Calendar man

Its been a long long while since my last post, Ive been really busy (note to self : see randy pauschs’ time management video again). To break the ice, here is a 20 min post.

Ive lately been using the Outlook Calender whenever and wherever possible to “improve my efficiency ”. Ive realized that just putting down bits and pieces of things down in paper and then assigning them a deadline in the Calender actually does save some amount of time per day, infinitisimal though it may be in the beginning . The first few days you try this the results are invariably hilarious – My list had things like

Use red color toothbrush,
Meet [amees] at bus stop
Phone friend and apologise for telling the truth about him – DONE


Ive come up with some simple conventions .. like words enclosed in square brackets to be read in reverse – so I can keep some stuff encoded from “evil” eyes..

After a long day's work I go home and check the calendar for a series of “DONE” remarks against all my tasks. If most of them have this remark, Im happy !!
Ah, the simple pleasures of life !!

Damm this post took 23 min… one task wont have a DONE remark tonight :(

Home Bound

Bumpy Roads
Half Filled Bus
Window Seat
Sudden Break
Screeching Halt
Anxious Whispers
Lucky Escape
Relieved Sighs
Speedy Recovery
Endless Highway
Deserted Landscape
Rustling Breeze
Animated Discussions
Ridiculous PJ's
Furtive Glances
Knowing Smile
Traffic Jam
Horning Cars
Teeming Malls
Garbags Dumps
Traffic Jam
Roadside Temples
Mercedes Benz
Snakelike Streets
Sleepy Suburbs
Idling Engine
Quick footsteps
Musical Doorbell
Pregnant Silence
Home Sweet Home

.

Bangalore--Its a jungle in here.

The temple priest is surprised. "Very good, Nikhil, very good. You have finally realised that God is all powerful and omniscient. That is why you are here every morning to pay due respects to Anjaneya" (he actually spoke in shuddha Kannada but since blogger does not provide Devanagari font, I have decided to translate (transmaul?)his great words in English) I squirm uneasily at this point and make an ambivalent gesture to indicate that I have indeed become wiser. Little does the priest know my intentions are much more cowardly. I come to the temple out of fear.

I am afraid, terrified of the Roads Of Bangalore(ROB). Yes, dear reader, this is no exaggeration, the ROB is (is or are? grammer check) among the most dangerous forests in the world. The Rainforests of Amazon or Borneo pale in comparison to the mighty man-made Roads Of Bangalore.

"What an absurd comparison" Some of you might ask. To those of you who asked, I counter with this point: (those of you who didnt ask may skip it if you want)
Think of the name: Bangalore. Bang.. I guess you know what it means. Galore..means in plentiful amounts. Bang+Galore = Bangs in plentiful amounts. Not a very comforting name to boast of, is it?

And what creautres inhabit this god-forsaken place! Vehicles of all shapes, sizes and hues are waiting to make your life miserable once you step on ROB. Whatever kind of roads you travel on (tar road, mud road, "is that supposed to be a road??!!" road, no road) there seems no respite from the other vehicles.

The potbellied overaged and errant bus driver, the sly foulmouthed autodriver playing Kannada songs with full bass effect so you can hear nothing but bangs and thuds intersperced with an occasional grating voice, the crazy stressed out IT/BPO professional on the bike driving with suicidal(and worse, homicidal) abandon, I see them everyday, only with different faces.

Having asked Anjaneya to give me strength and courage for my heroic endeavor of trying to reach office in time, I set off on my rickety fifteen year old Kinetic Honda (the only thing kinetic about it is the name). I finally reach office after the ordeal which lasts close to an hour.

But Im safe and sound-thats all that matters. Now to rest for a good six hours before I start worrying about returning home again....

monday morning blues

every monday morning
i put on a fake smile
and look at the mirror
i tell myself what wonders
lie ahead this week
what discoveries i will make at work
what new songs i will belt
out of my guitar
what new places i will visit
what new girls i will meet

but all this isnt enough
to make me see the bright side of life
i just want to go back to sleep
to mull over the the lazy
saturday and sunday
that went by so fast

i feel so slothful on monday morning
that i dont see the need to use punctuation
i dont care if my poem does not rhyme
in fact i hardly consider this a poem
and i am not going to end
this piece of text with a flourish
i will leave it incomplete
as my life seems this monday morning.....

nikhil

Down Memory Lane

Yesterday I visited college. Then out of the blue, it happened. A wave of nostalgia hit me, soaking me with memories of the past four years. A mini-tsunami, if you like.Similar to the artificial waves at WonderLa which I must say, are more powerful than they appear. Anyway..you get the point.

I was quite surprised myself. Was I really very sad about leaving the college I had been cribbing and complaining about for the past four years? As you might have guessed, the answer is a whole-hearted, perfervid, ardent, vehement, impassioned NO. ( thats right, Ive picked up the afore-mentioned adjectives from Barrons GRE word list, so its ok if you don't know all of them. In fact,if you do know all of them, why are you still reading this blog? Go read something more obscure, erudite, arcane.There I go again... )

I am not sad that I'll be leaving R.V.C.E. I'd be glad to collect my B.E course completion certificate which I think I have (un?)rightfully earned ( Assuming I pass RTOS of course..that dreadful pain-in-the-behind spoilsport of a subject ) Its time to move on,to other things in life...
But ( not supposed to start a sentence with but,but who cares? Did my previous sentence have two buts butted together, but for a tiny comma in between? cool... ) I know those carefree,unaccountable days of college life are now behind me. I've had a truly incredible time in college....

In spite of having to listen to the monotonous soporific drone of most of the teachers, whose teachings have thankfully not addled my brain. As yet.

In spite of having to stand in a crowded college bus for the entire period of my first year. Last time I heard, bus fees are close to eleven thousand rupees, so atleast the crowded bus problem is solved for my juniors.

In spite of the totally incomprehensible policies of the VTU, the unpredictable nature of which is rivaled only by the vagaries of the monsoon in India... both of which play havoc with innocent lives... I must add the VTU has got immense sadistic pleasure by taunting the engineering students of Karnataka in general, and those of the 2002-2006 batch in particular.

Well, as I said, I've still been able to enjoy college life. I've made a lot of friends, hopefully some for a lifetime. I've learnt a lot of lessons, most of them outside the classroom. I've maintained cordial ( what more do you expect?? ) relations with my teachers, who in all fairness were very kind and helpful..again, outside the classroom.

And despite the frivolous nature of most parts of this blog, I really mean it when I say I'm lucky to be part of this truly wonderful batch of 2006 E&C Department 'engineers'..many of whom are traveling thousands of miles away to pursue totally different dreams. Guys and girls..you made my day, a day four years long. ( Ahem...I think I will stop this sentimental stuff right now..any more would be downright embarrassing )

Here's wishing all my batchmates the best in whatever they do.

Why the hell does this blog exist anyway????

I am as baffled, dear reader, by the above question as you might be right now. Truth be told, this blog was created much before its purpose was envisioned... A bad analogy would be comparing this blog to an misbegotten child, but since my infertile brain is unable to come up with a better one, this one should suffice.

Well, my first post is ample proof of my blog's unprepared headlong dash into blogosphere. I mean, how many blogs start off the all important auspicious first post with a mere two words? A perfunctory remark acknowledging the reader is all one gets, which is also the exact manner in which I answer the telephone.

Anyway no point crying over spilt ink. Or pressed keystrokes. Whatever. I will try to make amends in this post... Here are two primary reasons that have impelled me to start this blog :

1) I wanting improvement of my abysmel English.
I'm exaggerating here, hope you got that. On a more serious note ( Start-> Accessories-> Notepad ... now open a new file and call it Serious ) I realized that throughout my engineering course, I have never put pen on paper on my own accord. The only time I wrote anything was during the internal and final exams, or during the few occasions I came late and had to sit in the first bench of PB Sir's class. Well, the occasional smart Alec among my readers may argue that by blogging, I am still not putting pen on paper. Let me inform him that my first draft is always on a piece of paper. So there.

2) Alternative career option of writing.
I guess this is a very valid point, especially in these days of hire and fire jobs. Whatever happened to good old job security? So beware, naive and trusting engineer, do not rush to the letterbox with rosy apparitions of your ( imaginary? ) girl/boy friend when you see a pink slip, for it carries a much more fiery message. Two lessons should thus be learnt by every engineer. Always keep a back up career option. And whether the reason is for love or for a living, stay away from pink slips. They are dangerous in more ways than one.

Here's a last piece of advice I may add :
Illicit beer backfires.
I know this may leave a bad taste in your mouth ( not the beer, the advice ) but there is a simple message hidden in the first few letters of each word. ( Copyright :Schwaggeneger )

Birth of a blog

Well....hello.