Occasional ramblings

The week that was

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 09:27:04 GMT

In comparison to last week, I think this week was really good. It began slightly blahish, but then I narrowed down what was getting me down for the last few weeks and I’ve been channeling my energy in the right direction once the reason was pinpointed.
I began the week watching The Simpson’s Movie, which was pretty brilliant. An eighty-minute laugh riot was the right mood to begin and yeah, I suppose that’s what it did. I thought that I would review the movie, but laziness, my favourite enemy had other ideas and decided to let me sleep for the rest of the week.
So, I went back to work on Monday thinking life would be better but unfortunately for me, it was the same fucking routine, which by now began to piss me off. I had met a couple of friends that day during the lunch break and was very quiet. I remember them asking me what was wrong and I replied, “I’m just thinking a lot.” I assure you, thinking is usually bad, but this time around, it was trying to pinpoint my frustrations.
I had a friend’s birthday to go for that evening. He’s probably my oldest friend; we’ve known each other since we were six and we were catching up on some old times. He then raised the issue of me working in Delhi and suddenly something inside me snapped – it finally was that. Ha!
As stupid as it sounds, I was never able to become angry about my stint at Delhi. I’ve told a few people about it and those who read this post know who you are. Well, I suppose the feeling of disappointment and bewilderment of that experience finally, after a year and a half had finally turned into anger. And what made me sick was that I reacted so late and have treated the people that I love like crap. I’ve snapped, said rude stuff and generally been mean. I know that you guys – you know who you are too – have gotten hurt and all that I can say to you is that I’m really sorry for what I did. You guys don’t deserve that at all.
So, now that I’ve pinpointed the reason, I feel the need to channel it into something positive and I’ve gone back to being my crazy self.
I also discovered the wonders of human behaviour this week. One week, a guy says something and the very next week, he contradicts himself. You can’t help, but be amused with this behaviour. You first question your sanity with regard to whether you heard him right and then when you know that you heard right, you know that you’re okay. Ha! You meet all sorts to see the world survive.
Oh yeah, one of my friends asked me whether I hated a particular individual for the way he treats me. I said, “Dude, hating someone means giving them that value in your life. I’m indifferent to his existence.” And that’s what I’d tell anyone with a feeling of ill or hate towards anyone. If people treat you like shit, don’t take it. The people I know, love and respect are like that and I know for sure that they’ll give it back. There will be anger and dislike for a while, but that ideally should be replaced by indifference. Who the fuck are they in terms of adding value to your life? Whether it’s your teacher, boss, someone you once considered a friend anyone; even if a parent has treated you like how Vernon and Petunia treated Harry, indifference is the best solution. That gets them riled up even more and I can say this with whatever little experience I have. I won’t deny that I hated people earlier, but today, they’re not even a part of my thought process, which is how I’d like it to be.
As for my friends – whether you’re the online ones or the guys I meet everyday – I love you all. I learn from you guys everyday and in my book, you’re all rockstars.
I’m looking forward to this week. Anniversary issues begin which means I’m going to live in office for many more hours and at the same time, study for my exams which will be on October 1 and 20.
Until next week, this is me saying, taa!

The non-playing soccer star

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 17:16:17 GMT

The soccer match that I was ranting about all week to all those people who were and were not interested to hear finally ended today. And guess what? My team actually won! Whether or not it was because of me is not the question here, but we won. And I got a trophy, a certificate and a gift voucher for standing in one place and kicking the ball thrice. But you think I care about how I played? No way! I care about the goodies. And yes, I still fucking hate soccer

A Five 'o' Clock World

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:41:53 GMT

At the moment, I love this song. :)

Up every mornin' just to keep a job
I gotta fight my way through the hustling mob
Sounds of the city poundin' in my brain
While another day goes down the drain (yeah, yeah)

But it's a five o'clock world when the whistle blows
No one owns a piece of my time
And there's a five o'clock me inside my clothes
Thinkin' that the world looks fine, yeah

(SCAT: oh-de-lay-ee-ee, etc )

Tradin' my time for the pay I get
Livin' on money that I ain't made yet
I've been goin' tryin' to make my way
While I live for the end of the day (yeah, yeah)

Cuz it's a five o'clock world when the whistle blows
No one owns a piece of my time
There's a long-haired girl who waits, I know
To ease my troubled mind, yeah

(SCAT: oh-de-lay-ee-ee, etc )

In the shelter of her arms everything's OK
When she talks then the world goes slippin' away
And I know the reason I can still go on
When every other reason is gone, (yeah, yeah)

In my five o'clock world she waits for me
Nothing else matters at all
Cuz every time my baby smiles at me
I know that's it's all worthwhile, yeah

(SCAT: oh-de-lay-ee-ee, etc )

Of Meetings, Modelling and Maugham

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:33:48 GMT

I had a very interesting day today. We had a meeting to discuss the anniversary issue of our newspaper. Well, let me be honest. Meetings are a bloody waste of time, but I think I should pretend that I’m interested. Me and two of my colleagues had these drop-dead expressions on our face, which resulted in us getting told-off by our boss. Well, I have to figure out sooner than later that I am – as he so rightly put – not in school or college anymore.
Well, apart from that, today was my first modeling assignment. One of my friends, who is in-charge of the property supplement, wanted stock photographs for her collection and I was made into a real estate agent, a committee member and someone who is climbing the stairs with a stack of papers in my hand.
I met one of my intern kiddos today. Currently, she’s being taught by my sister and mom, so she’s got a number of Calamurs in her life. She had shown me this small story of this guy called ‘The Diary of a Madman’ and asked me to read it. I found it pretty intriguing and decided to show her this piece by W Somerset Maugham called ‘Death Speaks’
It goes like this: There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the market-place I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture; now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the market-place and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.
That’s pretty much been my day for me and I still pledge allegiance to the band!!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (No Spoilers)

Sat, 21 Jul 2007 17:26:17 GMT

I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final segment of the Harry Potter series. Now, unlike many newspapers across the planet, who have so kindly told us what happens in the end, I shall try and be as discreet as possible; and this is knowing that those who read the LJ would have either read the seventh book or the spoilers.
The book has its good points and bad ones. Some parts seem a bit far-fetched, while others are brilliantly crafted out. Fortunately, for those who want answers, most of the empty parts that were so desperately sought out by us in the first six books have finally been answered.

My likes and dislikes
What I liked most about the book was the complex shades everyone was given. Unlike earlier books where you see only one side to let’s say a McGonagall, a Neville Longbottom or a Molly Weasley. DH has an interesting mix of everything, which shows that JK has worked on characters who are considered by many as not-so-important.
What I disliked about the books: I, like many others, found many parts throughout the story extremely flawed. There could have been so much more originality to it. The end was extremely lame. The book seemed like too many fanfic stories rolled into one. But then, I can’t blame JK here. Having read so many book 7-based stories in the last year, why wouldn’t I think that?

The sad thing is that I still can't believe that it's all over. The hype surrounding the Potter books ever since it became popular in India (which was after GoF) has been incredible. And now, with this final book, nothing HP-related to look forward to. BOO! At least America has a theme park

On the whole, however disappointing the book was at some places, I did enjoy it. Give it a 3/5

One of those days

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:20:48 GMT

Ever experienced one of those days when nothing seems to go right for you. Have a fucked up day at work. Editing seems more like a freaking chore than a mode of improving yourself; fuck, I can go on ranting forever, but what's the point of it all?
I remember this one time one of my friend was really upset about a pretty lousy day that she had. She had ranted about how the newspaper looked bad and some photographs had not been properly resized and then eventually both of us laughed about how a bad day in the long run would be laughed at. Knowing our weird sense of humour, we'd probably laugh at the whole thing too.
Ha! Till I left office, I was pretty mindfucked. But then, Potter theories and reading HBP - despite the fact that it's not one of my favourite books in the series - the countdown to DH begins. And at the moment, however upset I am, Harry Potter saves the day - but that's this week only. :P

Let's Rock!

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 11:57:35 GMT

I saw School of Rock last weekend. Thanks to the raves and brilliant reviews that all my friends had given me, I finally had managed to grab a copy of the movie.
As expected, Jack Black, one of my favourite actors, was brilliant. True to his style, he played a total loser rockstar, who owes his roommate, a substitute teacher, $ 2,100 as rent. He sleeps all day and performs all night so that he can be a part of the Battle of the Bands, a talent contest where the winner gets $20,000 and a chance to become legendary.
Anyway, Black's roomate gets a call from one of the leading elementary schools in America and Black, the genius that he is, poses as a teacher and goes to teach a bunch of rich kids, whose parents pay a hefty sum of $15,000 per year as school fee.

Black initially wants to do nothing, but then realises the musical talent in these kids and decides to teach them the beauty of rock music. In reality, he tries to use them to form his band for the battle of the bands, as his previous band fires him.
The movie is brilliant. Jack Black's love for music is brilliantly portrayed. The kids - what can you say about them? They're brilliant actors and musicians. Joan Cusak is awesome as the stiff upper lip, yet rock loving principal.
To sum it up, the movie lives up to its name - IT ROCKS!

The DH week begins

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 16:30:05 GMT

Another week come and gone and for once, I'm waiting for the days to go really fast until July 21 so that I can sit in the close confinement of my room and read the book in peace. I plan on switching off my cell phone, which is a sign of my determination and focus when it comes to anything remotely and dorkishly Harry Potter-related.
Crosswords, which is one of the leading bookstore chains in India, is opening a few of its branches at 5 am Indian Standard Time. That means, depending on the time zone, 12-14 hours behind in America. The bookstore from where I pre-ordered my copy opens at 7 am. So, me and a few of my friends, plan on going there. I have told one friend in particular that if she doesn't wake up in the morning, I plan on getting the book without her.
Unfortunately, before the Saturday comes, I have to deal with five days of waiting and copy editing several copies written by my illustrious freelancers who, barring one, don't know the concept of a punctuation mark. Until then, the countdown just begins...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:12:03 GMT

In the fifth installment of JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, Harry and Albus Dumbledore are brandished by the Ministry of Magic as liars because they announce the return of the Dark Lord Voldemort.
Now, the movie, as a movie was well made; David Yates deserves a lot of credit for making one of the best movies in the series. However, having said that, being a fan of the books, I'd say the last 20 minutes or so pissed me off. I'm not going to even comment on the veil. My friends had already told me that it's as lame as a bad fuck, but anyway... I have an issue with the prophecy and how it was announced. While in the books, Dumbledore explains the contents of the prophecy inside his office, Harry hears the prophecy at the Department of Mysteries so that the whole world (that includes three generations of Death Eaters) can hear it. And yet, Lucius Malfoy comes like a pussy and asks for the prophecy. What the hell was Yates thinking? I hope that JK Rowling reacted badly to that scene too, but that's highly doubtful considering she found Prisoner of Azkaban the best movie in the series.

On a positive note, the actors have evolved. I loved Ron, Luna, Umbridge and Bellatrix. Bella, in particular, was magnificent. Helena Bonham Carter, who I last saw as Mrs Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory played an insane, twisted and deranged character to perfection. Oh yeah, the biggest plus of the movie: Dumbledore didn't tackle Harry
Overall, if I gave it a rating out of five, it would get a three.

Blogging in general

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 11:32:24 GMT

Well, to be honest, I could never get myself to update my LJ. Unlike thousands of others for whom blogging has become a habit, I have always been laid-back about the whole thing. A lot of my friends have vented their frustration on me being a lazy ass, but it's not my fault? One of my friends, Ham says that I should at least read other peoples' LJ entries. To be honest, I did. However, as many of them prefer writing a lot of personal stuff, which is displayed to the public, I feel - despite being a journalist - that I am encroaching on personal space. I guess that's just me.
Come to think of it, I'm still unable to register how I managed to write so much about nearly nothing. Well, hopefully this is a start to my blogging and I hope to be a lot more regular and more LJish. Cheers!

Wow! I finally come here after all the hype

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 20:07:17 GMT

Everyone at WT always mentions LJ. "I LJ'd today!" What on earth does that mean, I asked myself a zillion times. The first thing that popped in my head was LilyJames, but I decided against saying anything in the WT chat in case someone called me retarded. But today, the truth is out!
Well, I used to blog regularly on this site called 20six and then it shut down. Probably my political correctness cheezed people off, I will never know. The site was crap anyway!
Tomorrow is Friday. Friday means double issue making at work. That means, I'm sooo sooo screwed. At least I have 5pm to look forward to. :-).
I'm sleepy right now. It's 1.35 am and I'm getting to bed. My mum just came in and said, "boyoo, you need your beauty sleep" Oh well, I think I'll call it a day.