victory!!!! The men in blue, went, saw, defeated! No, bested!! No wait, I’ve got it vanquished!! We vanquished the lil green men – no not mars silly, paki cricket team!! YAY!
(The above is to be in no way construed as my harbouring any dislike for Pakistan, as a people – just love kicking their ass at cricket!!)

Will leave you with….
(Incident described in "From the Pavilion End" by Harold "Dickie" Bird)
"Bomber" Wells, a spin bowler and great character, played for Glocuestershire and Nottinghamshire. He used to bat at No.11 since one couldn't bat any lower. Of him, they used to paraphrase Compton's famous words describing an equally inept runner; "When he shouts 'YES' for a run, it is merely the basis for further negotiations!"
Incidentally, Compton was no better. John Warr said, of Compton "He was the only person who would call you for a run and wish you luck at the same time."
Anyway, when Wells played for Gloucs, he had an equally horrendous runner as the No.10. During a county match, horror of horrors.......both got injured. Both opted for runners when it was their turn to bat. Bomber played a ball on the off, called for a run, forgot he had a runner and ran himself. Ditto at the other end. In the melee, someone decided that a second run was on. Now we had all four running. Due to the confusion and constant shouts of "YES" "NO", eventually, all of them ran to the same end. Note - at this point in time, the entire ground is rolling on the floor laughing their behinds out. One of the fielders - brave lad - stops laughing for a minute, picks the ball and throws down the wicket at the other end.
Umpire Alec Skelding looks very seriously at the four and calmly informs them "One of you buggers is out. I don't know which. You decide and inform the bloody scorers!”

How many of us give ourselves the freedom to _FEEL_?
Our every single feeling is dissected. And micro analyzed. People demand logical explanations for whatever we feel. Forget others, we, need logical explanations for our self's. The minute we feel an emotion, we instantaneously demand to know where it stems from. Why do we feel the way we do. (As if checking the feelings credentials is the first order of business) Is it rational? Are we “okay” about feeling the way we do? Is it accepted to feel the way one does? Would one be comfortable with acknowledging what one feels in front of others? What would others think about us for feeling the way we feel?
See what are doing to ourselves? We scrutinize, analyze to death, our own feelings. We rarely truly ever “feel” anything any more. Only what we accept we label “feelings”.
The world doesn’t give you the freedom to feel, your best friend doesn’t give you the freedom to feel, your parent/sibling don’t give you the freedom to feel. Hell, your lover doesn’t give you the freedom to feel.
And its not because they don’t love you. The probably do. A lot.
Its just their (our!) conditioning. Ever notice how the second someone says, “I’m feeling sad” everyone wants to know “Why?? What happened?”
What does this exhibit? Concern? Fair enough. It definitely shows concern. It also displays our innate need to rationalize. Instead of giving the poor sod who has had a bad day or week (or month or year!) a hug we first want to know what caused the feeling – and I am as guilty of this as the next person.
“Pramila, I am feeling miserable!” “Why!? What happened?” It’s a knee jerk reaction. We don’t even think about it any more.
And this doesn’t just hold true for something sad. The same applies when someone is happy!
Unfortunately, I don’t think this is something that will change anytime soon. Though what we can change is this – allow our self's to feel. Don’t beat yourself up over feeling something. “God, she left me, why am I still missing her.” – is getting the answer (if indeed there is one to begin with) going to help matters any? Seriously, you miss him/her. Shouldn’t that be the focal point? Won’t letting feelings run their natural course speed up the recovery process?
“Gosh, I like being around him so much! Why do I like having him around so much?” okayyy, so you like being around him. How bad can it really be? Shouldn’t you be enjoying your time with him/her instead of investigating your feelings as if they have to make sense or else you won’t accept them? “Me jealous? We are not “together”, so why should I feel jealous? I’m not feeling jealous!!” How many of us are guilty of abandoning our feelings because they didn’t add up according to us? Cooking ourselves into a fine stew because we kept wondering why something felt the way it did?
Trust me on this, if on nothing else. It is okay to feel.
Feel.
Go ahead and feel. Gift yourself the power..no the freedom to feel.
And you know what? It is perfectly acceptable even if it doesn’t make any sense.
It doesn’t have to.

* This bit is being added as a sort of reply to comments :
I am NOT asking anyone to eschew 'dissection' of their/other's feelings. I understand & accept it as part of a human being mental make up. More over, I of all people CANNOT ever ask this, have been accused of "micro analyzing" my feelings at least a gazillion times.
All I am asking of you, of myself, is to not abandon our feelings on the grounds that they do not make 'sense'. Just because we cannot rationalise something doesn't mean its not good enough to exist...

Didn't understand the title? Look up a previous blog, the GRE one :) That ought to have been the title for my last two blogs... didn't remember it then, or I'd have used it.
Wanted to learn how to create "links" on my site, so I went to the template section of my blog, armed with this helpful dude's mail... But try as I might I couldn't find what I wanted to! :| But I DID find something else... Reading through all the nonsensical HMTL mumbo jumbo (well, at least it was for me!) I saw the font style and size mentioned... something I've wanted to change that for a while now, so I did! Tell me what you think of the 'new look' :)
Also, I've tried to add a mood. But I don't think I've managed to get it to work the way I wanted it to. I wanted a mood to show up for each day. Its from this site...really cute methinks! Now if now I could figure out a way to get it to actually work for me!! If one of you gets how to do it, please let me know!

For the ones who have already read/commented (current count = 4) I'm sorry but : this is one site you must visit!!

* Discovered this magical spell check button to check my post for spelling mistakes...but I don't know how reliable the darn thing is considering it thought the first order of business was to tell me Pulchritude is not a word in the English language. Made me wonder whether I've spelt it wrong (do that way tooo often), so I attempted making it Pulchtritude. And it wanted to replace that with Blusteringly!! If one needs to check spellings I suggest, strongly, that one stick to sites like this one.
Ultimate irony? The spell check does not recognise the word - blog.

This particular edition of my blog comes to you purely based on the comments for the previous blog!:)
Firstly, I need to clarify that the girl in question wasn't exactly a "friend". I am not even sure I can call her an acquaintance! Have interacted with her the sum total of two times, the first time being when she came to my place to meet me and the second, when she accompanied me to office.
To address some valid points raised in the previous comments..."Everyone wants 'presentable' people in the office. Not good-looking, not necessarily 'fair' (that IS a bit ridiculous) but well groomed and well-turned out." - - True. I totally agree! Let me explain.. If the candidate looked sloppy, unkept etc, my boss's behaviour would be perfectly understandable. My indignation/irritation rose from the fact that she was none of the above!!! She was well kept (not a hair outta place, something i can't myself claim!), has a personable face and a decent figure (again something I _CAN'T_ claim, unfortunately!), if slightly on the skinny side As far as I am concerned she is presentable looking - she doesn't wear the most fashionable clothes, but having said that one would have to admit she doesn't dress tackily either. What I meant by my comment in the earlier blog about 'not the sharpest dresser' was that her clothes didn't look like they were 'newish', but they were DEFINITELY within the acceptable range! Hell, I wear stuff like that (am doing so now!) and I am the manager here! Plus she spoke with perfect diction...She may not be able to use bombastic language, but grammar et all was flawless - something I cannot unfortunately claim about all 'English educated' people.
When I said she could use her smile little less stingyly I meant she could be more 'animated'. When I go for an interview I always make eye contact, laugh, even make jokes, generally let them know "hey buddy, I'd like this job, but I am not exactly going to starve to death if I don't get it." Part of the reason I can afford to do that, is precisely because I _won't_!! Much as I would like to tell her, and others like her, to go into an interview with all guns blazing, it just may not be a possibility for them at the time. Especially if you have an out of work father and mother to support as well as an good for nothing elder sister _and_ the only means of the current household income is based on selling snacks made at home! I know I am overly naive and stupidly idealistic most times, but I try and not let it affect my judgment in a business setting (but I guess I let my personal feelings on this issue get the best of me.) Its just that I know his (my boss's) business and the sort of candidates required. I know you don't require Ms.A Rai sitting at the front desk. It is not even the hospitality industry where the front desk has to be immaculately dressed. This was back office, mainly involving things like recording orders placed, etc. It just saddens me to see the ridiculous yardsticks employers use today. Yes, I realise the supply is far,far, FAR greater then the demand which is why M.B.A's are willing to lower themselves to saying "Hi,My name is _ _ _ and I work for _ _ _ .Can I take a min of your time?" But surely some consideration should be given to the candidate's suitability and individual circumstances? (I believe that will inspire loyalty, the kind money just can't buy) Especially from someone's like my boss - he has spent many hours telling me about the 'opportunities' he has given others. He has actually taken (or claimed to me!) under his wing people like drunks and ex-thieves and "completely reformed them"! Now for that man to turn his nose up at someone purely based on their skin colour and/or dress is a bit much in my opinion.
The situation in India with so many well educated people being produced and so few jobs to go around is rather sad.
That brings to mind the one industry, constantly requiring more and more educated, English speaking people, especially in the metros, the call center industry. Most industries require experience and freshers get a raw deal. But in this particular industry that is taken to a whole new level all together! A person could have jumped on to the call center bandwagon a few years earlier when the industry as still in its infancy and would now have over a couple of years experience under her/his belt and therefore gets away with astronomical salaries. It doesn't matter that the said experience was garnered as a result of having to drop out of college due to poor grades. It matters not a whit that the said experience was in something totally different/unrelated to the present job. eg: I cannot for the life of me understand HOW someone selling credit cards to a U.S based customer can claim expertise in customer service for U.K based customers, with cell phone problems, especially when the entire training month was spent having coffee and chit-chatting and hence knowledge level = zero! I put my lack of understanding down to my limited intellect because obviously the H.R managers of alllllll these call centers have put a great deal of thought into this policy. What do you think? Should experience be a deciding factor? What percentage would be fair/rational weightage toward experience? Which fields should give experience weightage?
Going back to the girl's problems - I will try and work something out for her elsewhere, but its sure is going to be uncomfortable to tell her she didn't get this job. (am scared to answer my cell phone, she has called thrice since today morning and its only 3 in the afternoon) especially since I was very encouraging on the first day - based on my boss's "Do you like her" behaviour!
Oh btb, this person deserves a big hug methinks! He lives miles and miles away, doesn't know the above mentioned girl, but wants to help. A few more chaps like him and this world will truly be a better place. I'm not asking for world peace or anything radical like that, but a greater acceptance would deffinately go a long way in making this world a better place.
Parting shot : "One has to add value other than just efficient filing." is sadly true, especially so in today's context. So the next time you think of going for an interview wear your sunday best!

Harrumph!

Just finished a meeting with my boss (if you can call him that! More of a silent financier actually.) Well, he is usually a very nice and amenable person...Doesn't ever hassle me..infact possibly the only 'boss' to have ever come and told his employee "hey its past seven in the evening, you shouldn't work so late" - I know wow. (psst, but I think the comment "girls shouldn't be outta the house so late" just after that took away something from the above.. Anyway... all in all, generally someone I really like working for.

Not today.
Why, you ask? Cause he has shown himself lacking in the human spirit.
Before I start ranting, let me tell you what happened...See there is this girl, lets call her ms.x, she recently lost her job as her office shut down. She really needs another job as her family isn't well to do. (won't bore you with details, you get the rough sketch of her situation) Well, she has been going for tons of interviews and hasn't be able to get through any of them. Mum told me about her and asked if I could help. I agreed readily, without even meeting her. (She can speak English well and is computer literate, how hard could it be?)
She came by my place yesterday, I met her & found her to be exactly what I had in mind. Someone who is not unemployable, just stuck in a bad situation.
I knew that my boss was looking for a person for his other office. The job is of an office administrator one this girl was well equipped for. Like I've mentioned before, he is usually one of the best boss anyone could hop for, plus my boss is extremely fond of me. Usually. Well, I spoke with him (last night itself) and he was all very "Do you like her?" and everything, so I thought things were sailing along smoothly, especially when he agreed to meet her today (Saturday) when the other office is closed. (yup, I do have some sway over him, don't I)
Today morning I brought her along with me to office. And he was his usual sweet self, but was speaking with someone else and requested her to wait in my cabin till he was done.
Ten mins later he calls us, I was on the phone - with my accountant, a call I couldn't hang up. So the girl goes for the interview... And 15 mins later comes and tells me things went ok, but now she has to go and give some 3 rounds of interviews in Andheri.
My jaw dropped.
I know he is the be all and end all of that place. I wondered what was going on. A couple of mins later as expected I was summoned... and in a very 'jovial' fashion the message is conveyed that she didn't get the job. Why? Well, I guess I forgot to mention, she isn't the fairest person I've met, nor the sharpest dresser. Wonder how I could have made such a big over sight. Obviously you need to have a peaches and cream complexion to be able to file papers properly. And of course it goes without saying you need to have lil or no pigmentation in your skin tone to be able to actually take payment at a retail counter.
What was I thinking off?! How does it matter if she has done similar work before? What bearing does her education have?!?
Well, I do admit she could be a little more lively, and use her smile little less stingyly. But seriously, when you have been outta a job for over two months, through no fault of yours, do you really have anything to smile about?
God. (Why am i calling upon him/her!! I'm a fence sitter on that one!)
This really makes me wonder... Do I owe my job to the lack of skin pigmentation?
Wear sunscreen sure seems like a smart bit of advise right about now.
Men. MEN. Baahhh.
Ranting feels good.
By the way another blog which is a really cool blog.
And to my family and friends - sending me emails to tell me this is nice??? Thats what the comments link is for! :P
Better go and get some work done for now (Yup, I'll stay outta the sun. Don't wanna lose my job, now do i?!)
p.s : yup, totally high on creating links! Its fun!!! :)

Phew.

Lets make a Phew. Or better still a Phew.

Finally got the silly thingy to work! YAY!!

Totally get why players do the "flying bird" when they score a goal (football/rugby) or take a wicket (cricket).

Silver line of the HTML cloud? Well, not only did i realise i have good friends (of the "He says" fame) but that there are really nice chaps like this person too!
He happened to visit my blog and leave comments while i was floundering around with the HTML problem!

Well, thats one new thing I learnt today. What did you learn?

I know, I know! It _still_ doesn't work!!!

Now he says

He says: my mistake try removing the href
He says: my mistake
He says: just put =www.whateversite.com
He says: baby?? my mistake try removing the href
He says: my mistake
He says: just put =www.whateversite.com
He says: baby??
Me says: :Ho Humm...

now i'm here... and try Sarah

and lets see if i have any luck this time...

meanwhile

He says: what are you doing??
Me says: u'll see
He says: ok
He says: again there is a mistake
He says: what exactly did u put this time baby?

.....he's an chweettt chap to have around eh? hush! he thinks i'm bugged with him currently :)

Whokay.
Big Boo-Boo. Me totally silly goose.
a friend gave me the code to put in as < A href = www.yahoo.com/> _____

and miss 'bright' didn't even know "yahoo" was just given as an example. :|

lets try this again

sarha

lets check if THIS works.

I suddenly have a new found interest in learning HTML... herez me giving it a shot....
this is one blog i abso love sarha

...ok, now lets check if it worked.

A truly exalting missive...
This is a comparison between a normal person & a GRE student.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A GRE STUDENT: All articles that coruscate with resplendence are not truly auriferous.
A NORMAL PERSON : All that glitters is not gold.

A GRE STUDENT : Sorting on the part of mendicants must be interdicted.
A NORMAL PERSON : Beggars are not choosers

A GRE STUDENT : Male cadavers are incapable of rendering any testimony.
A NORMAL PERSON : Dead men tell no tales

A GRE STUDENT : Neophite's serendipity.
A NORMAL PERSON : Beginner's luck

A GRE STUDENT : A revolving lithic conglomerate accumulates no congeries of small, green, biophytic plant.
A NORMAL PERSON : a rolling stone gathers no moss

A GRE STUDENT: Members of an avian species of identical plumage tend to congregate.
A NORMAL PERSON : birds of the same feather flock together

A GRE STUDENT : Pulchritude possesses solely cutaneous profundity.
A NORMAL PERSON : beauty is only skin deep

A GRE STUDENT : Freedom from incrustations of grime is contiguous torectitude.
A NORMAL PERSON : cleanliness is godliness

A GRE STUDENT : It is fruitless to become lachrymose of precipitately departed lactile fluid.
A NORMAL PERSON : there's no use crying over spilt milk

A GRE STUDENT : Eschew the implement of correction and vitiate the scion.
A NORMAL PERSON : spare the rod and spoil the child

A GRE STUDENT : The stylus is more potent than the rapier.
A NORMAL PERSON : the pen is mightier than the sword

A GRE STUDENT : It is fruitless to attempt to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative maneuvers.
A NORMAL PERSON : u can't try to teach an old dog new tricks

A GRE STUDENT : Surveillance should precede saltation.
A NORMAL PERSON : look before you leap

A GRE STUDENT : Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid minim.
A NORMAL PERSON : twinkle,twinkle, little star

A GRE STUDENT : The person presenting the ultimate cachinnation possesses thereby the optimal cachinnation.
A NORMAL PERSON : he who laughs last, laughs the best

A GRE STUDENT : Exclusive dedication to necessitous chores without interludes of hedonistic diversion renders John a hebetudinous fellow.
A NORMAL PERSON : all work and no play makes jack a dull boy

A GRE STUDENT : Individuals who make their abodes in vitreous edifices would be advised to refrain from catapulting petrious projectiles.
A NORMAL PERSON : people who live in glass houses should not throw stones

A GRE STUDENT : Where there are visible vapors having their provenance in ignited carbonaceous materials, there is conflagration.
A NORMAL PERSON : where there's smoke, there's fire.

so what's your score?

Disclaimer : No part of the below blog is written by the blogger. A gent (make that wonderful gent - atleast imho*) Thomas L. Friedman wrote it.

Infosys poses challenge to America

Nandan Nilekani, CEO of Infosys, gave me a tour the other day of his company’s wood-paneled global conference room in Bangalore. It looks a lot like a beautiful tiered classroom, with a massive wall-size screen at one end and cameras in the ceiling so that Infosys can hold a simultaneous global teleconference with its US innovators, its Indian software designers and its Asian manufacturers. “We can have our whole global supply chain on the screen at the same time,” holding a virtual meeting, explained Nilekani. The room’s eight clocks tell the story: US West, US East, GMT, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia.
As I looked at this, a thought popped into my head: Who else has such a global supply chain today? Of course: Al-Qaeda. Indeed, these are the two basic responses to globalisation: Infosys and Al-Qaeda.

Infosys said all the walls have been blown away in the world, so now we, an Indian software company, can use the Internet, fibre optic telecommunications and e-mail to get superempowered and compete anywhere that our smarts and energy can take us. And we can be part of a global supply chain that produces profit for Indians, Americans and Asians.

Al-Qaeda said all the walls have been blown away in the world, thereby threatening our Islamic culture and religious norms and humiliating some of our people, who feel left behind. But we can use the Internet, fibre optic telecommunications and e-mail to develop a global supply chain of angry people that will superempower us and allow us to hit back at the Western civilization that’s now right in our face.

“From the primordial swamps of globalisation have emerged two genetic variants,” said Nilekani. “Our focus therefore has to be how we can encourage more of the good mutations and keep out the bad.” Indeed, it is worth asking what are the spawning grounds for each. Infosys was spawned in India, a country with few natural resources and a terrible climate. But India has a free market, a flawed but functioning democracy and a culture that prizes education, science and rationality, where women are empowered. The Indian spawning ground rewards anyone with a good idea, which is why the richest man in India is a Muslim software innovator, Azim Premji, the thoughtful chairman of Wipro.

Al-Qaeda was spawned in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan, societies where there was no democracy and where fundamentalists have often suffocated women and intellectuals who crave science, free thinking and rationality.

Indeed, all three countries produced strains of Al-Qaeda, despite Pakistan’s having received billions in US aid and Saudi Arabia’s having earned billions from oil. But without a context encouraging freedom of thought, women’s empowerment and innovation, neither society can tap and nurture its people’s creative potential — so their biggest emotional export today is anger.

India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan each spontaneously generated centres for their young people’s energies. In India they’re called “call centres,” where young men and women get their first jobs and technical skills servicing the global economy and calling the world. In Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia they’re called “madrassas,” where young men, and only young men, spend their days memorising the Quran and calling only God. Ironically, US consumers help to finance both. We finance the madrassas by driving big cars and sending the money to Saudi Arabia, which uses it to build the madrassas that are central to Al-Qaeda’s global supply chain. And we finance the call centres by consuming modern technologies that need backup support, which is the role Infosys plays in the global supply chain.

Both Infosys and Al-Qaeda challenge America: Infosys by competing for US jobs through outsourcing, and Al-Qaeda by threatening US lives through terrorism. As Michael Mandelbaum, the Johns Hopkins foreign policy professor, put it: “Our next election will be about these two challenges — with the Republicans focused on how we respond to Al-Qaeda, and the losers from globalisation, and the Democrats focused on how we respond to Infosys, and the winners from globalisation.”

Every once in a while the technology and terrorist supply chains intersect — like last week. Reuters quoted a Spanish official as saying after the Madrid train bombings: “The hardest thing (for the rescue workers) was hearing mobile phones ringing in the pockets of the bodies. They couldn’t get that out of their heads.”


URL: http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=29338

* imho = in my humble opinion.

Too tired today.... came across - http://web.ketineni.com/music/china.swf
Best with speakers switched on.

To quote 'someone' - "Yanked off from Pramila's blog, without her permission ;-)"

So i'm guessing this is fair! - From Harveer Singh's.

Our Wonderful English Language

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meaning than any other
two-letter word, and that is "UP." If you are not confused after reading this
you must really be messed "UP."
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list but when we
awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP. At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ?
Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the
secretary to write UP a report ?
We call UP our friends, we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver,
we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and
some guys fix UP the old car.
At other times the little word has real special meaning.
Police like to use this word also they say things Like write'em UP, Don't get all
worked UP, You're all messed UP, Im going to line UP, Put your hands UP, Shut UP,
Im gonna bust you UP, Time to go to lockUP, The homeland security alert has been
raised UP.
Police Dispatchers like to use the word also they say things like, Im UP to my ears in
paperwork,Turn your radio UP, The computer is UP.
People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special, and this is confusing.
A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the
morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP.
To be knowledgeable of the proper uses of UP, look UP the word in the dictionary.
In a desk size dictionary, UP takes UP almost 1/4th the page and definitions add UP
to about thirty.
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used.
It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may ! wind UP
with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say
it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets UP the earth. When it doesn't rain for a while,
things dry UP.
One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP , so I'll shut UP...

Weird, weird, life I lead.

The strangest things happen with me for some vague reason.
Maybe what my lil cousin, nikhil, says is true. Our life is a conspiracy and someone is controlling it. Mine would qualify as a B-grade, slapstick comedy any day!!

Take right now for example. A pal calls up from H’bad after a longish time. We are phaffing and generally talking nonsense and a good time is had all round. He is at some store called Lifestyle, checking out the shoes, strolling over to the café, whistle lamenting us not being in the same city et all. He barely sits down when some roughish looking dude strolls across and sits down at his table and says hi! (gay guy? That’s what I thought at this point too, read on!) well, yea, so this guy then proceeds to ask my perplexed pal where he lives! He understandably wary asks “why?” the dude tells him ‘cause I believe I’ve seen you around’. Being the simple unassuming chap he is, my pal tells him where he lives! Then this blokes says me too!…after a bit he pushes off. Barely do we restart talking …he just about starts recounting what has been happening (though I could catch snitches of it over the phone) he stops mid sentence and says I will call you back.
Two minutes later he calls back to report that a few tough looking blokes came over and “confiscated” his cell phone! They supposedly thought he was some dude called ashok who was harassing their sister!! He justifiable got angry, informed them he had never ever heard of their sister leave alone speak with her, was conversing with his friend in Bombay and if they didn’t bugger off he’d call the cops!
Good gosh, didn’t know this sorta thing happened!
For another one, I was to go to meet my lil sister all the way in the other side of town…unsuspectingly got a rick and said to the nice enough looking bloke “ho to mulund check naka” (ok, just mulund check naka you sticklers!) we were cruising along just fine (hope you noticed the word unsuspectingly!) till we came up to a signal. Our dude who seem quite normal until this point showed no desire or inclination to slow down, leave alone stop. Was wondering if he was on a mission (you never know, maybe he’d registered with Guinness book of world record for making it to check naka in the shortest possible time, and so small matters like signals didn’t hold water with him) …but then I spotted the milieu up ahead of us.. there very vehicles of every shape and size..everything from the bicycle man with his load of up side down birds heading to their early demise (how do you think you get chicken? No, it doesn’t grow in the fields next to the wheat lil one!!) to state transport buses to sleek looking cars (the new lancer is particularly good!) to trucks to other ricks. I felt a momentary twinge of pity for my driver..now he wouldn’t be able to make whatever record he was planning on making. Then I shrugged my ‘soul-shoulders’ and thought to myself life ‘ah life’.
Then I noticed that he still showed no signs of slowing down! The vehicles up head were close enough even for the most myopic eyes to spot effortlessly. I conjectured that maybe I was sitting in one of them sci-fi movie type ricks where the contraption would suddenly sprout wings and clear the entire lot and land safely on the other side. (wonder what our ‘pandu hawaldars would have to say about _that_) but no wings sprouted (I know, shucks! It would have been quite exciting had the damn thing deigned to sprout wings, but alas no such luck!!) and we were all set on collision course with the unsuspecting, credulous almost, tail lights of the rick ahead.
*BANG*
And collide we did!
All my Michael Schumacher does at the other rick driver’s angry glare is nonchalantly lean out of our rick and inform him “Brake nahi hai yarr”!!! (roughly translated mean “there aren’t any brakes pal”!) imagine my horror. I wondered haplessly if every signal between here and my destination would mean a brush with death (and btb, all that hog wash about your “entire life” flashing is just that! Hogwash!! The only thing that flashed was my morning breakfast and the mourn that I would have died without doing “it”!) I ask myself would stepping smartly outta the rick, quick as a tick not be the answer to my current predicament? I could even throw some money in the general direction of the rick and tell the bloke to keep the change (you filthy animal added for effect?) I know James Bond would have done it.
Vurrooooommm.
We were in motion once again. See that is the trouble with thinking. One tends to take up time in that fruitless activity and the chance to ‘act’ slips you by.
Anyways, I was trapped in what had suddenly become this chariot of doom for me. Praying like the dickens. (Ever notice how all agnostics become fervent believers around the time of exams btb?)
Will not bore you with the rest of the tale…suffice to say I kept my eyes tightly shut (I now understand why those people keep their eyes shut on those rides in essel-world/ Disney land) for the remainder of the journey. When we finally reached our destination I had to be told, twice, by the driver (if one can call him that) that we had arrived.
I got down on wobbly legs after paying him (though why I did that is quite beyond me, seeing he had taken at the very least 5 years of my life!) and went on my way, mumbling to myself bout rickshaws and rick driver and the unfairness of life…
Till later folks, always assuming I survive!
p.s : how did we ‘stop’ at the destination? Have not the foggiest notion. Had my eyes shut, tightly, remember?
p.p.s : for non indians, click on - http://www.roleximpex.com/rolex-impex-auto-rickshaw.html - to see what an 'rick' looks like. its also known as 'ricksaw' or 'auto-rickshaw'. It is best described as a small - 3 -wheeler taxi
which doesn't have doors, can seat three at the back, and one driver in the front.
Shocker of the day : the Scots deep fry their mars bars (yup, I am referring to chocolate). That’s it. That’s all I’m saying. Am totally shocked by it.

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in...

I've learned that one good turn gets most of the blankets.

I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just jackasses.

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.

I've learned that whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.

I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to others - they are more screwed up than you think.

I've learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

I've learned that it is not what you wear; it is how you take it off.

I've learned that you can keep vomiting long after you think you're finished.

I've learned to not sweat the petty things, and not pet the sweaty things.

I've learned that ex's are like fungus, and keep coming back.I've learned age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, unless we are celebrities.

I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

I've learned that 99% of the time when something isn't working in your house, one of your (i don't believe in this, as i don't have 'em) kids did it.

I've learned that there is a fine line between genius and insanity.

I've learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away. And the real pains in the ass are permanent.

*Note : none of the above comments are written by the blogger. The credit if any should definitely not go to her.

(Science Sillies From 5th & 6th Graders)

The spinal column is a long bunch of bones. The head sits on the top, and you sit on the bottom.

It is so hot in some places that people there have to live in other places.

Momentum is something you give a person when they go away.

Mushrooms always grow in damp places which is why they look like umbrellas.

The alimentary canal is located in the northern part of Indiana.

Thunder is a rich source of loudness.

Some people can tell what time it is by looking at the sun, but I never have been able to make out the numbers.

One of the main causes of dust is DIRT.

A monsoon is a French gentleman.

Genetics explains why you look like your father, and if you don't, why you should.

Water vapor gets together in a big cloud. When it gets big enough to be called a drop, it does.

There is a tremendous weight pushing down on the center of the Earth because so many people are stomping around there these days.

The cause of perfume disappearing is evaporation. Evaporation gets blamed for a lot of things people forget to put the top on.

You can listen to thunder and tell how close you came to getting hit. If you don't hear it, you got hit, so never mind.

...and this one is my fav

When planets run round and round in circles, we say they are orbiting. When people do it, we say they are crazy.

..and tada…you have yourself a smacking treat!
Summer is almost upon us…well at least it is in the northern hemisphere (I wish you were here too ani, someday, somewhere, together we will be!) ;o) ….and along with the onset of summer there are…. MANGOES.
Mum just whipped up some of her amazing mango pickle… and I’ve been pigging out on it all day despite mum’s warning that my tummy just might not like it as much as my tongue does… oh booo to it I say! (fervently hoping that my tummy doesn’t tell me oh booooo tomorrow morning!!)

Boy, it is hot! ..yes I realize summer means it becomes hot, but this is ridiculously hot! Its past 11 at night, it oughtn’t to be sweltering now! Guess no one told the guy (gal?) up there (if there is one!) that eh?

Wonder how any of us got to doing the job we are doing today? (or perusing the courses we are doing today as the case might be) I mean think about it, everyone knows ‘someone’ has to be the librarian at school. But does any 3rd standard (or grade for my non-Indian readers) kid say I want to be a librarian? Ever hear a kid telling you s/he wants to grow up and audit a bunch of companies? Can't wait to start on those tax returns??
All of us want to grow up to be doctors, pilots, businesswo/men, lawyers etc. (I wanted to be a lawyer! But it sounded to close to liar so I decided against it. That and those heavy law books!!) Wonder why? (not why I didn’t become a lawyer dummy!) Why we kids like some professions and never ever give a second thought to others?

Well, that’s too much of my fried brain cells to handle. I know today’s entry is even more lame then usual. Promise tomorrow’s will be better (I know, I know… anything would be better then this!) :oPPP

Will leave you with something else to think about...

Different thinking

Difference Between Focus on Problems, and Focus on Solutions !!

When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out that the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (Ink won't flow down to the writing surface). In order to solve this problem, they hired Andersen Consulting (Accenture today). It took them one decade and $12 million. They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater, in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.

Any guesses on what U.S’s archrivals used??

What did Russians do?


The Russians used a Pencil!!!

It has been over fifteen years since India played cricket in Pakistan? Our (rather their!) general mushy and ABV suddenly deem cricket in Karachi safe? Of course it has nothing to do with the coming up elections. No siree. Not in the least.
Don’t get me wrong. I am a staunch supporter of BJP – but that has more to do with it being the least evil party. But seeing shows like tonight’s telecast on CNN where ****** of BJP (am taking a leaf out of someone’s book and not mentioning names – don’t want to get shot now, do I?) (oh boo! Who am I kidding? Could never lay claim to even a smidgeon of common sense – have gone and named a person who successfully staged a military coup _and_ is the leader of a decidedly militant state!)
Where was I? (I do tend to ramble, don’t I?) ah yes….tonight’s telecast..the poor hapless CNN interviewer kept asking the man a simple question, whether BJP planned to continue their current mantra even post elections. The irritating sod would just not answer no matter what!
She : will you or won’t you continue xyz post election (what BJP’s mantra was is not the focal point)
He : blah blah blah
- this happens some n number of times. Then

She : it’s a simple question, will you or won’t you? Yes or no?
He : takes of again on his blah blahing.

Must admit the man’s resolve. He just wouldn’t give a straight answer no matter what! (the “she” ought to have pulled his god damn turban off – along with his hair of course! and smacked him one while she was at it.)

By the way, just for the record - I have nothing against the people of Pakistan. In fact have a budding friendship with a girl named Sarah who happens to be from there. (She writes really well)

Hmmm reeshy reminded me of something earlier today. Not caring. Not caring a hoot about what anyone said or did. Being who I was in the face of all odds. Hmmm.
That’s who pramila is (used to be? Jeez, I hope not!). That’s who pramila will try to be. These past two months have been kinda crazy. Guess I lost sight of who I really was. Nice to be back home, to myself.

‘Wear sunscreen’ is playing in the background. One of my all time favourites. All time favourites reminds me of Mr.Archer.
Yup Jeffery Archer.
Have been hearing all manner of upsetting things about him from a pal – Duncan. Don’t know how much of it is true. But even if a 10th of what he has been telling me is true then I’m going to feel very, very, VERY let down.
He comes across like such a nice person in his books. Especially his prison diaries. (two parts are out – have read both. Try ‘em. Makes for interesting reading.)

Ah well. Diddly doo...doo...did!!....done??? What does it mean?
Hey, its not supposed to mean anything! It’s the rambling of a _crazy_ mind remember!? ;oP

Ludicrous? Preposterous?? Ridiculous???

This entire mess has been given entirely too much importance! She didn’t like shortened forms of English words and she said so. I didn’t like the way she said it and I said so.

Why on god’s green earth are people in two different continents sitting and fuming at each other because of it?? It is all too silly!
And to think this exercise began in an attempt to study an average English group! Good gosh! There is nothing average about this group! Some are whacko, some have a mean streak, some are sweet, some are ‘yes men’ (as someone else eloquently put it) but none average!

I have to admit my retaliation wasn’t in keeping with who I am. I normally don’t lose my cool so easily. Why did it happen then? Oh I don’t know. I needed to find an indicative group. (and _FFAAAASSSSSSTTTTTTTT_) This particular one seemed to fit the bill till the much talked about ‘exchange of ideas’ occurred, without so much as a warning. Strange thing is I had spent a large chunk of 8th with the group and used exactly the same sort of ‘lingo’ without anyone questioning, forget getting offensive, about it. So it caught me a little off guard I guess.
She is a kid for crying out loud (well, anyone below thirty is! – and you shut up bout me being a grandma! I’m not referring to just chronological age here)
So then why did I give her rant any credence? er…ummm Plenty of things on my mind? Bad mood? PMS? My planetary alignment was all wrong? One of these reasons? All of these reasons? I dunno. This is beginning to sound decidedly like a post-mortem.

Write plenty of these crummy ‘official’ letters typo thingies in my work life. Have neither the desire nor the inclination to watch my commas and spellings like a hawk at all times. The line of work I am in currently dictates that I do way more then my fair share of it anyways. It is enough for me to know that I _can_ do it when required. One doesn’t get a master’s degree without more then just a passable knowledge of the English language not to mention stand first at college in the said language. (wonder if I should backspace that last bit?..sounds more then a wee bit like I’m blowing my own trumpet. Ah well, once in a while it’ll do I guess?)

Bottom line is, she was nasty. Then so was I. Now she has apologized. And I will too. Sorry Morts. (the distant din of clapping, slowly mounting in tempo can be heard) *bow, exit left curtain*

good lord!

6 months of daily interaction with brits and not one bad experience to speak of. trust me to go find the cattiest person on the net! ah well, didn’t waste too much research time on the group – they aren’t an indicative sample anyways. need to start again. sheesh!! thats a bummer. to be honest, only one was catty, the rest r just good+supporting friends…
just cause someone is not from their land they presume that their knowledge of the english language is superior. yea,sure.that’s precisely why their bosses are from here.

ah well, am not going to waste my blog discussin ‘em..

one of the cutest mails ever follows (written on December 12, 2002) :

Hi,
"He has a job that he loves, some sort of car, a house or apt. (Not too neat, not too messy), a compatible sense of humor, a delicious blend of honesty, charm and dependability. He doesn't care if you take just a bit too long to get ready for a party,and he loves every bit of your experimental cooking endeavors.He supports your career and he's nice to your family. He's the perfect combination of passionate creature and true best friend." Is this what you are looking for? Read on .. :-)

Well... that's a line i like to use. But you seem more intelligent than that. So i am not gonna try that on you. ;-)

My name is *%#@$*. I try to get ppl to call me *^$ but my friends prefer to call me bagherra or bags. I’ve just finished my MBA and am working in b’lore. I like travel and take assignments that involve travel. a frequent place i have to keep coming to is mumbai. any more trips and i probably will know every steward and stewardess on this route on jet by their first names. Though I always remain in the junta’s eye so to speak, I like to have a close net of friends. I am intensely competitive but I also believe that one should not take oneself too seriously. You mentioned intelligence, well that's something you'd have to judge for yourself i guess. After all i don't know if you are the head of mensa, do i?

I get along very well with anyone who is simple, open, fun loving and tolerant. Like me ;-)

Me not too good as a wordsmith so will stop here. Do reply. Lets see if we can have long philosophical discussions on life in a barrista, or an intense analysis of the q3 engine over Chinese or general gup shup over a bhutta :-) After all the mark of a friend I guess is that you can simply keep talking to him/her regardless of subject. :-)

Regards
*^$

--- name not revealed as the person went on to become a pal.

Wonder if there _IS_ someone like the guy in the ‘line’? calm down pooja... if there is, I’m sure you'll get him. I’ll probably get stuck with his older, crabby brother!

till later folks!

Whoa! two entries in one day…blog is kinda addictive I guess..
read a few blogs today…got into a ‘blog group’ of sorts – SimonG’s….the whole lot of them r good fun…sort of like me… totally crazy… only they write better…
they’ve had plenty more practice I guess..

maybe I should call my page stinkypoo.com
years ago a friend n I used to write vastly interesting notes to each other (or so we were lead to believe) on IIT-B’s site (mood-indigo message board) n our conversation (or word-war?!?) was followed by many…we later went on became good friends n our love of the written word saw that many many mails went hither n thither (spellings r all wrong I bet) …n he suggested maybe we should put all the mails on a site… the name chosen for it was www.stinkypoo.com

…ah, college life. I miss it. I miss the madness (not that my life is not mad now! lemme hasten to assure u it most certainly is)… miss the “stayin up” coffee (mayu – short for mayura stayed over at my place for over a month and a half prior to my T.Y exams.. n we were misguided into believing that drinkin black coffee kept one awake!.. except for the exercise it affords one – making trips to and from the microwave – I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone would think it achieved anything of the kind!) …miss the college festivals – mood indigo, malhar et all… miss ….enuf missing, this is beginning to sound like a missing blog! n if I don’t desist all my readers (not that I have many) r going to give it a miss!!

hmmm have been asked what I like/dislike. Its such a difficult question to answer.. shouldn’t it be the easiest? Considerin the subject under discussion is _ONESELF_!? Ah well… lets try..

I like reading… love wodehouse ..authors like crichton, nora roberts, archer, paul cohelo (am sure I killed his surname) grisham r worth a mention…as a many others I have left out - for now.
Love music …all genres..everything from ghazals/old hindi music to headbangin (abso love the chant …’start the f***in music!’)
Travel..LOVE discovering new places…like just takin off.. have been able to do it successfully only once – daman – vinny (vanita to u)
thursday we discussed taking off…wondered where
friday morning we settled for daman… afternoon she picked waiting list tickets
evening I was on a bus hurtling toward borivili.. stayed up till 4 yakking
we were outta her house by 6:15 sat morning… the train to vapi was an experience alright!
Spplllluuuurrrrggggeeeeddddd there on the hotel room – totally worth it though!the beach actually started at the bottom of the hotel’s steps…and of course pigging out in front of the tele in an air conditioned room is always worth it eh vinny?
…went sight seeing…stayed out too late.. not a single rick in sight… vinny says “I’m spending the night sittin out.. no way am I hiking all the way back!”…some cajoling & good luck saw that we got a rick n went back to our room… ah… that was one amazing trip…wish had more friends who liked to travel!

I seem to be detouring way too much to be writing a blog…devina has reached texas… called to tell me that she reached safely even though her flight was delayed – reliable air India. Trust it to be late. Every time.

DHL, on time. every time.
Air India, never on time, every time.

Reliance India… “mere papa ka sapana, sab ka mal apna”!

Will attempt “I like..” tomorrow..

Stay tuned for another edition of nonsense.

nope. i haven't had a chance to try it yet.
why the title? well i like it, reason enuff!!! my blog n i'm the king here! ..er, queen?...princess!
bungee jumping may not have happened but a trip to talagoan or some such place did!... and was a vastly enjoyable experience!
since i amn't making any great inroads on the work at hand (if what i do can pass for work!) i might as well blog - but before that - anyone who wants to leave comments - please do not automatically assume i have a masters degree in philo! ...leave comments like u r talkin to a 4 yr ol... umm better still, make that 3 yr old!
now what was i rambling bout?
ah yes, my trip
got up at 6 (yup, ye of lil faith, i did indeed get up at the crack of dawn!)
left home by 6.30... the bombay-pune expressway is very impressive i must say... my driver obviously has some unfullfilled ambitions of being a pilot... ah, itz the loss of the airline industry i say! - he flies fairly well!
nevermind that instruction to fasten ur seatbeatly weren't given at the start of the flight... which flight r u allowed to keep ur cell phone on durning take off!
the veggi market in the village is worth a special mention. imagine how much one whole kilo of fresh potatoes costs u? one rupee! nope, i didnt use a time machine... very much 2004!
had some superb tea ... saw a beautiful sunset...
n came back to bbay - after a slight detour to lonawala for chicki

wonder Y i came back to bbay!

i bet i'll get a whole hellava lot more takers for the first one then the second! why? variety of reasons.. lets list some?
1. instant gratification (people we r talkin bout _LOVE_ here, not what u r thinkin bout!)
2.zero emotional hurt (whatz the worst u could do? spill HOT coffee on urself?)
3.it helps u get outta bed in the morning
4.its comparitively inexpensive (what do ya mean how come!? seen the recent valentine day prices?!?!)
5.coffee is waayyyyy more understanding! (when was the last time ur coffee got bugged with u because it got cold waitin for u?!)
6.less stress on ur memory! (coffee really doesn't expect u to remember the date u 1st met each other,the 1st time u locked lips, the 1st...ok ok u get the picture!)
7.this is the clincher - coffee never runs away in the midst of an argument (staying power, man that counts!!!)
....time for me to get back to work..enjoyable as it is discussing the merits of coffee (substitute tea for tea lovers, myself included!)

will leave u for the day with this peice :

Have you ever been in love?
Horrible, isn't it?
It makes you so vulnerable.
It opens your head
And it opens your heart
And it means someone can get inside you
And mess you up.

You build up all these defenses.
You build up this whole armor,
For years, so nothing can hurt you,
Then one stupid person,
No different from any other stupid person,
Wanders into your stupid life...

You give them a piece of you.
Without them even asking for it.
They just do something dumb one day
Like kiss you, or smile at you, or look at you!
And then your life isn't your own anymore.

Love takes hostages. It gets inside you.
It eats you inside out and
Leaves you crying in the darkness,
So a simple phrase like
'Maybe we should just be friends'
Or 'how very perceptive'
Turns into a glass splinter
Working its way into your heart.

It hurts.
Not just in the imagination.
Not just in the mind.
It's a soul-hurt,
A body-hurt, a real
gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain.
I hate love.

Does God punish or reward us with love?

(orginally written by - Aparna Badrinarayan n editted by urs truly)

toodle-oo till next time!

hmmm..
the blank white box stares at me expectantly...
i know it won't judge... but part of me is terrified (what if my blog is more of a bore?!).... another part is wonderin what on earth am i doing here? have a whole hellava lot of papers to read through... (doing research is NOT easy - don't ever let anyone tell u otherwise!)
how did a naive, dreamy lil gurl from small town thane get into this crazy business of doing "research" to set up a business? ....she always did dream of her own company (had it chirstened n all - dreams unlimited) (i know SRK stole it!!!) ...i'd spend hours letting my imagination run wild ....picturing myself walking smartly into my office ...*click click* my shoes beating a tatoo on the the polished floor as my sec (obviously i had one of those! all successfull people do.) follows me into my plush cabin, carrying a load of important files....reading out the day's appointments, reminding me which papers need my perusal for the day.... (don't ask me WHAT line of work i was in - i had a fertile imagination, but even my imagination didn't strech that far!)
now that the corporate world has sucked me into its fold... part of me longs for those lazy afternoons... sitting with akka on our front porch (Indal, now known as hindalco, could afford PALATIAL mansions) where one could live in fantasyland...without having to do any 'real' work. feasibility reports, budgets, networking et all were words outside my ken.
ah well.... lets see if i can make any sense of these words NOW! ;o)
untill next time,
cheerio!