In the end...

I had planned a speech for the farewell. But it had to be cut short to one-and-half minutes. Good thing though, coz I'd never have stopped talking otherwise. Of course, VAC overshadowed my speech - his was all senti n advice n encouragement; mine was jus about fun! Got me thinking.

College... that illusion of everything being fun, everything being colorful, boys teasing girls, girls giggling away, friendship and love blossoming under every tree, rockets flying around in class, whistles here and there. Illusion indeed, coz it was not even half true (or mayb jus in CEG).

College was the exact opposite. If I had to be as good as I was in school, I had to put twice the effort in half the time, subjects changing every 4 months. I learnt it the hard way, and my efforts were too little, too late. In the first semester, I was a meagre 8.8, all my friends were 9 pointers. Parents were cool with it (as long as they didn't know others' grades). So the next sem I start taking life easy, hardly ever seen in coll, always out with someone or the other. Plummet to 7.5. The story goes on, me trying to cope up, then giving up, and encouraging myself, soon consoling myself, and I stand today at 7.4, one arrear in hand (results eeeeeagerly awaited!).

I can proudly say I've been through it all. I made friends with extremes. Take on one hand the pandu gang. Marun!!! Sleeps 9 to 4, studies every morning, studies in every free hour, for whom the library is a second home. Take on the other hand the fun gang. Gokul!!! Sleeps midnight to forenoon, studies before the exam, for whom the playground is a second home. I dunno how, but I made a whole lotta friends :) Kinda the exact opposite thing my mom wanted me to do, given how much my brother roamed the city with his friends from school and college, she was afraid I'd do the same and told me "Jus study well here and graduate. Don't make friends." Oops.

4 years of teasing people to no end. And the circle is starting to come around. For the second time. The first was with my senior in NCC, Ashwin. We are good friends, but that is unacceptable to anyone (Oh well, I'd have taken their trip too if the other way around!) So had to grin my way through it, with all usual denial. And now the circle is completing again. This time with SAK of all the harmless sadhus in my class. Well, he brought it upon himself, but I shouldn't complain. How often does one get to be ottified with a GATE topper, not to mention one of the most brilliant minds in the dept, and one of the most unassuming techies I've ever known.

The fun of bunking classes isn't quite fun if you are a day scholar. I mean, you are already there, why not just sleep through the hour anyway? You get attendance too! No point bunking for the sake of it, idling away in canteen. And if it is DIP class, I aint bunking at all!!! Guys swore at the notes I took down in each class, not to mention me asking doubts! Then of course, they swore by the same notes exam time :) Didn't make a difference to my results. I still ended up with a C. I wonder what it is I keep missing every semester...

4 years, countless treats. Started humbly at the canteen, each opting for either the famous CEG chola poori or the ice cream. Then started the combined treats, and the venue shifted to restaurants for lunches. Some small, some for the whole class. Mine was jus one so far. Of course, I better plan the next one soon, else I'm next on everybody's hit list.

(Speaking of hit list, I just put a savage end to the lives of 15 mosquitoes, typing out this blog. Didn't think I was ever capable of beating the speed of their escape, but maybe after drinking my indolent blood, they got that way too!)

Im gonna give in to that indolence right now, rest my eyes before the next day starts.

One life to live

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartanlike as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and to be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion. For most men, it appears to me, are in a strange uncertainty about it, whether it is of the devil or of God, and have somewhat hastily concluded that it is the chief end of man here to 'glorify God and enjoy him forever'."

- Henry David Thoreau (Walden)

Of orkut and me

So, there's this thing on the internet. It's called Orkut. Everybody in class was on it. Everybody in college was on it. Everybody in school was on it. And I mean everybody, from geeks to goons. Everybody but me. Well, I had joined it long long ago, then never logged on, and eventually forgot my password. Then the craze was on in class and I thought, hey, they are gonna take all the teasing online, and I don't wanna miss it!

After wondering whether or not to be caught up in the "latest cool thing", I decided what the heck. Kaasa panamaa. Internet dhaane!! Freeya vandha phenol kudikkra kaalam!!

Interesting place, this Orkut. I know someone, someone knows someone else, hence I know someone else. It is amazing how the simple transitive property of arithmetic operations can be used for complex human relationships, hence defying all rational human behaviour that our moms so desperatly tried to imbibe in us - do not talk to strangers!!! Well, you can reason out saying people "add friends" before they get talking, but beware honey, it is a NETWORK!

Well, so far, the site is good. Best part, I was able to reach old friends from school. People whom I had lost touch with, then regretted for. Now I'm back talking to them. Then there are friends from college. People whom I see and speak to and have lunch with everyday, but who, when they are home, still spend 15 seconds of their time to type out a "Hi" to me, just to make me smile about how silly it is.

There is a community on anything and everything here. Led Zepp to Joplin, Mathematics to f off, Kimi to Calvin... (sweet baby blue eyed Kimi...wow...damn, don't drift off, back to the laudation) it's got it all. Sadly, even an 'India sucks' site. So I guess it's still about "technology can be used in any way..." And if nothing else, it has a birthday reminder. Isn't that reason enough to log in?

The most recent fad on Orkut, as far my class is concerned, is the testimonials. People shorten it's name as testi. "Did you see that testi...Hey, his testi was cool...I never thought I'd be writing this testi..." For once, shortforms suck. No pun intended. And trust me, I'm not the pervert here. It's a similar reason why you should call the eraser as an eraser and not rubber.

Coming to the testimonials, man!! The things people say about you... Ye, it's true, but it isn't the whole truth. Come on people, it's not like someone is gonna give you a marriage proposal by reading your testimonial. And it's not like people are gonna hang themselves coz you trashed them. So quit it with the "she's so great and he's so smart" and get real. Indulge in trivial teasing. Of course, if you are gonna write something that is totally offensive and kicking in the gut (given that this guy added you as a friend!) instead of saying it straight on his face, then you probably deserve such a write-up yourself.

Reading what I just wrote, I realised nobody in their right minds would ask for an embarassing testimonial. I still grin ear to ear whenever I read the nice stuff people wrote about me. And here I am whining about the saturating sweetness of the very same. Which leaves one question. Was this whole post a momentary lapse of sanity?

Was that really me ???

I am not a vocab genius. Yet, here I was, on the 3rd of March, 2006, resting on my couch with my feet propped up on the nearest chair, pen in hand, staring at The Hindu MetroPlus crossword. Managed hardly 5 words.

With an "Oh, what's to lose" attitude, I pick up the the main paper, open it to the daily crossword page, fold neatly and professionally like it's all I'm interested in. True, after hopes of my MBA in India crashed out, I didn't give a damn about reading the newspaper (Call me dumb, call me selfish, call me an engineering student who just wants to prepare for the exam and forget about it, call me whatever, I just gave up after trying too hard... although not very proud it)

Where were we... ah yes, the crossword section. Armed with pen and paper, my eyes chanced upon an easy clue in the Down section. I fill it in. The next one is easy too. Hmmm, two easy clues in a row? Can't be. I move to the Across section. Well, easy. This is cool! Maybe the crossie guys at Hindu decided to give me a break after all :)

So, within 30 minutes, there I am, with just two more words to go. I sink, blink, think. Nah, the way the letters are, I'm sure I wouldn't know them. Wrap it up there!

Now, inside my head, I'm dancing, singing, screaming, pretty much rocking. Coz I checked with the blog of a noble gentleman who posts the solutions. All my words are right baby! Mailed my joy to Mathu... the Goddess who inspired me to take up crosswords as a hobby.

Well, I still stink at it, but at least once I got it right!