How to kill time ?

Look straight down

It is 4.00 PM on a Friday evening.

Way too early to leave without feeling guilty.
And too late to start any new work related activity.
Should I just chuck the dilemma and pack ?

But what would people around think ?
Only 2 months since joining and already abusing flexible hours.
Reading some project documents might make time go fast.
Except they are about as interesting as seeing grass grow.
Damn it, conscience & congnizance can't co-exist in one brain.

Staring blankly at the monitor is making my eyes water.
Of course, nobody is fooled by what I'm doing here.

I think they are all busy acting their charades out too.

What with the stupid rain outside, can't go anyway now.
Risk it ? Might just get a little wet but will be home soon.
On the other hand, sitting here cozily with free internet isn't bad.
That and songs playing on the mobile are a good combo.
Even after discounting the fact that I can't stretch or lie down.

Time to make a decision.
Have done enough thinking to last for a week.
Ironically, was thinking of working from home today.
Somehow whiled away half hour on this.

People have started leaving. Hurray.
Off I go, now one among the crowd.
Still, not a bad half hour spent on this.
To know what I mean, see the first letters.

Culinary class

Food for thought

Aim : 

• Make rava Idli for breakfast.

Apparatus : 

• Oven
• Ready-made batter
• Muffin plate
• Butter.

Procedure : 

• Mixed the batter. 
• Buttered the muffin plate. 
• Poured the batter into the plate. 
• Placed into the preheated oven. 
• Baked for an hour.

Output : 

• Idli muffins crusty on the outside, pasty on the inside.

Side-effect : 

• Became brunch. 
• Blister on the hand while removing the plate from oven.

Conclusion : 

• Eat cornflakes like everyday.

 

Science of prediction

A dozen bleeding obvious signs for your future understanding:

1. The scariest of times, ides of March are over. You can return to the last part of your nightmare.
2. On April 1st, the bull market is going to be in a twist - like the Greek letter tau. Rushing now will be futile.
3. While cat's eye in plural are like twins, actually its a gem. Inimitable may I add. Wear it for luck.
4. If you are in a foul mood, feeling of crabbiness will spread like cancer. Even on days like July 4th.
5. Lions are kings. They are august creatures, like the characters in Cleopatra. Respect and fear them.
6. A voyage to Virgin Islands now is a wrong step; what with the fog, river currents from east to west.
7. Balance your everyday meal. 1 Brazilian tea concoction in between will do you good.
8. You will reel in a novel experience. A scorpion sting for example, twice.
9. Decay of the old road and its arch. Errant heavy vehicles will further sag it. Tar I use for repaving will not be enough.
10. Have a go at cruising in the island of Capri. Corneal feast at night from the ship deck.
11. Your new job will be a water bearer. In the Janitor room you'll tend to the aquariums without a spare minute.
12. February 14th could fetch you a goldfish.  Reflect for a sec sipping in the beauty around.

Signs, symbols and spans. If you figured out what all this is about, good on you :)

Random musings

First Impressions

As I prepare to leave Sydney, some things I observed that still haven't registered fully yet:

• Boats parked alongside cars on the road. Agreed I was living on the beach and its more of an exception than a norm in such areas, but still its mildly discomfiting.
• Respect given to pedestrians and travelers on public transport. Even if you are the only one crossing a street, all vehicles screech to a halt until you are safely on the sidewalk. Bus drivers and co-passengers are infinitely patient as you get on or off.
• Strangers on the road have no problems dropping all they do to help you. All you need to do is stop and ask.
• Liberal usage of thanks and sorry. I'd picked this up at least. Luckily didn't yet get around to adding a fake accented mate to those words, sounding like a desperate impostor.
• Anywhere I turn to - shops, restaurants, supermarkets, newspaper stalls, badminton courts, movie theaters, railway stations, banks, all I see are Asians. Quite a few Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Bangladeshis, Thais and of course Indians. Agreed Australians are only about 40% of the population, but where are they hiding ?!?
• Last but not least, my vacation is coming to an end and I need to get back to working :(

Hopefully the place I'm moving to will continue to whet my curiosity and throw up more things to record in  memory.

The Story of an Ant

Antics

Once upon a time lived an ant
Diligent and simple as its wont
The likes of which are now scant
It is to who I dedicate this rant

It was friends with a certain bee
And for good measure another three
None was perfect to any degree
But in general were quite happy

The ant worked hard day and night
Not losing focus even in the slight
For it dreamt of reaching a height
From where it could soar like a kite

Like all tales with an expected twist
This too now has its cloud of mist
In a nutshell distraction was its gist
And things changed hand over fist

The ant was hit one night by a beam
A blow crushing its soul it would seem
For a while there was not even a scream
As if it were unreal like a bad dream

Perhaps it was the way the ray pitched
Under its charm the ant just twitched
Its senses now completely switched
Little it could do to come unhitched

Friends of the ant tried to tell
That it was under a cursed spell
This was no way for one to dwell
Alas! on deaf ears the counsel fell

After many a moon had passed
The ant sensed by itself - at last
That time was right for it to cast
Aside the madness and move past

And so it went about mending ways
Back to laughing like in good old days
Shedding the pall of gloom and haze
About to begin a brand new phase

As night ended and day had begun
The ant was seen having its fun
Living life like it had never done
For it now had a new friend in Sun

Warmth brought by the Sunlight
Made the ant dizzy with delight
To its friends it was quite a sight
So the story did end alright !

Observation

Bus Experience

This evening while riding the bus, saw a guy get on board with his cycle. It took him nearly 5 minutes to compress it into half its size by tucking in the seat, collapsing the handlebar and folding the wheels together. All this while, the bus driver and the other passengers waited without a murmur.

I was staring at it all in amazement contrasting it with the behavior elsewhere. It will take me a lot longer than I thought to blend in mentally and learn the ropes : )

5 Rs

Earning it

What are you willing to do to earn 5 Rs ?
It seems such a trivial sum that people may not even consider what the big deal is.
What do you get for 5 now-a-days would be the first question.
Half a glass of tea ? A cigarette ? Parking for an hour ?

Chennai is such a hot and humid place that you sweat just sitting under the fan.
Forget bearing accessories like bags, your own clothes feel like a burden.
On one such sweltering day when travelling by a local I saw a blind person entrain.
He had a huge sack of books on one shoulder, and a walking stick in the other.
He must not have been older than 16 or 17.
Soon he settled in or to be exact found a small spot to unburden himself.
Fishing out a twobit book from his bag, he started explaining all the reasons why it is a must have.
For close to 10 minutes, he spoke non-stop about the great things and luck that book brings in.
I didn't understand all of what he said, except that the book was for 5 Rs.
Having elicited no buyers at the end of his speech, he waited in anticipation for a few more minutes.
He then moved to the other side of the compartment, going through the same rigmarole once again.
He really believed in all that was drilled into his head about the book.
There wasn't a trace of emotional blackmail or pleading in his voice.
Nothing other than wanting to earn 5 Rs honestly.
What about several others like the one selling safetypins and rubber bands in the subway?
The one with 10 pens for 5Rs, the kid minding the peanuts, the old woman with the rattles?

Probably I do nothing more compassionate than occassionally buying from them, but
I always wonder how many do they manage to sell in a day ? A week ? A month ?
How are they able to sustain themselves with such meagre amounts.
And the efforts for earning 5Rs, leaves me pondering the great imbalance in our lives.

One day, hopefully I can make a difference.

A Rubbish Story

The Elusive Bin

It all started with having to clean the house. Rather, sorting things we wanted to send back home. Duly we made piles of utensils, books, electronics, mementos, even pillows, cushions and footwear. It helped to a large extent that when we recently moved houses we hardly unpacked anything other than daily wear. It was still a good 2 hour work and by the time we emerged sweaty and grimy, we had nearly 8 cartons to show for our effort. We divided the booty between Chennai and Hyderabad based solely on our assumption of available attic space.

In the process, we halted for a few minutes to bolt down a pitiful and unappetizing lunch of thepla. Luckily the urge to pack outweighed the desire to indulge the palate. In our elation about the neat boxes, we didn't realize that we had created 4 bags of refuse also. A quick shower later, we set out in search of a dustbin to get rid of them.

First stop was the society itself, but there was no joy. By now faint with hunger we thought it will be a matter of minutes before we can dump the bags and grab a bite. Wrong. 20 minutes and 5 kms later, past 3 different areas, we were still searching for a garbage can. The car was beginning to smell like the backside of a restaurant kitchen. I had heard of dust-free zones in Pune, but never knew of it being a dusbin-free zone.

In desperation, we began scouring every lane and alley, fearul of being stuck with the trash for the night. Thankfully we spotted one just as we were reaching the end of our patience. Its no wonder Pune is so littered !

Shakesp~here

Soliloquy reconstructed

Hamlet's original : To be or not to be : that is the question.

Extrapolating that to the alphabet,

Eyes wide shut : To C or not to C
Gravity's Dilemma : To G or not to G
Bladder's Plight : To P or not to P
Golfer's Quandary : To T or not to T

Perspective

Catching the imagination

A thirty-five year old man was running in the park. That in itself should hardly matter except that it was neither early morning to dismiss it as a exercise routine, nor was it to prevent an emergency. As the motley group of people surrounding him looked on, he picked pace as if determined to reach his destination.

The person closest to him was a 20 year lad who seemed to be standing still while egging him. But the man had his peripheral vision fixed on another older man standing farther away. As if his only aim was to impress the geriatric through sheer effort, the man put on a burst of speed.

To add to the element of bewilderment, the sprinter's face was turned skywards and he had his hands in an odd posture as if seeking alms. Presently he came to a halt and seemed to be awaiting the object that had his undivided attention for so long. Soon enough it landed with a thud in his open palms even as he tumbled across the grass.

As all the others piled on him in jubilation and cheered his effort, the fielder looked across. The umpire had his right hand up in the air with the index finger outstretched, merely confirming what everyone around knew, that the batsman was caught out.