A life of Crime

Hi All,

I never thought even in my wildest imagination that I would live a life of crime and worse - revel in it.

Here goes - I admit it. I am a crime lord!!!

Before you decide to dial to 100 - there's something you need to know. I lead a life of crime in Mafia wars. The facebook app rage that has millions succumbing to their baser need to destruct others. Its online, highly addictive and occupies most of the time I have for myself.

Thinking back I realize that I have been addicted to so many things and then typical of all fads, they faded out with time - only exception being books.

I am addicted to books when I am not addicted to anything else - sort of like the craving one has for home food when he/she had enough Continental, Mexican, Chinese to last a lifetime. Books - I can read anytime and once I start I usually don't stop till I finish all books of the author at a stretch or at the least all the books I can lay hands on. Have this on/off relationship with books and music. They are there when I am not interested in anything else. They are there even if I am interested in everything else. They are there when I am interested in only those. In short they are there, pretty much - always.

Thinking back, my first passion was science. With the help of my brother used to build turbines (unsuccessfully), try out all science experiments (must have broken a bottle or two), and have neighbouring kids from school help out with the apparatus set-up (used to ask the teacher to order the students to help - LOL!!!).

My next passion was dramatics and oration - used to attend every competition at school without fail (was an excellent way to bunk school. In X1th Standard the number of days outside school was greater than the number of days in class)

Then came craziness for songs, especially English numbers - guess I was trying to show off at that time when the number of satellite connection were few and MTV was yet to become an essential entity of youth.

F1 racing - my brothers' were addicted to it, and hence by virtue of viewing non-stop F1, week after week, became addicted.

Football (98 world Cup) - same as above

Bracelets - bought a bracelet for every dress I owned and I happened to be owning a lot many dresses at that point in time.

Bangles - same as above

Clothes - always and continuing

Harry Potter - from 2003 to 2007 (From the time I read the first book, till the time the last book was released)

Ayn Rand - from the last year of college

Math puzzles - same as above

Office work - during the golden period at Verizon

Blogging - during 2005/ 2006

Naruto - from 2007

Animations - from 2006, credit goes to the first anime I watched - Samurai - X

Dancing - from 2008, CGT (credit goes to) ISB parties

Pani poori noodles - from 2008, CGT ISB lifestyle

Facebooking - from 2009, CGT ISB

"How I met your mother" sitcom addiction - same as above

Movie watching - CGT boring evenings in Ludhiana

Mafia wars - same as above

Adventure tourism - last few weeks, CGT few crazy people I know from current workplace

Laptop addiction - ever since my brother gifted it to me. (If there's one thing I truly can't live without, it is, without any doubt my laptop. )

I wonder how long will it be before I return to books from Mafia wars. Don't know and don't care as long as I have something to occupy my boredom. So while I am out there satisfying my baser needs by looting, robbing, killing, mugging, thieving through Mafia wars application, watch out for regular updates about universe, life and everything else that captures my mind at that instant in my blog.

Later. Till the next time.

CIAO.

Change

Hi All,

There's a famous saying - "Change is the only thing which is permanent". I totally agree with the statement, but a recent happening makes me muse over the statement; while so many aspects of my life has changed, I am astounded that I am still the same person with the same thoughts I had few years ago. I was going through my old posts and it was surprise that, almost of my opinions back then hold true even today.

Reflecting on it a little makes me wonder whether I am un-adaptable or inflexible. Maybe the opinions make me the person I am right now and is in fact my identity. Identities can't change by definition, for it did it would cease to be an identity. One can't have multiple identities, and the uniqueness is gone if multiple reasoning are given for the same entity. It would then be self- defeating for it would contradict what you stand for and at some point the credibility is lost.

If this is so, why is change the only thing that's permanent? Maybe the external aspects such as outlook, lifestyle, features, behaviour, experiences are in agreement with the statement; whereas belief, faith, inner conviction, "the person who experiences", ought to be the same. Strange as it may seem, this is the time of life I would never get back - the chance to experiment. "Should I" or "Shouldn't I" battle is still on. Will have to wait and see how things pan out.

2009 has been by far, the most happening year of my life. Appa passed away, anna is about to be married, job searches, graduating from a school of my dreams, realizing my life long ambition to do a Master of Business Administration course, 3 month stint in manufacturing, living alone for the first time in my entire life, the yearning to go on tours - especially trekking and water - rafting, getting closer with the 4 most important people in my life outside family - B, J, D & V, forming new friendships, first time working as a manager responsible for people who report to me, living in a place which feels as though I stepped a decade back in time, getting introduced to a new genre of books which led to speed reading and crazy nights burning oil for reading books, long conversations with the people whom I love and respect, more time for myself, Sunday movie watching ritual, facebooking, twittering, everything is new - but everything expected of the me an year ago. Everything's changed, yet in a way nothing did.

I am wondering what difference does it make? Just wondering - not attempting to find a solution. Wondering whats in store - would there be another year that would make me eat my words and say - "this year superseded 2009". One can never say and one can never be sure. Living for the moment I realized is the best way to be and not regretting anything that makes me happy has led to bold decision making. I am happy - even if happiness is short lived.

With all conviction that whatever happens happens for good, I await new experiences that will shape the thoughts that I have currently and pave way for the new thoughts to formulate. This is probably auto-biographical, but someday when I peruse my old posts, I would be happy to have recorded this moment as this post is a reflection of my previous posts, and an indication of the posts to come.

Dedicated to the future me and the future us. Till the next time.

CIAO.

Random

Hi All,

Random? Or is it so? Felt like writing about few odd topics I came across during the day :) 

1) Randomness - article of the day in thefreedictionary. 

2) On a whim clicked random (was it?) article link in wikihow and this was random order of articles.

1) Double your salary using an algebraic loophole :) - Funny anyone thought the math could fool

2) How to collect business reply mail and similar postcards - Really funny/silly - especially the warning section. 

3) How to hide from your sister - he!!! he!!! point 7 applies to me. So "bros" of the world - you can run but you can't hide. 

4) How to make cranberry sauce - finally something that's useful - i am of course discounting the fact that I may never make it, but as most other self-proclaimed chefs like to know the recipe :D

5) How to make a soda bottle volcano - this experiment was widely circulated through email, but the video's good :)

6) How to manage wikihow while on a heavy school schedule - hmmm!!! this does get addictive

7) How to get lite - reminds me of ISB parties :(

8) How to learn Spanish (Sticky note method) - whoa!!! never knew learning a language was so easy. Needn't have wasted on the french course, which I didn't attend, last year

9) How to gently dump a "clingy" friend - really mean :( :( 

10) How to preform a simple leap over stairs - the only thing that comes to my mind is that the people contributing to those articles were as jobless as the person writing this article :D

Food for thought - wonder why we call this sequencing random while evidently they have been programmed

Beverage for thought 'coz you already had food - wonder how I happened to read the article on Randomness and then unintentionally of course start a random article spree. Maybe randomness is not quite err.... random. 

By the way didn't explain how I ended up reading the first wikihow article.  It was the random article after I googled on "how to keep your house cool without air conditioning". For all Chennaiites - it is quite simple and common sensical, but google search just "puts things in perspective:. he he :)

That's' all folks. Meet you some other time. 

CIAO. 

Cooking is Common Sense

Hi All, 

Disclaimer: I claim to be a great cook (only) because I believe that C is CS (cooking is common sense)

Stereotypes don't apply here. I mean it - the length and breadth of the vegetables don't determine the taste and essence of Sambar. I hate it when people claim they can't cook something because some ingredient is not available. Well it just means use CS to improvise.  If one doesn't have chickpeas for making channa masala use groundnut. Taste better and tastes different too. 

According to my granny the key to being a great chef is the ability to correctly identify what is wrong with the dish.  I remember her  saying this long ago - "as long as the salt and chilli are in right proportions everything else doesn't matter". I completely agree -well, that is unless you are making sweets - because sweets are the only exception to Granny's law of elementary cooking (straight off from food is the one of the 5 exceptions to Gamp's law of elementary transfiguration - courtesy HP and the DH)

To me, cooking is about common sense - just like you understand fire is hot - so is "too much pepper." Anything can be remedied by adding / reducing certain other ingredients on the recipe. It might taste different  but it doesn't matter as long as it tastes good and hey if it turns out to be totally different from what you intended to make you get to name a new recipe :) (This is the secret to my paneer korma - it  was initially meant to be panner butter masala :D) 

You might be wondering this totally off the mark post unrelated to my usual ramblings - been experimenting with cooking of course and hence C is CS. 

CIAO

Why?

Hi All,

If only all the "why's?" were answered...

life would have been simpler, easier and unexciting

CIAO

Hurt

Hi All,

Just realized that being blamed for something that was not under your control is the worst that could happen to anyone. I have always made this stupid mistake of keeping quiet when I am blamed for something I hadn't done - I had suffered for this a lot during the past few months. Yesterday I decided it was not the right way and that I have to defend myself and yes it proved costly. 

Not only did I give the impression that I am angry, callous and cannot take responsibility, but yeah as someone who doesn't give up till she's made her point. As a person with whom "It is better to let me have my way than argue with me". It hurts - really really hurts. To my conscience I know I hadn't done anything wrong to have deserved this - and if others beg to differ I want to know the reason. If the reason is not justified - I want to have my say. Being pardoned without being accepted is not something I can digest. Don't want apologies that aren't meant or blame that isn't justified.

Sometimes when pride is hurt, it takes long to heal. :( Wish I was different, but too late now. 

CIAO.

  

Whattowriteabout

Hey All,

I am surprised!!!

Most of blogs that I have written seem to allude to music which reflects my mood at that reference point in time. I am wondering on the effect of music on moods. Seem to be a really good research topic. Probably should start working on it. 

Coming to the surprising portion - I seem to find a song for every single mood of mine and I am very temperamental with a multitude of mood swings. Be it being loneliness, sorrow, piousness, happiness, anger, frustation, pity, childishness, sacrifice, more than i can describe. More surprising are the songs themselves. They seem to capture the words in your heart, leaving you wondering "was this written for me - just for me?" Sounds too good to be true that there are other people experiencing the same emotion in the same manner as ourselves. Reinforces the concept of collective identity. We experience mostly the same emotions in our lives - just the chain of events that led might be unique in each case. 

Collective identity - what does it really imply for all of us? How come nations are classified based on their individualistic/ collectivistic quotient of Hofstede if we are all more alike than different? 

Maybe it is not emoitons but it is our choices makes us different - the way we choose to live and the factors that decide the way we choose what we chose makes the difference. Our decisions drive us and we drive our decisions!!! I remember this famous line from some book - never regret something that made you smile. Wat a nice way to move on and forgive !!!

Too bad - after long I decide to make a post but have got to go - greater things in life calling - have to answer :)

CIAO (with a completed post)

Course Crisis

Hi All,

The start of every elective term has been the same - is this right? is there something better that I can do? I am mistaken? forget credit crisis, welcome to the world of course crisis. 

There are few good courses which I feel will be some value appropriation to the investment in ISB - but the amount of time investment for "learning" the course makes me think twice

There are other courses that are entertaining and worth sitting in the class for - but not much value addition.

There are few other courses which are a complete waste of time - but make life easy. 

So there is the classis dilemma - amongst what's good, what's easy and what's entertaining. 

Therefore the year starts this way. Not sure whether I ought to go with the good courses I had taken this term. Will decide after sampling the courses - which is actually unlike me - usually stick with the courses I had taken initially. Yeah, times are changing and sometimes we need to change and let go of what we wanted because that's not good for us. 

Faced with a plethora of choices find it really difficult - lets see how it turns out. 

CIAO. 

P.S. Thats my 70th post :) and the first post in 2009.