I'm back!

For those of you who have been wondering where I've been these past few days, I am happy to report that I've been having the time of my life down at Kerala. We had a very important family get-together and as I am not sure when I shall be able to attend the next reunion, I made it a point to be present for the current one.
We burst crackers, shouted at silly drivers, sat on for long journey in car, suffered horrible cramps, experienced toilet deficiencies like never before and more!

I am dead tired thanks to a long car journey back to Chennai and am going to rest my butt till sensation returns there! :) The trip and all its quirks shall be elucidated further in the subsequent posts!

I had a roadrage! And boy, do I feel good and bad!

Today, I indulged in a bit of road rage! :) And I cannot lie... it was liberating!

Dad and I were getting back from my uncle's place when we encountered a road-block in the form of some sort of construction going on. Since my country is known for the idiots that are let loose on the roads, Dad is ever the cautious driver and he kept to one lane, unmindful of the dunderheads who zipped this way and that. Suddenly, we hear incessant honking from behind us and we realize that the jerk behind us seems to think we're out on the singular mission of hindering his path. The truth was that if we were to move to another lane, we would probably knock a dozen motorists and probably create a car pile in the process. But since he, like the million other cerebrum-deficient dodos on the road, never bothered to imagine a situation where we didn't have the liberty to move away to give him the way like he thought he deserved, the honking never stopped.

Now, I am a person who believes that the vehicle's horn is only for correcting another driver's error or maybe to alert other pedestrians and cars if there is a possibility that they might not be paying attention. And when stuck in traffic, Dad and I tend to refrain from honking the horn the moment the lights turn green. We know that no car can immediately just take off! But too bad for the jerk behind us, he probably never had the brain function capacity to process such complicated thoughts and he overtook us the minute he could only to stop for a red signal. He lowered his window and started shouting at us, telling us that we've spoilt his day and that we should've just moved away to let him pass. This got me mad... so mad, I wanted to get out of my car, slam his face into his steering wheel and slit his throat! But, I merely let out a few shielded expletives that weren't exactly profane but according to my dad, were a shocker! I'm happy to convey that he didn't see it coming and drove off, seething. The way he was driving, I'm wondering if he ever reached home safely. If he keeps up this attitude, I doubt if it will be too long before he either loses his vehicle or his life or even better, both!

Well, I'm not justifying the fact that I shouted at a person. But I'm pretty happy with myself that I didn't take it lying down. And furthermore, I remained within bounds as far as profanity was concerned; I used none. But I still feel bad that I had to get involved in a fight.

My sincerest plea to any person who drives a car or a two wheeler or any other thing that's on a shared road -

Kurosawa's High and Low

Today, we had the screening of Akira Kurosawa's High and Low.

I should say, after watching Ozu and Naruse, coming back to Kurosawa feels akin to hopping onto a speeding train from a stationary platform. The way the camera moves is slick and as expected from Kurosawa.

The movie starts out slow and in the most natural way, gains momentum until the end is nigh. There are times when we reacted verbally to what was happening onscreen. And by principle, I tend to not do that. But this movie was one of the few that managed to get an opinion of the story's happenings while I was watching the movie. Toshiro Mifune is one actor who has always managed to bring in an inexplicable energy into the scene with his mere presence. Whether is it just him standing there, gazing at the scenery before him or speaking animatedly to an extortionist who demands his entire life's savings for the life of his chauffeur's son, Mifune manages to do it with elan.

But in this movie, the most endearing character (or characters, rather!) happen to be the bunch of police officers who go through such extreme situations just to nab their man. It was one of those times when I laughed while at the edge of my seat! Little tidbits of humor that never offsets the pace of the story are things that are a rarity in movies that are made where I come from!

Many of us felt the ending was a little abrupt. Just envy could drive a man to such measures was something many of us could not comprehend. But I feel the ending is perfect. The way the kidnapper seems to try in maintaining a facade of arrogance and nonchalance in front of the man he hoped to destroy was probably the only way one could've ended this movie.

P.S. Sensei was really happy that we were trying our best in reading the kanji credits that was displayed before the movie! Too bad we did a really horrid job at that! :P

N4 test... tanoshikatta yo!

The test today was a riot! We ended up mooting our answers and points and surprisingly, I learnt so much and I'm sure most of my friends from class are feeling the same way. It was such fun. It was so different from the usual "Gosh, I have to get better scores than him or her! I need to show I'm the best!" nonsense.

And I'm really grateful for the wonderful sensei that I have. Both Ramesh-sensei and Shimizu-sensei are such nice people! It really is a blessing that I can attend classes with teachers who are as passionate about what they do and can convey their passion for the language and the people in such beautiful ways! My sensei inspire me to be a good teacher myself. (This is true if I ever get the honour of teaching people Japanese, when I get better!)

Anyway, N4 Kikitori is challenging and tiresome. But at the same time, it's intriguing. I hope I get better at this before I give my actual exam! :D Ah, tomorrow is movie day and conversation. Now that, is what I call, a double bingo!

Of preparations, distractions and inspirations

I have a test tomorrow and for the love of all things Japanese and kawaii, I am unable to concentrate. It is almost like someone is willing me to flunk this test as though they hold a long held grudge against the few things I've been doing well! (Okay.... that sounded a lot crappier outside than in my head! ^_^;;)

And I was wondering if I would ever get the will to study again when, lo behold! I chanced upon a few pencil cases on the interwebs! These wonderous creations of humanity were accompanied by many a writing instrument. Pencils, pens, liquid correctors, rulers, sticky notes - the list is endless! As I saw these beautiful things, my attention turned unbridled towards my Japanese notes and I saw the various seemingly illegible pointers I'd scribbled in class! Clever one liners... references to manga and Anime... proclamations of undying love to nonexistent characters who are at times the only people I have around! It was all that was needed to rekindle my love for the language and I've been working diligently for quite some time now. I'm merely taking a breather before I dive right back into verbs and adjectives and whatnots. And I wanted to let everyone know of one surefire way to beat boredom in studying. Rather than concentrate on the study aspect of it, I find myself more equipped with concentration when I bend my thoughts a little away from the subject and towards something that's connected with it but in a rather tangential way. In my case, it's stationery.

Now if only I could convince my dad to take me to the department store where they stack Staedtlar and Tombow pencils! Okay... I promise to treat myself to a brilliant box of pencils if I get the best mark ever in the test to come! :D Now that, my friends, is inspiration good enough to earn me a PhD!

A new banner on its way. And which is the shiniest key?

I've managed to design a banner for my blog's header. And truth be told, I seem to have a love-hate relationship with it! I might tweak it a little bit so that whatever little bits that bother me now will look and feel much better. I'm seriously envious of all those other blogs that seem to have everything in place and looking so adorable. But then again... with me, I never think the same thing two weeks in a row and paying for that kind of an upgrade would mean I'll go bankrupt in a month.

Oh well... I've been trying a bit of CSS and the works. So, I might not have a spanking new site or anything! But I'm sure there will be changes for the better in the future (distant or near, I cannot answer!).

And I noticed that the 'I' key is the shiniest in my keyboard! It could be that I use that particular alphabet the most! The other shiny keys are C, A, T and O. But none are as shiny as I! It practically sparkles! And it feels so good... so smooth and squeaky!

So, what's the shiniest key in your keyboard? ;)

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.