A beautiful life

She was born out of a world of pain and misery, trials and tribulations. During the time her birth, she had to endure the pain of what felt like thousand searing needles. And then finally it was over and she had finally arrived. She was not treated with any degree of respect. She was thrown to the side like a worthless entity. No one gave a damn about her.

From when she could remember, she was just a show piece. Lined up in front of a cheap store, she would fight for attention with others of her kind. It was a severe life, but it was survival. Some people would pass without even batting an eyelid. Others would just gawk at her and pass on by. Nobody gave her a look that showed compassion and love if only for a fraction of a second. Every night, she would be locked up in a damp creepy shed crawling with god forsaken insects and no lights. She would shiver her way through the night, never catching sleep for days at a stretch until she finally passed out of sheer exhaustion.

And then one day, a kind lady showed some interest on her. After taking a long look at her, the lady asked, "How much." I'll give her to you for this sum. It embarasses me(me - as in the author) to disclose this paltry sum to you. But the lady after some haggling which I was shocked to see, paid up and picked her up in her arms. That was the first human touch she had felt in a long time.

Thereafter her life changed. The lady would take her everywhere with her. She even introduced her to her modest friends who were all praise about her. She felt wanted and looked after for the first time in her life. She even blushed when they complemented her on her appearance. The house was by no means a palace, but it was adequate to satisfy her modest requirements. The lady would always glance it her lovingly every once in a while and pet her. She was looked after well and had nothing to complain.

And then one day, she noticed to her dismay the lady, who by this time, she started regarding as her own mother walked in with someone else. And that was it. The next day she was thrown into the gutter. After the sewer dogs had a go at tearing her apart just for the fun of it, she was left there to rot. It was a good year before the garbage dumpster picked her up and threw her into a huge pile of a recycling unit. And just before she entered the jaws of the crusher, she uttered a silent prayer to God thanking Him for her existence; a chance to to be and experience this life on Earth if only as a pair of cheap hand sewn ladies' slippers. She could only hope for another chance to visit Earth although she knew the chances were slim.

If a pair of stereotype ill-treated slippers found life worth living and thanked the Lord at the end of it all, what are you complaining about, Idiot! Go out there and live your life to the fullest. You only have one on this Earth.

Round and Round

John was an ordinary kid. In fact, there was nothing about him that was worth noticing. Even his name was the same as one out of five people in the US of A. If only his parents had named him a Joaquin or a Jabeel or a Jason, things might have been a tad better perhaps.

He just blended into the milieu without any effort. When he was four years old, his parents decided to take him to the local fair. They drove all the way to the fair in their brand new car. They walked up the ticket counter and asked for two and half tickets.

"Why do you need the extra half Sir?", enquired the polite guy behind the counter. It was only then that they realized that they had actually left John at home. And they had thought he was with them all the time.

This was not the only time he had faced this problem. There were umpteen number of times during his teenage when his friends had actually made plans without including him. They would always meet up at the local coffee shop before proceeding to their destination from there. They would invariably leave without him. Not because they did not care for him; he was after all a long time friend. But they just didn't notice he wasn't there. Not a very comfortable position for our protagonist you say. And you would be right.

After twenty years of this treatment meted out to him, John could bear it no longer. It was not that he was dumb or anything. He was a kid of about average IQ. He was modest looking. His height and weight fell right in the median of the height and weight distribution chart of America's teenage provided by the local health department. But that was the crux the problem.

One day he started to do something out of the ordinary. He wanted to prove to the world that he could do something different. Heck, he wanted to do it to prove to it himself. And he started walking in a circle. At first it was a large circle and he was just walking at an easy pace. Once he got into the groove, he started speeding up. Faster and faster he went. It was a heady feeling. He felt a little out of balance, but at this point it was getting interesting. He could feel the tug of the centrifugal force trying to throw him off course. But he kept at it determinedly. And then he did something utterly unthinkable. He started spiraling towards towards the centre of the circle going faster and faster at the same time. He was now 'high' with the centrifugal force. It was an unimaginable high that you and me cannot comprehend. And he kept at this for a long time. Until his legs could take it no longer. When he finally collapsed on the ground, this return to reality was a wonderful if painful feeling.

And that was the beginning of John 'The Centrifugal' Junkie. Whenever he got the time or the inclination, he got into his habit of doing the circle. At first, he friend's were shocked, even stupefied. But, finally notice they did of him. And what a feeling it was to be noticed. Gradually, everybody in the neighbourhood started talking about him. Crowds used to gather around to spectate this curious if bizarre incident everyday. Then the news spread to school and everybody was talking about 'The Centrifugal Junkie'. He was unstoppable phenomenon. He could go on for hours on end without food or a nature's call. It was amazing, the determination of this lad.

And then someone suggested to him, why just do circles. So he started trying out squares, rectangles, Pentagons, and Hexagons. As he got bolder, he started to experiment with irregular polygons, twisted circles, and shapes we don't even have names for. John tried it all. After days of experimenting on various shapes in the two dimensions, he looked for uneven land like slopes of hills, so that he could add the third dimension to his experiments. When he thought he had done it all, he went back to his beloved circle. He knew that he had finally found his true calling.

And that my friends, is the end of this delightful story of determination, fighting against all odds, sheer grit, rising up from the ashes and to conquer the world, and more importantly discovering one's free spirit, and above all giving vent to one's innate creativity.

"If the entire world wants to go right, and you want to go left, go left. No need to make a big fuss about it. Just go, its very simple."
- Sotiri, Yanni's father

This T-shirt just cracked me up

Get a load of this T-shirt. Its absolutely gross, but it cracks me up.

Click here.

Architecture @ Nvidia?

They pay a shit load of money for a fresher out of college although it has to be a college of outstanding repute. My manager tells me she hand picked for her team after going through 50 resumes of all the NCGs (New College Graduates). The food is great as they say. We have free lunch and breakfast. A break room always stacked with cornflakes, biscuits, tropicana juices, bread, butter, chakkalis, cool drinks and hot beverages, fresh fruits and recently, they also added pastries to the break room. Did I forget to add additional snacks in the evening on alternate days, also for free. And Non veg for lunch atleast twice a week.

My mom says, they are looking after you better than me, you better work sincerely. Meanwhile I have such a light workload that I am leaving early on half the days for salsa, and come late on the other half because I go for a swim in the morning. And if that doesn't suffice, I also have the option of doing Yoga on mondays, wednesdays and fridays since we get an in-house instructor. And while the back-end teams are slogging their asses off staying late nights, being in the architecture team, I have to beg my manager for work.

Some people call this heaven... maybe I am a workaholic...

Attention to detail

Warning: Long Piece Disclaimer

We were all in Satya's house. It was one of those weekend nights that we had decided to camp out at his place. The 'maal' was there and we all smoked up. Just before coming to Satya's place, Rohit and me had stopped over at Rohit's place, and I picked up a small book of jokes knowing that it would prove to be useful after our 'session'. And I was very right. It did not crack us up with laughter as I had intended but it did pave the way to one of the most immersing intellectual discussions that we as a group have ever had.

We had settled down in Satya's living room after a round of p*t. And I picked up the joke book to read some stupid jokes that would have us all rolling on the floor in incontrollable laughter. Kitty kept on chiding me for the level of planning I had shown by coming armed with a joke book just so we could laugh our asses off after the 'session'. As it were, the jokes were not of the standard that I had expected, and I lost interest in the book after reciting aloud a couple of jokes for the benefit of the audience. I put the book down and Kitty picked it up to see if he could spot an interesting one.

Listen to this, said Kitty:
" In 5th Century B. C., a barber asks his customer, 'How would you like to have your hair cut?' And the customer replies , 'In silence.' "
What a ridiculous joke.

Satya: Yeah I agree. But why in God's name did he have to add the opening phrase 'In 5th Century B. C.'. In what way, did that contribute to the joke or have anything to do with the joke at all?

Me: That, my dear Satya is what they call 'attention to detail'.

Satya: Balls. That was totally unnecessary information. I don't call that attention to detail.

Me: Well, it still is, even if it was unnecessary to the essence of the joke. The joke could have actually happened in 5th Century B.C., I'm not saying it did, but it could have; and the author knowing this fact chose to add it in his narration, in spite of knowing very well that it would not have any effect on the joke itself. Paying attention to the minutiae, is what I call attention to detail.

Satya: I'm not convinced...

Kitty (who was incidentally the only member of the group not under influence):
Let me clarify... In our company we had a session on hospitality as part of our training. During that session, we were told, 'Imagine delegates from Schneider, France were coming to Bangalore for a couple of days. How would you show them around the city and make sure that they had a good time?'
All the groups came up similar stuff and nobody did a bad job. Everyone said they would give some small gifts which they could take back as souvenirs to France. but only my team went one step further and said that we would give them an ivory idol of the Lord Ganesha. And the instructor commended us for our attention to detail.

Me: Now that's a good example. Everybody thought about giving a gift, but Kitty's team actually put their heads together and decided on a specific gift. They paid attention to specifics. That in my opinion is attention to detail. Say you were to take them out for lunch. Thats a given. But if you went ahead and thought of the specific restaurant, decided what you would order for them in advance during the planning stage; that's attention to detail.

Kitty: The fact that we thought of a contextual present, An Ivory Hindu Idol, and not some parker pen shows that we paid attention to the context. We realized that we had to give them something that would remind them of India, not just some gift.

Nikhil: Yeah I hadn't thought of it that way, but your explanation is a greater degree of attention to detail.

Vijay: In a way, I like to think that attention to detail is something that goes to various degrees. The deeper you go, the better the level of detail...

Nikhil: The most important part is the appreciation. When you see attention being paid to detail, you will appreciate it.

Satya: There is nothing to appreciate about attention to detail. If its there, you just notice it and its there, but nothing to be happy about.

Nikhil: No, you will definitely apprecaite it as the observer. I'm talking from the observer's point of view. You are talking from the doer's point of view. A person who is setting up the environment say, in a movie, will pay meticulous attention to detail, not because he expects any appreciation for it, but just because he wants to pay attention to detail.

Me: Yes... Say I'm making a movie that chronicles your life, Satya. When I come to the scene where I show your living room, I would take the pains to make sure every book that you now have in your bookshelf are also in the set that I reproduce; and I also take pains to see that the books are even arranged in exactly the same way that you see them now. Any Tom, Dick or Harry who sees the documentary would not care less for the books in the shelf. But if you were to see the documentary, you would notice the books and appreciate it. Why? I had no need to go into all that trouble to set up the minutiae, knowing it would not make a difference to a majority of the viewers except you, but I still went ahead and did it anyway. Thats attention to detail.

Nikhil: As you can see, both the doer and the observer have to be there and know the details individually for attention to detail to have any meaning.

Me: I would disagree. Take Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He creates such elaborate sets in his movies. Thats because he is a perfectionist. But thats who he is. And as an audience, you appreciate his sets. But Sanjay would have done it anyway. Not for the audience but for himself. And he would have done it even if the set 's details did not in anyway enhance the story telling. i continue to stress the point that attention to detail does not have to be contextual. It can just be there. Its just attention to detail.

Nikhil: Hmm... Its amazing how we all had so many different points of view about 'attention to detail'. And its difficult to contest anybody's point of view here. Everybodys explanation makes perfect sense if you think about it carefully.

Rohit: Yeah, wow this was a great conversation. And to think it all started from the phrase 'In 5th century B.C.' ...

Kitty: Imagine... If the author had actually imagined a group of people like us would spot this tiny attention to detail and had intentionally put it there, so that he could spark this discussion among us.

Footnote: I don't know how many people will appreciate this piece, but the guys who were there will definitely smile when they come across this piece. And guys, I hope I have done justice to the conversation and given attention to detail for your benefit... ;)

Trip to Honnemardu

The blue sky at Honnemardu

Breathtaking Sunrise! If you observe closely, the two pictures are exactly of the same scene taken just a few minutes apart, during sunrise and after. There were no photoshop touch ups applied on any of the photographs.

After a gap of almost four months, I was finally able to make a two day junket (if thats the right word) to Honnemardu ( Linganamakki reservoir ) and Jog falls in Shimoga district. Went with a amateur albiet enthusiatic team of NCGs (New College Graduates) from Nvidia. Kudos to the Adventurers club for running and maintaining the place.

The weather was extremely pleasant and though we had to spend the night in tents at the island under pouring conditions, it was nevertheless fun. The highlight of the trip was having to coracle back to mainland from the island after night fall in order to get dinner for everyone. The peace and quiet and the dark blue water all around you is one of the best chance you can get to connect with nature. A truly uplifting experience. Another highlight was to just lie spread eagled on your back in the reservoir (we had on life jackets) right in the middle of the lake and close your eyes. You just lose all the cares in the world and its probably one of the most relaxing things that I have ever done (even more so after you have just trekked for ten plus kilometres and swam for atleast a kilometre).

Jog was a disappointment in the sense that there wa hardly any water at the falls. But the height of the waterfall still takes your breath away, especially when you look down the sheer cliff from where the water falls off.

I'm too lazy to post a detailed log, but here are a few pics for everyone's viewing pleasure.

A view of the mainland from the island

Jog in all its splendor

Cheers!!!

The 'green stuff' cycle

I knew about this thing called Mutual Funds that existed all along, but I didn't know what exactly what it was. My friend introduced me to it and I have to say that it did impress me quite a bit. By collecting and managing the funds of a large number of people and investing the funds in the growing Indian stock market, they provide very good returns on your money. Although, you are never assured of the returns, assuming that you do some research and invest in the top performing fund houses, you can more than triple your money invested in about three years time. But it of course entails having to put away your money for three years time.

And what happens when you get the money three years later? The temptation is very great to invest this money once again and triple that three years from then. And you are caught in the vicious cycle of making more money and seeing it multiply forever. While it is prudent to save for the rainy day, don't make it a habit of going like a rabid dog with your salivating tongue hanging down behind the green stuff.

And for those of you with a little bit of patriotism left in you, remember that India will prosper as an economy only when the purchasing power of its citizens increases or if we buy more with our money. So don't just grow a money plant in your compound, enjoy its fruits too before the plant finally withers and dies.

Ten Random Things About me that you SHOULD know

1. When I was still about five months old, my sister apparently got jealous that I was getting all the attention in the house. All the guests were all clucking their tongues and making all the cooing sounds at the crib to make me smile. One day, she walked up to my crib and and bit my nose! And from that day onwards, I have to live with a big nose. So if don't bag a nice girl in the future, you all know who's responsible.

2. I was state level athlete/ sprinter in school. I was highly respected in school for this feat. But little do the people know about the level of dedication that went into this. My mother claims that I started running when I was all of seven months old. In fact I didn't know how to walk at that time yet but I could run! No wonder then that I went to become a sprinter huh!

3. I was part of the gang in high school that planned the 'acid spilling incident'. We were bugged to death with all the nonsense 'educational' videos that were shown to us in the audio/visual room in school. So we decided to destroy the TV by pouring concentrated Sulphuric acid on it out of fun! Although I was not part of the execution committee , I witnessed the incident. However, I managed to get out without any trouble while my friends faced a week of suspension. The school also bought itself a brand new LG TV out of the money shelled as fine from my poor friends' parents' pockets.

4. I once went to athletic practice without wearing my athletic shorts. I had on my track pants but had totally forgotten my shorts as I was in a hurry. After warm up, our coach asked us to put on spikes as we had time trials. Without thinking, I donned my spikes and then pulled down my track pants as usual. And to my horror, I had on no shorts. To make things worse, my senior (a girl) sitting next to me was putting on her spikes at the very moment. She was just speechless. I pulled up my pants in a flash and walked away embarrassed. I had to do all my workout with tracks on that day.

5. My first job offer came to me when I was still in Tenth. After I broke the national 100 metres sprint record at the All India National ICSE and ISC meet at Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, the team manager of the Bihar team walked up to me and offered me a salary of 12000 p.m. to run for the Bihar team. I declined. After that, our team manager started fussing all over me and offering me all sorts of things like juice, food and stuff. Till then, our manager had totally ignored us guys and concentrated all his efforts on impressing the girl members of the contingent.

6. When i was still in the third grade, a friend of mine came to my house. He challenged me to a game of boxing. Being the man that I was, I stood up to the challenge. His first shot went towards my face and hit my spectacles (yes, I started wearing glasses from first grade itself). They crashed to the floor and broke in two. My friend disappeared in a flash and was missing for two weeks there afterwards.

7. That brings me to the story of how I got glasses at a very young age. When I was a kid of about three, I used to get so fascinated about the TV that I used to go stand six inches from it. My mom got so exasperated that she once tied me up to the chair with rope so that I wouldn't get any closer to the TV! Looks like she was a bit too late, I screwed up my eyesight anyways.

8. I very rarely show any aggression with anyone because I am strong believer in the principle of non-violence. My elder sister has been known to use this to her advantage as she knows that I invariably give in to have peace. Once I wanted to get hold of the TV remote to watch something on TV. My sister had the remote and refused to give it to me in spite of the fact that she had been watching TV for the better part of the day. I got so furious that I walked up to her and dragged her off the sofa. She fell on the floor with a plop. She was so shocked, she handed me the remote without any further comment. So guys, better not mess with me taking me for a docile guy!

9. (With inputs from Mojosrising) When I was in 9th grade, fuelled up with hormones and testosterone, I had a crush on a senior girl in tenth grade...mojosrising alleges that I proposed to her, but I did not. Sadly the girl committed suicide two years later (again speculations are rife that the incident took place after she found out about this fact.) May her soul rest in peace!

10. Once I got sooo high after a session of g#$!% that I actually (assumed that I could think faster than the speed of light says mojosrising) begin to think faster than the speed of light. So much so that even with my eyes closed, I predicted that the tubelight was going to be switched and lo and behold, split milliseconds later, the light was actually switched on by Tango. Can you believe that, you better!

More to come...

I tag Mojorsrising to declare to the public ten random facts about himself for the pleasure of his readers.

To my handful of viewers, announcing the premiere of 'Ten random facts about myself that you should know!', shortly releasing for Ganesh Chaturti! Watch out for all the action this holiday season.

A scratch a week on my Swift keeps my dad on his toes!

That's the mantra that I have been following for the past three weeks. It is said that only fifty percent of the accidents are due to a fault of your own. And, so far the statistics have matched it up. Two scratches (more like gashes) were due to the fact that I misjudged the width of the car and tried to push the car into a space where it didn't fit. In both cases though, I managed to escape only with the scratches and no hassles with the other party since these minor accidents involved parked cars whose drivers were thankfully not in the driver's seats when the incidents happened.

The other two incidents were purely due to the over ambitious steering circuses of two wheelers. I agree with Mojosrising on this one completely; but asking everyone to drive/get a car is a bit far fetched. In fact going by the adage, 'If you can't beat them, join them.', I too plan to get a decent bike once the monsoons are over 'and' my dad feels he can no longer salvage his beloved car if he lets me take the car to office.

In any case, I have made up my mind to try and limit the number of scratches in the near future. Driving in the MG Road traffic can really get on anyone's nerves, esp. if it is everyday in rush hour traffic and you are tired out already after a long day of work at the office. Luckily, the Sony Xplod stereo rigged in the car helps to alleviate the tensions and make the driving a little less irritable. Its surprising how much you are dying to drive a car when its forbidden and when its finally allowed, it loses its sheen and you realise that owning a car is just over rated. The only good thing about it is that you don't need to wear a helmet which kind of atleast slows down your hair fall/ balding rate and that of course is a big boon for guys like me and Mojosrisng! Now I know why people get Mercs adn Skodas and then let their drivers drive the car. The pressure of trying to keep your car scratch free nullifies the pleasures of driving altogether.

Signing off with a toast to the Bangalore roads five years from now; and hope I'm not on it!

What Kind are you!

Your Personality Is Like Acid

A bit wacky, you're very difficult to predict. One moment you're in your own little happy universe... And the next, you're on a bad trip to your own personal hell!

What Drug Is Your Personality Like?

The Eagleton Experience

It was on the occasion of employees day that we went to Eagleton golf resort sans the golf facilities. The first thing that struck me was the huge acreage which they had managed to buy. And this was excluding the golf course greens. I was of course wondering why anyone would bother driving thirty odd kilometers out of the city in order to get to this place. Thats when I saw that along with Nvidia, there were five other companies celebrating some occasion or just giving a breather to their stressed out employees by taking them out to the reaort.

The facilities were pretty impressive too especially for a sports enthusiast like me. Billiards, Squash courts, table tennis and badminton, Foozball, multi level swimming Pool, and of course Golf. They even have rooms if you plan to stay the night at the resort. So its quite a tempting experience for the sports junkies. Personally, I felt that the time we had there was not enough to explore all the facilities. I could only use the squash, swimming pool and the foozball. Squash was really a great experience, probably the game I have enjoyed the most after tennis. I'm really looking forward to playing it again sometime soon.

The new thing I tried was flying a kite. There were two experience kite flyers there namely Harpreet and Sahil and they managed to get the kite so hgh up that it became merely a speck in the sky! What was even more exciting was to see that the kite was even higher than the bird which was flying right up there. I never imagined that flying kites could be so good. And evening there was a DJ and we did some good old dancing on the dance floor. Although there were a little too many punjabi songs on the playlist, I had a good time. By the end of the day, I was thoroughly exhausted and now that i think of it, I would definitely like to go there again.

Oh and by the way, this was the first Nvidia party that had drinks on the house.

What kind are you?

Brain Lateralization Test Results

Right Brain (44%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain. Left Brain (56%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain

Are You Right or Left Brained?
personality tests by similarminds.com

The Good Manager

Well I joined Nvidia and so far its been great. Probably because they haven't given me any work yet! But, anyway within a month of joining, I've already had four, five star lunches, two movies and Eagleton Golf resorts coming up next week. Well if working is really this fun , I really have no complaints!

Anyway, the purpose of this article is not that. I do go to office by car, which happens to be my dad's car, but he doesn't mind my using it , I've already scratched his baby twice, poor guy , so he's given up. Anyway, there was this evening that I left the company a little early in the evening. There were still a lot of cars left in the parking lot. As a consequence, it was a daunting task to back my car out of the cramped space. While I was still struggling, one of the managers, a one Mr. P (whose name I shall not divulge due to confidentiality reasons), walked into the parking lot. Seeing me backing out of the car, he broke into a sprint and was at my side in a jiffy. Then he started assisting me with the backing up of the car. I was pretty surprised, shocked even to see such a senior guy going out of his way to help me, a fresher he didn't even know. As I waved a thank you, he walked across and got into his Honda Accord, I think , which was parked next to my former slot. And then it dawned upon me, he feared for his car! He didn't want his baby to get scratched which explained the sprint. I broke into a broad grin and was laughing all the way home.

Anyway, Mr. P, all said and done, you are still great. I hope that one day when I am in such a big position, I still remain as humble and down to earth as you.

The Green Paradox

Have you ever wondered about this. Its always the guys who have the most money who have no idea what to do with it or in the worse case have no time to do anything with it. And it the guys who have the grandest plans to blow away all their moolah who are strapped for cash.

It is lucky guy who can make money and blow it easily too. Maybe engineering isn't the thing for me. I've realised after only a week of work at nVidia that maybe I am not cut out for all the programming. Its too early for me to say which end of the spectrum I'll be but, I hope that I can get the balance of the two extremes in my life.

On an aside, its still a little difficult for me to believe that all those processors and graphics cards were actually conceived and designed by man. Even more incredible is the fact that I will now be part of that process. Kudos to the amazing level of evolution that man has been able to achieve!

Going Hi Tech

After almost 3 to 4 years of having to put up with outdated technology, I am finally getting a new computer which I could declare as almost state of the art. Well it does cost close to 50k and has all the works. Hope that I make good use of the hardware. The truth is that you only need to constantly upgrade only if you want to play the latest games and devour all those eye candy graphics. I haven't played games in a long time on account of the fact that my previous laptop wasn't sufficiently equipped for the task. So I'm looking forward to the new gaming experience which I should be, given that I'm in the business of designing high end graphics cards now at Nvidia! Hopefully, my enthusisam won't fizzle out soon.

Romancing The Rain

Everything associated with rain is so romantic. The cool breeze and the swaying of trees just seconds before the downpour starts, the kiss of the first raindrop on your cheek, the earthly smell rising up with the first showers to embrace the falling droplets, the sight of a peacock with all its plume arrayed in a wondrous display, a girl dancing in the rain with her arms spread eagle and chin pointing heavenwards with those lustrous locks plastered to her face... oh so beautiful!

In fact everything is so rosy and heavenly that I feel it is my duty to shatter this myth. For all of you who didn't know, rain also brings to the dense forests and slopes of the Western Ghats wait for it... Leeches. And if you think we didn't learn this the hard way, check out these pictures captured on our 6 Megapixel Digital cameras en route to Brahmagiri.







Those are actually the poda of our very friend Bhattiem who daringly or rather foolishly (although we strongly suspect its the later) decided to venture into the forests of the Western Ghats in floaters smack bang in the middle of the south-west monsoon. I kid you not, these are real photos. If you are daring enough, click on the photos to view the leeches in all their glory.

Another group of trekkers consisting more of the fairer sex were outfitted in thick jeans, thick soled calf length boots, and double and triple packed woolen socks to avoid our sucker friends in stark contrast with our shorts and ankle length cotton socks. This incident was reported by eyewitnesses-

One girl whispering to another girl after seeing our revealing outfits: Are they crazy! Don't they know there are leeches here? Why are they in half pants?
Us to one another smugly: Duh!!!

Who said anything about rain being always romantic.

Disclaimer: No harm was imparted to the leeches in the shooting of these photographs. However, they were salted, tobacco-ed, bleached and ground to a fine pulp with a vengeance until every last drop of sucked blood was gleefully forced out of its slimy body after the shoot was over. And although Bhattiem probably fed an entire kingdom of leeches, we also bravely did our part by accepting some bites ourselves even though we don't get a Blood Donation certificate and free Tees from Rotaract Club for our benevolence.

Credits: We would like to thank all the leeches for patiently clinging on to Bhattiem's smelly legs and sucking his toxic blood for hours and posing for the photographs. We could not have done this without you.

Star Power

Just came back after watching the movie Shivaji, The Boss. And for the life of me, I couldn't remeber why I had assented to accompany my friends to see that movie in the first place. They just seem to reach a new level of stupidity in the name of performing 'stunts' and 'comedy' and 'style'. I have to say that Shriya Saran's exquisitely crafted body and the suggestive sway of her hips in the dance sequences were the only things that kept me from pulling out my hair from my head. After a while, even that got monotonous. Just because Rajni 'sir' is the hero doesn't mean they can get away with showing anything on the screen. And yet going by the collections, they seem to have achieved just that. It goes to show that a vast majority of the Indian Population are just dumb or have insipid tastes. My guess is that they haven't seen anything better.

One has to commend the Director's efforts for once again trying to expose the fallacies of corruption and trying to inspire people to give up corruption. But time and again, one gets the feeling that beating up guys and seducing hot actresses is the main fare in the movie and tackling corruption just the side dish. I have to admit that I did not expect much from the movie and tagged along just to quench my curiosity.

Anyway for those of you who read this post and are open to trying out a good movie, how about 'The Big Lebowski' for starters and 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' for main course. And if you are still hungry for more, try 'The Pursuit of Happiness' for dessert.

Nostalgia Part 2

A tribute to the four most wonderful years of my life 'studying' engineering at the hallowed portal NITK Surathkal...

Its not so much about the college but the great friends I made there, the crazy times we had there, the beautiful places we went to, everything was just so. Like enjoying a well done steak, the taste lingers for a long time. It saddens me deeply that this phase of my life is over and I have to become an adult with responsibilities. That totally sucks. Oh well, on a more philosphical note, all things good in life have to come to an end...

Remembering shenoy's spoonerisms and mispronunciations, his stupid smile and the shine in his eyes when he tells a white lie that it's practically a no-brainer to catch him at it, Sundi's goofy smile and his undying enthusiasm to reach the top of a a peak, to give Kandu hero poses for the camera so that he can show them off on orkut, Mabhi's shady dialogues and his blanket, his premature love for PZ, Bhattiem and his bhatru stomach, his gangster behaviour when he gets drunk, Raghav's fishy smile, his craze for all things that smell and look and feel Led Zep, Tanay with his oh so beautiful music and his Ibanez, his temper tantrums, Vyas with his craze for changing girlfriends, his sweet smile with which he escapes from his crimes, vada seller slap receiver, Nikhil and his sleep and F1 and his affinity for the 'high spirits' and 'smashing attitude', Su and his worsht jokes but amazing creativity, Sri ram and his always Im bored and the most popular guy on campus, Vikram and his jive moves, Brat and his literary genius, Bacat and his graphics eye candy and his all nighters, Rishi and his pranks, his mango face, his assumptions, lets pitch the tent on top of Chembra, Rasho and tongue sticking out photos, Russell Peters' and his 'Doggy Style'...

Me and my bathroom escapades, my long hair in the second hair from which lethal mistake I lost half my hair, getting shit scared on Chembra due to the wind, the early morning by the kabini reservoir by the tent with all the mist rising from the river, my first time getting sloshed at a placement party, getting smashed and being able to 'see' the music, all the headbanging at the concerts, the sun kissed sands of Gokarna, experiencing heaven at Munnar, discovering Floyd and Porcupine Tree and A Perfect Circle and Knopfler, the excruciating train rides to Calicut in the general compartment, trying to build a robot unsuccessfully, trying to coax music from my guitar...

And to all the laughter, all the worldly wisdom acquired, to all the pychedaelic moments, to all those brilliant times I played tennis with Sundi and Rasho, and discussed cuisines with Kulin, and his mom's delicious chocolate balls, falling in love with Salsa, to those lip-smacking steaks at Diesels, to the beautiful beach and light house in front of our campus, to digital logic and design which hopefully I won't tire out of within the next year, teaching electronics to Mechanical peers, Goa with Macy and Modi and Mithun and Nikhil, Lep zepplica with fish at IITM...

To Prison Break and Lost and Desu noto and 24, to The Blairwitch Project and Pulp Fiction and Fight Club and The Shawshank Redemption and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and all the mind blowing entertainment the LAN had to offer...

And to all those pains and sufferings - omnipresent water shortage, power failures and hence sleepless nights during the exams, the tepid mess 'food' in all its diabolical glory, the pain of being betrayed by people you trusted, the joy of rediscovering yourself and kicking back harder, the ligament tear and its aftermath, the heat and all the sweating, PSB announcing his voluntary retirement from service, getting our asses kicked for not paying enough attention to our final year project...

To all those moments that I hope I can remember for a very long time...

Kingfisher gets it right again

Check out Kingfisher's smart reply to Jet Airways' Ad Campaign! Kingfisher's ad campaign have always got it right.

Courtesy: Creative criminal

Yup, Ladies that's me!

The Slow Dancer Deliberate Gentle Love Dreamer (DGLD) Steady, reliable, and cradling her tenderly. Take a deep breath, and let it out real easy...you are The Slow Dancer. Your focus is love, not sex, and for your age, you have average experience. But you're a great, thoughtful guy, and your love life improves every year. There's also a powerful elimination process working in your favor: most Playboy types get stuck raising unwanted kids before you even begin settling down. The women left over will be hot and yours. Your ideal woman is someone intimate, intelligent, and very supportive. Your exact male opposite: The Hornivore Random Brutal Sex Master While you're not exactly the life of the party, you do thrive in small groups of smart people. Your circle of friends is extra tight and it's HIGHLY likely they're just like you. You appreciate symmetry in relationships. ALWAYS AVOID: The Battleaxe (DBLM) CONSIDER: The Maid of Honor (DGLM) or The Sonnet (DGLD) Link: The Online Dating Persona Test @ OkCupid - free online dating. My profile name: : slowsprinter

A humbling Police Encounter

By 'police encounter', I don't mean that some gun wielding policeman tried to finish me off instead of arresting me in order to avoid all the hassles and legalities of capturing me legit and trying me in a court of law. By Gawd, no! I am a God fearing, law abiding citizen. I had lost my driver's license and the RTO refused to issue me a duplicate without an acknowledgment from the police.

I dreaded going to the police station because I knew that they would try to fleece me off before they handed me the letter of acknowledgment. Maybe I would have to use up all my refunded caution deposit(all 6k of it) from college on these lathi wielding officers.

Anyway, I was accosted by a non liveried officer at the entrance of the station. Maybe he was just a clerk.

Me: Sir, I need to get a blah blah... and explained what I wanted
Officer/clerk: Where did you lose it?
Now I had really misplaced it at home itself. But even I knew that it would be a dumb thing to own up on the truth to this guy.

Me: I umm..., lost it in the Jayanagar swimming pool.
Gun wielding constable listening in on the conversation: You have to go to the Tilaknagar Police Station for that. The swimming pool is their jurisprudence. (Now of course, he wasn't using such fancy words, I'm only using them to impress my fellow readers about my vocabulary skills.)
Okay, they were at it now. Typical technique used to put you off. I was too lazy to go to Tilaknagar station you see, so I would be willing to bend some rules to get things done here itself. In short, give them money in exchange for getting it done here itself. I would be damned if I gave in to their play. And so was I damned.

Me: Sir, can't I get it done here itself somehow?
Officer/clerk: Nope. What are you doing by the way?
Me: I'm a student sir.
Officer/clerk: Besides, you need to get an affidavit to prove that you really lost the DL. That will cost you about a hundred bucks, so you might as well pay the amount here and rid yourself of the difficulties of making an affidavit.
So that was it took, a hundred bucks. I shouldn't stand upto all this corruption. I must fight it off. Give them a piece of my mind. Even if it means walking back home empty handed and facing the ire of my father. Or I could just pay him a hundred.

Me: Show me how it's done.
Officer: Right this way. I'll tell you what to write in the letter.
While we were sitting at his table and he dictated the letter to me: What are you studying?
Me: I just finished my Engineering sir, in Electronics.
Officer: Where?
Me: KREC sir, Surathkal.
Officer raises his eyebrows in admiration. Wow, this guy recognizes KREC. Boy, KREC rules. The college brand did bail me out on another occasion although I can't tell you that incident now.

Officer: So you looking for a job now?
Me: No sir, already got one.
Officer: How much they pay you?
Now, I'm going to get an obscene amount for a fresher at Nvidia, but I figured if he heard the amount, he would decide to fleece me more. So I played it safe.

Me: Oh, about three and a half to four lakhs.
Officer: Per month!!!
Me: Whoa, no way! Per annum sir.
Officer: You guys are well educated. Me, I'm just a tenth standard pass. Here, hand me the letter. You stay here while I get the signature from the Sub Inspector.
True to his word he gets the job done and hands over the letter to me. My hand goes to my back pocket to fish for the purse but he gives no signal for money. In fact he takes me to the Police Inspector and introduces me.

Officer: This here sir is THE software engineer.
The inspector grunts and goes back to what he is doing. Although I was offended for being labelled a Software Engineer(you see I am a Hardware Engineer), I took it in good stride. I thanked the officer/clerk for his help and left almost overwhelmed that I had accomplished the arduous task without spending a pie on bribery.

Maybe the police force was improving. Too early to tell. Anyway, I walked away with a spring in my step and hope in my heart.

My name is Red

Olive is the Murderer. Score! What a no brainer.
By the way, the book sucks. Orhan Pamuk, don't know how you won the Dublin IMPAC award for that. 3/10 would be my rating for the book. But who am I to decide...

On Life...

Is it today, little bird?

Is this the day that I am going to die?

Am I doing everything I must?

Am I everything I want to be?

-from the book 'Tuesdays with Morrie'

Nostalgia Part I

Wild Flowers, Central Station, Munnar

Heaven, Munnar

Is it a bird, is it a rock... Bottom Station, Munnar

Hanging on the Edge at Sheeshaparvata

A misty view of the mountains enroute to the peak

Falls at Munnar (name of the falls I cant recall)

A breathtaking view from Top Station, Munnar

Wild yellow flowers, Munnar

Bird's eye view of Om Beach

The Shiva Linga at Kumaraparvata

The final stretch to the peak at KP

A beautiful view of Sheeshaparvat, KP

Another view amidst the mist of Sheeshaparvata

Om beach at Sunset, Gokarna

There is no way I can post all the wonderful timeless pictures here. Here are a few of the best pics from recent treks...

Kudos to Sunaad for all the organization, loads of enthusiasm, and a goofy smile. You are the best!

The Spirit of the Song

Wow, you guys have to check out this poem by Phoenix. Cheers!

My name is Red: Whodunnit? The Deduction

I write this a personal note to myself and the handful of readers of my blog can give this one a miss as it is irrelevant to you.

Is it Olive, Butterfly or Stork. Although I would describe the characterization of the three suspects by Pamuk as scanty and insufficient, there is sufficient detail in the middle chapters to give a hint as to who the murderer of Elegant Effendi. I will now try to hazard a guess as to who the culprit is at this stage of the story and come to see if my logic worked well enough.

We know for sure that Elegant was a mediocre guilder who nevertheless believed in the Master's sense of art and was against the Frankish influences that seemed to be corrupting Enishte's work slowly and steadily.

Lets consider Olive first. This miniaturist's striking characteristic that differentiates from Butterfly and Stork is that he illustrates solely for his self satisfaction and for the sake of art. He is also the only one of the trio who has an independent thinking and is not bound to the dictates of the masters of old.

Butterfly has a lust for lucre like none others and wants to succeed Master Osman as the Head Illuminator. So these two sins are sure to spell doom for his character. He believes the old masters truly and also believes that he is truly gifted like the masters of old or the next Bihzad.

Finally, there's Stork. Again like Butterfly, he lusts for money and has hardly any scruples. This is further proven by the fact that he bribes the page boy and copies a picture of a horse from a painting that he had hidden. He is not content at knowing that he is the best miniaturist. He wants The Sultan to acknowledge this fact too and is ready to go any lengths to achieve this.

Hint 1: There is no actual money at the site of the Elegant's death which proves that miniaturist who drew the horse didn't possibly do it for the money.

Hint 2: The one who drew the horse for Enishte is in all likelihood Elegant's killer. So all we need to find out is who drew the horse.

Hint 3: The horse bears its own style which is a violation of the masters of great.

Hint 4: Before Enishte was killed, the murderer had a burning desire to see the final painting. Only a miniaturist interested in the art itself would be burning to see the last painting.

Hint 5: The murderer regrets having killed Elegant.

Given the three hints, Butterfly is eliminated as Butterfly is believer of the masters and there is no money factor here either. And killing Elegant will in no way bring him closer to his goal of overthrowing Master Osman as Head Illuminator.

Stork is a strong contender. His only desire was to be known as the best. But was that a strong enough reason to kill Elegant? I think not. Also Stork's character has me believe that he would repent having killed Elegant if he did indeed do it but we know that the murderer repents having killed Elegant.

So my logical conclusion is that the killer is Olive. If Olive was convinced that he was doing the greatest horse of all times and this involves drawing a real horse like the Frankish masters, he probably would not let Elegant get in the way of true art. And he is likely to repent for killing Elegant for he has the clearest conscience among the trio.

Therefore, my money is on Olive. So lets see if my prediction turns out to be true. Then I can claim that I have truly understood the characterization.

Yeah its hot!

I have started this article in the usual eye catching papparazzi style to catch the attention of your eyes and to make you skim through this blog. I know you will stop and go through this blog the moment you set your eyes on the title.

Now what can the word 'hot!' in the line aver to:
a. Hot coffee
b. Global Warming
c. A furnace
d. AMD Athon FX 74

A survey taken showed that 79% of the respondents associated the word furnace with the phrase 'hot!' Ahem... do you think I have a jasmine on my left ear? The article we guys think about first is not even on the list.

Anyway, this article is not about that word-of-whom-we-do-not-openly-write-about but about Global Warming. Finally, the world is waking up to the effects of Global Warming. Although what I don't understand is why we as Indians don't realize the issue and start doing something about it first? Why do we have to wait for USA and Europe and Japan and China to wake up before we go -

'Huh, Global Warming... What's that? Should we do something about it? Lets wait another five years, the rest of the world is only started to do something about it now, its too early for us. '

And this from a nation that boasts about its brain power and talent exporting capability. We may have the number crunching capability, but when it comes to thinking on our own and making bold decisions, we draw nothing short of a negative infinity.

Meanwhile, our government make take years to respond to the crisis, they won't take notice until they find the hair on their head singed due to the rising heat. But in the meantime, it is your time to act. Do what you can in TOI's word to reduce your carbon signature by following these simple tidbits:

1. Switch off lights and appliances you are not using. Even devices in Standby draw power.
2. Use only the amount water you need. Plug leaking taps and faucets immediately.
3. Its never beneath your dignity to walk or cycle when you can to save fuel.
4. Install a water heater at home. Shaves off valuable power consumption everyday.
5. Dispose garbage safely.

If you guys aren't inspired enough, I urge you to watch 'An Inconvenient Truth', a commendable effort by Al Gore. I'm sure that if you have an IQ above 90, you will understand and start acting accordingly.

Let us save Gaya
Background Score as credits begin to roll : Captain Planet! You're the Hero! Gonna take pollution down to zero...

Its all about the 'potato basket'!

Well, if you are in a metro and have cash to burn and are above twenty years of age, you must be going to Pubs frequently. Replace the 'and' condition by an 'or' if its applicable to you. Anyway, I'm one who prefers fine dining to the high spirits anyday, but my friends think otherwise. And the good friend that I am, I am often bound to accompany them on their nightly odysseys to mojos or pecos or mojos or pecos or mojos or pecos or mojos or mojos... the list goes on and on, you would think bangalore was strapped for pubs.

So this time, I finally convinced them to go a new place and we settled on LoR or Legends of Rock for the uninitiated. Personally, I like LoR better for its mango-bience (pronounce the mango in hindi, if you used to pronounce it as me-bience (replace me by am) then you have been wrong all your life.)

I order a peach schnapps just for the sake of drinking something. Now if you think thats a gurlie drink, I can't change your mind because India is a free country and you have the freedom of thought. There was a live band playing that night, I forget the name of the band, but the vocalist was pretty good. We order some dragon chicken and paneer tikka along with some drinks.

Ten minutes later,
I say: I say, let's order the potato basket.
Macee: Are you drinking some more?
I say: Nah...I have to go back home.
Macee: Then no need.

Five minutes later,
I say: Let's order the potato basket.
Macee: Are you drinking some more?
I say: Nah...
Macee: Then no need

Two minutes later,
I say: Umm, shall we order the potato basket?
Modi: How much you want to eat man, if you are ordering another 60 then...
I say: Nah...
All three in unison (shouting): Then no NEED, go home and eat dinner.
Ok ok guys, I get the point, no need to be so repetitive.

Modee: Waiter, bill!

Waiter appears with the bill.
We all calculate our share of the drinks. We add it all up and the bill is only Rs. 24 more! We examine the bill closely and realise that the waiter forgot to charge us for the food! We were out the place in the wink of an eye, although it takes a little bit more time to wink when you are drunk. The waiter must have looked at the bill and the cash on the table and gone: aha, i got a fifteen buck tip! That's enough for a masala dosa and coffee in SLV (a fast food restaurant known for its dosas and coffee)! Wait till he realises he has to pay two fifty bucks to pay for our food from his own pocket. We dash out of the parking lot with tinted windows of our car all rolled up.

Once we are out of danger from any any hand thrown projectiles from the waiter,
I say triumphantly: you guys, we should have had the potato basket, we would not have got charged
with an I-told-you-so glint in my eye.

So you agree with me that LoR is better than mojos or pecos?

Pool and Prejudice

It was a lesson to be learnt - that you must not be prejudiced against anything, even if your initial opinion towards any subject or action is negative, which itself may be due to various reasons.

In my case, there was no apparent reason for me to dislike pool other than the fact that pool parlours are generally dark and musty and have a pubbish atmosphere. Maybe that was the dominant reason. It caused me to reject pool as a dirty game and made me come up with false excuses to not play the game.

It's so similar to carrom, only you play it with a stick. So why do you have to pay and play? You may as well play carrom at home for free instead.

How naive of me to make such a comment. There is simply so much more that you can do in pool. Carrom doesn't even come close. However, this naivete prevented me from playing for nearly five years while my friends were enjoying the game thoroughly.

The reason I finally started playing can be regarded as an extremely silly reason. When I got placed at Nvidia, I asked the HR what sort of entertainment was available in the office. I was expecting TT tables, tennis courts et al. But all I got was pool tables for an answer. I was appalled! However, I resolved that if I had to make maximum use of the facilities available, I had to learn to play pool. And so it started. I slowly discovered the game. Initially, its a little tough to learn, but once I got the hang of it, there was no looking back. Nowadays , I'm playing pool almost daily given that its vacation time.

And it was a good lesson learnt. Never underestimate the value of anything or form an opinion on something without trying it out first. You must burn your hands in the fire, even if it is painful sometimes.

Phantom of Manhattan - Book Review

Now, thats what I call a love story. All KANK and K3G lovers out there, read this book by Frederick Forsyth to learn how to write a real love story. Ten on ten for bringing out the senti and emotions. This is sequel to Gaston Leroux's original Phantom of the Opera. Haven't read the original myself, but will surely do so if I find it.

Salsa, its hot baby!

Joined Salsa classes last weekend along with a friend (sorry folks, just a guy friend). And would you believe it, the day we sign up, there are five guys including us and only ONE ,yes you read that right one girl. Imagine my consternation. I must be doomed for life.
Luckily, on the second day, there was a girl from the intermediate class who was lazing around before her class, and the instructor asked her to grace the occasion with her presence and come dance with me. So finally, I got some decent action.

Hurrah, the curse of the Black Pearl is finally broken!

Stan man!

AK about Jammy (referring to his name): Girls will look at him and go Choo Chweet!!!

AK, you are truly the man, The Man from Stan!

A Phone call from a Secret Admirer (yeah, you wish!)

This happened about three weeks ago on the penultimate week of my B. Tech programme in the hallowed NITK engineering institute...

I was sitting on the front steps of the fifth block hostel (also known proudly as the final block) sipping on the packet flavour milk that claimed to be elaichi flavour. As usual, I had to bite on the tip of the plastic cover unsuccessfully for five minutes to get it opened. The stray dog sitting on the porch must have been staring at me lazily and smiling sarcastically inwards -'Oh the inefficiency of these humans! And to think he'll have a B. Tech degree in a fortnight!'

Anyway, I finally dropped the straw in and took a sip. Was all the effort opening it worth it I wondered as the milk touched my tongue and went down the throat. Arghh! Anyway I'm paying for the mess bill, might as well drink it (we are shettys you know, now is that spelled shetties for plural I wonder). Then my MotoSLVR rings. An unlnown caller. 'Hello?'

On the other end: Who is this! ( a sweet female voice!)
To self: Aha! A female, hope not a salesperson.
To the female: You called me, please identify yourself first.

UFC (unknown Female Caller): No! You tell me who you are first.
To self: talk about indecency, anyway, since its only a harmless sweet sounding (maybe beautiful female...
Me: okayyy, this is Vijay. How may i help you? ( I'm always the purrfect gentleman you see).

UFC: You better stop harassing my cousin Priyanka. I know you have been calling her up and troubling her consistently. Even her parents know about this now. if this continues, we will be forced to lodge a complaint with the police!
To self: ???????
Me: I'm sorry, you must have got the wrong person. I don't know any Priyanka. Please check the number you dialled.

UBF (at this point I must rename her Unknown Belting Female to better represent her role): Yeah right. no point trying to covering up. i know who you are, you are Suresh right. I know all about you!
To self: Is this girl gone off the rocker? I told her barely two minutes ago that my name was Vijay. Lemme try again. Maybe she suffers from short term memory loss like the antagonist of the film 'Memento' by Christopher Nolan (if you haven't watched it yet, please do.)
Me: Sorry, my name is Vijay. I'm telling you that you have the wrong numb...

UBF: Yeah right, don't think you can put on a fake identity!
To self: What the !@#$ ! What's wrong with this not so sweet anymore female?
Me: I repeat, you have got the wrong person. Please check the person you have dialled.
UBF: Don't tell me what to do....

Click. At this point I cut off the phone, mildly offended that this female besmirches my reputation and amused that she could actually say I was using a fake identity. Then I got thinking, maybe I have an alter ego, the darker side who calls himself Suresh and goes around harassing females for time-pass. If Edward Norton could have one in 'Fight Club' by David Fincher (If you haven't watched this one yet, You haven't lived at all!). But I quickly dismiss the notion thinking, if I did have an alter ego, he surely would go by a more suede and stylish name, not a Suresh (ughh!) and he would be more darker, not a useless girl-harasser. Maybe a con artist or something like Danny in Hustle ( again watch this BBC series please). Thus satisfied, I walk back into the block.

Ten minutes later, I'm back in my room thinking I can't have her have the last word in that demeaning conversation. i pick up my phone and start typing, 'You better apologise to me or ill be forced to lodge a complaint against you with the police.' And i lay down on my bed waiting for a reply.

Bbeep. Ah a message from who else but the UBF- 'im extremely sorry. i dialled the rong no by mistake. me was in a lot of tension. dialled urs instead of 3455. soo sorry.' There, thats better.

I type back -' Apology accepted. in the future, be more careful. hope suresh stops harassing ur cousin. i do appreciate your standing up to ur cousin though.'
(Always the gentleman, and who can resist a small chance to flirt.)

Reply back - 'she not ma cousin. jus ma friend. she was very anxious, so i decided to help her.'
I type - 'wow! that was a nice tactic covering ur back in case he tried to trace u back! and probably the thing abt her parents knowing was also crap.' (Trust me, she'll be flirting with me now.)
Reply back - 'sorry, culdn follow wat u said'

To self: Oh, another of those good looking dumbo bimbo.
I type - 'i meant u saying u were her cousin and all instead of revealing ur true identity.'
Reply back - ' Oh that! Yeah, thanks. '

And thats all folks. I live on gallantly and with an unblemished record.

I did mention this episode to my friend the lizardking half an hour later in his room. I could see his eyes sparkling with mischief as he said, 'As an apology, you should have asked her to have #$% with you.' Yeah right, if things in the real world were that easy...

Anyway, that evening I was feeling quite bored and suffering from a headache until this episode lightened me up. Thank you, UBF!

Note to self

Not that you are jobless at home and whiling away your time, start posting more!