Semester's End

Today I wrote my last exam, finished my last working day for this acacdemic year. I'm sure this is when I should get all retrospective and start spouting great philosophy about life and all that, but all I can come up with is:

YAY!

That's just a reflexive reaction of course, to the end of the year. I'm sure I'll be bored brainless n start missing my friends before even a quarter of the summer is gone. Most of them are going to various exotic summer retreats, leaving me to fry in the Chennai summer heat :'( Waaah! Not fair!

To think about it, the year hasn't been such a trial that I feel relieved that the summer holidays are here.

Well, college was... not anything unexpected. Probably because I didn't really have any expectations. I've enjoyed my course... in a relative way, as compared to school. Lit hasn't been a disappointment though I think the more interesting papers are in the next four sems. I can't really say if I've learned anything new, though. Hmm.

As for other fun stuff. Well I've made some awesome friends, learned a lot of things about people in general and also about myself. That sounds kinda corny but it's true. I can claim confidently that I've learned a LOT, apart from academics. (I'm not going to share the little pearls of wisdom with the world. I'm greedy, gonna hoard them all.) I'll just say that it's been good. I've found some new friends, lost some old ones. I've met a lot of interesting people and best of all, I've discovered the joys of blogging! It's like a world of its own, all by itself.

So thanks people, for both putting up with me, reading and commenting on my blog and also for giving me so much to read about.

Guess this entry has turned out to be for all my fellow bloggers!

Weird...

Fave quotes...

Well, this is another bit of cheating but not out of desperation. I really wanted to put up my all time/current fave quotes. They're really mixed up--serious one mixed with the funny ones--but love 'em all! :D Haven't included poetry though. That would make it too long (it already is!) Well enough preamble...

A mirror
keeps me honest.
With your eyes I see me
doubting my sanity.

-Rini Mukkath

And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?
-Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here"

We're just two lost souls, swimming in a fish bowl
-Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here"

If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one
Drying in the colour of the evening sun
Tomorrow's rain will wash the stains away
But something in our minds will always stay
-Sting "Fragile"

But my God woke up
On the wrong side of his bed
And it just don't matter now
- Oasis "Little by Little"

Let them eat cake
-Queen Marie Antoinette (when told that the people had no bread)

By the time this is over, I'm gonna need a whole lota serious therapy. Look at my eye twitchin'!
- Donkey from "Shrek"

Hold the phone.
-Shrek

I want my Miranda rights! You were supposed to say I have the right to remain silent! You didn't say I have the right to remain silent!

Donkey! You HAVE the right to remain silent! What you lack is the ability!

-From "Shrek 2"

The sky resembles a backlit canopy
With holes punched in it
- Incubus "I Wish You Were Here"

He who laughs, lasts
-Unknown

If I ever met myself, I'd hit myself so hard I won't know what's hit me.
-Zaphod Beeblebrox, HHGG

The Universe was created and a lot of people were unhappy.

For a moment, nothing happened. After a moment, nothing continued to happen.

-HHGG

When angry count four; when very angry, swear.
-Mark Twain

Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities.
-Mark Twain

I don't question YOUR existence.
-God

I am an agnostic pagan. I doubt the existence of many gods.
-Unknown

Do unto yourself what others would not do unto you. Enough said.
-http://meghalomania.com/

"Hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It's like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die."
- Native American Saying

"Together we can rule this world. All I need is your obedience and submission to my will!"
- Dr. Who

If you're parents never had children, the chances are you won't either
- Unknown

"Books are fatal: they are the curse of the human race. Nine-tenths of existing books are nonsense, and the clever books are the refutation of that nonsense. The greatest misfortune that ever befell man was the invention of printing."
-Benjamin Disraeli. (NOTE: Reading addict that I am, I don't necessarily agree with this. Thought that it maybe had a glimmer of truth in it.)

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take your breath away
- From "Hitch"

"It is only possible to succeed at second-rate pursuits -- like becoming a millionaire or a prime minister, winning a war, seducing a beautiful woman, flying through the stratosphere, or landing on the moon. First-rate pursuits -- involving, as they must, trying to understand what life is about and trying to convey that understanding -- inevitably result in a sense of failure. A Napoleon, a Churchill, a Roosevelt can feel themselves to be successful, but never a Socrates, a Pascal, a Blake. Understanding is forever unattainable. Therein lies the inevitability of failure in embarking upon its quest, which is nonetheless the only one worthy of serious attention."
Malcolm Muggeridge, 1965

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months
- Oscar Wilde

Kill 1-20 and you're a Murderer
Kill 30 - 1000 and you're a Terrorist
Kill 10.000 - 20 million and you're a Conqueror/Dictator
Kill everyone and you're God

"Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing." - Oscar Wilde

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." - Einstein.

Farnsworth: These are the dark matter engines I invented. They allow my starship to travel between galaxies in mere hours.
Cubert: That's impossible. You can't go faster than the speed of light.
Farnsworth: Of course not. That's why scientists increased the speed of light in 2208.
- Futurama.

On a universal scale our little corner of creation is a mere dimple on a pimple on a sand flea's nut, insignificant.
-PsychoticEpisode, Sciforums.com

HEHEHEHEHEHE!

HAHAHAHA!

Ahem... For those of you who were frightened by the insane sound of laughter, I apologise. For those of you who were only mildly surprises/leaning towards irritation, well... Sorry again. That wasn't me laughing. Or rather, not the usual me. Now listen closely. Hear that mad laugh again? See! That wasn't me! I'm innocent.

That was this boring, uptight, librarian-types person in me. I call her Ms. Perfect. Not that she's perfect or anything. She just likes perfection. She likes to see everything in perfect order. And for this reason, she absolutely detests me! Why, you ask? Well, picture this scene. She's humming away to herself, thinking about life and how things are so--well--perfect. Then, I walk into my room and she starts screaming! She says, look at that mess! Pick up those clothes! Arrange those books! Cover the computer! Put away those cd's! Put all those loose scarps of paper in the dustbin. Speaking of which, eeks! Empty your dustbin for pete's--or anyone else's--sake! Now this is all pretty uncomfortable for me, especially since, if you remember, she's saying this a few hundred decibels higher than normal speech. Shrieking, basically. And in my head, to boot! Actually, I don't get what all the screaming is about. She sees the same mess everyday. It's not like it's surprising or anything!

Anyway, me, I don't bother with her rants and raves. I lie down, pick up a book, blast some music (which also drowns out her voice). It's not easy living with her. She has a similar fit every time she sees my bag, which has some very interesting things in it. Well, not so interesting, come to think of it. What I mean is that, my bag usually contains, besides books, pens, and other college-related paraphrenelia, some very interesting answer papers, in terms of irrelevant-crapping creativity. However, these remarkable pieces of illiterature are soon beaten to pulp and lie at the bottom of my bag, doomed to eternal indecipherability. Well, whatever it is, they basically give this woman--Ms Perfect--the creeps.

And let me not even get started on how she reacts when she sees my stalwart charger, best friend and general means of transportation, my bike. (Well, to be precise, it's a scooter but then--shoo! Sorry, that was Ms Perfect taking over for a moment. :D ) Well, where was I? Oh yes, my BIKE, covered in dust, water stains and blessings from my dear avian friends who surround my dwelling place. Well, even I admit it's not a pretty sight and I'm too darned lazy to wash it!

All right, I see now that in my usual scatter-brained way, I have meandered and wandered far from my original sentence. Which was--reading back and counting the number of ha's--HAHAHAHA!

Yes, that was Ms Perfect, for once sounding merry... well, more like insane actually. But before I digress even furthur, I'll tell you why. She's happy. And why? Because she just woke up and saw my blog (a little frown and a "hmph" of irritation from her at the way I began the sentence--the whole because because is a conjunction bit, but who cares?) Well anyway, she saw how I'd beautifully organised my links and all that. I mean, separated my general favourites from the more literary kinda stuff. And, gasp! Arranged the links in alphabetical order instead of the usual haphazard first-come last-appearance order. Yes, she's happy today.

OH! Heaven save me! Now she's getting vague notions about getting me to clean my room, clear my bag, wash my bike and organise my computer! What have I done?!

NOTE: No, I do not suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder. No, I am not ashamed of being a slob--too lazy for that. And no! I did not write the post dots and dashes--it was her, I tell you, her!

Idle Thoughts Vol. II

Some random thoughts that seemed to be fighting to get out of my head. What better way than to put them down in my blog?

The blank page can be pretty intimidating. Sometimes, I just sit with a blank page in my hand and keep staring, willing my mind to stop wandering and focus on forming thoughts, words, sentences that make sense.

Sometimes there are people screaming in my head. They seem to be trying to get my attention. I start suspecting that I'm going mad, then realise with a jolt that the voices aren't in my head but people around me. And yes, they are trying to get my non-existent attention.

Relationships are funny. Sometimes you try not to say something that you know the other person wouldn't like to hear, skirt around any such subject and end up saying the thing that would irritate that person most, thinking it's the best thing to say. And in the end, you realise that the thing you were avoiding was what the person wanted to hear most.

Life is all about conflict. We are always in conflict with something or the other. Starting from nature, to the government, authority, enemies, rivals and friends, it is impossible to find someone who doesn't face conflict. If anyone manages to avoid these things, by some miracle, they will most probably find themselves in conflict with themselves.

When I don't sleep well some times, I hear voices and arguments in my head the whole of the next day. Is this because I'm mad--a distinct possibily--or is it just half-forgotten dialogues from movies and books that my mind remembers due to some subconscious crap? I think this is possible to because last time the whole Marvin and the Mattress scene from somewhere in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ran through my head. The matress even flooped and all that.

Weird... But hey! Dain bramaged... That's me!

Carpe Diem

I just realised something. A grand revelation, if you will. An ephiphanic one, even. No, I havent found the answer to the meaning of life, the universe and the mystery of the little green men under my table. And sorry, no medical miracles. It's pretty simple: seize the day!

I've always been the cautious kind... for longer than I can remember. I always think things through meticulously before doing anything. Instinct and spontaneity totally lose out to my left brain. While this may sound like a good thing to some people, what it essentially means is... I'm boring.

Then I realised something. Yes, that was the grand revelation, the epi--well, you get the idea. Life is pretty short, cliches aside. In fact, we're born astride the grave as someone (Brecht, I think, any ideas?) said. The whole of life is how we fill up that gap between birth and death. At the end of it all, wouldn't anyone want to fill that gap in a fun, interesting way?

To me that would be learning to let go of caution for once and just take a wild jump off a cliff, hoping it wouldn't be such a steep fall after all. Once in a while, it's good to just let go and see what life throws at you. You might be concentrating so much on avoiding the pitfalls that you might also miss the perks! Aren't great oportunities for fun and happiness worth a few bruises and scrapes?

This doesn't mean abandoning all sense of self-preservation, of course. One would still want to look out for those serious problems that are so easy to find. But for now, just grab life with both hands and take control! Who knows, it might bring something totally unexpected and wonderful! And if it doesn't, you could look back and say that at least you had the courage to try rather than sit and wait in safety and never discover if the thing you waited for even existed. Seize the day! :D

Am I Mad?

I have asked myself this question many times. I've lost count of the number people who've asked me this question. And those who have answered it with a decisive YES!

Yes, I admit I am strange. I have strange habits. Such as a previosuly mentioned mania for punctuation. And such a suspicious mind that I often seem paranoid even to myself! And... ahem... there is the little matter of my blog. I am sure many of those who have read it have left with an impression of a distinctly unsound mind.

Well anyway, if you know me you should be able to answer this question. If you don't, then please don't base your answer on this little patch of webspace. As my blog title hints, my other side is much more sane.

Oh, and in answering this question, please don't bother to be honest. HeheheheheHEHEHE!

Good lord! I am mad!

Crap

Crap. Nuts. Bullshit, even.

This, ladies and gentlemen and those of the neutral gender, is uncreative crapping. Which happens to be the direct opposite of the creative crapping that went on today in my Creative Writing paper. This is much more bearable, believe you me! Well, sigh, can't force creativity. My blog(s) stand testament to this fact, I believe. But I'm not giving up hope yet! I shall persevere until I can persevere no more--i.e., when they nail my coffin shut/cremate me or...gasp! When they take away my computer. NOOOOO! *Runs screaming*

I wiiiiill be back. Astalavista, my babies! ;)

Feminism...

Delicate topic, probably stepping on a lot of toes here so I'll start off with a disclaimer.

The thoughts expressed below (such as they be) are my own. I do not expect you to conform to them. I do not judge anyone with conflicting opinions--I respect your opinion. This is not an attack of any strain of philosophy except maybe some hypothetical alien ones. However, heated discussions, arguments and mild fist-fights are welcome! :D Other than that, as someone I know would say, "Peace out....!"

I'm female.And as anyone who has known me for even a short while would tell you, I'm a feminist. I'm not ashamed of it, nor proud of it. I just am. And I believe lots of women claim to be (and are) to a variety of extents. I'm not a rabid one, not a spineless one. Somewhere in between. Or so I think. I don't hate men. Someone once told me they thought I did and this baffled me. I asked around and many people seemed to think the same thing. So I start off saying this. I don't hate men. I dislike some things about them but find me one person who doesn't like the something about the opposite sex and I'll find you a vella kakka (for the slang illiterate: white crow)! :)

But one thing I'm sure of is that I'm a feminist to some extent. What I don't understand about some women is that they claim to feminists yet are unwilling to give up the comforts that go hand-in-hand with the demand for equality. Take the example of buses. A lot of women--including some feminists--expect a man to get up and give them a seat if the bus is too crowded. The same applies to opening doors and pulling out chairs.

Women of this age are trying to break the shackles of ages of discrimination against them based on a puny little chromosome. Yet they accept these so-called signs of "chivalry" as their due. Is a woman incapable of opening a door for herself? Does she who, when alone, is able to do these little things and more by herself, suddenly find herself incapable of a task that requires less IQ and muscle than a toddler's?

When I state this, most people argue saying that I'm being too pessimistic and unnecessarily negative about the whole thing. It's just a sign of caring, they say. Don't women like to be pampered? My argument is that, sure, it's a sign of caring. Very sweet n all that. But how come women aren't expected to do the same for men? Or do you mean men don't like to be pampered?

It's also the same with men paying for all the dating expenses. Seriously, we're not in the middle ages. Women /girls get as much salary/pocket money as men/guys. So why is the guy expected to pay the bill? This is the height of unfariness! Men are getting a pretty raw deal, aren't they?

But then one may argue that lots of things work as men want them to so maybe women do deserve these perks. Well, these are the very inequalities feminism claims to want to abolish. Then why support them?

The Gits

The University Gits are currently a group of 9 (and growing!) students belonging to a certain university. Or rather college. They are united by their wackiness and the place where they sit. A lot can be said about the university gits. But I believe in letting things--and sometimes people--speak for themselves (read: I'm lazy). So go see their webpage. It's new so please forgive the lack of info. Lots of updates can be expected and looked forward to in all eagerness.

Oh and I wouldn't be surprised if some of you find an irritating git named SirGit very familiar (hint, hint).

Long live the mighty Gits!

The Silence of the Blogs

Until I started blogging, I didn't realise how difficult inspiration is to come by. In the pre-blogging days, I was blissfully ignorant of the difficulties writers of any kind face--even bad ones!--the mysterious, gloomy, dark, frightening plane of consciousness (otherwise called the writer's block)! While many people claim that no such thing exists and, that in essence, a writer's block is simply laziness, I have this to say to them: not bleddy true!

Obviously these individuals have never written a creative paragraph in their life unless we're talking about the "creative crapping" that goes on in exam halls. They have probably never exerted themselves to think and transfer those thoughts (such as they may be) to paper/the screen. In other words, they suffer from perenial writer's block, and "laziness" by their own terminology.

It's either that or they are supremely gifted and eternally inspired by every little stone or piece of plastic or old smely socks or rotten vegetable around them. This is a possibility, although my instinctive response to this goes in terms of not bleddy likely!

To get back to the long-forgotten point... I, in my ignorance, merrily started my own little blog--with a great fantasy that marvellous pieces of literature and humour would come pouring forth from my fingertips! I managed to find inspiration quite often the first few weeks and even months. But then...

But then! Ah, my dear friends... then, tragedy struck! Besides becoming overly dramatic, I also found that I had, quite simply, nothing to write about! Well, sure, there are lots of things I can write about. But who really wants to read endless accounts of my daily routine--which hardly changes--or the weather--which they can read for themselves from anywhere anyway!

And this was the exact point when I started feeling that I had to write something or my blog would die of shame or something. I tried desperately, but all to no avail. And in the end, I cheated. Yes, I confess, I cheated! I added little things like a comic strip, a shoutbox, a visit counter, a superhero test result, etc.

And the final, most shocking cheating that I've done...is this post! For I have turned a lack of inspiration into the subject of an entire post. (Pretty devious and clever I thought but dont expect anyone to share the opinion. The world never recognises genius, after all!)

So here I stand before you, with bowed head and guilt-laden shoulders. I have cheated. I have tricked. And what do I have to say for myself?

NOTHING BLEDDY MUCH!