Why procrastination isn't so bad after all!

From the time I joined college, I have mastered the art of procrastination bit by bit. Of course it wouldn't have been possible without the help of my college mates. Small motivational speeches like 'lite lena yaar' and 'chill maar', have strengthened my resolve to postpone work from time to time. I've perfected the art of working just before the deadline, however complex the job at hand may be. 

Now that, I am now out of college and have started working, I have started understanding how this habit can be a real pain in the ass. 'Deadlines are sacrosanct’ takes a whole new meaning at work. Not turning in work in time, can lead to embarrassing situations and frustration. Even if you manage to complete the work before the deadline, the quality of work is nowhere close to the expectation. Thanks to all the free time I get as a result of procrastination, I have been thinking why do I really procrastinate?

It's mostly one or a combination of the following four cases:

1.    There is a lot of time on hand

2.    The task is too mechanical/boring

3.    There is lack of clarity in the task to be done

4.    There is shared responsibility on this job and no one is working

Case 1 & 2 are the easiest to tackle. In fact, I realised procrastinating here actually helps. If you know, what is to be done exactly, it's best to just leave it till the end. We all know, how our efficiency levels shoot up just before the deadline. The mundane jobs are best done under the pressure of a deadline. In the pressure might make you think out of the box and you may find an efficient way of doing it. That said, a quick estimate of the time required for the job doesn't hurt and you can plan it accordingly.

Case 3 is a real problem. I have been struggling to do one such task from quite some time now. I have made many half-hearted attempts to do it but to no avail. Asking your boss/colleague might seem like a good idea here. But as in my case, this is not always possible. My boss wanted me to figure out how to do it, since he didn't know it! After almost a month of squandering away my time aimlessly, I resolved to give two hours of my undivided attention to the task, before completely giving up. And voila, it worked! Even if I don't have a complete solution, I have an idea which can be bounced off. 

Case 4 is not less problematic either. Here, your managerial and people skills are put to real test. Sometimes, just a small push is required to get the work rolling! But, we are scared to initiate, lest the entire burden falls onto us. Either way, I think it's best to take the plunge. If the team catches up, well and good. If they don't, then you can still take some credit for having tried at least. That's still better than not doing anything at all.

All this idle rambling (or shall I call it brainstorming?) brings me to the conclusion that procrastination isn't all that bad after all! If I tackle the tricky one's on time, I am in safe zone :)

Bas itna sa khawab hai ;)

Some dreams are beautiful even when you know they may never be fulfilled. Dreams transport you to a place you truly wanna be, even if its for a short while, the feeling is worth it. Do you dream of owning your place? Decorating it the way you want? I do it!

Following are a few things I'd really like to have in my house:

1. Whites. Lot of whites.

I want a major part of my house to be white. White marble flooring, white curtains, white sofa, white flowers...and so on. I do understand how terribly difficult it is to maintain such a place. (And hence its so awesome to dream - you don't have to worry about cleaning)

2. French windows! And Balconies too.

Nothing like natural lighting. I would want my house to have windows/balconies on all four sides. All of these windows will have beautiful curtains. I would love to have a system where on the push of a button I can change the setting of my bedroom from broad daylight to darkness -  for when I feel like sleeping in the day. à la Cameron Diaz's hpuse in The Holiday.

3. Big Bathrooms. Like real BIG.

I love bathing. I love the personal space I get in there :P The bathroom should have a huge tub. And ample with a bookstand nearby.  I would like a bathroom with glass walls. (Of course it should be such that no one can see inside from outside!)

4. A room full of clothes. Every girl's dream.

Do I have to explain?

5. A Sit-out or a Terrace.
Who wouldn't love to sleep under the stars once in a while?

A nice, cozy swing where I can sit and read or listen to music. A small bed where I can sleep out when the wind is blowing, the sky is starry or simply when sleeping inside is too boring!

What's your dreamhouse like? Can I take a peek?

And a couple of pics....

White + Glass :)

Who wouldn't want a Beach House!

Decision making: Arrrghhhh

Do you go back and forth between options, analyzing, over-analyzing them? Do you feel that you have finally decided to go with one option and at the very next moment decide to chuck it, because someone convinced you to do otherwise? Do you talk to a lot of people about it and end up feeling confused and frustrated?

Well, then you will understand what I go through very often. I reallllly need to learn to decide.

Decision making has never come easy to me. I am fickle. I over-think. I over-analyse. I am not necessarily the kind of person who needs to go with the best option. I will be content if my criteria are met. But, then the problem lies in deciding those criteria. In deciding which one I prefer over the other. At various points different criteria seem more important. 

Currently, I am facing a couple of such decision making problems. I am in the middle of deciding whether I should go for a single occupancy room or a double occupancy room in a 2BHK in Mumbai. Its a decision hinging upon my preference for privacy and peace of mind over potential money saving. (There are a variety of other criteria which make me tilt from one side to another).

Some things I have learnt from my past experience:

1. I have realized the final decision is always on me and I can decide to do what I want if I really wish to, of course might have to put some more effort into it. 

2. More the number of people you ask, more is the confusion. Of course, this doesn't mean you don't ask anyone. Do ask people but only those who will completely understand your situation and are known to make rational, sound decisions and more importantly people you trust. Also, do ask people who will directly get affected by your decisions (don't forget your parents!)

3. Give a deadline to yourself and decide by then, come what may.

4. Once decided, do not regret if it goes wrong. Work to make it right, adjust. No point thinking what if you had taken the other option. Always remember - whatever happens, happens for the best.

5. Go with your gut. More often than not its right.

So now, I am gonna use my fundae to solve my problem.

Chalo happy decision making! (I know its never happy >.<, but still...)

Looking back at IIM C..

What did I gain from the past two years? Was the MBA worth it?
I don't have a clear cut answer, but I'll let you decide when I finish.

I joined IIM Calcutta as a fresher. In my previous post, My journey so far, I had mentioned about the life at Joka after a good 7 months into the MBA program. But I feel, there is much more to add to it after the completion of the program. Trust me there is a lot and this post may not do justice to it but I will try to cover as much as I can or till I till I get bored, whichever is earlier (Both cases, you will surely get bored bwhahaha :D)

As I mentioned in the earlier post, that campus life here is quite different from the undergrad one. Reasons being simple - people here are more focused as to what they want from here (or at least pretend to be). It's a much diverse set of people (Yes, engineers dominate and girls are few (It's IIM C)), by diversity I mean the age difference, the work experience, international exposure etc. This makes you act in a certain way. It forces you to try to fit in, and when people do that, they need to change. I will speak for myself from now on. After two years, I feel I am a new person altogether. If you ask my BITS friends to describe me using five adjectives and compare the same with IIMC friends, I am quite sure, they won't match - in fact some might even be opposites (I should probably do this). Of course, the core me is still the same - that's never going to change.

So how have I changed and why? I am outgoing, confident, comfortable around new people, hardly do not take time to open up. These are some qualities almost everyone develops here (at least applies to freshers) There might be multiple reasons for this - firstly, there was a conscious effort from my side to bring about this change plus its a pretty important. The culture is such. You interact a lot more with seniors, take their help for    placement prep,you work in teams for every project, you work in clubs etc. Dramatics was a big contributor for this change, it was something new for me. However bad or good the actor I may be it still gave me the confidence that I can go onto a stage and speak rehearsed lines in a certain manner without being boo-ed. It was a great confidence booster. The international exposure (no, it isn't just another jargon) helped a great deal. I went to Hong Kong for my intern and then traveled around Europe for a term as a part of a student exchange program. The experience has added new dimensions to my thinking. Has made me far more confident that I can deal with new situations, new people and manage on my own.

There are changes which I did not envisage. Changes, which I want to change back.  I have become lazier(!), impatient, leave-it-to-the-last-minute sort of person. I wasn't like this before. I do understand, campus life makes people lazy etc. but its relative, sometimes I feel I have become lazier than most people around me. I have become disorganized and have developed a do-not-give-a-damn-attitude. Things I will consciously try to change going forward.

With these thoughts, I now embark upon a new journey - a completely different one. I have numerous hopes and aspirations from myself and the world around me. Lets see how it goes :)

All the best to all the people embarking on a new journey!

Random Musings

I wonder how many blogposts have this as their title. Leave alone posts, there will a  handful of blogs named Random Musings. And I don't have a point. It was just a random musing.

Simple yet profound

I asked him it's been so long, do you still love her? Do you still feel the same way?

He said, "I don't know if I still love her. It may not be the same. But I know one thing, I feel happy when I talk to her:"

It was the most simple answer and yet I got to know everything I wanted to. Love is too simple yet we make it so complicated. :)

Maslow, you made me think!

So, I was in Goa last week. Yes Goa, for a vacation. Yes, with friends. And now you can go green with envy :D. I just love Goa, I have spent 4 best years of my life there and I am still head over heels in love with it. Actually, probably its not Goa, its the sea, the beach, the sand, the waves, the sun, the stars, the wind and all of it together with friends which makes me go week in my knees. Recreate this setting anywhere and I will be as satisfied as a well-fed puppy. Oh, and this reminds me what I really intended to write about. Most All of my MBA friends would have read about the famous Maslow's theory of needs and all most wouldn't remember it, not all the stages at least. Frankly, even I didn't. But now I have read about it in-depth. And you'll ask me why especially since BS is the least read/remembered/bothered about course in the whole of MBA.I'll tell you why 

Lets rewind to last week.

Place: Vagator Beach (the secluded part)

Time: Twilight. Just post sunset

Date: Don't really care

Scene: The wind was blowing hard and ruthlessly. The tides in the sea were so haphazard it felt like it was playfully teasing me and following wherever I went. The sun had left the scene, leaving behind a sky so pink, you'd wonder if God was gay. The stars were already all over the sky. And, of course, how could I forget the cashew-like moon glowing proudly as if it had reclaimed its kingdom back from the sun. (Fyi: Cashew's a Goan specialty, if you didn't know already). The sand was blowing in all directions, a thin film was deposited on our bodies. I apologize for going too much into detail and hence taking time to come to the point, but trust me, its essential. Unless you can feel even a bit like how I felt that day, you will not be able to appreciate my new found respect in theories far left behind. I forgot to mention my second love - my music (First love being beaches if it isn't so clear yet) We were an assortment of five friends; and I say assortment because each one of us is so very different and were especially in a very different thought sphere. In the midst of all this, I felt like I am the most satisfied person on earth. No worry in the world. In fact, I remember my mind was clear, empty, devoid of any thought or feeling, when I was walking along the shoreline with my phone and just one line playing repeatedly on my mind - Look at the stars, look how they shine for you. (Yellow by Coldplay). This is surprising because it rarely happens with me. I am a thinker, I cannot stop thinking no matter how hard I try. I find it difficult to sleep immediately as I lie on my bed however tired I am, since my brain doesn't just let me! Anyway, so as learned men say, I was in a state of meditation. That's when I remembered the self-actualization stage - the fifth stage in the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. (Yes, I eventually started thinking) I couldn't feel hunger or cold (though I should have!) I did not feel scared of the waves. I did not bother how late it had  become. Moreover I did not care, what xyz thought about me or what my friends were upto. It was all pointless. I just wanted to be with me. Do nothing. This was self-actualization state for me. Or possibly a step ahead, if there's  even something above that! 

Maslow says, only when your needs in the earlier stages, namely, physiological,  safety, belonging, esteem are met, you can reach the last stage of self-actualization. It surely didn't go that way for me. It can be argued that none of these things, I was in dire need of. I had had a meal sometime in the morning, I was wearing clothes, not enough to guard me well but surely I wasn't shivering in cold. I did not care about people, because they were my friends and hence I could feel the way I felt. But, there have been numerous saints in our Indian history who have been able to rise over all this. So its not impossible. Maybe there's more to it than the theory so simply narrated to us.

Even though it seems like, I am confused, I am actually happy about the fact that yes, its possible to rise beyond certain things or people and feel absolutely light even when there are thousand problems around you. :)

PS: Do listen to Yellow - Coldplay. Its soothing.

Europe ne humse kya kya karwaya!

Apne hi ghar mein hotel ki tarah rehna sikhaya
Ek pair hostel mein toh dusra train mein rakhke chalna sikhaya
Rail gadiyon ko apna dusra ghar banwaya
Eurail ki kimat se sau dafa zyada vasool karwaya
Ek hi mahine mein usko do hisse mein batwaya
College ke zero attendance ka sau pratishat upyog karwaya

Europe ne humse kya kya karwaya!

Gujju hone ka pehli baar asli ehsaas karvaya
Grocery shopping ke liye Belgium se Germany jane pe majboor kiya
Coke ki kimat se PPP ka andaza lagwaya
Snickers aur Twix se pet bharwaya
Scandi mein lutero se bhi lutna sikhaya
Lidl aur Adle ki khoj mein raah-raah bhatkaya
Daru se bhi mehenga pani dilwaya

Europe ne humse kya kya karwaya!

Ek shaher se dusre shaher mein antar karna bhulaya
Town hall, castle, bridge aur cathedral mein kabhi na jane ka pran dilwaya
Chala chala ke juton ke taliye ghiswaye
Starbucks aur McD ke wifi ke liye naya pyar jagaya
Facebook se badhkar google maps ka istemaal karwaya

Europe ne humse kya kya karwaya!

Itni samanta mein bhi har ek shahar ki ek anokhi pehchaan karvayi
Apne itihaas, kalakaari, pakwaan aur bhasha se dil ko lubhaya
Inki takniki vikas aur jivanstar ne ascharyachakit kiya
Anjaan logon ki bewajah parwaah pe sharminda karwaya
Kuch naye dost aur unki dosti ka pyara anubhav karvaya

Europe ne humse bahut kuch karwaya!

Rail ke lambe safar mein hamein bhi kavi ban ne par majboor kiya

Europe ne humse kya kya karwaya!

Travelling, the real way!

An nice article by Paulo Coelho:

I realised very early on that, for me, travelling was the best way of learning. I still have a pilgrim soul, and I thought that I would use this blog to pass on some of the lessons I have learned, in the hope that they might prove useful to other pilgrims like me. 

1. Avoid museums. This might seem to be absurd advice, but let’s just think about it a little: if you are in a foreign city, isn’t it far more interesting to go in search of the present than of the past? It’s just that people feel obliged to go to museums because they learned as children that travelling was about seeking out that kind of culture. Obviously museums are important, but they require time and objectivity – you need to know what you want to see there, otherwise you will leave with a sense of having seen a few really fundamental things, except that you can’t remember what they were.

2. Hang out in bars. Bars are the places where life in the city reveals itself, not in museums. By bars I don’t mean nightclubs, but the places where ordinary people go, have a drink, ponder the weather, and are always ready for a chat. Buy a newspaper and enjoy the ebb and flow of people. If someone strikes up a conversation, however silly, join in: you cannot judge the beauty of a particular path just by looking at the gate.

3. Be open. The best tour guide is someone who lives in the place, knows everything about it, is proud of his or her city, but does not work for any agency. Go out into the street, choose the person you want to talk to, and ask them something (Where is the cathedral? Where is the post office?). If nothing comes of it, try someone else – I guarantee that at the end of the day you will have found yourself an excellent companion.

4. Try to travel alone or – if you are married – with your spouse. It will be harder work, no one will be there taking care of you, but only in this way can you truly leave your own country behind. Traveling with a group is a way of being in a foreign country while speaking your mother tongue, doing whatever the leader of the flock tells you to do, and taking more interest in group gossip than in the place you are visiting.

5. Don’t compare. Don’t compare anything – prices, standards of hygiene, quality of life, means of transport, nothing! You are not traveling in order to prove that you have a better life than other people – your aim is to find out how other people live, what they can teach you, how they deal with reality and with the extraordinary.

6. Understand that everyone understands you. Even if you don’t speak the language, don’t be afraid: I’ve been in lots of places where I could not communicate with words at all, and I always found support, guidance, useful advice, and even girlfriends. Some people think that if they travel alone, they will set off down the street and be lost for ever. Just make sure you have the hotel card in your pocket and – if the worst comes to the worst – flag down a taxi and show the card to the driver.

7. Don’t buy too much. Spend your money on things you won’t need to carry: tickets to a good play, restaurants, trips. Nowadays, with the global economy and the Internet, you can buy anything you want without having to pay excess baggage.

8. Don’t try to see the world in a month. It is far better to stay in a city for four or five days than to visit five cities in a week. A city is like a capricious woman: she takes time to be seduced and to reveal herself completely.

9. A journey is an adventure. Henry Miller used to say that it is far more important to discover a church that no one else has ever heard of than to go to Rome and feel obliged to visit the Sistine Chapel with two hundred thousand other tourists bellowing in your ear. By all means go to the Sistine Chapel, but wander the streets too, explore alleyways, experience the freedom of looking for something – quite what you don’t know – but which, if you find it, will – you can be sure – change your life.
 

The Journey So Far...

Life right now seems like a movie in the fast forward mode. It seems as if just a few days back, I came to Joka with bags packed with clothes and a heart packed with a mixture of pride, anxiety, hope and excitement, ready to embark upon an unknown journey. Its been a good 7 months since then marking the end of a quarter of my MBA.

When I came to IIM Calcutta, right after finishing my engineering, I had certain preset notions about life in a college-away-from-home. Though I had heard that life at an IIM is going to be different, I thought to myself - what difference does a few more assignments and a compulsory attendance system would make to hostel life (I was a fairly regular student in BITS despite its no-compulsory-attendance rule). Little did I know, my life would become a roller coaster ride in just few days of coming to Joka. I won't explicitly describe the first 10 days in Joka; lets just say I felt like Alice in Wonderland except the fact that I was expected to act like Superman in Metropolis.

The general belief is - as you grow up, you become more liberal, you have freedom to do things as you wish to. But here, it was different. I felt like I went one step behind instead of going forward. Though, this could be because BITS was far too liberal I guess. Here, you not only have to attend every class but also read prior to it. The assignments are usually in groups (which has its both upsides and downsides (read: free riders)). But academics was just the teaser, the full version was called Summers (the summer internship placement process). Apart from CV making, CV reviewing, PPT attending and preparation we had to do one big thing - choosing the sector of your interest for internship. Well, for most freshers like me - it is nothing but taking the best you can get based on your CV from the pre-defined universally accepted order of preference. Soon enough, you realize that whatever you did or will do in the future, is weighed it terms of CV points.

This is where I would have ended the post if I was writing a few months back. (Of course I did not have the time to post then). But I realized there is more than it meets the eye. The very attendance rule I cribbed about made me realize what I'd have missed if I had slept in my room the day Mr. Anoop Sinha gave insights on the current European economic crisis. If not for the numerous group assignments, I wouldn't have met some wonderful people with their even more wonderful ideas. As for the free riders - I am sure, I will have to deal with a lot many in the future and I'd rather be prepared for it. The placement process does sometimes makes you feel more like a commodity and less like a person - forced to accept what others choose for us. But why do we keep forgetting that it is just a 2 month internship - constituting just about 0.2% of your lifetime (side-effect of MBA: you start quantifying facts). And it is meant for experimenting! So why not experiment with the best you can get right now? It may happen that you end up hating your work. Then it just means, you have one less sector to choose from when you sit for your finals! It surely may not seem as simple as that right now but I choose to believe that couple of years down the line, I won't remember the stipend I was paid during the internship or the kind of work I was asked to do, but I'll remember the fun I had with my fellow interns.

To sum up, life in an MBA college may be hectic, may make you feel disillusioned at times, but it does help you realize your true potential (yes, the numbers of hours you can stay awake at one go adds to it). Learning comes through various sources - sometimes from people you least expect. And who says you don't make real friends at an MBA college? I am lucky to have found friends who never miss a chance to take my case or never fail to cheer me up when I feel the least like it :-)

Who Am I?

When someone asks, who are you, what do you say, your name, maybe your education or your profession. If asked to elaborate, you may say the state you belong to or the language you speak. We take hours to prepare the most obvious interview question "Tell me something about yourself". Well, that is because, we cannot really define who we are and our nationality/religion/profession etc. does not really tell who you are. The answer to this question takes a lifetime to answer. We are constantly changing and moreover we don't know ourselves completely. There are many things which remain the same throughout, and many others which change with time. The key thing is to be aware of yourself.

The following is the song which I truly love -'Bulla ki jaana mai kaun' by Rabbi Shergill. I am also inserting the lyrics and meaning of the song (source:http://rabbism.blogspot.com/2005/07/bulla-ki-jaana-rabbi-shergill-lyrics.html) Do listen :)

Na maen momin vich maseet aan Na maen vich kufar diyan reet aan Na maen paakaan vich paleet aan Na maen moosa na pharaun. Bulleh! ki jaana maen kaun Na maen andar ved kitaab aan, Na vich bhangaan na sharaab aan Na vich rindaan masat kharaab aan Na vich jaagan na vich saun. Bulleh! ki jaana maen kaun. Na vich shaadi na ghamnaaki Na maen vich paleeti paaki Na maen aabi na maen khaki Na maen aatish na maen paun Bulleh!, ki jaana maen kaun Na maen arabi na lahori Na maen hindi shehar nagauri Na hindu na turak peshawri Na maen rehnda vich nadaun Bulla, ki jaana maen kaun Na maen bheth mazhab da paaya Ne maen aadam havva jaaya Na maen apna naam dharaaya Na vich baitthan na vich bhaun Bulleh , ki jaana maen kaun Avval aakhir aap nu jaana Na koi dooja hor pehchaana Maethon hor na koi siyaana Bulla! ooh khadda hai kaun Bulla, ki jaana maen kaun

Not a believer inside the mosque, am I Nor a pagan disciple of false rites Not the pure amongst the impure Neither Moses, nor the Pharoh Bulleh! to me, I am not known Not in the holy Vedas, am I Nor in opium, neither in wine Not in the drunkard`s craze Niether awake, nor in a sleeping daze Bulleh! to me, I am not known In happiness nor in sorrow, am I Neither clean, nor a filthy mire Not from water, nor from earth Neither fire, nor from air, is my birth Bulleh! to me, I am not known Not an Arab, nor Lahori Neither Hindi, nor Nagauri Hindu, Turk (Muslim), nor Peshawari Nor do I live in Nadaun Bulleh! to me, I am not known Secrets of religion, I have not known From Adam and Eve, I am not born I am not the name I assume Not in stillness, nor on the move Bulleh! to me, I am not known I am the first, I am the last None other, have I ever known I am the wisest of them all Bulleh! do I stand alone? Bulleh! to me, I am not known

Not A Secret Anymore!

How many of you believe that man makes his own destiny? And how many believe, that your fate is pre-written?

I personally  and very strongly believe that you can achieve whatever you want to. The toughest of problems usually have the simplest of solutions. The challenge is to find it. Here I am going to introduce to a theory which will help you do just that. It is called the Law of Attraction (LOA)

So what is Law of Attraction? In simple words it means – like attracts like, whatever you think or believe strongly, is what is going to happen.  “When you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true”, quoted by Paulo Coelho, in his book The Alchemist is exactly what LOA preaches.  LOA is just like any other law of universe- like the law of gravity. It is impartial and omnipresent. There is a whole bunch of science out there which proves my claims, but I want go into that. 

Now the important question is how to apply it? Simply, think and live what you really want to be. Picturise yourself as the CEO of a big firm, it is quite likely that you will eventually become the CEO. The important thing is to do it with passion and do it regularly. What people normally focus on is what they don’t want. I don’t want it to rain today, I don’t want to be stuck in the office. I don’t want to look fat. All these will actually aggravate the situation. The universe doesn’t care about what you want or don’t want it just gives back more of what you are thinking about. So, the right way to go about is to imagine a nice sunny day, a calm peaceful journey to office and to imagine yourself in your 26inch waist jeans which fitted you a couple of years back.

All this said, it doesn’t mean that if you sit all day and chant money, money, money and expect to become a millionaire. Obviously not! There are three important things to keep in mind. 1) You have to work towards your goal actively. 2) You have to actually believe that you will be a millionaire; you have to have faith in yourself. 3) You have to picturize the end result constantly.

This law may seem a bit hard to digest, because of its simplicity but trust me it works. Try applying it for small things and see the results. Most of you would have actually experienced LOA working for you. Have you given an exam with the least preparation but you feel that you will do well, and you actually do well? That’s LOA in practice. Do try it for small things and see how miracles happen :)

Some TP on TP!

I finally got my new ThinkPad after a seemingly loooong wait. Its a relief to be able to check mails and scan Facebook statuses from my own laptop. After owning a Vaio which is known (only) for its looks, TP may look like its grandmother. But I have learnt a lesson, and a relevant one indeed - Do not judge a lappy by its lid. ThinkPad is just awesome. Nice and sleek keyboard, and track point (yet to get a hang of it though!). Sound, display everything seems great. Lets hope TP is loyal to me unlike Vaio (or maybe I wasn't loyal to it..whatever!). Suddenly, I am feeling bad about Vaio. It did serve me for four years and lots of  memories are associated with it. The endless chats, DC++, movies, TV series and a bit of studies too. And of course the Vaio bashing - Dell praising sessions with friends. We owe many a laughter on Vaio's behalf. Its currently lying there alone in the darkness of my cupboard while i have conveniently moved on. Before you start wondering, yes i do remember, I am talking about an inanimate object :)

PS: I hope you understand the first TP stands for Time Pass. I am pretty sure BITSians would, but a little unsure about the Jokans (Jokans? IIMCalcians? huh..whatever :|)

  

Well I have much more to say about Joka, but more about that later!
Have a happy Weekend! :)

Know Me Better

9 Of My All Time Favorite Songs

•     You are Beautiful – James Blunt
•     Reason - Hoobastank
•     Dil ko Tumse Pyar hua – Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein
•     In dino - Metro
•     Broken - Lifehouse
•     Home - Chris Daughtry
•     Kuch iss tarah – Atif Aslam
•     Edge of Desire – John Mayer
•     Choti si Asha – Roza

8 Movies I can Watch Again and Again

•     Swades
•     Dil Chahta Hai
•     A Walk to Remember
•     Ramona and Beezus
•     Dil to pagal hai
•     Taare Zameen Par
•     50 First Dates
•     Notting Hill

   7 Places I want to Visit

         The Taj Mahal

         A Wild Life Safari

         Italy

         The Pyramids and The Sphinx - Egypt

         Niagara Falls

         A Cruise

                                                               Paris

6 Things I Totally Love To Do

•     Shopping for clothes
•     Reading books
•     Sketching
•     Watching movies with friends 
•     Watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S
•     Amusement Rides

5 Things I Just Can’t Do

•     Make-up
•     Flirting
•     Sweet-Talking
•     Get Directions
•     Get up early in the morning

4 Peculiar Things About Me

•     I get dreams that I don’t have the right clothes to wear for an occasion
•     I don’t like pets at all. I dread touching them.
•     I hardly ever like the way my hair looks when I let it down, which is very rare ofcourse
•     I fall asleep only after at least half hour how much ever tired I am.

3 Regrets I have From My Life Till Now

•     I never learned a sport
•     I don’t read newspapers regularly
•     I am a bad planner

2 Things I hate

•     Hypocrisy
•     Fights

1 Thing I Believe In

•     Whatever happens, happens for the best.

Rainbows of Joy

I somehow don't like Sundays. You know why? Simply because they are followed by Mondays. And I better not get started on how much we hate Mondays. I love Saturdays though and again for the same reason – they are followed by Sundays! (Of course, nowadays Friday is the new Saturday) Its kinda sad na? So much is dependent on what future holds for us. We just feel happy by thinking about a holiday, not knowing it may turn into a disaster and when we do get a holiday we feel blue about going to work the next day. I mean we have so many hopes and feelings based on what may or may not even happen. I think most would agree, that the trips that are unplanned and sudden, more often than not, turn out  to be most fun. Even the thrill of an unexpected holiday is better than the approaching weekend. I am sure everybody loves it when it starts pouring on a hot and sunny day, when you least expect it. And that's when we see the rainbow. Unexpected joys are like rainbows, vibrant and short-lived, and they always bring a smile on our faces. We spend so much of our time planning and contemplating about our future. We have hardly any time to enjoy when it’s actually the time to cherish the rainbows that life leaves for us every now and then. Planning is important and but too much planning can kill the fun sometimes. Plus, It creates hopes and expectations and end up hurting us when the plan doesn't work out. I guess somethings should be just done on impulse. Take a day off just to read that book you wanted to since you bought it two months ago. Call that person you had a crush on but never had courage to talk to.  Make prank calls to your friends. Try that recipe of the chocolate truffle cake, you saw on the TV. Visit the salon and get that complete makeover you read about only in magazines. Rejoice the unexpected joys of life and let future unfold at its own sweet pace.

Once Upon A Time at School

“A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smoldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog. ..“ – went on Miss Sunita, my English teacher. She was narrating the story of The Hound of Baskerville.

My classroom had windows facing the balcony and I was sitting next to the window. In the middle of the narration, I heard a noise outside the window. I looked out but did not see anyone. I got engrossed in the teacher’s narration again. After a while, I heard it again and this time when I looked, I just froze. Right there in the balcony not more than 10 feet away from me was the very hound of Baskerville, standing and staring back at me. I was just too scared to move or speak or even blink. It took me a good two minutes to take in what was in front of me. I nudged my bench mate and gestured him to look outside. He let out a small shriek of terror which alerted everyone including my teacher. In no time the entire class was aware of the presence of this hellish creature in our close proximity. Acting quickly, the teacher closed and bolted the door to the entry softly.

Now the atmosphere in the room was very tensed. Not a single sound to be heard. Slowly people started moving towards the other end of the classroom, occupying the farthest corner of the room, all huddled up. All this while the hound was just standing there looking at everybody through the window, its fiery eyes moving from one corner to another, with a kind of coolness in its eyes, which made us even more petrified.

After what seemed like hours, I stood up and went near the window. On looking down beyond the balcony, I could see a lot of people had gathered there. I could see school staff, parents of my classmates and I could even see some people in khakis, may be the police or people from animal control. I don’t know exactly why they were just waiting there and not doing anything. May be even they were scared of the hound too and didn't know what to do. For sure, it wasn’t natural to find a hound in a school.

While I stood there trying to reason with my little brain and trying to make some sense of the situation, I heard my mother’s voice and instead of comforting me she was scolding me. Something about how I have overslept and I will miss the school bus. It then hit me I was just dreaming! I should have known it, it was so illogical and unreasonable, but that’s not how dreams go, right? ;)