From the Heart of a War Zone!

Nope, I'm not in West Bank or Tora Bora but right here in aamchi Mumbai which is considered to be so safe by most of us. Of course, it's not a war zone, and I hope it never will be, but as psychologists said about anthrax:"The fear is more dangerous than the disease itself." Just as I was thinking about the possibility of war and its impact, I heard a helicopter hovering nearby. It came again after a couple of hours. I thought it was D-Day, but of course, that was just the sometimes-overreacting me.

God forbid my fears come true!

Classics!

Some movies are classics, and if they aren't labeled as such, they should. Some movies aren't classics, but they leave a deep impact on you and you wonder what's wrong. One of the latter is K3G. A great movie, but unlike other good ones, it must be watched with your parents. I know one idiot who thought it was a horror movie, unfortunately (or fortunately) I think he's a lunatic, unable to realise the main concept behind Karan Johar's blockbuster. I don't know about anyone else, but I cried during the movie. I have no idea if it will be called a classic someday, but for me, it is one.

Confused

I'm still confused about my future. Should I pursue my passion and dump my common sense? Or should I do something sensible and continue following my passion simultaneously? I don't know what my future has in store for me, and though unpredictability has always excited me, this time time it's exciting me to the verge of making me nervous, perhaps scared too.

Back!!!

It feels so great to be blogging again. It's been more than four very long days since I blogged. This is what the Education System does to you-- makes you miss out on the things you like most.

But hey, I'm not falling for that trap. Movies, restaurants, surfing, chatting, nothing's stopping, just cutting them down a bit. LOL, I already saw K3G once, I'm going for it again! That's what's called cutting down. If it hadn't been for this horrendous System, I would have already seen it at least thrice by now, and the fourth time would have been on the cards. No kidding. I had seen KKHH four times within 2 weeks after its release.

Math v/s World Peace

The Math in my head is making me go nuts today. Calculus is fun, but how the hell are differential equations going to make a difference to me, anyone else, or world peace? Perhaps Big Brother Dubya could shed some light on the matter?

Fire!

Our Chemistry lab makes me claustrophobic, it has no place to sit, and we perform the dumbest and silliest of experiments one could think of.

The whole atmosphere there depresses me, so, just like me, I'm always on the look-out for something exciting in the lab, just to divert my mind from the grossness of the infernal room.

But I had a marvellous diversion today-- Ethyl alcohol(C₂H₅OH) on fire!! For the people unaware about chemicals, Ethyl alcohol is what is better known as plain old 'alcohol'. That's what the alcoholics drink. Of course various other things are added to make it fit for consumption, of which I have no idea. Anyway, so a lamp of ehtyl alcohol caught fire in the neighbouring table, and the poor guys who were responsible for that irresponsible act of foolishness just stood there sheepishly, helpless and hyper. My immediate reaction was a girlish giggle and controlled laughter which seemed like a very wide smile.

Of course the fire was soon put out and everything was back to normal. Ah! To have more fun in a room filled with chemicals and test tubes!





Shy Guy

One very peculiar thing I've noticed about shy guys is that they either smile too much or they don't smile at all. I don't notice that with shy girls though.

I don't know a single reason that will explain this unusual behaviour. I hope someone more psychologically-inclined than me might shed some light on this matter.

Any Answers?

I'm right now at such a point in life that I can't make up my mind. About my career and education I mean. I just can't be sure about my chosen profession. Will I be successful? Am I cut out for it? Will I enjoy it after a few years? Am I just being foolish and stubborn now?

Too many questions...almost no answers. And I'm still as confused as ever.




The Best Excuses

My friend discovered that I have a very special and extermely helpful talent-- making excuses. I thought-- why not commercialise it? Like write a book on it? I know it sounds silly, but I also know it will sell.


Here is a short excerpt. I think it will go in the Introduction section of my book.

We all need to get rid certain things from time to time. And to escape from them all we need is a good excuse.

Of course, adults are always scolding their children for making excuses to escape homework and studies. But did they forget they do that all the time in the workplace, at home, in society, everywhere.
Of course it's not always easy to make up excuses. And even if you can, convincing the other person can be quite a task.
A good excuse-maker has the following qualities:

• extremely witty and spontaneous.
  
  
• can think straight under pressure.
  
  
• can convince people easily.
  
  
• has good facial expressions, and can act well.
  
  
• is not scared of the person to whom the excuse is being made.
  
  
• is not shy and can explain things well.
  

This is just the beginning. There is lots more to follow. Watch out for my Best-Seller! Coming after my exams! :-)

A really good book after a really long time!

I'm reading Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro's It was five past midnight in Bhopal, and I'm glued to it. I justcan't put it down. So much so that my text books are lying on my desk, waiting to be opened and studied.
BTW, I'm really being lazy about studies. And I don't know what to do about it. Can anyone help????? Pleaseee!
Got to go and try to study.

Soul or No Soul?

Most 'scientific' people don't believe, or rather don't want to believe in the existence of a 'soul'. According to them, it's all crap. Of course there are contradicting views in almost everything under the sun. The poor Science guys are torn between their personal beliefs and the principles of Science.

The confused people can take heart now. Scientists have proved the existence of a soul! Really.

I couldn't believe it myself. :-)




K3G

My favourite actor Shahrukh Khan is hitting the screens again today, in K3G. In case you don't know, it stands for Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... And BTW, the weird spelling is not an error on my part but a numerologically lucky thing, according to Karan Johar.
The movie stars some great actors, the best one being ShahRukh, who else??

Error 404

Argh! My blood boils when I see that. Can't people at least update links to and from their sites? Sure they can be busy with a hundred thousand other things, but please please, anyone can take out 15 minutes from their week to update their links? God bless those who do so.

Etymology

Sounds like a pretty complicated word, huh? Reminds me of Entomology which is the study of insects (yikes!). But, hold your breath, it is the study of the origins of words!!!!! It's sounds strange, but it's kinda fascinating. Read more about it. I'm sure you'll love it!

111,111,111 for a Girl!

I read about a 19-year-old German today whose dream girl won't go out with him until his website has attracted 111,111,111 hits. So Kai (that's his name) wants as many people to log on to www.helftkai.de. Visit it and help him! Just ignore the language, it's not in English! Click on his name in the navigation toolbar and see his pics. That's all I could understand. :-)

Save the Big Cats

The tigers are dying. They are fierce but magnificient animals, but they deserve to live. Most of them are killed by poachers who just want to make hard cash by selling tiger parts and skins. Most tiger parts are used in making traditional Chinese medicine and, believe it or not, are in great demand in the US where many Chinese people are settled. Some tigers die because their homes (forests) are destroyed. We all want more place for ourselves at the cost of someone's home.

Check out these tiger sites:

Kids for Tigers

Help Save the Tiger

Pight of the Indian Tiger

Tiger Conservation

Greenwatchers

We can make a difference if we really want to, right?

Things you never want to hear during Surgery

• Oops!
  
  
• Has anyone seen my watch?
  
  
• That was some party last night. I can't remember when I've been that drunk.
  
  
• Damn! Page 47 of the manual is missing!
  
  
• Well this book doesn't say that... What edition is your manual?
  
  
• OK, now take a picture from this angle. This is truly a freak nature.
  
  
• Better save that. We'll need it for the autopsy.
  
  
• Come back with that! Bad Dog!
  
  
• Wait a minute, if this is his spleen, then what's that?
  
  
• Hand me that...uh...that uh.....thingie.
  
  
• If I can just remember how they did this on ER last week.
  
  
• Hey, has anyone ever survived 500ml of this stuff before?
  
  
• Damn, there go the lights again...
  
  
• Ya know, there's big money in kidneys. Hell, the guy's got two of 'em.
  
  
• Everybody stand back! I lost my contact lens!
  
  
• Could you stop that thing from beating; it's throwing my concentration off.
  
  
• I wish I hadn't forgotten my glasses.
  
  
• Well folks, this will be an experiment for all of us.
  
  
• Steril, shcmeril. The floor's clean, right?
  
  
• What do you mean, he's not insured?
  
  
• Nurse, did this patient sign the organ donation card?
  
  
• Don't worry. I think it is sharp enough.
  
  
• I don't know what it is, but hurry up and pack it in ice.
  
  
• Let's hurry, I don't want to miss "Bay Watch."
  
  
• That laughing gas stuff is pretty cool. Can I have some more of that?
  
  
• Hey Charlie, unzip the bag on that one, he's still moving.
  
  
• Did the doctor know he would look like that afterwards?
  
  
• Of course I've performed this operation before, Nurse!
  
  
• FIRE! FIRE! Everyone get out !!
  
  
• Nurse, go to www.surgery.com and click on "Are you Lost?"
  

No More Bias?

Who said Westerners are an open-minded lot? I don't think so. I thought they were cool people, and accepted people of different colours, religions, societies and whatever else.

And then I got hooked on to ICQ. Came across a lot of Westerners with different opinions about Indians, Hindus, Asians in general.
There was a chap who, on reading I'm from India said immediately, 'You f***ing Hindu.' With the f-word spelt out. Went on, hurling abuses to Hindus like they had descended from hell. Less than two minutes later, he was on my Ignore list. One of the first in a very long list.

Last week, an NZ guy tried to prove that Christianity was the greatest of all religions. He said that because the Christian calendar was followed by everyone, including non-Christians, his religion was, well... the best. And all other Gods were nothing but a figment of uneducated and backward Hindus' wild imagination.

Of course I lost my temper with him, and was terribly rude.

He avoids me online now. I do the same.

Smog!

I woke up this morning and looked out the window, expecting to see the buildings and trees, but all I could see was a hazy outline of the usual things. Smog! I hate it. Hate it when I can't see things so close by. Seems like the city has no life or soul, just a deserted area like the North Pole.

If I was running the place I would probably ban factories and vehicles. But I'm not running the place and even if I was, there was no way the city would be able to function without the banned things.

So here's the problem. I'm at a loss. Euro-II cars, new laws, pollution watch, they don't help too much, do they?

I'm waiting for the day when I will finish with grade 12 and go for a long long vacation, maybe Europe or Oz, but I'm more keen on the former. Mom's been there and she says it's beautiful, though nothing compared to Kashmir where she went years ago. I would love to go both places, but Kashmir is now plundered by fanatics and we can't do much about it, can we?

Only hope that things will be better soon, and we can go there. (How humanlike, hoping for peace for my selfish desire)

I've finally got rid of the horrible and terribly painful lip infection, feeling much better now that I can smile and talk and eat without any problems. :-)

Monsoon Wedding

I'm a Punjabi and I've attended many Punjabi weddings. And enjoyed them all. Monsoon Wedding is one of them. A typical Punju wedding, all the music, masti, fun, dance, teasing, joking.....in the middle of it all, I had a sudden urge to attend a family wedding! Now I'm just waiting for one of my cousins to get married soon! And in a few years, it will be my turn I guess.



An important lesson I learnt over the past week-- Never never use old chapstick on dry lips. If you do, visit your doc ASAP or wait till your lips burn and you can't bear it anymore.