Subah savere

7 55 in the morning and I was walking towards my cab ka stop. Thats when I saw him
His back was bent,every step was as if in pain. It was a surprise how he was walking at the pace he was.
And the load was obviously too much for someone his age.
I could somehow discern that neccesity was'nt the reason why he was doing this; his family was probably forcing him into this, I thought.
I wanted to help him out but was in a dillema. You know some people would consider it an affront, if a stranger offered help.

He was almost passing me now and I decided to help him anyway.
That's when the school bell rang and the little guy called on all of his energies into a final dash towards the school gate.

Rag tag

I found this here
Tagged myself and so here we are.
Have done the ones with a "X" mark.

( ) smoked a cigarette
( ) done some form of dope
( ) crashed a friend's car
( ) stolen a car
(X) been in love
(X) been dumped
(X) shoplifted
( ) been fired
(X) been in a fist fight -Long ago in school
( ) snuck out of your parent's house
(X) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( )gone on a blind date
(X) lied to a friend
(X) skipped school
( ) seen someone die
( ) had a crush on one of your Internet friends
( ) been to Canada
( ) been to Mexico
( ) been on a plane
( ) eaten sushi
( ) been skiing-snow or water
( ) met someone from the Internet
(X) been at a concert
( ) taken painkillers
(X) love someone or miss someone right now
(X) laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by
( ) made a snow angel
( ) had a tea party
(X) flown a kite -loooong ago!! :) bachpan me
(X) built a sand castle
( ) gone puddle jumping
(X) played dress up - fancy dress competion me
( ) jumped into a pile of leaves
( ) gone sledding
(X) cheated while playing a game -he he he
(X) been lonely
( ) fallen asleep at work/school - wish I had
(X) used a fake ID - yeah and dint get caught!
(X) watched the sun set who hasnt?
( ) watched someone sleep -must do this some time
(X) felt an earthquake - yeah .. were in the midst of a chem class .. the teacher was the first to rush for the door!!!
(X ) slept beneath the stars - roof top
(X) been tickled - many many times .... kaka ki yaad aati hai :)
(X) been robbed -
(X) been misunderstood - the latest involved the word "poor".I said "let the poor guy go". The guy took it literally :X!!!!
( ) pet a reindeer/goat/kangaroo -
(X) won a contest
( ) run a red light/stop sign
( ) been suspended from school - bahut baar dhamki zaroor mili hai ;-)
(X) been in a car crash a minor one ..
( ) had braces -
(X) felt like an outcast/third person - yeah kabhi kabhi .
( ) eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night -
(X) had deja vu - many many times
( ) danced in the moonlight
(X) liked the way you looked
( ) witnessed a crime
(X) questioned your heart - are bhai kitne bar hua hai ye :-P
( ) been obsessed with post-it notes -what?
( ) squished mud through your bare feet
(X) been lost -
( ) been on the opposite side of the country - nahi :-( ek din apne desh ka har hissa dekhunga
(X) swam in the ocean - yeah during our class trip to cochin .. floated must be more like it
( ) felt like dying
( ) cried yourself to sleep - I am too cold a person to cry over trifles
(X) played cops and robbers
( ) recently colored with crayons
( ) sang karaoke -
( ) paid for a meal with only coins -
(X) done something you told yourself you wouldn't - bahut bar
(X) made prank phone calls - Di was at the receiving end! :-D
(X) laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
( ) caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) danced in the rain -
( ) a letter to Santa Claus
( ) been kissed under the mistletoe
( ) watched the sun rise with someone you care about -
(X) blown bubbles //oddly i cant blow a bubble out of a chewing gum!
( ) made a bonfire on the beach
( ) crashed a party
( ) gone roller skating
( ) had a wish come true -
( ) jumped off a bridge
( ) ate dog/cat food
( ) told a complete stranger you loved them
( ) kissed a mirror
(X ) sang in the shower
(X) had a dream that you married someone
(X) glued your hand to something // the iron box qualifies?
( ) kissed a photo
( ) climbed a water tower
(X) screamed at the top of your lungs -
( ) done a one-handed cartwheel
( ) talked on the phone for more than 5 hours
( ) picked and ate an apple right off the tree
(X) climbed a tree - climbed a sixty feet tree and jumped off it... ha sab safety measures the!
( ) had a tree house
( ) been too scared to watch a scary movie alone
( ) believe in ghosts
( ) have more than 30 pairs of shoes
( ) worn a really ugly outfit to school
( ) gone streaking
( ) gone doorbell ditching
( ) been pushed into a pool/hot tub with all your clothes on
( ) told you're hot by a complete stranger
( ) broken a bone - kabhi nahi.... :-)
(X) been easily amused
( ) caught a fish then ate it
( ) caught a butterfly
(X) laughed so hard you cried
( ) cried so hard you laughed
(X) cheated on a test -
(X) forgotten someone's name - I display a new-found curiosity about the layout of their visiting cards or ids!
( ) French braided someone's hair
( ) gone skinny dipping in a pool/hot tub/river
( ) been threatened to be kicked out of your house or been kicked out of your house
(X) loved someone so much you would gladly die for THEM
( ) cheated on someone -
(X) talk to yourself when noones around -
( ) hate someone you once loved - Not possible!
( ) love someone you once hated
( ) kissed the phone for the person on the other side - what?

Who do I tag??

I tag you! Take this tag up if you liked it.

Googlism for: strider

Check this out.
Go to Googlism and enter your name.
This is what I got:


strider is included on a separate disc when you buy the sequel
strider is dead
strider is a powerful fighter
strider is interesting to describe
strider is a skilled hunter and tracker and continues to learn and improve thanks to his mother's influence
strider is the same height as mousse
strider is the 6th producing male in the futurity/maturity tabulations
strider is automatically moved from one scene to the next
strider is producing his finest qualities in his get
strider is versatile and easy to use
strider is a six
strider is a blur of action
strider is always apparent
strider is the one game i had never played
strider is forever
strider is definetly a class act
strider is very maneuverable
strider is confident that the odds are not three on one
strider is the macho sort who'll always sacrifice a crewmember to save the ship
strider is one of my favorite genesis games
strider is still talking
strider is a love story wrapped in a
strider is already running
strider is well drawn and basically resembles the strider found in marvel vs
strider is a athasian halg
strider is as full of references to mother russia as 1943 is to the land of the rising sun
strider is as intuitive as it gets for an arcade slasher
strider is taller than eight
strider is one
strider is pannucci's contribution to a water sculpture project which she has developed to travel around the world
strider is seen leading a pony into the countryside
strider is by far the most promising wrestler in the midwest
strider is on team 1
strider is happy that they are being more cautious than they were downstairs
strider is concerned
strider is an athletics
strider is pretty good
strider is nearly arcade perfect with all the levels and bosses intact
strider is rough and weather beaten
strider is an agent of an espionage organization called striders
strider is also not responsible for information that may be found on other sites
strider is a unique icon in the surfing world
strider is a race game simulating middle
strider is a fun game but not as good as it's arcade counterpart
strider is submerged in water it carries with it a large bubble of gas entangled in the hair
strider is a chance to play a landmark game
strider is a sure thing
strider is about 21 cm “tall”
strider is an accounting professional with more than 20 years of experience
strider is malaysia
strider is married
strider is great game for genesis that was a port of the arcade game
strider is willing to try if they will let him
strider is to breath under water
strider is the first ch basenji to earn the na and oa
strider is pretty cool
strider is a contemporary suspense
strider is
strider is an all time classic video game
strider is one i haven't heard before
strider is now
strider is able to walk on water is because of surface tension
strider is a walking war machine
strider is the mobile version of atlas speaks
strider is a ways off
strider is a very cool animal

Kuch sunehri yadein v2.0

If you have read "Swami and Friends" you would probably remember how Swami felt when he had to join Board High after being dismissed from Albert Mission.
That was how I felt when I was moved from the main office(MO) of my company to a satellite office (SO,if you will).
At MO I had my own Rajams and Manis (no Pea though) . At SO I knew nobody.

But as days went by, I made friends at SO too, the closet among which are AT,Bhav-Bhav and Beegee. Now AT is from Madhya Pradesh, Beege from Tamil Nadu and Bhav-Bhav is a Kannadiga like me.

Considering this one might expect a lot of "bhashaon ka adaan pradaan". Yes there was, but it started in a very wierd fashion.

Here I was sitting at my cube looking at some code and Beegee calls up. Now Beegee is a typical good girl quiet and reticent and so I was more than just surprised when she said "Eh tapori lunch?".

At lunch that day I was to know that AT had told her that "tapori" meant good guy in hindi.

And to add to that AT showed this not-so-unobvious derision to southie culture!!

Bhav-Bhav and me decided to give it back to AT (Incidentally Bhav-Bhav calls me her "Mubola Bhai" :-) )

Here's a list of things in kannada we taught poor AT.

What we taught: Barole

What we said it meant: Yaha aaiye. (Please come here)

What it means: Idhar aa be!

What we taught: Nanage kannada baralla. Nanna hitkondu tadki!

What we said it meant: Mujhe kannada nahi aati. Please adjust kar lijiye.

What it means: Mujhe kannada nahi aati. Mujhe peeto!

/* we thought of teaching him this but refrained from it. Putting it here anyways */

What we taught: Odihogona Baa.
What we said it meant: How are you?

What it means: Lets elope!

/*There were many more. Just can't recall any right now. Will ask Bhav-Bhav.*/

By the end of this session AT had seen through our ploy for we couldn't help doubling up with laughter!

Another trick we used to employ was that Bhav-Bhav or me would just say to the other:

"Sumne sumne nagu" (Aise hi haso)

and both us would laugh like mad at AT, leaving him perplexed as to what we were laughing at.

Those were the days my friend.

Just when I was starting to feel at home at SO, they moved me back to MO again.

Here are a few pics of SO.

A typical cube. (Not mine though! :( )

Ye tha gali ka road. Ek aur corridor ko ham main road bulate the,AT ne uska pic nahi liya!

Our cafe! Achha tha!

Cafe ka ek aur pic! That guy looks drunk but isnt!

One of the best things about SO was that the airport was very close by. We could actually see planes take off and land. During the first few days would rush to the nearest balcony to see it land or take off. Oddly enough before this I had never seen a commercial plane land , though I had seen Airforce jets land.

SO ke terrace ka view! Ek hasin shaam as AT put it.

Good bye SO!

To seek happiness in what others say or what others do is a futile act.

Such happiness is at best ephemeral.

When Priya met Diya

WARNING: This post contains toxic PJs and if at any point of time you feel like killing yourself or me,press the little button with "X" on it on the top right corner of this page in less than 1.3 seconds .....

I have a friend. Let’s call her Priya. During the long weekend that we had last week, Priya had been to her home town. And it took just three days for the huge transformation from Priya to Priya Auntie. (A friend of Priya's , lets call her Diya brought little Chotu into our world! :-) )

I don't know what ensued when Priya met Diya and Chotu. It must be a "so sweet" moment of course. And I must admit that this does deserve the much abused annotation "so sweet". And a little weird too, because you've always seen your friend as this bubbly girl or natkhat guy and suddenly she/he is a parent and has somehow crossed some invisible threshold which just cant be defined. (Did that make sense??)

Now here's my (highly remixed and PJfied) version of what happened when Priya met Diya::

Our tale begins some six months back ,when Priya put down the following entry in her To-do list wala book

Oct XX 2006 10:47 to 11:53 : “Meet Diya and little Chotu/Choti (And give them a surprise !) :-) :-) Sooo Sweet!! “

D day Oct XX 10:46 (You see Priya is never late,NEVER!!):
Priya goes to the hospital where Diya is put up, enquires for the ward no whatever and then proceeds to the same…
She stands in front of the door calms her nerves puts on her best nasal twang , her most morose expression and then enters the room singing ::

“Auntie banaaya….
Auntie banayaa…
Auntie banaaaya aapne”

Diya (After having recovered from this frightful intrusion) says,” Sooo Sweet of you”.
After the hugs and how are yous , Priya proceeds to have a look at a blissfully sleeping Chotu.

Priya bends over the cradle and sings:

"Jhalak dikhlaja..
Jhalak dikhlaja ...."

Chotu wakes up and gives Priya one tight slap!

If you meet a girl with a little flowery red mark on her left cheek that's Priya! Don't forget to say "Sooo sweet Priya aunty!!"

Should I be happy or should I be sad?

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Kind Philosopher. Where You Lived: Alaska. How You Died: Buried alive.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Since the last post

Finished a two week long induction training course( It sounds like some outdoor obstacle course doesn’t it?). The course involved day long lectures ( euphemistically called presentations). Had lots of fun. So did four of my friends who shared the last bench with me! ;-)

Been to an outbound session near the banks of Kaveri with 33 other freshers. Had loads of fun. Made lots of new friends. Among other things jumped from a 65 feet high branch, constructed a rope bridge between two trees and actually crossed it too. And did I mention a game we played ,which invited (incited??) a three hour long heated and insightful discussion from the facilitator?. If you ever play a game where X and Ys are involved, choose Y,all the time. Guess this calls for a separate post…..

Ajji (granny) got her cataract operation done (while I was away at the outbound :-( ) and struts around in her new shades. ;-)
She says she cant see clearly , doc says it takes time.


The very first project of my life as a software engineer got stalled(or “put to a logical end at the design phase” as the management would have it). My colleagues here started talking of layoffs and how I was much better off than them because I am a fresher… Amidst all the uncertainties , our fears were at last laid to rest last Thursday. There will be no layoffs ,atleast in my team ,although the future of other teams working on the same project seems uncertain. :-( I really feel sorry for these guys. The amount of effort and the passion with which they put it, surely makes this very hard to bear.

The last event will have three consequences. Firstly all of the study and rampup I put in , in the last two months ,not to speak of the trainings I undertook for this project, adds up to zilch. Secondly, I may be moved back to the old office where my pals work. :-) Thirdly, till I am assigned another project, I am totally free (well almost, my company expects me to acquire new skills in this period of lull. Aint blogging an art form and hence a skill too??). :-)

Diwali this year was a low key affair. But it sure brought back lots of memories.. Like the time when bro got hurt while trying to light a flowerpot and fifteen minutes later our neighbour’s son lit the same flower pot (and got hurt needless to say).
Nice memories …..

Which famous movie are you?

I have to run ... I'll probably miss my cab ... But then thought i'll let you know which famous movie I am supposed to be...

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Added later:

I didn't miss my cab! :)
And if you have watched Schindler's list do let me know if its good....
Check out the comments for some interesting fare...

Operation Chubbyface

I eat at my own pace (read slow, real slow). And my friends are happy. Why? Here’s why:

After the prodigious task of deciding where to eat and what to order in order to satisfy the eclectic appetites and yearnings of the diverse juntha, that I refer to as friends, we settle down to lunch/break fast (and on rare occasions dine) together. Now my friends eat at an insanely quick pace (or that’s what I think) ,and before I can say “gliba”, are done with their food.

Now comes the best part. While I battle my food bravely(did I hear somebody say patiently?), these guys get to do what they do best. P gets to use his razor sharp wit and has us in spits, Anju gets to take retake no 3 (man this will get me into trouble) of the-exciting-story-in-office, Su keeps count of the retake count and points it out rather politely (punctuated with a polite laugh that is so characteristic of him) ,T laughs at almost everything, Aragorn swings between alphenlibeying* and occasional sabotage of other people’s food and Di takes in all of this like a sponge and laughs randomly at a joke cracked at the other end of the table!! Now if that isn’t quality time what is?? So now you know why these guys are happy.

The situation at office is different. No, I haven’t started eating like all of you do.( The times they are changing my friend, but yours truly remains the same vintage self he was.) I still eat slow. But I am concerned about my office-lunch-mates.

While I battle my food (literally if I happen to have the cafeteria’s food) these guys finish their lunch, sit back and talk. And sooner or later somebody brings up office talk which figures around the no of bugs X’s been allocated, the enormous work and the looming deadline that Y’s battling and so on. And I am concerned for these guys, for office talk if taken in large doses has been known to affect humour, health and personality. So I look at the state of these guys’ plates and when they are about to finish, I remark at the enormous amount of food my dear mom has put in my dabba and wind up.

What this means is that I end up half hungry half the time and everybody from my chahcha’s mom-in-law’s second cousin to my very own brother remarks at the un-chubbiness of my state of being.

What’s the solution?
Operation Chubbyface

Now they are two reasons to embark on operation chubbyface. The first is apparent from the above. The second is due to the realization after much research that female juntha has this annoying habit of choosing chubby jokes over skinny blokes.

Here’s the details.

Its pretty simple actually. All I have to do is use the panacea that my Ajji (granny) keeps recommending; which is EAT EAT and EAT!
So I plan to eat my fill at every alternate hour and stuff apples and juices and chocolates and bondas and pani puri and ….. into my apparently lean tummy. So what if I am hungry half an hour after lunch? The next snack break is just half an hour away,,,,

Can I hear somebody laughing all the way to the bank??
Phalo phoolo café wale bhai sahab!

* What's alphenlibeying?? You better ask Aragorn

Random ramblings of a lost soul

Overheard at office: ”I have twenty boyfriends but only two girlfriends”. Bhai Casanova ka koi connection hai tere saath??

Got to watch “Who lamhe”, the tagline’s very alluring.

My dear old Salman-fan brother just got a gift from his friend. Six DVDs full of Salman movies and songs.

The best plan of action to keep Belgaum inside our side of Bharath is to close down Bangalore city for a day. And to air only kannada fare on a day when you cant step out.And to make people work on a Saturday in compensation. To hell with Vatal Nagaraj!!

Heard of a band called Goo Goo Dolls? No? Join the club because I hadn’t either. But these guys have written this wonderful song called Iris. Just listen to it if you can. (Drop in your mail id I’ll mail it to you.)

Why do people write songs with the words “tere bin” , “judai” , “tanhayee” and "yaadein”?? Can’t these people stick with “tu cheez badi hai mast mast” ???

“But for misery there would be no humour”, said Mark Twain. How true.

Have to go to office tomo! :(

Ajji ka solution

Sometimes I sit in the balcony or next to the window and start trying to think something heavy, like the meaning of life or something.My granny comes along , ruffles my hair and says "Yenniko hing kutidya? Biscuit tinnu ella sarihogathe. (Aise kyu baithe ho? Biskut kha le ,sab thik hojayega!)" .

Ps: Ajji is at my chacha's place. :(

Yours truly ke bare me

This blog is wierd!
It started out as Backbencher's Inc and is called "Gliba" now.
It starts with some backbenching stuff , some forwards and only then does the usual blogger ki kahani start...
But there isnt a post where I have talked aboout myself.

So this post is dedicated to all those screaming, swooning females dying to know about me and the occasional guy reader too.
Naa just kidding, this one's just for you. Yeah I meant YOU!

My mind doesnt function in the normal way minds function...(thats not to say I am this weird jacko who runs around with a pin in a crowded bus, pricking people and laughing hysterically)

I believe in multiverses (ie that there are more than one universe). Each universe with its own God. And when our God (the creator of our universe) was putting in the nuts and bolts into my brain , along came Polly, the Goddess of Universe 337. Now Polly could give Ms Jolie a run for her money and so naturally our God got distracted and put a nut where a bolt must go, and then he said "sorry boss, ab tera kuch nahi hoga." before I knew what was happenin I was born.
What this means is I can remember the name of your aunt's greatuncle's third daughter's first husband's dog, that you mentioned six months ago, but seem to forget that my atm wala pin is xxyz instead of xyyz.

My idea of fun is anything that makes me lose track of time.

Here's some of those things
dumb charades :
We had eons of fun playing dumb charades .. And no prizes for guessing who the "dumb" guy was... Our team (P, A and me) was the best in the coll..won many times in our coll... and we even managed to get through the first round at iota RVCE only to be done in by sheer bad luck ... we got among other things "Rapunzel" to enact..Can guess what or who Rapunzel is??
football:
Man, they dont call football the beautiful game for nothing.. Had loads of fun playing football in coll... Miss those carefree days now
Books:
I wud probably had been a librarian if I didnt have to support my ten kids and their andhi maaLove fiction especially fantasy.
Dosto ke sang latakna
Hanging out wid friends. The times I spent in coll wid friends doign nothing will be among the most cherished memories from coll. Once in a blue moon, the (now famous) chemical locha in my brain would make me feel like a total stranger among these guys and then this latking business wud be a real pain... But I reiterate my friends in coll are the best!
School ke dosto ke sang bhatakna ..
Having studied in the same school for 12 years I have a great many (pretty old) friends from school. When we meet up we just have a blast!! And to top it all , my school friends think I amthe most bhola bhala, seedha saadha ladka in the gang!! ;=)
coding
Yeah I like coding. The sheer fun of solving some problem makes me enjoy this nerdish activity. (S%^t ... half of those screaming females ran away!!)

This list is incomplete (are bhai U certificate hai is blog ka)

Things I don't like:
Hypocrisy
Extreme caprice
That crunchy sound that people make when they bite into chips, papad ...

Well that's me

And btw if you know who Rapunzel is , bravo mate!!
Do you remember the story of a princess locked up in a tall tower? The one that grew her hair loooong so that her prince charming could climb up to her window grabbing her hair??
Rapunzel was the name of that princess..Wonder which hair oil she uses...

Kissa badal gaya

It has been almost two weeks at this new office. Yes I admit I was totally pissed off at being "moved " here cos among other things I missed my buddies and this new office is way too far from my place than the old one. So it didn't come as a surprise then that the first two days here were a real pain.

In fact the first day here was a first half-day. I was happily idling my time away at the old office assuming I'll be moved at the end of the month or even later. I should have continued doing the same I guess. But the teeny weeny conscience I have forced, me to call my manager of my own accord. He told me he'd been trying to contact me all the time (and that's probably why he wasnt there at his office when I went looking for him that day. Imagine him yellin hindi-movie-style strider kaha ho tum!!) Che I shouldn't have called him cos he then went on to inform me that I'll have to leave the old office right then, period!! I put off going to the new place till I had lunch (which usually means ,for me , a delay of an hour) and after the rona dhona of judai, (naaa just kidding) was off to the new office.

The auto guy I picked for this noble duty of ferrying a newly joined maasoom fresher to his sasural, if you will, had no idea where my new office was. It was after an hour of suttyfying (roaming without sense of direction that's kanglish maga!) we (yeah auto-guy and I were a team now) that we ended up at towers. Uff at last here it is I thought. But the towers housed no office of my esteemed company. I called up mu buddies back at the old office and asked them the address of this place (yes I was dumb enough not to note the address when I left) and found that the off is at supreme!!! back to the auto and after half an hour's suttyfying we at last found our destination. Guess I will be the customer of the year for that auto wala...I paid him a whole day's collection in one go!!
Any hopes of moving back to the old office were dashed ,when I asked my manager (who works here) about this small "issue" of mine. She looked at me as if I had just killed three people by biting them on the leg (if that isnt wierd enoughfor you you better go for audition for pysco 3) and said "NO".

The trip back home was even more horrendous, cos yours smart truly got down at a stop that was around 10 kms from the stop yours smart truly had to get down. Are bhai mai kya karu, sab flyoverek hi kok ke hi to aulad hai!!
I wont bore you with the traivails of the second day. You may conclude safely that I was totally pissed off and consideredthe whole episode extremely unfair.(More unfair than this guy's plight who fights a whole series of WWe survivor series matches, wins and then gets a ticket to "Himesh Reshamiya-Live in concert")

What brought the turnabout in my attitude and perception was a story a friend of mine related (and a bit of soul searchingif i may add).
Here goes the story:
" A gentleman with enough wealth to make Azim Premji feel like ,umm lets see.. me, once threw a party at his huge mansion and iinvited everybody on the city's who's who list. Every body on that list as well as the who's he list turned up that evening...And more than a few college going guys too (free me khana aur coll wale na jaye to??) ... As the evening unfolded, our rich guy called for everyone's attentiontowards his huge swimming pool... The whole pool was filled with all kinds of reptiles and lizards (add whatever makes you squirm here..)This rich guy valued courage over everything else. And so he announced a grand prixe for any man or woman who dared cross the pool.The grand prize would be one among the rich guy's money, his mansion and his beautiful daughter."
" For two mins there was utter silence and then...SPLASH .. some guy had just thrown his hat in. After making Sunny Doel's machoishm look sissy like, the guy emerged from the other side of the pool.The rich guy was elated and then asked our hero "Young man, you've made me proud... What do you want? My money, my estate or my daughter?" The guy went on to reply "Just tell me who pushed me in!!" "

Now that you've clapped (or booed in case you'd heard this before), let me tell you my friend's take on this story and how it applies to my predicament...

She told me that my condition was similar to the guy who was pushed in.. It was'nt that guy;s choice was it?? But eventually it boils down to survival and coming on top,,,So whatever may be the circumstances , just give your best and you'll cross the pool, she said.

Hmmm nice thinking na..(I know you never figured that out from the story.. did you?)
So I am a new man ... The same office doesn't seem so forbidding and I have started enjoying my stint here as well :-)

I still miss my buddies but then I have a job to do..

Birthday Blues

The day I had the privilege of visiting RGIT was S’s birthday.( S is a class mate of mine from school). And I got to know it was her birthday, when she called me in the morning and asked me to be at her place for the treat. Later in the day RGIT left a lasting impression on D and me, and I was back at my home by 5. I wasn’t too keen on S’s treat cos firstly I never knew it was her bday before she told me, secondly we have renewed our acquaintance only a few days ago in that reunion and I thought it wouldn’t be that great barging onto her treat, thirdly I had no gift for her.
Just when I thought she would have forgotten that she invited me (believe me I have been ‘forgotten’ quite a few times :-P), she calls me and insists that I be present (aint that sweet of her). I though I might as well take Kirik along but he was busy so I am off to her place alone. Chungi (who knows S better) was stuck at office and told us that he’ll be able to make it only by 9.
Believe me it isn’t easy striking up a conversation even with your old class mates after six long years (unless you are a female). I must have repeated the words “Motorola August 9” at least a hundred times. So I sit there smiling, laughing at all the jokes and leg pulling going on around me (lots of it goes on I was to learn) trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
One great thing was that I found a person who could eat more slowly than yours truly! That’s D folks. Just when I thought I wouldn’t be the last one again, S’s mother forced me into a second helping and I was the last one again (Duh!). By this time I’d exhausted all points of conversation and was a lame duck all ears.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any weirder, I found that I was the only one who hadn’t a gift to give and these guys have this weird idea of calling out the names of the people who contributed to the gift-for-the-bday-girl fund!! I sunk deeper into my chair wishing for the evening to end right there!! That was embarrassing moment 2309.
At last it was over and I guess only a person as stupid as I am would write such a post …..
Hmmm whatever….
And history repeats. It was M’s birthday on Aug 15 of all days! And again I confess I didn’t know it was his bday till he called me up and asked me to be there for the treat. And again I’ve renewed M’s acquaintance only a few days back.
Hmmm something’s wrong ( or is it?).. I am getting treats free me!!!
Chal yaar… Never look a gifted treat in its mouth.. (Duh!!)

What do I do?

What do I do?
The first day at the Compnay ended with a bang. Mr. V met me at CVR and told me that I was going on a team bonding/building session for two days the next morning. I didn’t know what to say, and so had to go through with it.
The next morning had to get up at 5 30, (such a pain!!) and had to go all the way to CVR campus. Then we were off to Angsana, this spa resort not five kms from home.
The team( CDMA) is great. Met all kinds of people, the sweet ones, the career oriented ones, all kinds. This was the second time I have had to spend more than a day with complete strangers, the first being the SSB interview at Mysore. I am not a natural conversationalist and it took a lot of time to really get to know my team.
Over these two days we were made to play all kinds of games. A nice way of getting the bonhomie going was to divide us into groups of three and making us share such things as our most cherished childhood memories, one or more dilemmas that we may have faced, our achievements (mine was zilch in this case) etc. Other things like synchronized dancing, a lunar version of Lost etc added a dash of excitement.
The second day involved lots of introspection. We were made to depict by way of a “dramatic” skit, the undercurrents of the company. I thought it was just for fun, but was rather astonished by the way our ‘take’ was interpreted by the HR and the Managers. Hmmm why were we asked to make it ‘dramatic’ and then made to listen about we deviated from that utopian ideal??
Later we had a postmortem session where each side (the two being the developers and the managers) were asked to list out what they would do and what they expected of the other to achieve that ideal.
Meanwhile met my sub team called AS. The up side is that it’s a great team and I’ll work with C/C++. The downside is that I’ll probably have to move to Marathahalli which will mean I’ll have to travel over 30kms just to get to work. Man maybe if the place had a name that sounds better, things would be a tad better; whoever thought of ‘Marathahalli’?
I have to talk to my manager and sort out issue out.
If I have to move to Marathahalli, then we may be forced to move out of dear old Yelahanka after all. Having spent all my life here , that wouldn’t be a walk in the park would it?

It was a gruesome experience for Patty. She sat there crying and her head hurt while the paramedics did their job on her. The tears wouldn’t stop, even with Daddy trying his best to console her. Patty a pretty six year old had just been on the receiving end of a botched up kidnap attempt. The kidnapper wearing a baseball bat, had apparently timed his move pretty well, just when Mr. Jose had left Patty alone, to get her a cone of her favourite vanilla ice cream, but had failed miserably in the execution. All he got away with was a fistful of poor Patty’s hair, leaving behind a badly shaken six year old whose head hurt like hell.
Detectives Steve and Laura were upon the scene in ten minutes. And it was Laura who finally managed to stop the flood of tears.
Luckily a Samaritan had noted the no of the SUV in which the kidnappers, apparently there were two of them, had fled.
In two days the kidnappers were caught. And Patty made a positive id of the Baseball cap guy. The interrogation that followed, threw up a few surprises. The kidnappers claimed that were private detectives hired by one Mrs. Michelle. The kidnappers/detectives claimed they specialized in restoring lost/kidnapped children to their parents. Steve on checking up the State Private Eye’s office found that indeed the two kidnappers were private hires. Steve and Laura promptly turned up at Michelle’s place. To their surprise, Michelle was expecting them. Michelle went on to claim that Patty was her child. She claimed Anna (that was what Michelle called her girl) had lost her way when she was a year old. Michelle was arrested on charges of aiding/abetting kidnap.
Upon preliminary trial, the kidnappers and Michelle were granted bail, on the condition that they must not be present within 500 yards from Patty’s house, school or play ground. Later in the day, Michelle was found violating the order and was promptly arrested again.
When Steve checked the database of unsolved lost/found cases, he was astonished to find that there indeed was an Anna who matched Michelle’s description but she was presumed dead in a road accident. But her body had never been found.
So, Steve and Laura came to the conclusion that Michelle was suffering from a psychological disorder, having been under severe trauma, losing both husband and child in a single accident. There were in for a surprise.
DNA tests on the handful of hair that Baseball-cap had grabbed on to, revealed that Patty was indeed Michelle’s child!
Now the onus was on Mr. and Mrs. Jose to prove that Patty was their child. And prove they did, in a convincing fashion. They produced a valid birth certificate; moreover they had recorded the birth of their only child on tape.
How could Patty be both Michelle’s and Mrs. Jose’s child??
Laura had a hunch, which was to be proved correct.
Guess what?
Wait till the next post! ;-)

On sleepy afternoons and idle evenings I close my eyes and look inside. As I get lost in those
whirlpools of mist and thoughts I land in a beautiful meadow ,bright and redolent. The sunshine evokes memories of happy times, when if I could I would have stopped time and captured those few moments that make a whole lifetime worth living.
I see all that makes me smile here, books lots of books , of carefree times on the field , of idle hours of chit chat, of thosefew moments of untold happiness.....
I walk past smiling faces, to find myself in a suddenly dark and gloomy corner. Here there is no sunshine but gloom, all pervading gloom. Sombre and impassive faces stare back at me , speaking through their silences; those eyes, those deep eyes , tell tales of untold sadness,of losses yet to be forgotten and scars yet to heal.
At last I am out of those depths to find myself in front a throne, high and majestic. I climb up the steps sit on throne and look down. And
it seems from this hieght all you can do is look down on people. The throne, in spite of all those illusions of splendour,I find is hard to sit upon. This high you are alone, with none but your own bloated ego;no mirth,no happiness. I find I can't sit here for long, although I see I visit this place often. I realise the need to be bring myself back down to earth. Sense prevails and I am on solid ground again.
As I move past the throne, a solid door, barred by chains confronts me. This is where the animal resides. The animal as they say,if let loose will wreak havoc and bring about untold misery upon us all. They say each one of us has one of this kind within us. But I have my own take. The animal can be tamed but not the cold,calculating, shrewd ironically inhuman human mind ,which if left untamed can cause such havoc the animal can't even envisage.
Better leave that door alone for now.
As I walk past the door, I start hearing a soft tune. 'Haven't I heard this somewhere?', I wonder. The tune grows louder and louder until everything is being blown apart by the sheer force of the din. I wake up with a start only to find my mobile ringing, the tune of 'California..California'. Its kirika. The adda beckons. ;-)

Blogs blocked(And here I was cursing my inept self again)
and if you are one of the babus who came up with this gem of an idea read this :
Di takes on the establishment

Just when all this hullaballo about seurity measures were being bandied about two females (can I hear somebody crimp? well chod yaar 'female' is k) and a male drive right through the security cordon of our dear Mr M Singh. The two females in quesiton were babes if you ask me... (Good to see some news story can also be eye candy sometimes)

Kya ho raha hai is desh me??
Chal yaar ghar jana hai .. ma ka khana pukar rahi hai....

Strategic investment and me

Over the past fortnight, we (Chungi , koli and me ) have been hanging out on most evenings..We meet at dairy cross and usually have an ice cream (chocolate wala) or some fruit juice ...or go out to the auto guy and have some roti shoti...Every time its pay back time ( ;-) ) I reach for my purse but these guys wont let me pay!!(In Stark constrast to people back at coll... man the coll ke log have a lot to learn! ;-) )
Usually thats a good thing but these guys have their own reason (which they have been making clear right through the hols). Apparently, I am their passport to a bindas life after I join the Company...I am a 'strategic investment with high returns'!! (their words not mine)

Well so much for all the treats ....I know the guys are joking, of course.