Quote

"I can resist anything except temptation" - Wilde

Frustrated

It is so frustrating when the internet does not work. I feel like I am living in the stone age or something. I hate BSNL. I really do. It has been almost 2 weeks ( or maybe even three) since when the internet has become really slow. The sad part is that no one in BSNL knows why it is slow, or why the speed drops down so often. They must have made us call 25 people, and all of them have asked us to call someone else, or to log a complaint with someone else.

I watched two movies today. Quick gun murugan. A movie that no one should ever see. Ever. It is like college Mad-ads for 1.5 hours. Painful.

And to get over that movie, saw another one. The taking of pelham 123. Its a decent movie, felt good to watch something better than the other crappy movies.

Also, last week I saw Public Enemies. It is a nice movie. Really liked the setting, the actors, the way they spoke. It was all very believable. There was also this song that they played in the background which I am trying to remember... will have to google that out. It is played when he gets into the first bank.

Not any great movies now a days.

Random

Till today I thought that "double spaced" meant that there should be two spaces between two words. Apparently it means there should be more gap between lines. The space between the lines are double. If that makes sense.

I have more stuff to write but my back is aching, and I can't sit anymore. Sigh.

Respect and assumptions

Sometimes, people don't get the respect they deserve. Perhaps it is because they don't know the person, or because they don't know any better, or they know the person very well (and hence take the other for granted). This totally annoys me. I just hope I am not like that.

Sometimes I wonder how I would look like from another person's eyes. I mean, we all have opinions of each other - and not everything is told to them. So like that, others would think something of me, and I want to know what that is.

There is no way of finding this out. Because, if you ask them, they would always tell you what you want to hear and not really what they think.

This is when people start assuming things and jumping into conclusions. But, there is no way to find out if what you have assumed or concluded is correct. An assumption will always remain an assumption.

Please don't stop the music

Yesterday I changed the ring tone in my phone to the song "Please don't stop the music" by Rihanna. Today, I left my ear phones in the office. The music has officially stopped - today from office to home. And tomorrow from home to office. Unless, I take some other ear phone of course.

Somehow the day has been extremely irritating today... There are people who are interfering with my work, and it seems like some people have no trust in what I do. And it is just totally annoying. Of course, I will get over it as I usually do, but at the moment it is bugging me.

Why me?

I usually work till 5:30 in the evening. However, sometimes I have to stay back for some meetings that my wonderful TL likes to suggest weird timings.

So yesterday as well, he scheduled a meeting from 5:30 to 7! 1.5 hours! As soon as I woke up, I was irritated cause I hate staying back. I was considering going to office late, but finally decided to at my normal time.

In the evening, I asked him if it was okay if I didn't attend it. He said fine! Good for me. Meetings are a waste anyway - all that gets decided is when to have the next meeting! (Don't know where I read this, but it is so true).

So I left my cubicle at 5:25. I have to go down two flights of stairs, and I usually take the stairs. However, I was scared of missing my cab, so I decided to take the lift.

There was already someone waiting near the lift, so the lift should come up any second. But it didnt. Dont know how long I waited, but it seemed an eternity. So finally it came, and we got in. We pressed the Zero floor. The doors closed. And then nothing happened. We decided to press the button a few more times, hoping it would work (yeah, right). But nothing happened. So I decided to get off the lift, and take the stairs anyway. But now the doors would not open. Lovely.

So we pressed few other buttons that were there, and after another eternity, the doors opened. It was 5:30. My cab left.

Went back to my cubicle... But I did not attend the meeting.

Annoyed

My phone is acting all weird today. First, in the morning, while I was listening to music, it would not allow me to change the volume. So I actually had to switch it off and then switch it back on.

And then, as soon as I switched it on - it decided to call a number on my contacts. I cut it. Then, she called back to know why I had called. But could I pick up the call? Of course not! So I tried calling back to explain. As soon as I could hear one ring, it stopped calling. It got disconnected!! I was not sure if it was a problem with the network or my phone. I just assumed it was the network.

Then, it would not play the radio. And if at all it played, it would keep changing the channels - so that I was not listening to any station for more than 5 seconds. Very calming.

After a lot of switching off and switching on - removing the battery and putting it back on, I finally figured out what the problem could be. It was the memory card! I removed it, and everything was fine. I put it back, and everything started to hang.

But I need the memory card. That's where all my music is stored. And so I devised a plan. I switched on the phone. I put on the radio. I put the memory card. And made sure that I don't touch any of the buttons. I literally kept counting minutes. And so, after some time ( I suppose after everything loaded fine), everything was working fine. I could make calls, and listen to whatever I want, and could increase/decrease the volume.

And I reached office. NO, no it does not end.

I was on my way for a coffee break - and there comes this woman. She is just swaying her hands around me, and off goes the phone from my hand. Flying. It came down in 3 pieces. I just got down and picked up the pieces. She was very apologetic. I told her that its alright, and went ahead putting everything back together. Had to go through it all again - battery, memory card, blah blah.

In the evening, I was talking on the phone with a friend. It got disconnected 5 times in 5 minutes. Then I decided if it gets disconnected again, I would talk tomorrow. It got disconnected in 2 seconds.

I don't know. No idea whats wrong! Did not change anything in the phone , and did not put anything new in the memory card either. Just a bad day.

The shining

The hedges are supposed to move. The lions are supposed to come alive! The boy is supposed to see it, and so should his father! This can't be happening. They HAVE to show it come alive. I mean, thats like the best part! The part where Danny gets into the room 237... That's scary! I got scared while reading the book. Seriously! But, not scary in the movie. Sure is creepy, though. The lift, how the house talks to Jack? Not really there either.

Lots of things were supposed to happen - but they didnt. Did not make it any less better though.

The good stuff - Jack Nicholson, of course. The part where he is walking up the stairs, and he is shouting , I am not gonna hurt you, ha ha. I am just gonna cut you into little pieces.. or something like that. And the ending - with the maze and all that running around! Jack's psychotic smiles. Yikes.

Somehow I remember the hotel burning up in the end (of the book) - but that did not happen in the movie. In the movie, Jack is a ghost - not really sure if he was one the book as well.

Guess what?

I'm going to UK again! It is total madness. My manager sent me a message (!) asking me to book tickets as soon as possible, and to leave as soon as possible. I have not even been here for a week! And I am going back? I am sort of happy, and sort of annoyed! Mixed feelings. Never thought that there would be one day when I would be traveling so much! Ha!

Good thing is I didn't unpack. All my clothes are already in the bag, so I just need to put my shoes, and I am done!

The travel back last week was totally sick. After all that happened with my tickets in UK, when I reached Bangalore, I realised that my bags have not come with me. I asked those guys, and they told me that I was supposed to identify my bag in the first port of arrival in the country (or something like that). Basically, i was supposed to have gone and told someone, "those are my bags". But since I was taking the same airlines till Bangalore, I had a through check-in. I expected to take my bags only when I get to Bangalore. Some shit. So anyways, I had to go to the airport again to get my bags on Tuesday. I went to office only on Wednesday. Monday, again I would be in UK office. Crazy!

The stupid things I do

Saturday evening, around 4 pm. I am all packed, and ready to leave. The cab to the airport is supposed to come at 5:15pm. I decide to check the tickets, just like that. So I check the time. It says 9:25. Right. And I check the cab details and confirmed that it would be coming at 5:15. Then I check the time when I am supposed to reach Mumbai. It says 23.00 or something. What? The flight is supposed to leave at 9:25 pm, and I should not be reaching Mumbai so soon! Fuck! I have missed my flight! The flight was at 9:25 in the morning and not at 9:25 in the evening! And the cab is 5:15 morning, and not 5:15 evening!! Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Panic.

I check my e-mail, and it says 9:25PM. But the e-ticket says it is 9:25 AM! Damnit!! There is some confusion.

I call up the travel desk in Bangalore. It is all their fault. They sent me two different things. In the mail it said one thing, and in the print out, they gave me another. After some 15 minutes of not knowing if I have missed my flight or not, they call back. Telling me that the flight was indeed in the morning, and that I have missed my flight. They would call me back later to tell me what I should be doing now.

I don't know what's gonna happen. Will I be flying today, or tomorrow, or next week! Next week would totally suck. That would mean I would have to go back to office in UK, where I have already told all my goodbyes. That would be totally weird.

After an hour, they call back. I will have to take the flight on Sunday evening. So I am all packed. No food at home. I gave it all away to a colleague who stays close by since I was supposed to be leaving!!

Somehow I feel it was also my fault. I mean, I didn't check the e-ticket. how dumb.

So I fly on Sunday. Have to say though, the last 24 hours have been totally crap. I hate it. And now I am in Delhi airport. I reached at 10. And my flight to Bangalore is at 5:50PM!!! Yuck. The whole day in an airport. But, I have internet. I am now listening to internet radio as I type.

I plan to watch a movie, have not decided which one. I have lots on my machine already that I have not already seen. It is weird though, I thought I would be bored. I even have a book, but I have not opened it yet!! When I have internet, I don't need anything else. Sad, in a way. Sigh!

So, I need to get to office tomorrow. And I would reach home late. I did not sleep in the flight at all, and now it has been a really long time since I slept. Have to go to office since I have lots of stuff to finish off by this week, and I have not even started the work.

Man, I am totally tired. The airport is too noisy! People can somehow do something though. There are other people using the internet, taking vidoes of the airport in their handycam (I saw atleast 3 already!), people eating, drinking, reading books, shopping. It is like a mall. I had plans of getting out and watching a movie in a mall, but I was too tired to do so.

What an end to everything!

Fools

Quote of the Day - Abraham Lincoln - "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

Got this in gmail today.

Isle of Wight - Pictures

Two days to go.

I finally went to the Isle of Wight! With 2 friends and a colleague. Friend totally made fun of the colleague. Damn funny it was! I was actually laughing at his face! yes, I can be mean. And now unfortunately I feel bad about it now.

But, Isle of Wight? Beautiful! We took a ferry to that place from Portsmouth to Ryde. Once we reached there we hired a car and drove around. It was amazing. The well known beaches were really crowded. It was nice though. There was one beach in Shanklin, and it looked really nice from the road. It was a cliff and the beach in front of it. But we didnt get any parking space. So we just went more ahead, and we just stopped in a random place and walked towards the beach. And the place was even more beautiful than the place where we didnt get parking space. haha. Full of greenery and a stream, a 12th century church(!) and finally the beach. And there was a hill next to it. The whole thing was so relaxing. Just sat there and was speaking with a friend while the other 2 went to play in the water. The place was so good that both of us wanted to stay there another night and see more places. We just managed to see half of the island. There's a place called Cowes, which is supposed to be really beautiful as well. But did not manage to see that because of time constraints.

Things that I would want to remember - the beach house, cleopatra (don't ask), pebble beach, driving around with a stupid map, godshill, the funny bird on the hill, peace!

I am leaving UK on Saturday! Just one more day to go! A bit happy, and a bit sad. Really liked staying here and visiting so many places, but I am totally annoyed with the company that I have here. If I think of it, I don't really see so many places in India!

Pictures and everything in some other post. Don't have access to blogspot anymore. I tried mailing some pics, but I dont know how it looks in the blog, since I cant see it myself.

Windsor castle - Some Pictures 2

Windsor castle - Some Pictures 1

Windsor castle

I'd been wanting to go to Windsor castle ever since I heard about it (which was about 2 weeks ago). So my colleagues, friends and I made plans to go there that weekend (2 weeks back). We were not able to make any proper plans - what to see, how to go, etc, but we decided to do that on Saturday so that we could go that Sunday. But in the last moment my friend (call her X) decided that she has to go somewhere else. She told me that she really wanted to go to that place, so we changed our plans and decided to go the next weekend (which was last week).

So last week, I made sure that we made all plans, and we were all set to go. On Friday, X told us that she does not know if she can come on Sat or Sun, since she had to go shopping with an aunt! She would let us know in the evening. When I called her in the evening, she told that she will let me know by 11. I said fine.

She called at 11:30, and told that she cannot come! Not on Saturday! And not on Sunday! Whatever. Something about her aunt, church, and something. I was pissed, but if she didn't want to come, I could not do anything about it.

On Saturday, 2 of them said they don't want to come, and 1 had already gone to some other place. So now, only 2 of us were left. When I asked him, he asked me how much it would cost for 2 of us to get there. I  told him. Then he asked how much it would cost for 3 to get there. I told him. (it is cheaper for group). He said fine. After sometime, he decided that it is not "fun" for 2 people to go to some place. He started thinking if he knew someone else - who could come with us (hoping for group discount). Irritating people. It is not that expensive also. I mean, c'mon, why would I want to go to some place with a stranger because it would be cheaper for me? I told him that it is a dumb idea. That I would rather go with two people and not have fun, instead of going with 3 and not have fun!

So it was decided that he does not like to go to a place, when there are only 2 of us. I said okay. Then I decided to go on my own. I really wanted to see the place, and if they don't want to come, let them not! Why should I depend on them?

And so I did. And I had fun! On my own! I should do this more often.

I was a bit worried that I would get bored, so I even carried a book with me. I didn't even have to use it!

the best thing about going alone was I saw what I wanted to see. I experienced what I wanted to experience. I didn't have to check with others as to what they wanted to do, etc. So, it was nice. Friends were shocked that I actually went alone. And some didn't even believe me. Since I am not the "type" who would do such things. Whatever.

This weekend, plans are to go see Isle of Wight. The place I want to see so badly. But I dont know if these people will come, or not. But I was thinking that even if they don't come, I will go see the place.

Should thank the friend who convinced me to go to the castle alone...

By the way, the place was AMAZING! Will post more about it later.

How to tell if I am bored

I keep refreshing my mail box to check if I have received any mail. And this refreshing thing happens every 2 minutes.

Sad.

Scared

Last week, on a Saturday morning, my sister called me. I cut the call thinking I would call her, since I didn't want my little sister to pay to talk with me! And as soon as I cut it, I got a text from her which just said "Call soon".

This does not happen regularly, and I freaked!! She has never called me from her mobile before since I landed here! So why would she call me? And what was the meaning of the text!

So I got to the phone immediately, took out my calling card and started dialing. Only, the call would not go! I must have dialed the number thrice, and it still did not ring. I did not know if there was a problem with the card, or if she was not picking up, or whatever! And so, by now, I was panicking. So once again I called, and this time she picked.

And all I could hear was her crying on the phone. I did not know or understand what was happening, and I tried to find out if everything was okay. After she finally calmed down, I got to know the story.

She had parked her bike outside a restaurant, and she had gone in to eat with her friend. When she got out, she found out that someone had picked the lock, and had taken out the stuff which she had kept beneath the seat!

So what was the stuff? It was something that I had bought for her a few days back. And, she had just gone shopping, and she had got clothes, which was also taken.

I got really angry (for her scaring me). And some relief. She was feeling bad (and hence the crying) cause someone stole her stuff. She kept crying and asking "how could anyone do this!". And I of course did not have any answers.

anyway, I sort of convinced her to go home. And she let me know that she had already spoken to mom and dad, and they said that they are willing to go shopping with her to replace what was stolen.

Weird that she actually cried. And weird that I freaked out so much!

--

I started writing this last week! And now I finally finished it!
Either I am becoming busy, or lazy.

Manchester and York

So! Last weekend I went to Manchester and York. I have friends staying and studying in Manchester and it was fun! It was nice to catch up with them, and hang out with them after such a long time. 

I have been to Manchester before, the last time I was here. And that time I had been to Lake District. This time however, I was not gonna get obsessed with the places I wanted to go and the things that I wanted to do. So this time, my friends decided what we were gonna do. So we went to a place called York! York is a small city, where you can actually see the whole city just by walking. There is not much to see though. We went to Castle Museum, York dungeon (something like scary house) - some ladies were actually screaming there, some park, some memorial. I do not remember half the names though unfortunately. One thing though about UK is , now that summer is here , there are flowers everywhere! And they are these bright flowers, actually puts a smile on your face! 

I very stupidly forgot to take the battery of my camera! The reason though was not my fault - it was entirely my friend's. But still, I should have remembered to take it when I left her home! so all the pics were taken in a camera phone ( 5 mega pixels! Not bad actually!) 

On Sunday I went skiing! In a place with fake snow and fake slopes, of course! It was a training sort of a thing, where the trainer taught us how to put on the skis, how to slide down the slope, etc. I must say, this was totally fun. Would not mind doing it again. The skis are extremely heavy and it feels like you are carrying 2 kgs in your feet. Very weird feeling. Was difficult to walk even!

On Saturday I had vodka. Vodka with sprite. It tasted really really bad. And all I felt was some yucky taste. Didn't get the point at all. I didn't feel drunk at all though. I have no idea why, but all my friends want to see me get drunk. Apparently they want to see what I "really think" - and they think that would come out when I get drunk. But, nothing happened. The only thing is that I slept really well! And I did not want to wake up in the morning at all. No headache, nothing. which is actually a good thing. I didn't wanna get drunk anyways! 

And on Sunday I went to an Art Gallery. For the first time in my life! But I must say, I was largely disappointed! The gallery did not only have paintings, it even had some other stuff as well, like textiles, and some videos, and other. At least I learnt that I do not understand Art! 

This time I am staying in the apartment here with a colleague of mine- who is fond of cooking. At least since I stay with her, I can see her cooking, and now I am satisfied that I can cook for myself if I really wanted to. Cooking seems simple by the way she cooks, though it does not really taste spectacular! I am not complaining though! I have still not reached the stage where I want to cook, but I am glad that I am not as scared of cooking as I was before! 

Work wise, things are hectic. Lots of things that I have to finish off by next week, and it seriously looks difficult! 

I however do not like to work, or discuss about work once I get back to my apartment. But since I stay with one of my colleague, and a friend of hers also comes along. And all they do is get back and talk about work. I do not know what to do! I have tried changing the topic, and yet sometimes they would get their laptops and try to work out logics! Crazy. Once in a while it is ok, but if one does it always, it gets annoying. 

Have not made any plans for this weekend yet, which is sort of sad. I have no idea what to do or what to see. Have to decide tomorrow itself to do something. Do not want to stay at home and do nothing.

Ideas

"A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on." - John F. Kennedy

Nice quote, but the only problem being, I don't know if this is a good thing or not! Cause the idea itself maybe good, or bad!

Yay!!

Last 2 days have been awesome! I got an awesome rating from my manager yesterday. And today, I got to know that I have got a promotion! This was so unexpected!! Wow, this feels so good. I have not stopped smiling in the last hour!

A Wildlife park and London

Last week was pretty much uneventful. Work was a bit hectic though, and tempers were flaring (mostly mine). Somehow I am not able to deal with moronic people around me. I cannot believe that some people can be so dumb that they cannot realise what others are doing. Some people just lie to go ahead, and some people hide stuff. I suppose I should start dealing with it instead of getting irritated. Only problem is I don't know how to deal with it.

Friday night a bunch of us got together and we were just talking generally. And I realized again that I do not like talking about myself. At all. If some one asks me a question, I would not know what to say. They would mostly get 2 words. Or at most 10. Sad. I think I write better than I talk. We actually sat up till 2 talking! I don't even remember most of the things that were said (mostly since I was so sleepy).

Saturday we went to a wildlife park. Which was nice. Lots of animals and weird looking birds. I wanted to take pictures of an owl (which had a heart shaped face! ), and whenever I switched on my camera and tried to take a snap, it would turn. It happened 3 times. Then I went near the cage and was just about to click. And the owl just screeched towards me! And it perched itself right were my camera was! Scary! I almost dropped my camera right there! I jumped back and saw that all my friends were laughing at me. Nice. And they said that the owl was camera shy, it didn't want its picture taken, and that because I was insisting on taking that snap, it decided to teach me a lesson. Lesson learnt.

Was really tired on Saturday, but on Sunday there was the London marathon. And we were invited to join and cheer there. And we really wanted to go. So we did. It was exciting. There was a huge crowd, with people cheering for their family and friends. But what I liked most was the spirit of the people there. They were not just cheering for the people they know, they were cheering and motivating the runners who they didn't know. The runners too were responding by waving or smiling. I cannot understand how someone can run so much. 35000 people actually finished the race of 26 miles! Crazy it is! And they are all running for a cause, which is even more awesome.

I want to run a marathon now. Have already started reading on how I can train myself and everything. But I cannot really say if I will finally do it. But I really, really want to. Will start small, and finish big hopefully. Should start once I get back to India. I hope I find someone who is willing to run with me, else I don't know if I would run.

After spending 1 hour seeing the people run, we decided to eat something, and go to the museums. By the time we reached the Science museum, we were really hungry. We spent about 45 minutes trying to find a place to eat. Finally found subway! Yay! Had yummy sandwiches and was totally satisfied. Saw the science museum, which is really, really huge. In case you are seeing it, I would recommend you to directly go to the third floor and see the Launchpad. It is this place where you can get a hands on experience on everything (energy, lights, shadows, and so many things) There was so much to see that in 2 hours, we just managed 2 floors. Could not even see the other 3 floors! With what I saw - there were rockets, living in space, energy, trains, flights, something about the future, health, psychology and lots more! Unfortunately, the museum closes at 5:30, so we had to leave.

Since we didnt have anything else to do, we went to Hyde park. It huge. And green. With lots of trees. There's also a lake there. With ducks swimming in it. The ducks come so close to people hoping that we give them a treat (we didnt have any though). Also lots of pigeons. Who are not scared of humans. Who also come very close to people. Which scares me. I am scared of birds flying near my face. Freaks me out. Saw lots of people skating around, and I also wanted to skate! Did not happen though!

So it was a nice weekend. Totally satisfied. But I am so tired that all I want to do is sleep. Have to work now though.

Moronic team mates

There are such morons in my team. One is talking to 2 of my managers, and she is explaining something. And it is total crap. The worst part is that these wonderful people she is talking to has no idea what crap she is saying. She is talking something about encoding, and someone asked her what encoding the file will have. And she says it will have "Microsoft coded encoding". What the fuck is that? And these people are happily listening to it also. Ugh!

London , and other things.

It has been a week since I reached UK, and nothing seems new. I am working in the same office, with the same people, and I also know the person who is staying in my apartment. In a way it is nice, and in a way it is not nice.

This time the place that I am staying is pretty good. There are stores nearby, and I can atleast see people walking around. 

Had been to London on Saturday! We reached London around 10 in the morning, and left by 10pm! It was a long, long day! But it was nice and sunny, so it was all good! Saw Tower Bridge and London Bridge. Had coffee in Starbucks (Yum!!). Went to the Imperial war museum. Went to Trafaulgur (spelling?) Square. There was some music concert going on here. Entry was free! Hanged around there for 20 minutes. Had lunch in McD. Then we went to Buckingham Palace. Walked through the park to reach Downing street. Saw some men standing guard there. (For some reason, this is a tourist attraction!). Saw Big Ben, Westminster, London eye. Went to a restaurant in EastHam and had dinner. And then got back. 

Except the museum, I had already been to the other places before. But still, the day was good. I was so tired when I reached back! We literally walked almost the whole day! 

I like London. I liked it before and I liked it this time. I especially like the parks, and the greenery, and the walk from Tower Bridge to London Bridge next to the water. 

Today (it's Sunday evening when I am writing this, but it would be monday when I publish it) I just woke up late, had breakfast. Then I started sneezing. And I didn't stop. And now I have a cold. A very bad one. My nose is literally dripping. I know, gross! I just had a crocin and slept for half an hour. We had plans to go out in the evening. I told NS (the girl in my apartment) to wake me up if we are going out. I said I would be up in half an hour, and I was. But when I woke up, I saw that they have left. I was irritated initially, since there is no way I can contact them as they dont have a mobile number. But now, I am glad that they left me alone to myself. Cannot be with someone 24/7. It is even more annoying since I work with NS. And all NS can do is bitch about my team mates. I mean, you can do it once, twice. But not constantly. Everytime we talk, she will have some complaint about someone and she will not stop! Gosh, I do not know how to stop her! Even if I don't respond, she would not care, and she would continue. 

Oh well. Can't do much. I now plan to watch a movie, and then either read a book or play a game that I have installed in my laptop. Cannot go online unfortunately since these morons have decided not to give us internet in our apartments. I miss being online and browsing. I miss filter coffee. That's it. 

--

Just after I finished writing the above I decided to heat and eat a muffin. So I went to the kitchen and put the muffin in the microwave. And then, NS comes out of her room. So they had not gone anywhere. She was sleeping! Ha! So unexpected that was!! So I told her that I thought that you guys had left, and she said, "How could we leave without you!" 

So later we went to another colleague's house and sat there and yapped for a while. Then we got to know that there was a park nearby, so we decided to go there for a walk. And since it was nice and sunny as well, it was nice. There were a lot of kids playing, and their parents were sitting and watching them. It was a huge place though! And so many trees and open spaces and full of greenery. Refreshing. It is sad that such places are not there in Bangalore. Even if there is some park, there would be so many people there, that it would not be refreshing anymore. We would have to fight for some place to sit! But, of course, that cannot be helped. 

Got back, made dinner. And now I am just sitting. I'm too full. 

I had read a book called The Notebook in the airport and on the flight. My sister had said it is such a great book and all that. And I believed it. But it sucked so much, that I was literally pissed of half way through! Then I called up my sis and asked her how she liked such a book, and she tells me "Ha! Ha! I made you read it!" Damn! How annoying that was! 

UK, again!

I'm travelling to UK again. Will be there for a month and a half. Somehow, this time I am not as excited as I was before. I already told all my goodbyes to the country last time I was there. 

This trip is totally unexpected. I still cannot believe that I would be going there. But in a way, it is nice. There are a few places that I wanted to go last time, but I could not. So I am hoping that I can make it there this time.

Last time I went to a place called Lake District. We went trekking there. It was beautiful. A kind of place that I would have read in Enid Blyton's books. 

Trekking

When we almost reached the top

This time I want to go to Isle of wight. I like seeing castles and these typical English places. I took the photo below in Lake District as well. I found the place so charming!

PS - Why is it so hard to upload an image to blogger? I uploaded the second image 3 times, and yet, I am not able to zoom into the photo when I open it in a different tab! This totally sucks!! And that was one of my favourite ones! 

Deadlines!

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

 - Douglas Adams

Today

What a day it was! I have been running around getting stuff done since afternoon! Looks like everything I wanted to get done had some problem or the other.

Laptop, visa, tickets. All done. 

Sometimes people act like they are government employees. I hate that.

I like having my own laptop. Perhaps I should buy one. Was spending the last hour installing stuff. Firefox, Google Chrome, Google Desktop - and some applications for it. The best thing about having my own laptop would be the customizations that I am able do. Have whatever applications I like, in whatever settings I like. My own favourites. My own bookmarks. And my own history.

I hate jealously. And insecurity. I don't understand how people can live with themselves if they backstab someone else. Do they even realise that they are backstabbing others? Or are they enjoying it? I wish I could ask these questions to such people. 

I wish I could realise when people are lying to me or are keeping information from me on purpose. That would solve all my problems. 

I told a friend of mine that I got a twitter account, and he saw it. Then he asked if I had to update it myself. I said yes. So he said that it seems pretty stupid. What? Did he expect it to read my mind and send the feeds to twitter? 

I'm extremely sleepy now. I have a long day tomorrow as well. 

Twitter

I have always wanted to get a twitter account. I can type in whatever I am feeling/thinking and it would be saved somewhere. It has happened so many times that I would want to blog about something, but when I actually sit in front of my computer, it feels so unnecessary. 

Also, the time I am most stressed out - work and when I am stuck in traffic, I cannot put down my frustrations anywhere. So twitter would solve the problem. 

Right?

Wrong! Today, at a friend's insistence, I set up my twitter account and when I tried to set it up on my phone, it simply refused to work! There is some number where I am supposed to send a pre-defined text to, and the message would just not go! It is stuck in my phone. I don't know whose problem it is... either twitter or vodafone. But because I cannot send a text to twitter, the whole account is useless. Twitter is blocked in office - it does not even work with a FireFox extension. Which means the only place I can update twitter is at home. But why would I want to do that when I can blog? It is so dumb. Is there any other way to do this?

Dammit, I am so irritated right now! Ugh!

The joy(?) of work

I am currently reading a book called 'The joy of work'. It is written by Scott Adams - the guy who writes the Dilbert comics. 

I find this book funny. In fact, I like the comics and his blog as well. I started reading the book today in the bus on the way to work and back. It is so funny, that it actually made me laugh! There are not many books which are funny. The only other book that I can think of that made me laugh is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest  (This was hilarious. I wanna watch the movie as well). There might be other books too, but I can't remember any now. 

The book talks about how someone can find happiness in their work. It tells us how we can shirk work and how to make sure that everyone else thinks that you are intelligent. How to make your manager think you are doing lots of work when you aren't. Some of the ideas are brilliant and some are plain stupid. But I felt the best part of the book is the way his comics are integrated in the book. Also the emails which he received, which are embedded everywhere. 

The best idea that I liked so far (I have not completely read the book yet) was how to sleep in your cubicle, but not let anyone know that you are sleeping. This was in an email that Scott received. It says that you should keep a paper below your table. One hand should be down, so that it looks like you are about to pick it up. Another hand could act as a pillow to your head. And you could just sleep. Now, if when you hear anyone come, they would think you are just picking up your paper! This is so brilliant! It could actually work!

But seriously, some of the things he has written are so true. Like how your manager knows only 2 things about you: How you look, and how many hours you spend in office. I do not know if all managers are like that, but mine definitely is. He cannot differentiate between someone who actually works and someone who pretends to work! It gets really annoying at times. I just have to learn to deal with it, I suppose. 

Great Ideas

"To have a great idea, have a lot of them." - Thomas A. Edison

Interviews

I completely forgot to blog about it - I took two interviews last week! How cool is that!? It was a phone interview. My Tech Lead and I took it. The best part? The people who we interviewed were those who had more than 4 years of experience, and I knew more than them! It was such a high when it got over! I could not stop smiling! 

The place where they got stuck is when we started asking questions from their resume. One said that he has worked on ftp and sftp, and when we asked him the difference between the two, he could not answer! Similarly on other stuff as well. Atleast if they are writing something there,  they should read it up before the interview. They would not end up looking so dumb. What is the need to lie? If you want to lie, atleast know something about it!

One guy could not even explain the project he worked on. Whatever we asked about it, he had the same answer! And both of us didn't understand what he was saying! 

I have another interview to take on Monday( I know, wow!). I'm so proud of myself! :D

Food

Just came back from meeting some of my friends! We had planned to meet up for lunch - the only problem being one didn't want to have Indian food, one didn't want Chinese, one didn't want pizza, and one didn't want burgers! It is so annoying when people have so many issues about food! 

So we decided to go to Koshi's cause apparently it is a multi cuisine restaurant! But they said they will give us 3 separate tables! WTF? If we wanted them together, we "would have to wait for 20 minutes". Moron. Why didn't you tell this before we wasted 10 minutes outside? 

Then we stood and discussed where we wanted to go next! Which was not going anywhere, since there was no place that everyone wanted to go to. We finally went and had food in Mainland china. They gave us a room! (maybe they expected us to be noisy! Ha! Ha! ) Food was decent though. I was full with soup (yum!), starters and pepsi! Still, I managed to eat some Hakka noodles and ice cream. 

We were supposed to go bowling after that. When we reached the place, we were informed that we would have to wait for an hour! Yeah right. 

But the day was good though. I had not met a couple of my friends in the last 3 months(since they are now studying), and it was good catching up. It is somehow not the same over the phone! 

Tonight I would be going out with my family for dinner! I am already so full, I have no idea what (and how) I am gonna eat there! This morning around 11, I had hot chocolate fudge! Yum!! And I ate so much for lunch! And again dinner! Gosh! 

Cigarettes

Let me start by saying that I hate smoking, I hate cigarettes and I hate the smell of smoke. Now that we have that out of the way, let me begin.

So today evening while I was on my way back home, I got a call from home. It was my sister. As soon as I picked up, she said, "Hey I need a favour".

"What!"

"I need a favour from you, and you can't say no."

"No". I knew I should say no. If she says I can't say no, it means I would not want to do it. 

"Hey come on ya. Its a small thing. I want a pack of cigarettes."

SHOCK.

"What? Cigarettes? Why do you need them!"

"No ya, it is not for me. It is for a friend"

"Then tell them to buy it! why are you asking me to buy it for them? They should not be smoking in the first place"

"See, it is my friend's birthday, and I just want to irritate her. I had asked her what she wants for her birthday and she said she wants cigarettes and vodka and all. So just because she said it, she is gonna get it. hahaha"

There was a lot of haggling after this, and the conversation went on for 1 more unnecessary minute. But I finally agreed to get it for her.

So I get down from the bus. And go to this shady place where they sell cigarettes. I went and asked that guy , "I need a pack of cigarettes." As if I do it everyday.

So he looks at me, trying very hard not to laugh, and asks me,"which brand?". 

Like I know. So I looked around and just picked one. And I asked how much I had to pay him. He said Rs 44! Wow! Who knew! 

I walked back home, and gave the pack to my sister. 

My mom knew that my sis had asked me to get it for her, and suddenly when she actually saw it, she became real angry! And then began the yelling, and the 'what would the people in the colony think when they saw you buy cigarettes' talk. Both of us listened to it, and I had to actually convince her that no one saw me.

Even if they did, what's the big deal? Why is it ok for men to smoke,  but not women?

Goa

My friends are planning to go to Goa over the weekend. Even I was supposed to be going along with them, but somehow an unexpected trip of my own seems to be in the way. It seems like such bad timing but there is nothing I can do. I feel so bad since the tickets and the hotels are already booked! 

I just hope that they go on with the trip and not cancel it since I would not be going. I feel bad that they are going, but I would feel worse if they didn't go! Few months back we had made a plan of going to some place in Kerala, but that was cancelled later when one of my friend could not make it. I remember how annoyed I was because of it. But in her case, I was really sure that she would not come for the trip while making the plans. And I specifically asked her if she would come in spite of all the work that she had. And she assured me that she would definitely make it. And then in the last moment, when there were 2 days left to go, she says that she can't make it, and that she is sorry! I knew it anyways. And finally we went to Innovative Film City. A place no one should go to - because it is not worth it. Instead stay at home and sleep. Or watch cartoons. 

I've always wanted to go to Goa though. Had been there when I was 5 or so, and obviously I don't remember anything. There is this really cute pic of me standing in the beach there. And a pic where I am in my mom's arms - crying. Apparently I didn't want my photo taken. Well, some things never change. And there were a few other pics as well, but these are the two that I really remember. 

Now that I told my friends I can't go with them, they are not believing me! They think it is an April fool's prank! ha! Such bad timing! 

Agitated

There is this guy in my team who is an absolute moron! All he knows is to waste my time and ask unnecessary questions. Everything that he needs to know would be in a document that he is expected to read, and yet, he will not make an attempt to understand. What is the need for a meeting with 7 people to "discuss" a document - when half of them have not read it? What a waste of my time! 

I SO want to talk to my manager about this, but I really don't know how I could do it without it being a complaint! And the sad part? It is not only me who find him annoying! I know there are others in my team as well who have issues with him. And no one would say anything.

I am thinking of bringing this up with my manager next time we talk. 

Shades

This is the photo that I cropped to get the image in the header (They are clouds, by the way).

I love the shade of blue that is in the picture! 

I took it last year, in the evening, after the sun had set. Nice, no?

Reminiscence

Really bored this evening, have nothing interesting to do. So I just started reading my older blogs and all the comments that I had written. Man, I've been blogging since 2005! How long ago is that! And now for some numbers that no one else is interested in: (except me, of course!). I wrote 65 posts in 2005,2006. And 26 in 2007,2008!! And 8 in 2009! (I posted one that I had written in 2007 now, which was stuck as a draft for 2 years! Sigh!) . Which makes this my 100th post! Wow! In 4.5 years. Long, long time. It should not have taken so many years! haha! 

I read this, the time when I read Robert Ludlum's Bourne Identity! How cool is that! I didn't even remember that I had blogged about it. I had also found Matt Damon cute! hehehe...

I still get extremely lazy and bored! I still don't have a car driving license. I love my two wheeler (which is technically my sister's!). Some things never change I suppose!

So for the past two hours (or more), I've been reminiscing about the past few years of mine. I like where I am at the moment. I suppose I have said this already in some post, but its nice. I've few good friends who I know will be there for me when I need them (I honestly didn't think it was possible!). I still get along fine with my family with a lot of fights! I like my work and the environment. I've travelled to two countries (which made me realise how much I like seeing new places!) . How cool is this? When I was in college, I thought I would be the last person in class who would go somewhere.  (so much for self confidence!) 

I've done so many things that I thought I would never do, and I enjoyed doing them. There was a post where i had posted all the things I would like to do and all the things I have done. Few things have changed! I want to do some more things that I have not marked there.

Have done the following( which I had not marked that I wanted to do!): 

• Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (in Turkey. Was sort of fun! I wish I had blogged more when I was there)
  
• Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
• Taken a road trip. 
• Had two hard disks for my computer( Guess I had it before and didn't know it!)

and one thing that I had marked:

• Toured ancient sites. (I saw Ephesus when I was in Turkey! Will post pics if I feel like it! Mostly I wont.) It was so cool, man! 
  

And I realised that I can't do few things - mostly because of my fears. I realised that I have an extreme case of a fear of heights. Some time ago, there was some team building activity that I had gone to from office. I had to climb up (dont know how high it was), and had to jump to a net backwards. Its like, you can't see where you are jumping. And while I was standing there to jump, I could just not do it. The more time I spent there, the more scared I got. I was actually shaking there. Literally! I eventually jumped though, and I thought I would not be scared the next time I do it. So I went again, only to make a fool of myself. I got scared again, and started shaking again. And that is when I realised, much to my chagrin, that I cannot do the following. 

• Bungee jumped
• Gone sky diving. 

Its all good though, all good! 

I'm actually smiling here! 

Anywhere but home

Just came back from watching a movie - Anywhere but home. It was released with a new name here in India (Don't know why though!). It was released a long time back elsewhere as Four Christmases. It was a typical Hollywood movie. Sort of funny too. 

One thing that is common in all Christmas movies: there has to be a guy who tells the kids that there is no Santa Claus. Oh, the horror! And the kids are so shocked and everything. Is this for real!?

I must say though, I like watching Christmas movies... even though they are all the same.

I finally saw Bourne Identity! It was an okay movie, I honestly don't know what the big deal is! Probably my expectations were too high. This always happens to me! Next movie is Bourne Supremacy. Lets see how that goes. I liked the car chase though. I usually like chases. In The Dark Knight, there is a chase, where Batman is following the Joker. That was so good! Especially the way how Batman's cloak is flying(?) behind him! Hmmm.. too bad The Dark Knight didn't get as many Oscars as was expected.

I am watching a lot of movies, right!?

Stuff

Yesterday I watched Memento. Had not watched it before, and unfortunately I could not enjoy it. And this, only because I watched Ghajini. I knew Ghajini was a remake of the Tamil movie, but I didn't know that the Tamil movie was also a remake! I only got to know about it later, which was too bad. Had I known, I would not have watched Ghajini. And to think that I actually liked the movie! How could I have liked that horror?! 

I could not watch the whole movie (Memento). Only because I kept comparing it to the Hindi one, and it completely ruined it for me. I saw about 45 minutes of the beginning, and then saw the end. And then, I realised that end made no sense, so I watched the five minutes of the beginning again! (Yes, I do all this. )Apparently this is one movie where one has to watch it twice to understand it (is what my friend said). 

Today I will watch Bourne Identity and Bourne Supremacy. Have read the book before, and when I watched it I got irritated cause the whole story was changed. But now, I do not remember all the details in the story, so I figured I might as well watch it. Will watch Memento also someday, when I forget that I watched Ghajini (the horror!). 

Oh, and something completely unrelated: Sometimes I like how the day starts out being really bad, and then one incident completely makes it all better. This happened today; this morning I was moping around and now I am so happy! Damn cool! 

Also, I thought I had lost my Pan card (don't remember if I blogged about it), but today I found it. When I was searching for something else. Time for me to arrange all the stuff in my room, so I get what I want - when I want it. I totally hate this!

Funny!

"When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion." - Robert Pirsig

Their world

Yesterday I was watching Amazing Race on TV, and they had come to Jaipur for the race. As the contestants were traveling in the car to some place near Jaipur, few of them started crying. Mostly because there are so many stray animals, and they were eating garbage, and such. They also saw a lot of kids near these garbage piles and were feeling emotional about the whole thing. That's what got me thinking - we Indians are so used to seeing poverty that it does not shock us anymore. Yeah, I feel sad that there is so much of poverty and that there is not much I can do about it. I don't like the fact that there are so many kids on the streets. But I don't think I would cry about all of that! I feel really bad, for a few minutes. That's it, I suppose. And then I force myself not to think about this, and try to forget it.

This is the main reason why Indians did not really like slumdog millionaire. We have seen slums, and we have seen such kids. And so for us, it is just a story. But for most of the Americans, this whole idea of a slum is horrendous, and when they see such things, it is time for them to thank god for everything that they have! It is sad, really. They have no clue of what is happening in the whole world. Their world begins and ends in America.

Being myself

Like a moron, I have been obsessed with the Big Brother show (the US one). It started on Saturday afternoon, around 1 in the afternoon when I switched the channel to VH1. I had never watched Big brother before, and was always wondering what the big deal is. I am a big fan of reality TV shows ( I don't know why!!), and when I saw that Big Brother is on, I could not help but watch it! And so I did. The only problem was that it was a marathon. Which meant that they would show the whole series at one go. No big deal, anyway it was a saturday, and it should finish by evening. Or so I thought. I watched it till 11:30 at night. Continuously. They stopped showing it at 11:30, else I would have watched it some more.

So on sunday, i woke up a little late, and I thought of just checking if the show was coming on TV. And it was! Yay!! So I started yet again to see it. Luckily ( phew!) I had plans of meeting friends, so I left home at one - for lunch, bowling and some ice cream. The ride back was so awesome. There was no one on the streets!! I mean, MG Road was empty! It was so weird to see hardly any people on a sunday evening! I reached back home around 6 ( I guess) and it started again. My parents were going mad. I tried making them watch it, and tried telling them that this is so much better than the stupid serials that they are so obsessed about. Obviously they thought I was a moron.

And so I watched. And watched. Till 12:30 in the night. Yes, 12:30! I had to see who won! I wanted any of 2 people to win (Sharon or Adam), and Adam won. Like I care.

And today is a monday. I can barely open my eyes. I just want to sleep.

Did I learn anything this weekend? Yes, of course. I realised that not eating chocolate ice cream makes me bowl really bad. (Yesterday I scored a pathetic 65. Yuck.) I also learnt that if you want to succeed, you should know how to lie and show that everything that you do is great (even know it is not, duh!).

Did I learn anything useful this weekend? No. Sigh. Atleast I could have read a book.

Sleep! I want sleep!!!

I love...

- being sarcastic, sarcastic jokes, writing sarcastic emails!

- music

- reading books

- sunshine

- watching the sky when the sun is setting

- watching movies on the TV when I am alone.

- trees

- sitcoms on Star World

- Coldplay

- google

- internet

- blogs

- firefox

- coffee

- one hour lunch breaks when there is a lot of work

- listening to Mr Barker on the radio

- bags from Wildcraft (I have one that I got 6 years ago! and it is still in a usable condition)

- cats

- waking up late on Sundays

- vacations

- nice, wide, empty roads early morning on the way to work

- anything which has bread

- junk food

- silver finger rings

- wearing jeans to work on weekdays

- being a rebel

- speaking my mind

- people who speak their minds

- honesty

- watching Roger Federer beat Nadal

- the colour blue

- watching the look on someone's face when they open a gift 

- being surprised

- questioning things I don't understand

- going out with friends

- making lists

- crossing out things I have completed on the list

- Google desktop!

- intelligent people.

- spell check

- John Grisham's books

- reading comments on blog I read

- reading comments on Digg.com

- watching Friends on TV with my sister

- wikipedia

- nokia mobile phones

- having food in open spaces

- coffee shops

- the movie Little Miss Sunshine (its hilarious)

- listening to music and reading on the way to office while everyone else is sleeping

- looking out the window

- listening to people

- visiting new places

- playing cards

- long journeys on a train

- reality TV 

- shopping with my sis and mom

- wearing sports shoes

- to watch people getting embarrassed for silly reasons

Grammy awards

This time there are so many songs that I like which have been nominated for Grammy awards! So this list contains few songs and albums that I really like listening to.

Record Of The Year and Best Rock Album AND Album Of The Year -- Viva La Vida - Coldplay
Gosh, I just love this album. Coldplay is so amazing. I just feel like listening to the songs over and over again. And I can keep doing this the whole day, or the whole week! My favourite songs - Viva La Vida, Death and all his friends, Life in technicolor (it is instrumental in the album, but however I have seen a version of it in a video with lyrics!), Violet hill, Cemeteries of London. I know there are too many songs listed, but I can't just pick one or two!

Album Of The Year  and Best Alternative Music Album --  In Rainbows - Radiohead
I just discovered RadioHead last year. Their songs are totally different, they sound simply amazing.

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
    I'm Yours by Jason Mraz
    Closer by Ne-Yo
These two songs I have listened on the radio, and I keep waiting for the radio to play them. I guess it is mostly the tune that I like, more than anything else.

Apologize by OneRepublic . This song is nominated for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals. I want them to win!

Disturbia by Rihanna. Nominated for Best Dance Recording. I usually don't like Rihanna's songs, but this one is just addictive! After listening to this song, I actually downloaded few more songs from her album, and I must say they are incredible. A song called Umbrella which used to irritate me SO much initially sounds good now? crazy.

Well, I hope they all win! I just realised that most of the songs I like are songs where I could sing along. (Not that I sing along, or anything. But atleast I have the option. )

Annoyed

Things were great at work till today. There is a moron who is working with me, and she cannot do a thing! She cannot remember anything that I say. Even after I tell her something, she would go back and sit in her place. And then she will ping me asking questions. What the hell? How can she be so incompetent? And to top it all off, my manager thinks she is good in what she does. However, all I see her do is chat with her friends, mail unnecessary things to everyone, make my life hell, and yap on the phone all day long!

So what happened today? There is something that the moron and I have discussed over and over in a period of 2 weeks maybe. And the moron still pings me and asks me the most basic question that one could ever ask. I don't get it, I really don't. If she does not know this simple thing, she does not know anything! What a waste of my time! This is totally annoying.

All I have been doing today is browse the net, and as the day passed by I have this bad feeling since I have not done anything. It is not a big deal though, I still have time to complete what I have to do. One thing is for sure, this time I am not bailing her out. She has to do everything on her own. Let me see what she is actually capable of. I don't know why, I just have this bad case of intense dislike against her!

Been listening to Pink Floyd lately, and man do they have awesome songs! All i knew before was Comfortably Numb and Another Brick In the Wall. But now I realize that there are so many wonderful songs. Listen to Coming Back to Life. Wow, it feels so good when I listen to it. I will almost always get a smile on my face when I hear this track!