A Few Random Thoughts and Rants

A slightly more boring post, but read on, do...
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It's odd how a movie or a book can change your perspective so dramatically for a few days following it. It can alter your mood, change the way you look at things, make you react to something in a completely different way than you otherwise would have, and consequently, affect your life in a very big way.
You need to pick very carefully what you're reading when. Movies, its not so bad- only the really powerful ones affect you. Thats why I just love a good chick flick. Involves you for an hour or two and leave you feeling the same as before, if not more cheerful. No worries about whether they will have an impact on you.
Its scary to think how important every single thing that happens is.
To think what a drastic impact something so small can have on your life, and on other people's lives. As they say,

"For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail."
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Isnt it horrible? The Hyderabad bomb incident. Why why why. Why do there have to be these groups of people who are so senseless and desperate they think killing people en masse will help their cause be heard?
And the photos the newspapers had splashed accross the front page. Did you see them?
Horrible, horrible, the whole thing.
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I could never understand why some people made such a fuss about contributing to the "Sponsor a Child" scheme that our class undertook.

Pay a hundred rupees this year, and as a class you can pay for the entire schooling of one poverty stricken child.

Change the course of that one child's life.
Give him a chance to make something of himself.

We all watch the news, we all hear about the suffering thats happening, and wish we could do something about it.
But we cant.
Its all just too much and too impossible, so we forget about t.

But when you have a chance like this, where a mere hundred rupees from your wallet could change the course of a downtrodden person's life, why would anyone complain?

And yet, some people did.
It angered me NO END.

We CANT do stuff alone. You cant help a person in need by yourself, in a big way. You cant sponsor an education. Nobody expects a student to be able to spend 7,200 to help a child in poverty.

But if as a class, you are given the opportunity to help an indivdual in need to get an education- something that will get him through,
if you can alter the outcome of one person's life,
if you can make a difference, help change the world for the better, however slightly,
by contributing 100 rupees,
why in the hell would you complain about it being a waste of money?

A waste? You're giving somebody something they could only dream of achieving on their own. An education that they wouldnt have a chance in hell of getting without any help.
An education is a huge gift.
I felt relieved that I was going to be able to provide something that meaningful to someone who needed it, just by contributing a hundred rupees. And some people were complaining. Evading it.

A hundred is too much they said. Did they think of what that hundred could do? An education! A hundred from us is giving that child a 7200 he couldnt possibly get otherwise, for an education that will get him through life.

Go without two burgers you might have otherwise had, so that somebody in really bad circumstances can get a shot at making something of himself.

Aaargh, I just had to vent that out.

4.9.07- I've just remembered. It was Snum. She was broke poor thing. And I shouted at her and we had a big fight and all. Hee hee. I got confused and thought it was TheQuickOne. Apparently, TheQuickOne was shouting at Snum too. Snum remembers everything.
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The media has immense power. Immense. Newspapers especially. They feed opinions. They're shaping people. Its funny to think people like me and Jay actually had a say in that. We were forming opinions. Its too scary to even think about. Ugh, I dont want to have to do that everyday as a job. It would get too tiring that I wouldnt have enough energy to care what I write, and then who knows what harm would I be causing!
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Im extra sensitive today. And by that I dont mean I cried or anything. I mean that things I normally wouldnt break my head over, I am. Things that normally wouldnt make me feel, are. I can tell just by re reading this post. About everything. But a really nice time I had. Thanks to Osh and Nicehair. The breezy restaurant... the awesome food... the relaxing conversation... the lazy shopping... the thrill of a new purchase... the wind in our hair... the pani puri... some good natured cribbing... And to top it all off, a nice long long talk with Bestest that did wonders even though half-finished :)
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To hell with all those assignments.
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You know who said these:

***
"Snakes are going to be not having eyes."
"But ma'am, they d..."
"Most of the reptiles are going to be not having eyes. Especially the snakes."

***
"Soma is going to be the one that is going to be a type of plant."

***
"The essence of life live in water is brought to our notice."

***
"Lactic acid cells will enrich the soil and will to be helping the soil, and naturally helping to the mother earth."

(Lactic acid cells? PS comment on this!)

***

She said them I swear! :D
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Ron

Is it just me or did Ron look completely DEAD in the fifth movie?
I mean, did you watch carefully?
I did. *sheepish grin*
And that's what he was-
Dead.
Throughout.

I was carefully watching for a bit of expression or something, but no. Nothing.
It was like he was acting all cool dude. And he's not supposed to be. Not in the fifth book.

Remember that part in the book when they have that important match and Harry's trying to build up Ron's self esteem by recounting to him all the spectacular saves he's made?

And he's like No, Harry in a strangled voice,
That was all a mistake. I fell off my broom in mid air when no one was watching and accidently kicked the quaffle to the far end of the pitch while I was scrambling to get on...
...or something to that effect.
Man that part makes me laugh everytime I read it.

Yeah. Well, Ron-in-the-movie wasnt like that. All goofy.
This Ron had a sort of suppressed look about him. Like he was trying to keep his emotions in check.
Thats it. Right there in the picture.

Nah, well he looks sort of violated in the picture, I cant find one with the exact expression I want, but this one's close enough. Its somewhat similar to the frequent deadpan look he kept regaling us with.

So anyway, the Ron-in-the-movie just wasnt goofy enough.
This Ron was all about the expressionlessness.

"Snape's given us extra homework Ron!" deadpan look

"Your Dad's been attacked by a giant snake Ron!" deadpan look

"Grawp's about to rip my head off Ron!" deadpan look

"Look, we're in the ministry of magic, and there's all the deatheaters, and they're out to get us and, yowch, there's a tentacular brain thingy attached to your head Ron!" deadpan look


Cute, he was though. Im not complaining.

Actually, I dont really remember the movie perfectly. I watched it such a long time ago. But I do remember strongly wishing he'd moved his face about a bit more, and telling Osho and Zz the same. (Jay was just not interested.)
Meanwhile, the reason Im so bad tempered today, is because of these stupid exams which I havent studied for, which have, in addition to being boring, kept me cooped up at home, and which are getting over tomorrow (thank the lord), but which have generally made my life torturous these past couple of days.

One more exam.
And then joy oh joy, college again.

Now

is when I need an amusement park ride.

Right now.

The Sheep

...is the new cow. They're funny. Funnier than cows OR chickens. (That is the plural isnt it? Having friends who eat poultry has shaken my vocabulary.)

"Baaaaaaaa!" Its hilarious I tell you.

Look at it, the daft little thing, staring. You'd expect it to blink dazedly at you any moment, and then look around at its surroundings confusedly. "What are all these words doing here?" it must be thinking.

Even Facebook has realised that throwing sheep appeals to the senses more than cows or donkeys do. (That flying sheep cartoon is so cute no?)

Reminds me, when I was in Year 1 (thats UKG here) I remember there was this one class where we were supposed to write what we wanted to become when we grew up, and draw a picture of it.

I had already decided what my future was to be. I liked drawing, and writing and history class. It would only be natural then, I thought to myself, for me to become a historian who wrote books, and illustrate them myself.
Ghastly idea, but it seemed logical at the time.
All set for the future then, I'd thought to myself. I'd drawn my boring little picture, coloured the book I had supposedly written a bright red for effect, and gone and stood in line to have my work corrected.

In front of me was Shehana, one of my closest friends, but a little younger than the rest of us. We compared pictures. She had drawn a picture not unlike the one of the daft staring sheep above.
"I want to be a lamb." she'd said.

Wow, I'd thought to myself. This kid sure has imagination. I wonder how Ms Cravitz will react to this. Thank God its not Ms Read today.

Shehana's turn came. She proudly handed in her book.
"Shehana, my dear" said Ms Cravitz. "This isnt what I'd asked you to do."

(Ms Read would have said rather harshly "You silly little girl. Go back and do it over again")

"I didnt ask you to draw what you'd like to be, I asked you to draw what you want to be when you grow up." Ms Cravitz explained.

"But I want to be a lamb!" she said.

"You cant be a lamb, my dear. Humans dont become animals, do they? Now tell me. What would you like to be when you're older?"

"Yeah!" I interjected. "What do you want to be when you grow up. When you're older."

Comprehension dawned on Shehana's face.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh." she said. "When Im older." With a triumphant grin, she said

"A Sheep."

Sheep, I tell you. Funny little creatures. Wish there was a cartoon strip about them.

They arent the best animals to count while trying to sleep though, as

Snum and Bestest

have said. Far too distracting. You'll probably end up laughing as the dippy things fall all over each other trying to get over the effing fence.

Shehana was later convinced to become a sweet shopkeeper, when told that she would get free candy on a daily basis.

One of those Mushy Friendship Day Posts you Find on So Many Blogs these days

... but what the hell.

It took me fifty years to write, so I cant NOT put it up now.

Bunk a day of college to catch up on work, and THIS is what I sit and do. Useless I tell you.

So anyway, this is not a post for the faint hearted. Do not embark further if you are pregnant or suffer from high blood pressure. Its mushy, voluminous, confusing, and in places, horribly boring.

Here we go.

A Happy Friendship Day to...

FnA. Ay, you know I love you ya. You're an almost-sister. We're the same. About everything. We laugh at the same silly things. No one knows what the hell is going on when they're with us. We communicate silently. We look. We get.
How we were in those days. How it was with TG and WD and the Conspirator. How we laughed. How it was with the crazy people. How we psuedo bitch about them now.
How we were with the cricket matches. How... gawsh.... how we made our life plans when we were 16.
Constant dilema: "Are we weird? Or is it just everyone else?"
Its us, man. Its us. :)
How we were at "that crucial time". How we decided to give up. How we planned what we'd do, together. How it all ended up.
How we borrow stuff from each other and forget.
How we despised tuition. How we bunked tuition. How we slept at tuition. How we gave up on tuition. How we laugh at tuition. Your birthdays, mine.
How we laugh at inconsequential stuff... your ridiculous jokes, mine, which are a tad better. How we get hysterical. Especially if its midnight.
You read this and asked me to add how I will drop something and then scream at you for being clumsy :D
Its forever you know. We'll be there for each other forever. Words dont do it.

The Champ. You also da. Midnight laughing. You "being angry". Saying funny things. Aiyo-ing about exams. Exclaming at The Other People. 20 years from now, we'll still be laughing at the same things. I can see it, clearly. Remember the cookery competition? Hahaha… and that dog near my house. J I love you for what you are- funny, warm, generous, open. Its the kind of friendship that lasts till you're old.

Archie. Our phone conversations got me through tenth man. Thank God for those 3 hour 4 times a day conversations. What'd I have done without them? There's something about you. You're gonna be really great someday, you know that? Really successful.

Springy-stepped. (Because I know how much you hate bubbly) I love the times we spent together. Lots of times. We were together almost everywhere somehow. And we got on each others nerves a bit, but I still love them... Theatre club, newspaper club, school in general :)
And I love the conversations we have now.

Overseas Friend. I'll never forget the times we spent in 6th. Manda ma'am class. And everything else. :) And I love that we're still in touch.

Tarantula Guy. You're funny. I LOVE the way you say stuff. And you're the only boy I didnt think was snot in seventh standard. Thats a huge compliment.

PS. I love our little chats. And your little narratives. And how you comment here so regularly. I'm NOT a song person okay, for your information :P It takes me a while.
You make me laugh.
Nice times we've had. And more to come :)

Bestest. Need I say anything goose? Need I? Oh alright, seeing as you're being so pushy, but this is going to take forever, let me warn you.
Our clogs, our beautiful clogs. Now tell me they weren't a good idea. Go on, I dare you. I thought of it. You, my goose, were hesitant. IN your face. Hah!
Our amoeba moments. :) Our photos. :) What crazy fun were those? :)
The 4th floor. What a place. What a place.
Your poems, my poems. I know you're thinking supermom. Goose.
Our tempers- what was that all about huh? I PU, gawsh :D The ant. The scrunched up paper.
Our TALKS. About anything that's on our minds. Anything. I love how I can blurt out anything thats in my head, absolutely anything.
Or about nothing. Nothing at all. I love how I can call you and be all blah, you'll be blah, and we'll blah together for hours.
Our geese, donks, blearghs and crappys. (God that sounds weird)
The magazine. The ass. The noah. The stories... the laptop, the poem-on-a-paper... we have to write them all down, before we forget. I think I've forgotten all of them! :(
The animal colour thing. Coffee Day Tissues. Training me to call them tissues and not what I earlier called them. :P
Reading books together.
I love how we're so in touch. I love how you know everything about me.
You remember how we used to share a red pack of Lays everyday?
Anand Bhavan. Harry Potter. Dhokla. Singing in class. Talking in class. Writing conversations in class. Being Caught in class. The Leaf Fuss. The Bubble. :) ;) :)
How Im pretty sure I'll be saying Laaunty a LOT when I'm older.
And thats just the tip of the iceberg.

GS. Serious ray of sunshine. You totally are. You physically brightened every moment of college. Really. Fun, light, goofy, happy, good natured, sunny. Never grouchy like me and la were so often. You were like the "wise person" I went to when I was clueless. You still are actually :) You knew what was going on, while still being the sunny part of the bubble that you were. I could tell you anything, I can tell you anything, and I wont be judged.
Your dress designs. :) I still have the one you made for me. :)
Amoeba people... Teddy Bear, Model... And so many more that I dont even remember now.
I told you everything that was ever bothering me. You helped. You made things fun. You did it with such ease. Everyone adored you. The second you spoke to them. Everyone, including me. You were the buffer. :)
Our serious conversations in the canteen, the bus stop. You opened my eyes :)
Dhokla, ass. Bugs urgh, apple double urgh. Hee hee hee hee. Our stories about pasts.
I am completely myself with you guys. Its like a holiday being around you.
Kee, you're pure golden sunshine.

SH. I remember that first day of college, knowing that you and I were going to be inseparable. I love your patience, your determination, your ability to work. I love how sensible and practical you are. I love how crazy you can get sometimes. But how you were altogther steady, like a rock. You were like the glue.
We loved the way your hair fell in curls at the back. And you hated it. :)
You were calm, steadying, comforting, decided.
A real gem.

Snum. My munchkin dearie! My baby, my awwwww! Thankgodthankgodthankgodthankgod you're here. You're the only one who actually gets my jokes. And vice versa. You're funny munch! We have the same lame sense of humour. We hate the same people. (What me? I dont hate anyone. That would be terrible!) We laugh and laugh and laugh when we're together, wherever we are. You make Borat's class bearable. I LOVE your(my) caricatures. (Mine. Mine. Mine)
I dont think I laugh in the same way with anyone else (Awwwwwww)
I love the mood off sleepovers at your place. (You're like, *eybrow raised*)
I love your place! I could, like, LIVE there. (You're like, uh yeah. Thats happening)
I love your clothes (You're like, hey! Thats not part of who I am! You leave my clothes out of this!)
I love the colour of your eyes! (You're like, Alright alright, stop with the flattery already. Its getting scary. Pause. *With quizzical expression* What do you really want from me?)
Gawsh the stories we make up. Green, Mantis, Hand-in-Air. Nearly peed in my pants, I did.
To sum it all up, I luuuurve you very much, my munch.


Zz. You're this really amazing personality. You really are. I've been fascinated with you ever since those hols when we started talking. You're very different. You think different. I love your poems. Especially the tears aint coming.
I love how we made up Nuards! I love how well they described things. I love how we used them around Snum just to piss her off.
I love how we split spinach canneloni everywhere, but still think sweet chariot's the best.
I love how we listen to the radio together.
I love how much we’d message each other.
I love our "tissue culture". How many of them do you still have?
I love how you're up for anything. I love how sure you are of what you think and wont think twice to make it known.
You're a darling. :)


Osho. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhssssshhhhhhhhho. I love you Osh. You and I are so alike. So alike. What would I do without you in college? WHAT? I can whine to you, and vice versa. I can be blah with you, and vice versa. I can be upset for no reason around you, and vice versa (Snum just does not let me do that :P)
And you'll understand.
I can discuss things with you that I cant with anyone else. What things I'll not say. Hee hee hee. I love how we get freaked out about the same things.
I love how we're both so finicky about similar things.
Ay, I love that new dress you bought. Stunning is an understatement.
I love how we can do Ruby Tuesdays together. Everytime I'm doing something at college, my first thought is "Whats Osh doing?"
I love how we sit and bitch about Jay while he's there.
I love how you deonionise the onion rolls with chicken everytime you buy one.
I love your Oshsays. I love how you think pink is purple. :P
I really love how we think the same so often. I hate it when you dont come to college.
You're my sweetest lil munchkin. Muah muah muah!

Jay. Ushooo, I love you man. (At this particular moment, that is. The way things are going, if you keep excelling at things and being modest about it, Im soon going to have to hate you. I'll start a club and everything. Watch it.)
A breath of fresh air (most of the time).
You laugh at ANYTHING I say (which is what I like best about you, although it can get annoying, when Im not trying to be funny) The funniest thing about you is your TD. And please do something about your hair. Its beginning to look like Borat again.
I love how I can take your case, ALL the time. "We're friends, we CAN be rude to each other. :)" Very sportive you are. I love how I can be silly with you. Because you will invariably be sillier. :)
I love how you let me teach you songs. You're pathetic at it, by the way. Did anyone ever tell you that? You're a slow learner. :P
Nice time we had at the Hellish Place. Bugger, I hate how they liked you more than me.
You're a sweetheart. So many times you've helped me find auto in the rain or when its dark. "Dai, Good job maccha!" *punch on arm*


Tenzen, Other MM, Brat, Kk, Japkid- you make college fun!

Happy Friendship Day (Belated)! Love you all.

Hitmen

These auto drivers are out to get me ya.
I was almost killed this morning. Very almost.
The bugger was applying the brakes HARD every 1/15 th of a second, each time just missing some humunganormous truck or bus that was moving towards us at breakneck speed.
It felt like he was trying to do away with me and make it look like an accident.
The only consolation was, it looked like he was out to kill other people too, not just me.

My constant tsk-ing didnt help.
Even when I said, after one particularly near miss, "NIDHANKKE HOGI DUDE, PARAVAGILLA!" nothing happened.
He just continued to plough through the streets like some reckless maniac charged with excess adrenalin.

I mean I totally dig Action-Thriller-Suspense movies and all that, but I do NOT need that kind of heavy emotion at eight o' clock in the morning, okay?
Especially because Im never completely awake until around ten... I need at least 3 hours after I get up to become Fully Functional And Alert MM.
If you're jerking me awake every 1/15th of a second and giving me small heart attacks every 7 minutes at 8am in the morning, I'm bound to get a little crabby.

And the offences kept piling up...
Yes yes, PUT on the radio why dont you with one hand while driving.
Does it MATTER that the switch is located under your own seat? NOooo, of COURSE not.
Does is MATTER that there's a Tata Sumo careening its way toward us dangerously? NOooo.
Does it MATTER that the volume is on highest and that the passenger (who is in the prime of her youth) is having her poor eardrums mutilated whilst you switch from station to station? NOooo, NOooo, not at all.
You just keep driving on like a blind man, and we'll just wait and see what happens, alright?

The other day on JC Road, this auto driver (particularly smart one I got this time) decides to pick up his phone. In the MIDDLE of that bleeding junction.
AND, seems to think that speaking on it is more important than weaving the auto in between all that HTV.
I mean, usually, auto drivers pay attention to the roads while talking on their phones.
This one totally FORGOT he was even driving.
I understand he might've been talking to his girlfriend or whatever, but dude, first priority should be Keep Self Alive for Her.
A Tarpaulin blue luxury bus the size of a wooly mammoth almost rammed into the left side of the auto, causing me to scream sense to him for the next 15 minutes, as he drove sheepishly on, phone in pocket.

Why do people drive so badly? Do they all want to die? All Im asking for is a little caution here.

The ride ended off with me almost killing the auto guy. Snapped his head off, I did. Who did he think he was, the git... no change he says mutter mutter... ALREADY late for class I am... making me lose attendance... grumble... forcing me to ask random people off the street for change, the lunatic...... almost KILLING me!

So nonchalant he was. How do they do it? Face death voluntarily so regularly? Why do they do it? Is it that difficult to drive responsibly? One of life's greatest mysteries.