Too many things to say. Too lazy to say them all.

The most memorable birthday of my life and no pictures, whatsoever. Imagine that…

Disturbing images and worrisome thoughts.

We know what films are releasing this weekend, but we don’t know the headlines of yesterday’s newspaper.

Hungry for news, and thirsty for information. No retention, please, we’re Indian.

Babies born. Babies dead. Babies born again.

One murder per page sells so many copies. How many murders before you can sell them all?

Everybody knows what’s wrong with the world. Nobody knows what’s wrong with everybody.

They all get their 15 minutes of fame - Standing, sitting, lying down… How far does one go?

Push it to the limit. And then pull it back just a little. Call it breathing space.

The young ones learn to fly. They fall down and die. We light candles.

Assumption. Accusation. Action. Acquittal. The new cycle of life?

Music is a recourse, not a discourse.

Roads. Rages. Road-rages.

Itching for a brawl. Macho-ism? Masochism?

Curiosity. Voyeurism. Call it what you want. What’s the difference, anyway?

Yearning for Green. Searching for Peace.

Searching for Green. Yearning for Peace.

Friends. Online. Offline. Invisible. Network. Community. Scrap. Thread. Notify. Wall.

Too many things to say. Too lazy to say them all…

Or am I?

Just when you think life has unloaded its supply of lemons on you.

Just when you think it couldn’t get worse.

Just when you think fate has dealt you all the wrong cards.

Just when you think there is no hope for the world.

Just when you think life has been impartially unfair to you.

Just when nothing more could go wrong.

Just when you are beginning to lose faith in everything – you, your fate, your destiny, your family, your friends, the people around you, the world – there comes a moment.

A jiffy of existence that manages to turn everything upside down.

Lose hope. Gain hope. Despair. Repair. Suspicion. Trust. Believe. Criticize. Ridicule. Support. Agree. Disagree. Confusion. Clarity. Perspective. The bigger picture. Understanding. Misunderstanding. Error. Correction. Sinister. Simple. Diabolical. Divine. Ring out the old. Ring in the new.

A year ends. A year beckons.

People live. People die. People are reborn. Or are they?

Perspectives change. We lose the old one, gain a new one. Change the perspective to suit you, or change yourself to suit the perspective. Or get a totally new one.

When one loses hope, someone else gains it. Does hope also follow a law of conservation? What was it that someone said, “Hope is eternal,” right?

Do we have free will? If we have free-will, is there destiny?

Does fate deal a raw hand to everyone, now and then? Are people entitled to large or smaller shares? Is it based on a system of points decided by karma? Or is it random? What is random? How can we be sure the Universe is not plotting the course of events?

Perfectly normal paranoia, as Slartibartfast/Zaphod would say.

If paranoia is abnormal, why does everyone have it? If everyone has it, why isn’t it normal? What is normal? Is it conscious or sub-conscious? Does consciousness stem from a series of synaptic impulses? Or does it go beyond that?

I don’t know what exactly I wanted to say. I just wanted to say something.

So I said it.

*******

I hate to end it on this sour note. So I’ll just copy-paste this line from the movie Crash (2004)

“Any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people. People bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We’re always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much that we crash into each other just so we can feel something.”

I still don’t know whether that is right or wrong, and don’t intend to answer that question anytime soon.

What I do intend to do is, write one or two lines and then let my pen (in this case, the keyboard) take over.

I hate the notion that the “customer is king.” Often it gives insuperable authority to boorish idiots who don’t understand shit about service - any kind of service.

A king is supposed to be royal, all powerful, et cet, yes, but he also has responsibilities towards his subjects. An irresponsible kind is a king of a state headed towards anarchy.

A headless state is like an unstable compound in a chemical reaction. It soon re-arranges itself to some known ’state’. And there are, as we know, very few known states.

Capitalism and free markets do not mean that everyone makes money. It simply means that everyone has an opportunity to make money.

To make most of an opportunity, you have to know when it comes. To know when an opportunity comes you have to be waiting for it.

The lover’s wait is the longest when it occurs and the shortest, after. In restrospect, everything becomes a thing of the past.

Memories are like scars, some remind us of our bravery, others remind us of pain. Why we choose to keep the pain and forget the others is something I’ll never find out.

But I hope to find it out some day…

That ends my short little experiment. Did I get somewhere?

Yes, a long way from where I started. Yet, it seems to be the middle of nowhere. I guess Life IS like that, most of the time, eh?

Yeah, a Wednesday, but not just any wednesday, Today also happens to be the International Quirkyalone Day!

Erm, ohh, and yes, also St. Valentine’s day…

Sasha Cagen the author of “Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics” conceptualised a personality type termed a Quirkyalone. In Sasha’s words:

Quirkyalones are people who resist the tyranny of coupledom. Oddly enough, we quirkyalones also tend to be romantics.

Odd, eh? Well, read on, there’s more!!

Quirkyalones (QAs, henceforth) are not anti-love or anti dating, they are basically normal people who ‘resist the tyranny of coupledom.’ A QA generally enjoys solitude and sometimes even craves it. But that does NOT mean a QA is a loner. In fact, its just the opposite. Having spent so much time in social company, QAs need time to ingest, introspect and recharge for the next round of interactions.

If you think this thing is a one-off occurence, think again. This is a movement that has spawned an entire breed of Quirkyalones, and what do you know, it will be four years strong this year. The IQD (International Quirkyalone Day) has been celebrated with much fan-fare across different parts of the world.

Head over to Quirkyalone, for more details. Some of you might even want to try this quiz:

How Quirkyalone are you?

Here’s what I got:

Your score was 117. Very quirkyalone:
Relatives may give you quizzical looks, and so may friends, but you know in your heart of hearts that you are following your inner voice. Though you may not be romancing a single person, you are romancing the world. Celebrate your freedom on National Quirkyalone Day, February 14th!

w00t!! I am lovin’ it!! [:D]

Do let me know how yours turns out. Post your score in the comments section. Happy Quirkyalone Day!!

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The darkness comforted him like an ally, a friend. He removed his shoes, undressed and sat down for a few moments, bare, almost naked. The floor was cold, especially during the winters. Each contact with the skin sent miniature electric shocks down the spine. Yet, it all seemed comforting, almost surreal. The cold tried to fight with his skin for a few moments. Then, the treacherous swine that it was, it did a one-eighty and bonded with his skin, comforting it, soothing it, lulling it to sleep.

And then the explosions began, one-by-one.

First came Frustration, which seeped in, throwing all senses into disarray. Then, Irritation and Anger mounted a combined attack, scattering all the vestiges of hope. Third came Cowardice, with its big mace, which it used to smash all notions of bravado and valor. Finally, Helplessness struck, filling in the gaps left behind by its allies. When it was all over, Desperation stood over the ruins surveying the conquered remnants of a broken soul.

Each blow took away a little more than the previous one. The brain began closing all its functions one-by-one.

Save one.

From the beginning till the end, He kept hearing a laugh, that of a small child. It seemed to come from a distance. It neither grew louder, nor did it fade. It stayed where it was, beckoning him to come closer, inviting him tantalizingly, slowly driving him mad. It was the same every time, somewhere between a giggle and a chuckle, just short of being a full-throated laugh, like one of those baby videos, or ring-tones that one comes across occasionally. It dared him to come and explore, to search for it. He stretched out an arm hoping to catch it, and yet, fully knowing that he would never reach it.

And then he found himself lying on the cold, hard floor.

Oddly enough, he never shed a single tear. Maybe because of a false mojo, or maybe because he had grown accustomed to it. No, the latter can’t be true. He had NEVER shed a single tear, ever. He wondered why?

He got up and poured himself a glass of cold water. And shoved it down his throat. He wiped off the imaginary beads of sweat on his forehead, and sat at the edge of his bed. The exhaustion took its toll and he dropped back on the bed.

Lying on his back, watching the ceiling fan rotate slowly, He was suddenly reminded of the client meetings for the next day and the research he needed to undertake for his personal project. He was reminded of the post he needed to compose for his blog and about the premium he needed to pay on his insurance. The mundane took over slowly, and he shut his eyes. His sub-conscious issued a command to his brain to generate a list of To-Dos for the next day.

And he ventured into the abyss. Just like that.

Those of you who have seen it, know what I am talking about. Those who haven’t, follow this link and read this.

Technorati Tags: Xoogler, Google, Dilbert

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Which OS are You?

Pity, I never have used it before. Nice way to kill time, tho’… What OS are you?

More from the same site:
Which file extension are you?

Heh. I won’t tell you the results of THAT one… Keep guessin’!!

Don’t cheat

Technorati Tags: Quiz, BBSpot, OS, Amiga, Fun ]]> http://42quirks.com/2006/02/27/i-am-amigaos-pity-i-never-used-it-before/feed/ http://42quirks.com/2006/01/05/wants-needs/ http://42quirks.com/2006/01/05/wants-needs/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2006 20:45:00 +0000 Shrikant Joshi http://42quirks.com/?p=42 Last night while I was reading I suddenly realized this:

“I don’t know what I want, but I know what I need…”

Is that what is causing all the trouble?

Sorry folks, no story right now. In a tearing hurry and equally tired… Just wanted to get this line out of the system.

Another question I wanted to ask is: Should I shift my blog to something else? I am beginning to hate the pathetic offerings of rediff…

Any comments anyone?

[:D].
I have been tagged. And it means I have to tag someone. And to think, I believed my childhood was over long back…
So

let’s start with the lists:
People who have tagged me until now:
1. Simple Thoughts
2. Radhika
3. Bricks
4. ???
(Did I miss your name? Please tell me. I am quite a forgetful person…)

7 things to do before I die
1. Live
- I am not kidding, or trying to make an impression here. I just wanna know how…
2. Read everything available.
- I know, I know, stupid wish…
3. Sit alone for a month
- Can’t do that. Ever. Yet, I wish, I could…
4. Show the world the real me.
- No, I won’t reveal my real name here. The real me pertains to the true feelings and thought that remain bottled up while dealing with

the assholes all around me. (Hey, this is a start!!)
5. Find True Love. Or, at least find out whether it exists…
- Would be better if I find it for myself(selfish, selfish…). Or, at least, find it somewhere. Does it exist?
6. Meet all my friends. Including the lost ones.
- Have messed up quite a few times in my life. Hey, life’s not perfect, is it?
7. Finish this list.

- I will add the seventh item when I find it. Promise.

7 things I can do
1. Play the Guitar
- Ok, Ok. So I am not a professional…
2. Speak loquaciously.
- So that I can have very few friends…
3. Listen Intently.
- So that the few that I have, can be the best I can have…
4. Smoke
- Aren’t I glad this is anonymous??
5. Sing
- Well, not as good as Kishor or Rafi. But pleasant enough, I guess…
6. Clear my mind
- Yes. I can do that.
7. Write.
- Hey, don’t laugh. This is supposed to be a list of things (I think) I can do, right?

Note:
(This is probably the only list with seven things. In fact, I had to choose seven - out of the infinite choices available - in the end. I guess, I am Superman, afterall!!)

7 things I say the most…
1. WTF???
- For the uninitiated, it stands for = “What the FUCK???”
2. Oh Shit!!! OR Bull-shit!!!
- Like it says.
3. Yeah, yeah, whatever…
- With a nod and/or a shrug.
4. Arre Dude… (to a guy) & Arre Dear… (to a girl)
- New habit
5. Balls 2 U
- Old Habit
6. Hmmmm…
- …with the corresponding action accompanying it - arched eyebrows, fist under chin, and a deeply thoughtful look.
7. To be Added.
- No. Really.

7 things I cannot do…
1. Kill all those who tagged me.
- Sad, no?
2. Sleep for less than six hours.
- Need at least six hours of sleep at a stretch… Breaks in sleep will always reset the sleep counter to zero…
3. Stop smoking
- I don’t want to. So, no arguments there.
4. Keep an account of money spent
- Simple funda. If you have got it and if it is required, spend for it. With me, the only problem is discerning what is important and what isn’t…
5. Believe in what I do not see…
- …unless it is backed up by perfect scientific logic…
6. Look down from heights.
- It is the adrenaline rush that prompts me to do treks, but I am shit scared of heights. Actually, I am scared of falling off a cliff. I dream about that often. Never see the end of the dream, though…
7. Finish this list
- with a sensible list item, I must add. Or else, it becomes a paradox, right?

7 people who have to make this list
1. Inane
- Don’t know who he/she is. Don’t know where he/she is. Doesn’t leave a link back ever!! >( So, there… -_-
2. Aariya Shah
- Wonder if she even knows about this…
3. Gemini Girl
- From a Gemini to a Gemini, with laughter.
4. Halt!
- I mean the guy. Looking forward to some poetic seven things…
5. Foolishly Wise
- Writes real sensible. Wish I could do that…
6. Shrikant
- Poor kid, you. New to the world of blogging and look what I have done to you… Suffer you jerk, suffer!!!
7. To be Added
- Space available. Contact for details…

*PHEW*

That is done!!

WTF??? Three f**king hours!!! That’s f**king insane!!! Bull-Shit!!

Well, whatever…