They're at it again!

I'm right back where it all started. My mother has decided that it's time for me to settle down and find myself a good, loving, intelligent boy from a well-respected family, from the same caste as me. If you're an Indian woman in her mid-late 20's, you'll know what I'm talking about!

No matter how forward thinking our parents claim to be, when it comes to marriage, most of them succumb to the pressures of the society and take to matrimonial sites for finding that perfect match for their children. They hear stories of people who've found bliss on the internet. This is like Tinder… only that mostly it’s the parents who’re swiping away to the perfect match.

Now, I personally have nothing against people finding love online. I have absolutely no bones to pick with anyone who feels it best to let someone else do the choosing of what could be one of the most important choices of their lives! Heck… I did that! I let someone else take the reins of my life and let me tell you, the ride was as bumpy as it gets. And I learnt valuable life lessons at the end of it.

So you may wonder just what I've been smoking to be doing this again?! I mean, wise people learn from their mistakes, right? Well, let’s not be getting our panties in a twist, people!

I know I sound like a hypocrite. But if I were to stay out of this, things only get worse. It happened once. I didn't give a damn and before I knew it, I was married to a motherfucker who liked dicks more than I did! But, hear me out, dear reader. When I say I give a damn, I don’t mean that I visualize myself getting married to the men who seem interested in the warped image my mother has projected of me on that god-awful site! Heck, I wouldn't marry the girl my mom’s made me out to be! But today, chancing upon the gazillion mails from interested suitors brought a few things to light. And those things are worth sharing.

Matrimony is all about the moolah these days!

Forget love; forget emotional compatibility and all the applesauce they say is important! The one thing you’re supposed to look at is his pay package! That’s right! As long as he earns enough, who the hell cares if he’s a closet psychopath with temper issues?

People will strut their stuff like there’s no tomorrow. 

More than one profile that my mother thrust into my face had the guy smirking away at the camera like he was George Clooney’s long lost nephew! And the thing is, they weren't even good looking to begin with! Yes, I know I’m being a jerk. But, when some guy claims to be fair and would prefer women who’re fairer, I have a problem. Without a photo uploaded to substantiate my mother’s claims that I was fair in complexion, I’m also buried neck deep with requests for a photo, which brings me to the next point.

If some of the people on matrimonial sites were actually serious, they’d be charged with felony!

There was one request from a guy who was married and had decided he wouldn't get a divorce. But hey, he wants another understanding and loving girl who was willing to live with him and his first wife… all as one big happy family. He doesn't have a job, his wife’s a house wife and so, he would like someone who earns a living and “is willing to believe in him that his business endeavours would succeed someday, somehow”. I don’t think I need to say anything further there!

I could go on and on, but I don’t see the point. It’s a little sad that what should be an organic, natural and almost an intangible transition into what is the most beautiful connection between hearts has to be so structured… so forced… so compartmentalized into categories. I don’t think I can ever fall for this. But then again, that does not seem to stop my mother from wasting her time on the site. Oh well, to each their own, I guess!

New place... new people... not everything needs to be for the better!

There are far too many things in life that we mortals take for granted. Whether it be health or the amity of good friends, we seldom realize their value until after they have left our keeping. And then, we start yearning for what has been lost. Sometimes, we’re lucky to gain it back. Sometimes, we’re not so blessed.

I've recently changed jobs. This entails meeting new people, forming new friendships, meeting new deadlines… the usual. In my previous workplace, I had made friends with the most amazing group of people. A group of friends that feels more like family… and just as close! If I had my way, I would bring them all with me wherever I went… working with them for a lower pay if need be.

But with the old company closing down its projects and my position as a language specialist hanging in the balance, I didn't have the luxury of a choice. And that is how I found myself in the new place.

The work is the same, voluminous if anything. But that hardly deters me. I love what I do and if there is one trait I've inherited from my mother, it is to work hard on the things I love.

Now you may wonder, my dearest reader as to what it was that I missed.

Friends.

True Friends.

Friends who have my back. Friends who don’t have an agenda of their own. Friends who’re good at heart.

The people I see here in the new office (except a few… like my fellow translators) are the type I normally abhor. With absolutely no regard for another soul, their daily lives seem to pass away in plastic smiles and self-important pompousness. And the worst sort of misogyny I've ever had to face!

Their thinly veiled slurs at women they hardly know, grates my nerves so much that sometimes, it takes all my resolve not to punch a few of these people in their noses. The other day, I heard that they had coined a name for me as well… a name that was coined the first day I walked into that office… for my interview. Perhaps the fact that they did not know me seemed to embolden them to pass sexist comments at my expense. I guess a few would tell me I'm overreacting here… boys being boys or whatever! But I cannot see it in that light and you will excuse my obstinacy in this.

All this while, I've been friends with men who’re nothing less than perfect gentlemen. They don’t pass comments about the women that pass them by. They don’t stare at women as though they’re looking at some hitherto unknown creature. And they sure as hell don’t give women weird sexist names behind their backs!

And to make things worse, the other women these pathetic excuses of men are friends with seem to think they’re safe. All they need to do is turn my way to see how wrong they are.

If they could make such comments about me, there is absolutely no saying that they haven’t done the same about them, if only within themselves… it’s a very sorry business. 

And every day I walk into my new office, I let out a sigh thinking about the old place where all that awaited me was work and sincere smiles… here, in every word is sheathed an inner meaning…. In every smile, there’s a tinge of scorn and in every gaze, thoughts I wouldn't dare describe! 

The only saving grace is knowing that these people would never be anything more than colleagues and I still have amazing friends in life... the kind that these men would never get or understand!

Time to come out of the closet!

Before anyone decides to assume things, this post is not about my sexual preferences!

This post is about the recently discovered fact that has me gaping in desperation!

I am a shopaholic!

It all came down to the morning when my mother sat me down and asked me just how much I had saved in the eight months that I've been working! When I ought to have at least fifty grand stowed away for a rainy day, I am literally penniless! So.... where is all the money gone? Where? WHERE?!!!

I sat down and did a check up on exactly where the money was going. And needless to say, I wasn't happy when I saw the results!!
The pattern was inevitable! I would save for a month and spend two month's worth salary on clothes and accessories!! And that, basically took me to square one! (or square 0.5, I don't know!!)

And majority of the clothes were T-shirts and shoes!
For someone who survived on a single pair of shoes for a good five years, (I kid you not!) I've bought three pairs of shoes that I find no use of beyond two or three wears!!
And as for clothing, I'm splurging on jeans! I've all but given up on traditional Indian clothing. Give me a good pair of jeans and a multitude of T-shirts that will keep me going for a week atleast! All the better when it comes to laundering the mess.

But then again, thanks to the fact that I have a body that is unlike any normal person, I cannot just buy random things off the racks. And anything that fits me ends up costing a lot more than it should!

I did have a reality check, a month into the job and I've been maintaining a record of how much I spend on Evernote. But I hardly see any improvement. All I do is cry at the end of the month looking at how little I have managed to save!

Oh God... I need divine intervention... or a pay hike! (I'd very much like the latter!!)

I passed! I PASSED!! I FREAKING PASSED!!! And then, I was broke....

Alrighty! For those of you who're wondering as to what the jibbers I'm going on about, I'll have you know that I have safely cleared my JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) N2 level safe and sound... okay. just barely! But whatever! I cleared! And that's all I'm bothered about.

 

N2 amigos! I am now officially somewhat knowledgeable in what I do.... I think!

And now for the sad part... I'm nearly broke! Well.... not exactly nearly broke... I mean, well... ah, forget it!


To celebrate the great news that is me clearing the N2 level, I decided I'd get myself a new pair of jeans! And since I'm monstrously tall (according to everyone shorter than me) and being infamously thin (again, according to folks fatter than me), I cannot buy jeans that are supposed to be for women because everybody assumes that you're going to be either gigantic or petite! Nope! No sizes in the middle!! And as is my wont, I was browsing through the Men's section of Jeans on the interwebz. (more on that, later!)

I found the jeans I wanted and added the bugger to my cart... and clicked order now! But for some reason, I just couldn't click checkout! I just couldn't bring myself to!!

And so, here I am. Broke... with a pair of jeans I terribly want... with just enough money to get it if I forgo food and commutation for the next seven days!!

 

Why? Why, oh Lord?!

 

Where is my country going?

I know I don't generally tend to comment on the political or socio-economic happenings from India for the simple reason that I feel I may not be fully qualified to just talk about it when I don't do anything to change the scene. But recently, there has been an issue that I've personally been quite affected by. And that is the brutal gang rape of a 23 year old woman by four monsters in a moving bus in Delhi.

Delhi has always scared me by the way it treats the women. One cannot go out after eight in the evening and hope to return home with nary a scratch. There have been so many cases of sexual harassment and abuse in Delhi that sometimes I wonder whatever do the men folk of that city do other than tormenting the women.

Now this lady in question was so brutally raped that her intestines had to be almost completely removed. And her condition has gotten so critical that she's been flown to Singapore for further treatment. And in the midst of it all, the nation boils over, demanding for the strictest punishments ranging from bobbitization to death penalty. But is that really enough?

Even now, when I step out of the house in jeans, I feel certain eyes on me as I walk through the roads... eyes that strain to look through the T shirt. Eyes that try their hardest to devest me of clothing and the only thing stopping the hands that belong to those eyes is probably a thin strand of sanity and the constraints of a crowded street. But sometimes, even that does nothing to deter the wandering hand as it reaches to grope or smack some part of the feminine anatomy just because they felt like it!

I've had bitter experiences that range from silent sneers to attempted rapes. And so, these kind of news affect me greatly! And I've been praying for that girl since her story came out. But something I read today has made me wonder... are we doomed as a people?

How else am I to interpret the times when a woman who also happens to be an educated scientist claims in a public forum where people have gathered to discuss the topic of "Sensitivity towards women" and states that the rape victim should've given in to save herself?! Let me be very clear here. Rape isn't merely a sexual act. It's the gravest wrong any man can do to a woman. By committing that heinous crime, he declares to her that he is superior to her in every way .. emotionally, physically, mentally! And he does that in such brutal fashion that a part of the victim dies right then and there.

Nobody can ever empathize with a rape victim. No matter how hard they try. They've never been through the trauma that the survivor has been through. But sometimes, I think it would be wise to just shut up and not say anything if you don't have anything good to say!

Shame on you, Indian government!

I know that the title is pretty vast in interpretation as the Indian government is known for shaming itself on numerous accounts. But today, I'm talking about the Government of India cancelling the legitimately granted visa of Ms. Kobayashi Maya who is a survivor from the Fukushima area in Japan.

Now, I, surely believe that Nuclear power has immense benefits and the proper utilization of the same can grant us power without putting another whooping hole in the Ozone layer. But this has to come with the appropriate safety measures. Though I'm against the numerous agitations and demonstrations against the construction of a Nuclear Power Plant here in Chennai, I should clarify my stand. If someone has been granted visa legitemately and then have had it revoked purely because what they say might not please a few corporate honchos, it's about time the government went and hung itself!

Let them give everybody a chance to voice their opinion and let them take a decision that's best for the people....but then again, the Indian Government hasn't given a rat's renal area what the people want! Shame on you, Indian Government!

Amusing....you are, good sir!

Today, I had a revelation of sorts. Today, I met a person who's managed to baffle me within five minutes of me hearing him speak. And I don't know what to make of it all!
Imagine this... this person seems to have such strongly grounded ideas about everything and some of the things he'd let out were purely unimaginably rude! And it pains me to see how skewed his perception of today's world is! I've realized, thanks to listening to him that when someone has three words to use, one should use a single word to convey the meaning.
And I personally come from a family that never boasted... ever! And being proud in whatever I do has always been an alien feeling for me. But I'm realizing that not everybody need share that philosophy. Today, this person was going on about how things were so much better and his loved ones were the ones who have done so well in life and when he knew I had people in the same field as his relatives seemed to singularly strive to find something to say that would make my point seem trivial. Seriously... it's okay! I've always known there are better people out there and so, there's no point trying to bring down another person. In the end, it only goes out to show how little I can seem when I indulge in such silliness.

Oh! art of conversation... thou art a stranger to that gentleman, aren't you?
In the end, now when I think about it, I'm happy I didn't just bite the bait and try proving him wrong. There's no point in doing that! Obviously the both of us are so very insignificant in the grand scale of things and reality is what we make of it. And the ultimate reality does not depend on what either of us thinks. Hmmm... sometimes, the best conversations are in the midst of even breaths and silence.

On chillies and childishness

Today, we had fish. Extremely potent and spicy fish! And if anyone is interested, I almost fainted eating it.

This had mom tell me how fish is supposed to be spicy and how I can't keep telling my husband that I can't cook spicy fish when he could love rolling around in chilies. This had me thinking. What is it that makes everyone just automatically assume that I will change my habits once I have a guy in my life? Sure, adjustments have to be there. Like getting the bowel movements organized and the extra laundry and all those things. But to actually tell someone that they should change everything about them and take up things that could give me extreme discomfort is not what I would call adjustment. And in the society where I come from, it's always the girl who adjusts. It's always the girl who takes care of all that her husband needs. The girl intuitively knows what her guy wants and needs and follows his uttered and silent commands to the T. In other words, she automatically becomes docile and obedient.

Now, if the guy likes it hot, I'll most probably divide my portions from his before I dump the chillies by the cartload and serve him his dish from hell! But apparently that just goes on to show I'm not adjusting with his tastes. Come on now! They can't be serious!! I've been called "spoilt" by people who have hardly known me and it amuses me even now. But to hear such backward a thought process from my own mother, that was an eyeopener!

It makes me wonder. If peanuts make me swell up like the Mardi Gras float and my husband happens to love peanuts, will they tell me that I should "learn to accept" peanuts even if I end up in the emergency room with a face swollen beyond recognition?

Strange... very strange!

A chocolate bar that's earned... at the cost of equality!

Advertisements have become an inherent part of our lives. Ever so slowly, we've acclimatized ourselves to the fact that sometime in between the really interesting movie we're watching, there's bound to be a commercial break and we need to be prepared to suspend our thought process for as long as the ads are running and learn to pick up from where we left when the movie does the same.

But once in a while, we stop and think. And thank God we do that! Because when we do, we realize just how banal these advertisements are in reality. Okay... there are a few good ones here and there. But in general the majority out there seem to cater for the fact that the person watching the advertisements doesn't actually watch them. They merely see them and the people behind the advertisements hope that with sufficient repetition, their message will get through to the deeper parts of our brain. And in a way, they probably don't want us to think while we see their claims of being the best because if we did, they no longer would be!

The other day, I happened to see an advertisement for a chocolate bar. And the tagline was how one had to earn that particular chocolate and one can't buy it. Here's what I'd like to tell the people behind that tagline -

"Okay, hotshot! If that's what you really believe I don't think you're aiming on kids with no income of their own to try your product. Okay... maybe you want to be considered the crème de la crème of the chocolate industry. Good for you."

But their recent ad seriously got me mad. And I'm sure many would know of the one I allude to. It has this man who seems to be some connoisseur in cocoa beans and how he takes up one cocoa bean after another and examines them like he's examining diamonds. The local farmers wait expectantly to hear his verdict on their produce when the man removes his monocle and proclaims that the cocoa bean he had been studying was perfect and that it would be that particular brand of chocolate some day. And the locals are really happy. And then, the man examines another cocoa bean and just gives up calling that bean "a nothing". And in predictable advertisement fashion, that bean starts crying and the man asks the local elder to tell the bean that he is sorry. And the banality just gets bigger with one of the locals throwing the bean away.

Now, for those of you who're wondering what's gotten me so mad, it's the fact that this ad has such undertones of discrimination and contempt for the 'imperfect ones' that it just makes me see red. The cocoa bean was not good enough to be a part of the company's overpriced hookum that I can personally say isn't anything out of the ordinary (Just a little more chocolatey!). Fine, they have standards. But to call it 'a nothing' is  little uncalled for! What do they know? The bean wasn't perfect in size and aroma, big deal! Maybe sowing it would yield them more cocoa beans without which there wouldn't be a chocolate company that utterly discriminates even cocoa beans!

Am I being too paranoid? Well... I guess I can't help but notice that the connoisseur was white while the ones who probably know the best about cocoa are the people who grow them - the African farmers. And isn't it a little too racist to expect them to come to the "white man" to get their products assessed?

I call that company discriminatory and racist. What about you?

BAKUHATSU DATTAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

How often is it that you follow instructions to the T and then have all hell break loose around you?

Well, if you're wondering what I'm blabbering on about, I'll have you know that I narrowly escaped a very painful death (or dis-figuration at least!) today.

It all started with Mom and Dad leaving to check on our land that's in the middle of nowhere. And I, being the person left behind to cook for everybody, decided that I'd follow everything that my mother said about using the pressure cooker to the dot! And I'm mortally scared of messing up the kitchen (explains my lack of...er... interest to learn too complicated dishes).

As luck would have it, mom had fixed everything and all I had to do was light the stove and wait for six toots from the cooker and then switch the bloody thing off. Ah... if only things were this simple! I did light the stove and after three minutes, there wasn't a sound when normally the cooker goes "toot..toot...tootgetmyassoffthestovebitchtoot!!!"
As can be expected, I went to investigate and found that the lid didn't lock properly. And so, getting the thing off the flame, I fixed that and placed it on the stove once more. Now, at this opportune moment, Mom decided to call me and so, I told her about how the cooker seemed depressed and if I should just kill the flame. She told me to do just that and that she was getting back and would be there soon. Gleefully, I placed the receiver down and turned around only to hear a moderately loud THUNK and then complete silence.

Fearing the worst possible case, I walked towards the kitchen to find the cooker off the stove, the chimney above it in shambles, uncooked rice all over the walls, ceiling and refrigerator and sharp pieces of wood from the chopping board that was near the stove! I freaked out, my darling reader. I freaked out like it was nobody's business. Of course it was all silent. A silent cry of desperation like that of Gintoki and Shinpachi!

It was only when I saw the bloody shrapnel that was my chopping board that I realized the clear and present danger I'd narrowly escaped from. If my mother had cut the phone line a mere fifteen seconds earlier, I'd probably look like Yamcha from DragonBallZ!

Now before people start tut-tutting about my lack of culinary finesse to tackle a situation as this, we had the bloody cooker checked and it turns out that the thing was akin to a Chernobyle waiting to happen. There was a clogged valve and that was the reason why a rule abiding tennyo like me barely escaped having my face rearranged in the OR!

Moral of the story: Check your cookers periodically for faults. A messed up cooker is worse than Otae Shimura on PMS!

P.S. For anyone interested enough, bakuhatsu in japanese means "Explosion"... you know the whole KABLAM....DOOM....BOOM.... the works!

Does it really matter?!

I've been bombarded with news from every possible channel that there are heavy speculations about a certain actress and the time she might go into labour! And there are also rumours doing the rounds that her labour will be telecasted on TV. And I hope I'm not the only one who finds this entire debacle distasteful!

Seriously though, it's because these channels telecast these kind of irritating and useless pieces of unwanted information that we see so much of what really matters go unnoticed. An actress and her unborn babe have managed to generate crores in betting pools while the case of a person who's been fasting for the past eleven years is just a side story! This is what makes me abhor TV channels so much! For once, I wish some of them would have the balls to show what really matters. And I'm sure that when actresses give birth just isn't as important as a person who's fighting for human rights.

Seriously, how star-crazy are we? We construct temples for celebrities, faint when they even deign to smile at us and fight among ourselves comparing two actors or actresses and make points why one is better than the other. And all this leads to nothing but a few minutes of distraction and possibly a whole lot of dissension among us. It is a general ruse that the channels provide only those things that we wish to see. Does that mean they take us for imbeciles who cannot think beyond the mundane news of some random celebrity giving birth or the orchestrated drama of a silly reality show? If it is so, I swear to God, they underestimate us grossly. Yes, there are people who don't give a rat's ass what made that famous actor have diarrhea or wonder when that actress is going to give birth and NO, I've not the slightest intention of gushing over some celebrity's desperate cry for attention. Stupidity is not a handicap; park it elsewhere, people! 

7aum Arivu - a detailed review

It's raining here in Chennai. And as can be expected, the monsoon is worse than the summer seasons here. After washing two full loads of laundry, we had absolutely nothing to do at home yesterday evening. And so, we decided to go see a movie. Mom suggested 7aum Arivu and that settled it. We drove on; the three of us.


To be honest, I was anticipating the release of this movie but mom suggested we wait for the reviews to surface before plunging in. And strangely, they appear to be mixed. That was when I decided that I would form my own conclusions on the movie and now, having seen it, I call tell you what it is.

The review is long. Proceed if you wish to read on...

Life is a female canine in ways you can never imagine!

Imagine this... you dream a singular dream... you know you ought to do something to make it a reality you could enjoy in the tactile sense. But it seems as though the entire world is against you. And then, you see someone who didn't even wish for your paradise, get exactly that and smile benignly at you as you slog harder than ever before, wiping the fecal unmentionables that the world in general has thrown your way. Oh, fey fate! Why would you tempt me so only to push me deeper into the mire of endless desolation? And why, pray tell, must I see what I wish the most in life flicker in front of me and then die? Like a moth that singes its wings trying to reach the one bright spot in the whole damned world?!

Truly... there must be an end to this madness! I am caught in that place where I never imagined myself to be... even in my harshest nightmares. And yet... now, it seems as though the whole world closes its claws around me, suffocating me and smothering my dreams and hopes and I can only sigh... that precious wisp of air is also taken until my lungs turn blue and I'm left in death.

Ugh... the dumb.... it hurts!

Dad and I are having quite the argument right now! Before people think we're not in talking terms, let me get this straight. We're as conversational as ever and aren't angry at each other but there's been an issue that requires immediate attention and somehow, the way he is planning on going about it is unfortunately..well... dumb!

Imagine that you have a video file that is 3GB in size. And you're required to transfer it to a relative of yours who lives on the other side of the world. Now, my dad seems to think it's best if we were to divide the files into chunks of data that are 25 MB in size and then send it as individual mails. And what about the fact that the person receiving it might not actually enjoy getting the file in so many chunks? Well, he wants me to number them all up so that the when the person there receives all the files, they can join 'em back together and view what one can only hope is the original video without any sort of mishap that might've occurred during the splitting or the transferring part.

I understand Dad is trying to be helpful. But he just doesn't seem to understand that what he's asking me to do is probably the most impractical way of transferring a file. If I had my way, I'd probably fed-ex the darned DVD to the person and if that's not viable, probably store it in Rapidshare or Megaupload and mail them the link! But Dad doesn't seem too privy to that idea for the reason that he doesn't know of these sites. Oy vey!

Men in general seem so dumb these days! Why oh God?! WHYYYYYYYYYYY?!

Power Plants and Protests

There's been a lot of hullabaloo about a proposed Nuclear Power Plant in Koodamkulam. The project has been under construction for quite some time now (more than a decade ago!). But recently, thanks to the Fukushima incident in Japan and the erstwhile Chernobyl. I cannot deny the fact that a Nuclear disaster is a really horrible thing to happen and if one were to happen, it could do a lot of damage!

But this particular protest smells very fishy. For one, the protesters did not protest when the project was initiated a decade ago. And contrary to popular belief, an investment of these proportions (U.S.$ 3.5 billion) is not just carried out on a whim. The people who protest are citing Chernobyl and Fukushima. Sure, they are horrible reminders of what happens when Human negligence happens or when Nature decides to take the upper hand. But that's hardly a reason to stop work there. The fishermen around the area claim that the effluents from the power plant would contaminate fishes and the ilk and reduce their livelihood in the area. Fair enough... only that they knew the power plant was coming up so long ago. And if they had a problem with it, they should've brought it up way earlier. And saying that a Nuclear Power Plant is a disaster waiting to happen is almost similar to saying "Putting on a light switch would kill you!" There are adversities everywhere and when one sees the advantage of greener energy and better power distribution, it almost seems silly to think of stopping Nuclear power plants for some person's unfounded stigma about it. Do they think that a project of these proportions would be implemented without proper research and safety precautions?

I suspect that this entire protest has a political tinge to it. And if that is true, it's sad. Being a science student, I know how much of an advantage having a Nuclear Power Plant would be. Then again, there were folks who thought switching on the LHC would bring about the end of the world! Oy vey, it's a sad time for science, folks!

La Tomatina in Bangalore...what were they thinking?!

If anybody has even heard of the name "tomatina" before, I'm sure they'll have visions of people drenched in Tomato pulp, throwing the crushed tomatoes at each other by the cartload!

Yes... it's fun. But when you have a festival like that happening in India, where there are so many people out there who die of starvation and a majority of those hapless victims being children, I wonder if anyone can actually throw those vegetables with the same grin as from the brochures they're supplying.

The supporters claim that they're helping farmers when they buy the tomatoes. But if their intentions were to help them, they could do it in another way where the produce that the farmer takes pride in actually satiates some child's hunger than lie discarded on the roads! I understand that watching recent Bollywood flicks has people going gaga over foreign customs but they need to realize that there's a limit to how much one can emulate of what one sees on celluloid!

What's next? Strapping wailing children on ostriches? Having a homeless man fight a beast for the goddamned crowd to jeer? Does an increased earning mean one can do as one pleases? People... when did we lose sanity to the Devil?

If you're one of those who believes this is an atrocious waste of money and not to mention good tomatoes, please spread the message. Sure... it might not be "cool" to dislike this sort of fun but there would be some starving kid out there who'd thank you for your abstinence. 

Ai Elbereth Nuin Oiolose!

Well, ahoy there! As my previous post indicated, my system had finally lost her fight with the demons of Circuit board malice inspite of a valiant fight.

Thank goodness for External Harddrives! But too bad that most of my program setup files were in the internal one and right now, I'm using a borrowed one from the PC repair guy. And well... I can't install random porgrams that I might find useful.

This sucks... and to make matters worse, my Japanese N4 level classes are being a little trying on the cerebrum! My new sensei is a really nice person. But I can't say the same for the other people who've come to learn there. There's one guy who seems to be hellbent on disproving everything the sensei says and well... it's a little irritating at times. Ah... what I wouldn't do to have my old class back... Madhumitha-sensei and the three pupils who treated each other with respect and didn't scorn others and always had a smile for the others.

There was an affinity before that was almost spontaneous from our first class that seems to be missing here... almost like Swarna-san and I are looked upon with a tinge of suspicion. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid here. I'm hoping that's the case!

Right now, I don't like what's happening around me much. I can't seem to find what's annoying me so much but I just wish I could be done with everybody around and crawl into a cave and practice Kanji till I feel better! :D

P.S. The next person who belittles the fact that learning Japanese is not very easy will be promptly kicked and thrown to rabid Nyan-kitties!

Thank you, RevolverOfTheLoom, for this wonderful piece of illustration - it proves my point here! :D

I'm alive! But my computer? Barely!

Hello there! I hope I was missed! :) Well, I feel like a secret agent living on borrowed time as I sit in front of my dying system, trying to get the message out before the timer runs out! The problem is, I don't know when it will! Oy vey! My system's SMPS (Switched mode power supply) has broken down and thanks to the ridiculous importance that piece of hardware has in the grand scale of things, I'm finding that most of the circuitry in my computer has either died or is dying. This means that I am in for a major re-haul! I don't think I shall be getting a new system as I won't be around in these parts of the world for too long. And moreover, a new system wouldn't be the same.... So, Iris stays! :)

Ah, I see the lights flashing here! I've very little time left! Please do pray for my computer.... and for the numerous animals that are homeless in this monsoon.... and for those affected by the hurricane, and... well.... for the whole wide world! :P

Ciao.... for now!

On how I lost control and found it again!

Why is it that when something has the probability of going awry, it does most of the time? And why is it that these things happen when you're least expecting them?

Yesterday, I was busy reading my Japanese vocabulary words and practicing my Kanji when I absolutely had to find the kanji one used in the word "Omawari-san". I didn't find it in my dictionary and so, decided to hit the internet. And you know what happens when we go online, looking for some specific piece of information... I'm a person who has the attention span of a housefly! And so, one thing led to another and soon, I was downloading opensource fonts!

That's when my mother decided to call me. I only remember turning around in my swiveling chair and then a loud CRASH! My computer table's protrusile desk-ette lay on the floor and my mouse and keyboard seemed to have taken to bungee jumping!

My mom had the sagacity to ask me if I was okay. And that was when my eyes fell on the shiny thing on the floor beside me... Keyboard keys... worn away with years of typing to a brilliant sheen. They seemed like tiny damsels in distress. I believe this was when I screamed. And my mom seemed to think I must've amputated a finger in the accident. She rushed to where I was, kneeling on the floor, scouring it for any other keys that I might've missed.

I heard her ask me once more, what the matter was when I shouted,

"I lost my Control! Help me find it, mommy!" She stood there, staring at me thinking I'd finally lost my noggins when I gave another cry and held out the retrieved item for her to see.

"I got back my control! The gosh darned key went missing! Imagine trying to cut, copy or paste without the control key, amma!"

I distinctly remember her glaring at me and then pick up the pillow. But everything beyond that... is a very hazy blur.

So... why do things go awry all the time?

Where's the love?

Nope... this isn't an article about some love lorn teenager or about some PMSing lady blasting her ex. This is about an incident that happened a few days back and it set me thinking.... a lot!

It was raining here and the two kids from upstairs were at my place, wanting to play. Now, I was busy with some work and asked thme to play between themselves till I could join them for a game of Uno. As it happened, they went their separate ways and the younger one went outside and played in the rain while the elder one stayed with me and kept asking me questions about what I was doing. As we were talking, the younger one drops in fully wet and wanting to play. I had her march back to her mom and dry herself, lest she catch a cold. I was just returning back to my work when the elder one remarked,

"Why do you trouble yourself so much, let her catch a cold! Who cares?"
The tone was casual and bordered on spiteful.

And I asked her in return,"I'm concerned. That's why. Aren't you?"
And pat came the reply, "No. I don't care."

As I tried to regain composure over my shock, I asked her, "Don't you love her? She's your sister, isn't she?"
The eyes went cold as she replied, "Nope. I just play with her. Other than that, I don't love her."

I decided not to carry on with the topic and changed it to lighter veins. But I could not stop thinking about the incident.

Sibling Rivalry, much?

I'm an only child, so the dynamics of a sibling relationship are altogether alien to me. But then again, I've had cousins who're just as close as real sisters and we do love each other and care for each other. What is it that caused that child to be so vehement in her proclamation about her indifference bordering on hatred for her younger sister? Is it sibling rivalry? Does she feel threatened that everybody seems to dote upon her younger sister and that leaves her to do desperate (read nasty) things to get the spotlight back on her? Is she feeling lonely?

I wish I could ask her these questions. But I don't know if she'll open up. Maybe there is no problem at all and I'm just over sensitizing the issue. This is when having a sibling would've helped! I have no personal experience to actually give an opinion. A single word to their parents might have them looking at me with scorn. I mean, they would take it in the sense that I'm trying to teach them parenting! Not a good idea! Ah... I hope age mellows her down and makes her wiser!