"Old habits die hard"

It's true and I was made aware of it once again today for the umpteenth time. No matter how bitter your past experiences, no matter how many times you've vowed to yourself never to repeat it again, the basic goodness inside you never dies and you inevitably end up making the same mistake again.

Men are such fools (more so when females are involved). They'll do anything (well almost anything) for a female irrespective of the compromises that they have to make. A very good friend of mine from the past 3 years calls me up and says that she needs a favour from me (these things normally begin like this). She needs to xerox my notes since she has misplaced hers and just 3 days are left for the exams. I tell her that I'll meet her in college around 10am. She sounded very desperate and asked me to make it by 9 to which I replied in positive (what else is a guy supposed to say in a situation like this?).

Anyways, I got up early, caught the heavily crowded 8:31 train (which by the way was 10 mins late), huffed and puffed my way to college and made it by 9 am. Now let me tell you a small secret about my dear friend, she always has late nights (studying) and seldom gets up before 11. A voice inside my head was telling me that she won't make it on time and that I am wasting my efforts. But the eternal goodness inside me made me think that atleast today she'll make it on time especially since it was her need. Boy was I wrong.

As predicted she came late and she had found her notes (I am happy for her). She thought that I would be late (which was highly improbable and she very well knew that) and seemd very apologetic upon realizing that I had made it on time. Well now doesn't that prove what a sweet heart I am. On the contrary, how could I be such a fool?

Do you feel sorry for me? Don't. Because what I am going to reveal next will make you getup and hit me through your monitors, for being so naive and gullible. The same female asked to get along to college another set of notes (just last week). She showed up neither on the designated day nor the day after that (coz she got another friend of hers to courier them to her). Needless to say those notes were in my bag, till today (coz informing me about the same was not a priority).

Living in Mumbai I need to be much more smarter than this, right? Well this is the way God has engineered me and I guess that little bit of goodness will show through my actions no matter how much I try to supress it. And no this is not a case of being blinded by a female's charms coz similar situations have occured where the other party involved were boys.

"Need For Speed Most Wanted"

I know this isn't the time (BE 8th sem board exams are going on) but this definitely is the place to write about it (it's my blog so who's gonna stop me). I know I am ages behind but it was only yesterday that I got to lay my hands on EA's "Need for Speed: Most Wanted" title (due to the generosity of my friend Anish, we spent the entire day playing it) and I have to admit that I am hooked (I even get dreams about it now).

The game is mind blowing to say the least. In true EA tradition the attention to detail is immaculate. Every thing about the game from the graphics to the sound, the cars, their handling, the storyline, the tracks,etc simply rocks. I had been watching the previews and articles about this game even before its official release and now that I have actually experienced it, it has managed to surpass all expectations.

Now the sorry excuse for a machine, called my computer, can't handle this truely awesome game and I don't think I can buy a new machine sometime in the near future (a variety of "rational and logical" reasons come in the way). So if anyone is kind enough to lend me some playing time on their computers or better still their PS2's (I know that's asking for a lot more), I would really appreciate it, so much so that I am even ready to kill for it (just kidding).  

"Have mercy..."

The other day I was on my bike with a female friend (name withheld for protecting the physical health of the author. Getting beaten up by a female ain't something that I look forward too) and I spotted two girls outside a cafe. "Wow nice girls!" Did I just say that out aloud? Shit what will my friend think about the kind of a guy I am. It was then that I realised that it was she, and not me, who had mouthed those words. What a relief or is it?

Wasn't it bad enough fending off other guys while vying for a girls attention that now I have to deal with other girls too. I barely manage to hold my own against other guys but to compete with a girl (and that too in this matter) is a strict no no. Girls have all the advantage they are sensitive, on the same emotional wavelength and not to mention definitely better looking than I am. They can openly hug and kiss in public without being subject to ridicule or the fear of being termed gay (you have no idea how incredibly jealous that makes us).

Now if I tried to do something like that with a girl, the public will beat the crap out of me (thinking that I am trying to molest her) and if it were a guy, then he will beat the crap out of me (thinking that I am gay). So sticking to the good old handshake is the best option left. Girls there are a few good straight men left on the face of planet earth. Just remember this before you take any drastic decisions (although girl on girl action is every man's fantasy).

God made Adam and Eve (not Adam- Adam or Eve-Eve) and thats the way it's meant to be. I believe in Womens liberation and their capability to do (almost) everything that a man can (sometimes even better). If you take away our necessitiy in the process of procreation (which by the way is the last straw we are hanging by) then nature will no longer deem us straight men fit and the next phase of evolution will skip our species (like it did with the dinosaurs, the dodo and the apes).

This is a plea from a good straight guy who happens to be your friend "Please have mercy!"

"What is life?"

Getting up everyday to go to a job you hate,

Grumble and complain about it to everyone,

Come back home and sleep,

Continue the above routine for the next 30 years of your life.



If this is life then I rather die today!

 Lucky is the man who finds work in the field he loves. There is no other matter of greater joy or satisfaction for him. Many of us find ourselves stuck doing something that we hate but still we continue due to a variety of reasons. Most of us have talents which if nurtured and guided in the right direction could lead us on the path to greatness (ok I got carried away a bit but at least we would be much more happier if not successful).

Ask any parent what they want their child to become when they grow up and pat comes the reply, "Engineer" or "Doctor". Its as if these are the only two professions left on the face of the earth. Ask the child and they will come up with, "Fireman", "Chef (or rather Bhelpuri wala)", "Ice cream man","Astronaut","Actor","Miss India", the list is endless and gets much more creative. But a few years down the line they also seem to adopt their parent's views. What happened to their own dreams? Have they stopped dreaming? Certainly not! Then why this change all of a sudden?

The answer is simple, Consumerism. Everywhere around them they see people living a lifestyle consisting of big brands, dining out, having fun, spending money as if there were no dearth of it. To fuel this trend new age banks and financial institutions make it easier for us to spend money that we don't have by luring us with credit cards and all sorts of loans that we don't need. To sustain such a lavish lifestyle people need money and these professions, we aim for, are just right. But money gained at what cost? Is it really worth sacrificing our dreams?

Let me bring your attention towards something. Take a good look at some of the multi billionaires of the world. How many doctors and engineers can you find amongst them? Most of them are self made men and women who strived at something they love, had that brilliant idea in a crazy moment and had the persistence to make it big. They all worked towards achieving their dreams.

Whatever it is that makes you tick, I say go for it. Let others say whatever they want. Chase your dreams. The going definitely ain't gonna be easy but its better to live your dream rather than not to dream at all. I admit that I wanna be a computer engineer to make big bucks so that later on in life I can provide economic stability for my family (Woah! I can't believe I am actually writing this down. What's wrong with me? I am too young to be even thinkin about a family) and splurge on my true passion "Automobiles". Who said dreams are gonna come cheap anyways?

"A rumor spreads like wild fire"

Why is human kind so obsessed with forwarded messages? Why can't they keep certain stuff to themselves? Humans are meant to be selfish by nature but when it comes to gossip and useless stuff (I mean stupid senseless senti stuff) there is no end to their generosity. Tele-marketeers apart, its our very own friends and acquaintances who are behind this menace. 80% (approximate) of the total email traffic on the internet consists of forwards and spam.

Till now I only had to deal with such forwarded messages in my email account (spam is automatically taken care of by the spam filters, God bless those developers). Mobile phones too have their share of spam but it is manageable (the other party can also afford to waste so much money). Now there is a new incarnation. People must be familiar with the concept of "scraps" on Orkut (a community building site thats all the rage now-a-days). Yeah you guessed it right. I've officially received two such messages in my scrap book (which met the same treatment at my hands as any other spam message would have - deletion) so far.

Please don't tell me that people actually enjoy receiving and reading such messages all the time. Please don't get me wrong, some of the messages are really good and worth reading but the others (don't even get me started on those) simply stink.

Don't just blindly forward these messages because someone dumped them on you. Your friends would really appreciate it if you were considerate and sent only those messages that really count. Time is precious for all of us alike.

But then this habit of ours has been around since long. There are plenty of sayings reflecting upon this. Its just that now, with improved technology, people are finding out new means and methods. Technology is a double edged sword, so use it carefully.

"Time and Tide waits for none"

Many among us have experienced the consequences of the above adage but we still refuse to abide by the lessons learnt. IST was coined as an abbreviation for International Standard Time but we Indians, in our peculiar trait of adopting things our way, have conveniently changed it to Indian Standard Time (which by the way is a minimum of 30 minutes behind IST). So if a friend asks you to meet at the station at 11 am, the earliest you can expect him or her is by 11:30. And remember even the delay added is adaptive. Go on increasing 10 minutes to the delay for every hour before 9 am (ie if the meeting was scheduled at 7 then add 20 minutes to the 30 minute delay to make the total delay 50 minutes).

The above calculations are based upon the minimum results obtained (not even the average) during research, actual delays are much higher and not declared here for preserving national pride. You must be wondering "Why is this guy raising such a stink about it? If everyone observes IST then the delay should balance out." My dear friends, inspite of being a minority community there are still some stupid Indians left (including me) who actually consider punctuality as a virtue worth preserving (what were they thinking or rather were they thinking at all?).

So if you find me standing alone (the one thing I hate more than waiting for someone is waiting for them alone) at any of the classic spots (bus stop, railway station, college gate, movie theatre, mall, etc), please don't ask me, "What are you doing?". I'll, by all means, be waiting for someone or the other. Now if I am so intelligent, then why don't I adopt IST and get rid of this "waiting" hassle. I did try that more than once and miserably failed over and over again (as expected). I used to show up more than 30 minutes late for my appointments but I am still baffled how they managed to outdo me and still make me wait for them.

I guess being fashionably late is one trick I'll never learn so I just have to deal with this demon of mine called "Waiting!"

"A typical conversation"

Girl: Do you have a girlfriend?

Boy: No.

Girl: Come on, a guy like you must surely have a long list of girl friends.

Boy: Believe me. I don't have a girlfriend.

Girl: That can't be true. You are blah blah blah (launches into a lengthy description of his good           qualities, some of which even he is not fully aware of)

Boy: Alright then. I like you very much. Will you go around with me?

Girl: Please! You will find someone much better.

Do you have any idea what just happened here. On the top of things it seems as if the girl really admires him and doesn't wanna come in the way of his bright future prospects. But what really happened is that the boy got smacked right in his face and he didn't even realise it.

The last line says it all. The guy thinks that whatever the girl just said is all true and he has a hope of finding someone even better than her. But what the poor guy doesn't realise is that the girl has just let him off easy. What she really meant was "Jeez! have you taken a good look at yourself in the mirror. I wouldn't be even caught dead with you let alone go out with you. Get a life loser."

Its the basic difference in the way men and women communicate. Men will just blurt out whatever is on their mind (and this is exactly what lands them in trouble most of the times) whereas women can never ever tell things the way they are. They always mean something totally opposite to what they say. For example, if you ask a woman, "What's wrong?" she'll say "Nothing" whereas what she actually meant was "All hell has broken loose on me. What am I gonna do now. I need someone to talk to.". The same answer "Nothing" coming from a man in a similar situation actually means "Nothing". Men can only understand whatever is stated clearly to them (so the next time you feel the urge to call us insensitive jerks, just remember this).

Women always have to find out what's going on in a man's head but then they are not prepared to listen to stuff revolving around sports, cars, business or sex (not particularly in that order). Seriously girls what else do you think goes on inside a man's head.

Many a times my female friends ask me to suggest gift options for their boyfriends. I wanna make this very clear, whatever you give them is absolutely fine coz they do not expect gifts in the first place. And one more thing don't expect them to jump with joy when they open your gift (unless you are gifting them a car or a laptop or something like that). "Its nice" coming from a guy translates to "Oh my God! It's lovely. I absolutely adore it. You are such a darling. I love you honey" coming from a girl. If you gift them a shirt (or any accessory) and they haven't worn it even once in the next three months means that they hate it. Don't make a big fuss about it. It's still lying somewhere in their closet (which encompasses the entire room) coz its a gift from you and they don't wanna hurt your feelings. But they still won't wear it. So for a smooth sailing don't push them to. 

"Let us decide..."

From the past few Sundays I get to hear the priest urging the people not to watch "The Da Vinci Code" as protest in his sermon. I can't seem to figure out why they are creating all this ruckus for. Personally I haven't read the book (coz I am not such an avid reader) but from whatever knowledge I've gathered from various sources, I know that the author, Dan Brown, has made some pretty shocking claims about Jesus and his teachings.

But why is the Church getting so worried about? Does it not have faith in His teachings which have withstood the test of time for more than 2000 years and even greater prosecutions from whole empires? Does the Church not have faith in the faith it instills among us. God has given us the gift of understanding (this is what primarily differentiates us from the rest of His creations), to decide what is right and wrong. I am not anti-Church and I am not urging you to disobey its teachings. All I ask of you is to decide for yourself, have faith. Don't stop from watching the movie just because someone asks you not too. After all it was the same Church that had put Galileo behind bars for going against popular belief (and we all know now that he was telling the truth).

I am not implying that dan Brown is right. Keep an open mind. Enjoy his work as a work of fiction.  

"Have Patience..."

"Manzilen bhi uski thi, rasta bhi uska tha,

Ek mein akela tha, kaafila bhi uska tha.

Saath saath chalne ki soch bhi uski thi,

Phir raasta badalne ka faisla bhi uska tha.

Aaj kyun akele hai hum, dil sawaal karta hai,

Log toh uske the, Kya khuda bhi uska tha?"

Yeah life can be cruel at times. All seems to be going well when all of a sudden (for apparently no fault of yours) you get kicked on your butt. But chill & relax, its not the end of the world (although it seems that way for quite some time). Its a wakeup call from the Lord Almighty (no relation to Bruce Almighty) to get your act together and move ahead in life. Just have faith in Him (He definitely has better plans for you).

"Duniya mein teen cheezo ke peeche nahi bhagna chahiye,

Bus, Train aur Ladki.

Ek jaati hai, doosri aati hai."

Doosri zaroor aayegi! Just have a little bit patience man. 

"I was born intelligent. Education ruined me."

Although I do agree that formal education can be quite detrimental to one's creative growth, it is not entirely true. What ruined me I guess is our dependency on technology. We strive hard and accomplish things with bleeding edge technology to make our lives easy but then these very fruits of our hard labour impend our growth in some way or the other.

Earlier we could and would compute complex calculations using just our brains and write down the result on a piece of paper. But now we find our hands reaching out for the calculator even if we have to do a simple math like 17*3+9 (the answer is 60, for your convenience ). Even small things like finding out the date of next week's saturday finds one punching keys on a cell phone. All this is causing our brains to relax. Exercise is as important for the fitness of the brain as it is for the body. But we seldom "find time" for it. Even after having such efficient machines (claiming to save our precious time), we don't have time. I hope you appreciate the irony of the situtaion on our hands. I feel as if I am growing dumber day by day.

Our advancements in the field of telecommunications is said to have shrunk the entire world into a small global village yet how many times do we find ourselves lonely in the midst of a crowd (probably with earphones blaring music into our ears).

How many times do we find ourselves sitting next to our friends but instead of chatting with them we are busy blabbering away into the cellphone. Then we beam with pride of being able to communicate wirelessly with a person thousands of miles away and save time. But what use is the time thus saved if we do not communicate with those who are with us right here right now?

Call me old fashioned but I do miss the time when people used to write letters (maybe that explains why I love to write so much). It was an art. It had a personal touch to it. You could feel the paper and instantly connect with the writer knowing that he too had held it with his very own hands. Electronic media (no matter how advanced) can never achieve that. Those were the days when love letters were written with utmost care & love and treasured for ages, unlike today's instant SMS'es (I literally hate them especially with that wierd lingo. You can tell how much he/she cares about you when they don't even take the pains of writing full words).

"Keep in touch" had a very different meaning once upon a time. Nowadays most people think that dutifully forwarding mindless chain messages (only God knows when and where they originated) serves the purpose. Let me be the one to tell you "It's absolutely wrong". It is not only impersonal (I hope people still remember and understand what "being personal" means) but very rude. So the next time you get a chain message, no matter what dire consequences it threatens you with, just hit the delete button. I've survived many such messages so far and I know you will too. 

"Do unto others as you wish to be done unto you".

A cool dude who went by the name of Jesus uttered these words more than 2000 years ago and it still holds true. You don't have to be a great visionary (or in this case the Son of God) to understand it. Its basic human nature. But then we humans are very selfish and often tend to forget the above mentioned rule.

The other day I was wondering "Why isn't anyone commenting on my blog? I know people are regularly visiting it (as the visitor count keeps increasing). Why don't they write their views?" Then I realised that I myself don't comment on anyone's blog. If I am reluctant to express my view anyplace else then why should you all be any different. I would be such a hypocrite to expect otherwise. Thats why I made a resolution to follow the above mentioned verse. Its not limited to the matter of putting comments on blogs but extends to other areas of my life.

Think about it. I am sure you'll find the concept interesting too.

"Live to ride & Ride to live"

Harley Davidson's marketing catch phrase has evolved into a legend with a deeper meaning. Ask any biker (a real biker) and he will tell you how incredible it feels to be cruising along on the open road, to be one with the elements, to hear the wind whispering in your ears over the roar of the engine a few cms beneath you. The adrenaline rush that you get as you negotiate those curvy bends on an equally curvaceous bike. The thrill of leaping forward as you accelerate leaving the rest of the world behind. Words fall incredibly short to describe the relationship with a bike.

I catch a lot of flak from my friends (especially females) for my obsession with these beauties. I can go on and on about bikes remembering every tiny bit of detail but forget to get a set of notes for them even after being reminded time and again. Then again, often they end up thanking me and my bike (Mahek. Yes, I've named her) for getting them out of tricky situations (like reaching home on time after a late night out). Even they love the ride (obviously I have to be extra careful and cannot pull off stunts like braking hard and weaving in and out of traffic).

If you ever get the good fortune of taking your love (referring to the girl here, bike is implicitly understood to be your first love) out for a ride, I would suggest you do so during the night (don't get any naughty ideas). The roads are clear, very less traffic, cool atmosphere and the street lights along with the skyline look absolutely beautiful. I had to drop off my KCGF at her place after attending a reception. Thane to Vashi - 40 minutes and the return trip to Mulund was 18 minutes flat (see I told you I've to be extra careful). Now a days it is the only time we get to chat coz she takes her studies very seriously (and as most of you all know, I don't).  

"The College Library"

Coming to the Library has been a whole new experience for me. I was never capable of sitting at one place and study continuously. But I am now aware that I can. Moreover there are less distractions than what one can find at home...Computer, TV, Kitchen, Radio, Window, Plants, Ants, etc In fact any damn thing that I previously didn't use to care about. During the study leave normally others tend to loose weight coz they are tensed and study a lot. I on the contrary tend to gain, courtesy of the numerous snack breaks I take, while at home.

Plus if I am home I get wierd ideas like to clean out my room and shelf,repair my bike(even though it was in perfectly good condition), download and install Linux, learn about new softwares, (I actually did all these during the 6th sem exams). Also in the Library you meet like minded people who have come to study. Listening to their stories assures me that I am not the only nut case. Even they have come to the Library due to similar reasons. I have also got to know many of them better during such sessions coz I can't keep my mouth shut and I keep on pestering them.

"Just good friends?"

Why can't a Guy and a Gal just remain good friends? Is it always necessary, that if they enjoy each others' company and have a certain chemistry, that they gotta "fall in love" (its such an old cliche). Its obvious that they do have a certain level of attraction and fondness, otherwise they wouldn't be friends in the first place. Whenever a Guy and Gal share a good friendship, there is always one question on everyone's mind "Is there something more than what meets the eye?"

I am not saying that friendship can't mature into love, in fact thats the best thing that can happen to anyone. But if things turn sour, you lose the two most important people in your life (friend and lover) at once. In a normal relationship you only suffer a heartbreak, but you still have your friend's shoulder to cry on. Just imagine what you'll do if you lose your friend! How will you cope up with the emptiness? Even the mention of such a thought sends a chill down my spine coz I, for one, value true friendship above most things.

As if dealing with such an inquisite crowd wasn't enough, you are really in a fix when a certain special someone (ahem!) is also of the firm opinion (bordering on the edge of accepting it as a fact) that you are more than just friends with your best friend (Point to be noted:referring to your best friend as your "kaam chalau girl friend" doesn't really help your case). In this case your only refuge is God himself. 

"Stick to your guts"

First of all "Jai Maharashtra!" I am not saying this to appease anyone but it comes from the bottom of my heart. I was born and brought up in this wonderful state and I am as much of a Mumbaikar as one can be.

Now carrying on the business of the day, have you ever felt so out of place that you wish you could turn invisible or melt away into the ground or be teleported to hell coz that seems to be a much better place? Well I just had that today. Throughout engineering I have been told (by my friends) that notes are our best friends and to stay away from textbooks. But being in the 8th sem causes strange reactions in people.

I found myself to be the only guy clutching onto his notes while the rest of the gang were flipping pages of Tanenbaum. Even the most staunch supporter of notes (name withheld for privacy) tells me to switch over to textbooks coz this is the last sem. But what's the difference after all? Notes are nothing but badly printed (and then xeroxed) text excerpts from the textbooks. You get what is required (or even less) sans the good old stories and jokes that Mr.Tanenbaum is famous (or infamous) for.

In the end the external will definitely ask you something that you've never ever heard of or something totally unrelated. The moral of the story is "Be true to yourself. If you have never ever touched a textbook in your entire engg life, don't break the trend (atleast not on the eve of the exams)."