For those of you who know me a bit...

...you'll know I'm the sort of guy who enjoys spreading the good things I come across in life. Be it the funniest sitcom or stand-up, a mindblowing movie, intelligent dramas, the corniest thing on tv, playing paintball in the middle of nowhere, homegrown recipes, brilliant articles, addictive lan games, pub quizzes, whatnot... The world is full of mindblowing works of art and experiences and it makes sense to spread the joy. And if you won't share it with your friends, then who will you share it with?

I figured this one out a long time ago... your perspectives on life that define your mood... your mood defines how you react to things that come your way... the same thing will look totally different if you're in a different mood... um, yeah that's the basic gist of it.

We all have what we call our self-preservation techniques... me, I don't let myself stop and think for too long about things I don't/can't have control over. Everything is a choice and I choose to not let myself stop and miss people - if I move or they move, I make sure I move on. Missing people is not a choice I let my mind entertain for too long... I have the best people in the world as my friends and more keep on coming... too many unbelievable people and lifelong memories and I don't see the point in getting depressed about it by missing them... as they say, I figure, I'll probably see them when I see them, so why mope?



I attended one of the most amazing parties last night... a terrace party at a beautiful duplex apartment overlooking the airport with the flights landing and taking off all night long under a cloudy moonlit sky and beautiful Bangalore weather...

And these weren't people I've known for long... some I've met over the last 2 months, many I met last night for the first time... Basically I partied last night with a bunch of strangers... but a bunch of the friendliest kindest funniest nicest strangers you will ever encounter any corner of the world...

...and NEVER in my life have I laughed harder or longer :)

...and if you're reading this, you've probably seen me laugh... tears running down my eyes, literally rotfl... or at times having to walk out the room coz I can't stand to be around the funny... but this was something else.

...And as Jabjit said, "challaan toh katna hi hain"... after all this laughing, there's gotta be a downside...

...and yes, there is.

And as much as I'd hate to admit it, on some level, I find myself wishing all the people in my life I really love and care about had been part of last night... friends from back home, college, b-school, office... quite a few of them are all over the world right now, and I don't know if what I'm wishing for will ever happen, but hey... we're human, we're capable of dreaming, and we should...



P.S. For those who have seen me at my funniest in the last 11 years, you've gotta admit... I am quite good, EVEN if I may say so myself. Over the last 4 years, I've been losing my edge and was worried that I was losing my sense of humour, so allow me to tell you... I've stopped worrying. I get glimpses every once in a while and last night was one of those nights... I ain't fully back, but rest assured, I will be... and when I am, God save y'all! :)

I am not a fan, but...

I am not a fan of societal pressures... they're impersonal, highly irrational, driven by herd mentality and fuelled by gossip.

Although I do notice the fact that we all are social animals (whether we like it or not, or are willing to accept it or not), in the face of societal pressures, I'm amongst the first ones to say "screw 'em. do what you want."

However, I must say, for the first time, I find myself acknowledging the positive impact societal pressures have had on any person, in this case myself...

After numerous (3 to be counting) attempts at gymming, I find myself back in a gym eager to get back into shape. Over the last 4-5 years, slowly but surely, my body has found places to store additional resources which are, to say the least, quite unflattering.

I've been getting ribbed about it for the last many months by my family, friends and colleagues... however, recently even distant relatives did bring it up, albeit politely ("this much weight is okay, just don't gain any more").

I've seen friends go through the whole gymming phase and most have stuck to it, with good effect. All of them have always talked about how working out has become a passion (to a few, an obsession) and how once the changes have started appearing, motivation takes care of itself. Its that very stage I need to reach... visible differences that spur you on... and the only way to reach that is to keep going, no matter what.

A couple of problems I have always faced with gymming -
1, its always been too tiring for me to see the point - I gym, I literally die - I don't gym, I feel normal - you see why its made sense for me to choose to stop gymming?
2, a screwed-up work life balance becomes a convenient reason to support point 1 - where's the time, I've said?

Anyway, its high time... and I'm tired of facing the mirror and finding an unfit overweight guy looking back.

I have a plan too... apart from the cardio and weights, it involves watching what I eat (avoiding rice and sugar) and what I drink (colas or beer). I might go in for protein supplements and/or Herbalife, and as a backup, keep an option for the GM diet ready. And if none of these work, there's always the option of smoking weed day in and day out to lose the weight... haha, I wish I could let myself do that ;)

Anyway, this time round, I'm back in the gym... and 3 days in, I can see visible improvement in my stamina.

And I can't wait to get back to the gym tomorrow...




P.S. Fingers crossed!!!

Over the hill...

I go to office on my birthday and bitch a little about being over the hill. A colleague asks me whether I turned 30 (yeah, I know... sincere questions can sometimes be so cruel). I'm like, no, over the hill as in I'm 26... in the second half of my twenties. She's like, 26? over the hill? what about us? (she's 32... since a few years). I'm like that's not over the hill, that's a whole new hill. My hill is the twenties... and I'm on the other half, on my way down.

I've been the youngest one around for a long long time... and I don't think that will change too much. But for the first time in my life, my age makes me FEEL old. 26! Not your twenties, or even 25... these are the LATE 20s.

Anyway, for those of you who are in your 30s or 40s who are reading this, I know I'm being a bit dramatic about this. But hey, I hardly ever crib about anything... let this pass for once...



P.S. The sucky part is... till I turned 26, at the back of my mind, 25 meant halfway through my twenties (and since so long, I've been thinking halfway = 50% = still another half decade to go). With 26, I suddenly realize that from 50% I've gone to 60% in an instant. Its like losing 1 year in an instant... now only 4 more to go till the next big one.

You heard it here first!

I started saying this a few years ago... thought it to be quite apt to describe myself...

I thought I'd picked it up from somewhere... but haven't found this anywhere else... so it must've been something that just came together durin' one of my smartass writing sessions...

...anyway, here it goes -

"I'd rather be smarter than I look, than look smarter than I am."
- Kamal Gaur

KK - Pal

KK - Pal

Hum, rahen ya na rahen kal
Kal yaad aayenge ke ye pal
Pal, ye hain pyar ke pal
Chal, aa mere sang chal
Chal, soche kya
Chhoti si, hai zindagi
Kal, mil jaaye to hogi khush-naseebi

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Hum rahen ya na rahen kal
Kal, yaad aayenge ye pal
Pal, ye hain pyar ke pal
Chal, aa mere sang chal
Chal, soche kya
Chhoti si, hai zindagi
Kal, mil jaaye to hogi khush-naseebi

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Shaam ka aanchal, odh ke aayee dekho woh raat suhani
Aa likh dein hum dono milke apni ye prem kahani
Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Aane waali subah jaane rang kya laaye deewanee,
Meri chaahat ko rakh lena jaise koi nishani
Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Hum rahen ya na rahen kal
Kal, yaad aayenge ye pal
Pal, ye hain pyar ke pal
Chal, aa mere sang chal
Chal, soche kya chhoti si hai zindagi
Kal mil jaaye to hogi khush-naseebi

Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal
Hum rahen ya na rahen yaad aayenge ye pal

Inventions to make life easier

They say the idle mind is a devil's workshop. As for me, the idle mind keeps wandering away to create gizmos that would/could/should exist, and if they already do, should be made more accessible. Here are a few -

• An electronic device to plug into a mobile to transfer all the names and phone numbers onto its memory, then to be transferred the same way onto another mobile phone's memory.
  
  
• For people who don't have radios, they can pick up the phone receiver and tune in to different FM channels. An incoming call can either be heard like a call waiting beep, or the normal way by the phone's ringing. Needless to say, this service should be absolutely free.
  
  
• A hand-held television, that looks something like a GameBoy which can tune in to all channels including the pay channels. This way travelling becomes so much easier.
  
  
• Power socket points in train compartments to charge batteries or mobile phones or... well, the list is endless.
  
  
• A torch that is charged by keeping it exposed to any form of light - the bigger the surface area of the torch, the better. When its time to use the torch, a thin beam of light enough to read a book in the dark can be used. Hmmm... now if only there was a way to store light energy to be used later.
  
  
• Music channels like MTV and Channel V playing real-time free-to-air on FM radio.
  
  
• Mobile phones should have a locator that can be activated by the user for a specific other mobile number. Then another person using that other mobile number should be able to track down this user using his mobile phone. The simplest way could be playing beeps for "hot" and "cold" depending on how close or far the other mobile phone is. Would be very helpful to locate people in crowded areas.
  
  
• A transmitter that can be plugged in the output socket of any audio device. A pair of earphones with a receiver which will receive the audio over long distances. Something like a free-to-air transmission - would be great although illegal if done on the FM bandwidth.
  
  
• A electro-static device that can be attached to the rims of the windows in your house which attracts all the dust and doesn't let it come inside the house.
  
  
• A headset that can be plugged into the computer or the TV and then you can just lie down somewhere and watch the video on small screens in front of your eyes. Needless to say, you hear audio through earphones in the headset.
  
  
• A belt clip device which comes with the handset, with wireless connectivity between the two. The belt clip raises an alarm as soon as the handset goes out of a range of approximately 6 feet from the clip. Big functionality in terms of not letting you forget your phone somewhere and walking away from it.
  

I've learnt that...

• I've learnt that it doesn't take guts to sleep in class in the second week of first year even if you're sitting in the second row, middle seat in the middle block of seats. All it takes is screwed-up sleeping habits.
  
  

• I've learnt that people will only believe what they want to - what they find the most amusing and funny. I repeat, I was NOT sleeping the day Ravi C caught me! :)
  
  

• I've learnt that even Ravi C is human. A human in a position of great power and with a dangerous sense of humour.
  
  

• I've learnt that Seb Morris is a God-level prof. And it just took me one class to realise that. The only one I could manage to stay awake in.
  
  

• I've learnt that nights are the safest and most peaceful times ever. Most of the dangerous creatures on campus are all sleeping in their rooms.
  
  

• I've learnt that a sense of humour is the best thing a person can possess. That, and life-long friends.
  
  

• I've learnt that senti drunk friends talk straight from the heart.
  
  

• I've learnt that I'll always feel like a tuccha to the facchas, even if they're a dozen years older than me.
  
  

• I've learnt that reciprocated hugs are among the best things in the world.
  
  

• I've learnt that instant messaging systems or not, gossip is the most developed form of communication I've seen.
  
  

• I've learnt that writing is as easy as talking. You just shut the hell up and start typing your thoughts out instead.
  
  

• I've learnt that some of my best conversations over Dbabble have been with strangers in the middle of the night. And there isn't really much to it. You see an interesting DBab nick, you send a message. That's how conversations are started anyway, right?
  
  

• I've learnt that the presence of ;) at the end of a message can change the rudest message into the funniest.
  
  

• I've learnt that my best friends are the ones with whom I can openly laugh at my sense of humour.
  
  

• I've learnt that the biggest taste of power I've had over the last 2 years have been behind the camera with my finger ready to press on the REC button. :)
  
  

• I've learnt that for the rest of my life, I will look at the numbers 14 and 13 differently.
  
  

• I've learnt that like all senti people around, we shall move on to other things given our requirements of time and space... and for some, a coupla quarts of booze.
  
  

• I've learnt that in a world of 6-plus billion, probably no one outside the 170 of us will ever really get the jokes, understand the sentiments or feel the memories that we all know too well now.
  
  

• I've learnt that all each of us was in that place was just another brick in the wall.