Spaced Out

Switch board

2008-04-18T03:22:00.000-07:00

I found this wierd looking switch board at my friend's house the other day. Can someone help me, point out the switch to the plug? I never understood the principle of placing the plug point in the centre. Was the electrician trying to concentrate on composition and symmetry? The chord connects to an extension strip which supplies power to a television, desktop and music system. A person who is not familiar with this switch board is bound to upset a lot of members in the house as he / she would accidently switch off a whole set of electronic devices. This precisely what happened when I went ahead to turn off the ceiling fan. I found to my amusement and others disbelief that I had turned off these amazing gadgets. Power switch is placed to the left of chord - another inconsistency to the usual standards [it's usually right]. A simple label /sign would have done the trick but I guess one never thought of it!

Window dressing

2007-04-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

Fanta Grape

My idea to consume a beverage is plainly to enjoy it. It was lunch and I promptly went to the pizza shop round the corner. It was small shop selling pizzas of all types and was owned by a Greeko-American. There were pictures of Athens all over the walls and said very little about the pizzas they were selling. The shop was aptly named 'Olympic' - a word which the Greeks will be proud of, any given day. The pizzas were cheap and attracted a number of Mexican and Asian workers. It was a family business started off by the grand old man who passed on the baton to his son who later on made sure his son learnt the trade. The old man was a strict disciplinarian who saw to it that the place was clean and the restrooms smelt good. The floor was swept and mopped regularly due to constant littering by consumers with poor table manners. The workers who came were usually tow truck guys, garage boys, IT workers and low profile college students.

The shop also boasted of a huge Cola cool storage, which had racks of different Coca Cola products. Each rack was dedicated to a particular flavour and the whole storage was colourful as it had transparent hard plastic / acrylic doors.This was a good marketing gimmick by Cola to lure it's customers. All you had to do was slide open the cool storage door, take out a drink of your choice and pay the price at the counter. It made life easy for the consumer, shop keeper and the manufacturer. A nice way to go about selling products. Guess that's the reason why 'window dressing' is so popular a concept.

Each time I step in this shop I see customers gaze at the beverages. They invariably pick up a drink while ordering food - overall the whole process became habitubal and compulsive. Consumers got hooked to the beverage while enjoying a fresh bite of pizza. I took the bait today and tried out a fairly new flavour - 'Fanta Grape'. The colour of the drink was tempting and it was perfectly chilled to suit my likes. I quickly paid the money at the counter and opened the cap with a certain enthusiasm. The whole feeling to taste the new flavour was killing me. As soon as I tasted the drink all the energy and excitement vanished. It was insipid or should I say it tasted more like a bitter cough syrup. I would rate Corex and Benadryl far better! In fact there is no comparison at all. The whole point to enjoy the drink was lost and left a bad lingering taste in my mouth - swearing never again to be lured by window display.

The whole episode leaves me with one big question - 'Should I be lured by window dressing and displays?'

Revival

2007-04-01T17:35:00.001-07:00

Youtube

It's been 2 years since I last blogged. I had given up the blogger / writer in me - guess it was too tiring and I had better things to do than just simply type my experiences on a day-today basis. My passion had shifted to the visual medium - films and images. Youtube provided me with an ideal base to watch my favourite shows like - The Wonder Years, Who's the Boss, He Man, Tom and Jerry, Silver Spoons, Different Strokes; it became a mecca for music videos and believe me I slid back in the memory lane watching some great songs of Jethro Tull, Doobie Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and a whole lot of 70's / 80's stuff. A satisfying experience espcially if you have nothing much to do apart from drinking a glass of wine. It was nice to go down the memory lane - many images filled my tender brain cells, they all came rushing in and one such image was that of my abandoned blog.

The wine was white, bitter and sour but went well with cheese and pepper. It was all good but there was something missing; I could sense the hollowness, something very similar to what I'd been experiencing for the past 2 years. Maybe it's my space which I had always craved for. I felt a sense of longingness towards 'Spaced Out'. Guess I missed it a lot and the only way to go about filling the gap was to revive my sweet little blog. Cheers to it!

Waking up to Hendrix

2005-07-18T04:12:00.000-07:00

Apt for the Occasion

Purple haze all in my brain
Lately things just don't seem the same
Actin' funny, but I don't know why
'Scuse me while I kiss the sky

Purple haze all around
Don't know if I'm comin' up or down
Am I happy or in misery?
Whatever it is that ??? put a spell on me

Purple haze all in my eyes
Don't know if it's day or night
You got me blowin', blowin' my mind
Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time?

It's been quite a while since I contributed to my space. Guess I was drawn to a better world - beyond comparison.

Sterling Sunday

2005-02-28T00:26:00.000-08:00

Decisions

The day picked up pace towards the end of Sunday evening when I saw the sun dipping by the horizon. I was casually going through the newspaper at my cousin's place in Mulund when I sensed this sudden urge in me to watch a film. I wanted to see "Ray" but was certain that the tickets would be exhausted by the time I reached the counter. On second thoughts, Bollywood's most promising movie "PAGE 3", took my attention and a decision was made in a split of a second.

2200 IST Hours : Shuffling Locals

Armed with the idea of going all the way to South Mumbai from the northern most point, I managed to enticed my cousin for a 22:00 show. The clock read 21:00 and one should accept that it was a tough call to make 'it on time'. One peculiar thing about 'Mumbai Sunday' is the number of fast locals runnning to and fro from north-south is limited when compared to weekdays (Saturday is a weekday and not a weekend in Mumbai!). As luck would have it, we managed to catch an amazingly jam packed slow local and the estimated time to reach our destination was now building out to be 45 minutes! Frustrated we got down in one of major stations in the hope of boarding a 'fast' one, but unfortunately managed to find none. The next 'fast' was scheduled to arrive at 22:00 hours; it was a futile effort from our part but my cousin was quick to rectify the mistake. He spotted a slow local across the other platform and we barely managed to board it. This one was less chaotic and the commuters appeared more relaxed from the previous one. We were back to square one; just that now we had consumed an extra 4 minutes during our so called 'train shuffling'!

Tip Toe

My toe was badly hurt ; thanks to the new Kholapuri 'joothi' (footwear), whose rough leather had scraped off 3 layers of my little toe's skin. The toe ached, but I had to keep moving. With each step, the pain increased but I did not want to miss the show. Finally I arrived in the 'hall' huffing and puffing. We procured to get seats in the lower stall. The seats were in a good condition and 'clean'. There were no 'pan' stains / chewing tobacco on the seats; it was a great sign of hygiene! The movie just begun and AC at it's best, the toe factor just disappeared. Things were moving in the right direction with the movie and ambience supporting me to a great extent.

Stranded

The movie over, it took us a little more than 'sometime' to realise that we had missed the last local to take us back 'home'. The station wore a deserted look. A few cops roamed around the platforms with beggers and stray passengers giving them company. All the stalls, had brought their shutters down. The sweeper happily went about doing his job and for the first time I realised how beautiful and clean Victoria terminus (aka Chatrapathi Shivaji) was! The restrooms were being cleaned and so were the 'pan' stains from the walls of the station. But for the people, I guess VT would probably be voted as India's finest stations. There are so many commuters that the station loses out it's sheer magnanimity and charm.

Bus Service

Having realised that we did not have a train to catch, we checked on our next 'BEST' alternative : "Mumbai's renowned Bus Service". My cousin was pretty doubtful with regard to the much acclaimed 24 x 7 service. My toe began hurting again and I felt like walking bare feet. I would have loved roaming around the streets of 'Genuine Mumbai', but for the damn toe and my lousy footwear. The streets were broad and the last of the traffic was seen heading towards their respective destinations. People did not entertain hitch hiking in these parts of the city. We could hardly see any bus service. With all hopes lost of boarding a bus, I decided to take a cab, back home. It took a couple of minutes to convince my cousin with respect to 'taking a cab', as he felt it was too costly an affair. We argued on for sometime till we luckily managed to stop a bus speeding by. What a stroke of luck ! Believe me, it took us half way through our destination : 'DADAR'.

Hunger Pangs

My stomach growled and the energy level was zeroing down pretty fast. We got down at Dadar to smell Mumbai's very own darling, ' The delicious Pav Bhaji ' (amchi Mumbai fast food). We had to literally wait for half an hour to (1:15 am - 1:45 am) to eat the same. It was outstanding; hot, the bread (pav) with a dash of butter was simply yummy. The Bhaji (curry) was spicy loaded with veggies which included corriander, green chillies,onions, peas, potatoes and tomatoes. I could see a couple of the late nighter's hogging their way out. Most of them drunk to the core, were accompanied with their respective 'hookers' (both male and female). The attender himself was half drunk, while serving us. The night life of Mumbai had just begun! The cops were keeping a vigil watch for miscreants, but unfortunately all were 'well behaved'.

Dog Fright

After a perfect roadside meal, we dragged our feet to the nearest bus stop, to get it sniffed by stray dogs. The dogs were huge and looked rather insane. Both of us detested mongrels and were 'shit' scared (I was bitten by a dog, years ago and it quite a horrid experience!) of them. Luckily a small bus stopped by to offer us freedom from the dogs. It promised us to take to a place quite close to our destination. It was quite a resourceful trip, cause our only co-passenger was rather an 'extra helpful' guy. I suspected him to be an underworld gangster for his looks, but guess I was wrong. He helped us to get near our destination. It was really sweet of him, godsent should I say !

After several futile attempts of 'hitch hiking' , we finally decided to take a 'rick' back home. The whole episode was worth it. A perfect night out in Mumbai!

Newspapers

2005-02-24T04:17:00.000-08:00

The Daily

Well with the 'game' done and despatched, I breathe a sigh of relief. I'm also quite glad that I got back to my 'blogging' days.

I wake up every morning to smell the freshness of the daily newspaper. The smell of the print together with early morning air is just the right concoction (you want to smell), when you get up.
Of course you do get upset after browsing through the news but you can't help it. Right in the first page you get to read some really humiliating headlines like " Street Mongrel kills a baby boy..."
If this the way to infuriate people in the morning, I guess the editor succeeded to a great extent.

Page 3

Every other page in the paper that I subscribe to resembles one big section :'Page 3'. You have to actually go into molecular depth to find articles realted to other things like 'International News' , 'Business' etc. The graphics suck and their so called jokes are pure failures. The newspaper runs solely on the skimpy dresses worn by actors / models. Also one most important feature of the newspaper is "Parties of Mumbai". This purely deals with, who danced with whom in yesterday's bandra party; the designer clothes people wore; a stray joke on the host; and above all the wine that ruled them all ! Infact I have a vague feeling that the editor is a thorough high professional businessman. He exactly knows and understands the pulse of Mumbai'ites. Probably that's why the whole paper is just a 'Page 3 : aka entertainment gala'.

Bullism

Coming to think of other better things revolving around newspapers, is the way it's folded and presented to us : a perfect rectangle, crisp and fresh. I really get disheartned, when I see people throw the paper casually and walk off. It hurts me to a great extent, when they are not even bothered to arrange the papers in order. Lack of organisation can get you into a lot of trouble. I don't expect you to neatly fold it back (though I would love you to do it!) but the least a person can do is arrange it back with all the supplements in order. This is especially so in public domains, where the other person frantically searches for the other sections of the paper.

It's really pathetic cause you are forced to 'dislike' the person who has bullied your so called 'paper', which serves you a whole lot of purpose.

Did hear the word 'Busy' ?

2005-02-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

Sad State of Affairs

This is really not done. Imagine I haven't written in the last 7 days. Work I believe is getting on my nerves. I desperately need a break and these late night work with beer sessions are not functioning well. 'Kingfisher' should come up with something new, as their so called 'strong beer' doesn't live up to its name. Guess thats the reason why 'Hayward 5000' is doing well in Mumbai.

The week started off with keying in the information that we had recorded (interview sessions) in the school. It was one hell of a job. I really wonder how these data entry guys/ gals actually sweat it out. It's worse than a coolie's profession. You sit in this stupid badly designed chair of your's; stare at your hand written notes; try to make sense of them (which is the toughest part); then look at the keyboard and type the same out; after all this stuff, when you look at the screen you'll find numerous vocabulary errors. This calls for a toast "Pity thy poor little Sriram !"

Deadlines

Two whole days of non stop keying resulted in damaging my "SACRED SPACE : MY BLOG". I thought I was going to taste 'freedom', till all of a sudden I get this another amazing task to do. The job this time was more challenging than fun. I was asked to deliver a game (flash stuff) in a record time and along with this friend of mine, we nearly made it through the finish line ( of course we completed it a day past the deadline Friday night extended to Satuday)

Indians (exceptions are always there) are known for their amazing sense of puntuality and I had to live up to it. Well after two days of sheer calculations, (the coding in Flash sucks, especially when the software has a bug in it ! I never in my wildest dream thought that I would be coding this thing; as a Designer you just come up with concepts and visualisations) and constant staring at the monitor (I'm sure my lens power would have increased) I finally finished it.

Sinner

I spoilt my Friday evening and Saturday night, by working late night hours, which I believe is a sin that I've commited, and can never ever be forgiven. Sunday was no special either. I lazed about in the bed till afternoon, and eventually got up to attend to my hunger pangs. I went to the loo and saw that I looked rather disgusting. I resembled a barbarian (I really don't know how people tolerate the way I look and speak to them !). My hair was unkempt and the stubles had grown into a full beard. It was rough and pricky, but I enjoyed feeling the same. 'Work' had made me into a barbarian. My back ached and it desperately required rest.

Outwardly Change

Needed to change my looks, so I got a nice decent hair cut and shave and a sexy head massage done (all for just Rs. 50/-) ; filled my tummy with hot tasty Idli Wada (soaked in piping hot sambar). The feeling was awesome. I went home, had a warm shower and slept till 6 pm. I was dead to the dirty outside world which never cared for me. Every part in my body ached and it thanked me for resting it.

Music

Floyd ruled the whole week. They were the only ones who stood by me while at work. Hope I get to write blogs daily instead weekly.

Week's Update

2005-02-14T03:23:00.000-08:00

Whisky Week

Well its becoming increasingly difficult for me to write the blog on a daily basis. Work has taken its toll on me and so has alcohol. For the past few days its been a constant work and booze. A peg a day keeps me pepped up. 'Director's Special' as such has a very sweet taste as compared to 'Royal Stag' but the latter is much more smooth.

Teenagers

The week kicked off in a very interesting manner. I've been interviewing teenagers in schools for a 'study' and the whole experience is worth the effort put down. Should admit that it was a perfect display of youth / teen power ; quick spontaneous replies with a good mix of gestures and soft laughter ; shy when unable to perform certain tasks else pretty aggressive, especially when it came to the opposite sex the answers had little substance.

I guess they were too conscious to emote out their feelings completely. I tried being as 'friendly' as possible but was of no use. The 'ice breakers' just did not happen the way I wanted 'it' to happen. Thoughts kept bugging me as to what would be my next question to them. Teenagers I guess, love harping about the same superfcial issues every now and then, than going deeper. They like to narrow down on things very soon and get easily influenced. There is a major problem when it comes to 'attention'. They keep hopping from one topic to another and it's very tough for others to keep track of it. I thought 'kids' were inquisitive but I now believe that 'teenagers' also fit in the bill.

Subway

Mini-lunch was provided by the school and it did upset the 'team's digestion'. The team was quick to react and the following days 'Subway' showed us the light to good healthy food / salad. We hogged like starved pigs and cribbed about 'high cost factor'. It comes naturally to humans to complain all their way through while we live.

Cabs / Taxi

The transportation was great except for one day, when this driver performed some religious salutations to some ' HUMAN BABA'. I did not mind him doing it, but what upset me the most was the sick odour of the incense stick. It was atrocious and I was seated next to the driver. I was gasping for fresh air (the AC added to my suffocation) and thought that I would surely die of 'asphisiation'. The driver was quick enough to understand my problem, turned the AC off and gently slid the window pane down, to allow a whiff of early morning air in. It was external bliss. I had been cursing him a few minutes back, and he now became my saviour. He smiled at me, in anticipation of a reciprocation. I forced out a 'plastic smile' at him, just to make him feel happy. This is like injuring a person (hit him / her brutally) ; admitting him / her in a hospital and then expect the person to 'thank you'. " Hey! I have saved you, won't you thank me? " How brutal can one get! Fucking arsehole.

The Mega Book Festival

Mumbai hosted one of the best book festivals in the country and luckily I was witness to it. A wide gamut of books were covered and was reasonably priced (upto 80% discount) too. This made the book enthusiats all the more happy and I in particular went all the way from Powai to Chruchgate for 3 consecutive days to check out the festival. Though I did some purchases, I was not entirely satisfied with the way the whole thing was presented. There were sections, but the classification was too broad. I had to literally dig into these sections to find out the kind of books that I needed; the books were stacked on tables. It surely was time consuming and must have missed out on a lot of them. The timings were also a bit strange, it closed sharp at 8 pm ( a very odd time, too early for mumbaikars who work in places like Powai). If you start from the office at 6:30 pm you might just make it to the place without Murphy's help. Once you gain entry to the 'HALL', you can go through the books till 8:45 pm (no customer can enter after 8 pm).

Wine all the way

2005-02-07T02:52:00.000-08:00

Open Up

Everything was planned to perfection. The stage for a nice warm 'wine' party was set : the lights, the drink itself, people, glasses, music and food (Italian theme). The watch struck 9 and the wine was just about in the right temperature to be poured in our sacred glasses, till a sudden disaster struck. We did not have a cork opener. Panic struck and 5 minutes past I found myself in the middle of a supermarket frantically searching for a 'cork opener'. It was rediculous to the core; the thought of an opener never ever occured to me. We finally saw a 'cork opener' (it was the only piece / model they had), only to find it a bit too over priced. It was some German make, sure must be minting a lot.

Time was running out ; my cousin came with a 'bingo idea'. We headed towards a wine shop and smartly convinced the shopowner to give us a cork opener for FREE ! Unbelievable, it took my cousin just less than a minute to convince him. Man, the shopkeeper sure is a cool guy.

Finally it was party time and 'sula : red wine : satori' ruled it all through. The wine had captured our taste buds and our olfactory. It was splendid and so was the lighting and company (special thanks to my cousin and my good friend ). The food was rather Italian comprising cheese, strawberries, bread and pizzas.

As the host I had the honour of tasting the wine( felt really great after smelling the drink) first; the party started rocking after we had gulped down the whole of 750 ml. There was no dearth for drinks; the goan fenny too worked pretty well, but surely it can't be compared to the wine.

Bottomline : All's well that ends well.

Taxing

2005-02-03T23:43:00.000-08:00

Documenting

Everything needs to be documented, to keep the system organised and moving. People like to go through archives and old files to do a comparitve analysis of the present with the past. Does it work out, is a big question? Documents in any form can always be tampered and over a period of time the probability of doing so increases. Sad that we still haven't learnt to trust any kind of system.

Paying tax can be rather painful and what's even worse is to fill in the application form for the same. It takes a month for the thing to get processed (referring to the 'Permanent Account Number' ) and during the process, one gets introduced to the term 'redtapism'.

'Sloppy' , that's exactly what I can call myself or should I blame it on the designer who drafted the PAN form. The whitner was used generously, for the numerous mistakes that I did while filling up the form. The minature sized blocks, where one needs to fit in characters, added to my owes. Soon the realisation dawned that I had a big typo (one other thing that I inherited from my dad) and it needed to be correctedly immediately. Imagine how flexible can one get if you have to correct your typo (which you had been comfortable with ever since you started writing!) for the sake of a damn stupid form.

The Girl

2005-02-03T00:19:00.000-08:00

A Study

When I use the word busy, I do not mean 'enagaged'. I usually am enagaged in some activity or the other and fact says that it was truly productive. Being busy in the workplace from the employer's point of view is different from any other view. My employer would have been the happiest person to find me doing some productive work.

It was a tough day with too many things happening from 'work' point of view. But there was this momentary phase wherein I was diverted for sometime. There was this girl who had come to the workplace for some odd test / other. I was amazed to see her seated in the reception area for more than 3 hours. It was shocking to see a girl of that age with so much patience. She must be on her teens and the saddest part is that she was sitting there by herself. I was tempted to lend her Rupa Bajwa's - 'The Sari Shop' ; or (still better) would have even initiated a conversation with the lonely soul, had I not been bound to 'work'.

Dressed in pure casuals ( jeans and t-shirt) she appeared calm and poised. The newspaper placed alongside was untouced and so was the water. The frequent phone calls attented by the receptionist coupled with occasional dailogues by random visitors / staff were probably the only auditory inputs she received. The expression of acute boredom did seem to appear in her face, during one of my frequent visits across the reception area, but she was quick enough to change it with a hand gesture (adjusting her hair / a small forced cough / scratching, side of the neck with her index finger).

Unfortunately that was the last of my observations, cause by the time I was free, the 'subject' of my study had already left. I tried asking the receptionist about the same but failed to get a suitable response. The study would have revealed a wealth of information, as to how people react when they are bored to death ; the things that come in their mind, the way they perceive the whole environment (which includes both animate and inanimate objects), gestures / bodylanguages, the time taken to process the first word that they speak after a long gap of silence (most of them are drowned in their own thoughts) and last but not the least I missed out on a good date !

Watch it Out

2005-02-02T05:43:00.000-08:00

System Malfunction

Last night I trusted my ever faithful bio-clock to wake me up at 7 in the morning, but it just betrayed me. I woke up to a sound that actually hit me quite hard. It was a sound triggered by my biological clock that made me get up with a jerk. It was sudden and was accompanied by a small quantum of shock. Glancing at my watch, I saw the hour arm move towards the number 5. I realised that I was too early to be 'up'. I felt a slight breeze go past my face, my eyes were half closed, the eyelids did their job to perfection. The brain had force directed them to shut, but it also simultaneously gave errands to my lean bony legs and arms. The window was open and it had to be shut, it was getting colder and I cuddled myself back to sleep. My system was not functioning the way I wanted it to perform. It 's hard to believe that even after finishing 26 orbits, my system failed to obey my orders.

Strategies People Adopt

Guess the strategy adopted didn't fit the bill. I needed to re-think and change my ideologies. It's become tough for people and myself to accept 'me'. I have lately observed a high degree of 'exploration' with the outside world. There is a tendency to do the undone. The change is painful and has given raise to endless monologues. A big tussle to get the 'red apple' is still 'on'. The opponents have deftly plotted down their moves. It's like cracking a maze game, the most detestable thing to play, if you are confused as to what to do in life. You set focus on certain issues and try fulfilling the same. After they are accomplished the thirst to maintain your stature and stay 'ever focussed' dies out. The enthusiasm is lost and the issues no longer exist, even though they are out there like a white dot on a black paper. You start getting attracted to the black areas of life, constantly questioning and probing the goodness of a whole lot of other larger facets.
Its fun exploring in the dark 'cause you do not know what you might step into. It's very much like research and development. One fine day you might just be known as a 'Great Inventor / Discoverer'.

I guess it's all about crossing the chasm, leaving the society to rot about.

Sounds I Hear

2005-02-01T00:13:00.000-08:00

Weather

Mumbai has lately been experiencing random rainfalls (the nocturnal creatures really hate, if it rains at 2 am !). After a nice deserving rest / sleep I was fortunate enough to enjoy the freshness of this 'wimbledon green' towel that I had washed, the previous day. My towel was just dry enough to get in contact with my body which was subject to a hot shower.

Climatic changes have made the ever fast life in Mumbai a bit sluggish. Timesheets show a steady progress of late entries; the office AC stands at 25 degrees ( an increase by 2) ; the washbasins are clogged with slimy yellowish green mucus, obviously highlighting the fact that hygiene is going from 'bad to worse' ; tissues papers are more often used for blowing and pricking the nose than the customary thing of drying one's fingers / hands ; frequent visits to urinals coupled with less consumption of water ; brandy and rum bottles have come into existence from nowhere ; weary eyes and occasional coughs comprise the mood of the office ; no one asks the much dreaded question 'How are you ?' ; commuting by elevators is a pain as you are bound to find someone coughing / sneezing / blowing away to glory , a sound which once sounded 'highly disturbing' has slowly given way to a 'polite nod with raised eyebrows'.

Is this called 'classical conditioning'?

It Stinks

2005-01-31T03:22:00.000-08:00

Newton's III Law

The ever prevailing thing holds good "Promises are meant to be broken". Sad that it had to happen to me. Inspite of owing not to taste a drop of alcohol for the next whole week, I hosted a party where booze ruled the lesser mortals. You plan out something and it gets executed in the opposite way. Newton's 3 law works well for me. My weekends were sluggish and late towards the Sunday evening when Marat was firing all cylinders, I get a request call from a good friend of mine to host a party. I never wanted to have one though I sensed others wanted to really party out. Its easy for me to get into others shoes and try and analyse as to what the other person wants from me. Its a skill that I'm trying to learn with great patience (am still learning). Its too tough to master this art cause humans by nature are complex creatures. We think a lot and ponder on some simple small issues. Take for example this small chat conversation that I had with my cousin today.

Art of farting

ajo_99_84: I almost forgot
ajo_99_84: I read somethin in ur blog that said that there was some guy u barely knew staying at ur place
ajo_99_84: what was that all abt?
ajo_99_84: when was this
ajo_99_84: I hope he does not manage to read ur blog sometime
BUZZ!!!
sriram2world: y
sriram2world: i care a fuck if he reads it...
sriram2world: he was there last night...
sriram2world: and he broke a nice glass of mine...
ajo_99_84: good for u
sriram2world: damn it how senti i get with these small issues in life
ajo_99_84: if u don't care if he reads it then y did u care enuf to let him in
sriram2world: hmm.. yeah i always think of that
sriram2world: u made me think again...
ajo_99_84: i can't understand some stuff abt u man
sriram2world: wat ??
sriram2world: u made me think again
sriram2world: damn it
ajo_99_84: Man i hope i didn't happen to break any of ur stuff anytime

That's the quantum of thought processes which goes through our little brains. We are a crafty lot, just that we don't release these engery levels in the right direction. Some type down blogs like me, while a whole lot have their own way of liberating excess energy. Spare the fart!

Sickness and Revival

2005-01-27T23:51:00.000-08:00

Aches

Party's up, lets focus on the after effects and hangovers. The accessories are rather painful. It consists of perennial burning watery-eyes ; I can sense heat all over my body ; a slight body ache ; a terrible cold with slimy green mucus and occasional coughs ; a burnt tired body thoroughly de-hydrated.

It just shows how vulnerable my body has become. Tonight I might just place cucumbers on my eyelids as I go off to sleep. It's a traditional treatment and an effective one too. The best treatment for a mild attack of sun stroke would be to make a juice of neem leaves and gulp the same down your throat. Yuck!!! Probably the most bitter thing to consume but I guess it's a soothing tonic that your body requires.

Pleasant Feeling

This is truly worth it. I just couldn't believe that I had one of the most amazing lunch sessions with the CEO and the VP of our company. I surely was probed upon but it was pure fun. Hope it's a mutual feeling. I was taken to this nice dining place named 'Renaissance' and it held true to it's name. It was perfect revival for me. The environment was composed by numerous 'china ware' inherited from our very own, 'Desi Ming Dynasty'; air conditioned to room temperature; neat bluish green pool which lured people seeking accommodation out there to take a corporate dip at least once a day ; the attenders were dressed to perfection and the language was polished, you can call it a sign of good grooming which is usually taught in the schools they went to ( purely professional ).

Everthing was timed brilliantly, including that of my fingers going numb when bombarded with questions to that of breaking of a china by the sweet lil' attender. It was in sync to the music that was being played making the place more lively from the usually quiet and sober one. Most of the folks dining there were on some corporate lunch or the other, expect for one romantic couple seated in an extreme corner of the dining area. The food was good but the tools placed on the table were a bit confusing. I chose the humble fork to eat my favourite 'biryani and curd rice' coupled with tossed salad and lots of fresh fruits. The chocolate brownie was at its best, I desperately wanted to go in for a second helping but realised that I was towards the end of a corporate lunch meeting.

The whole episode ended rather peacefully than much expected.

Gao Goa

2005-01-26T23:54:00.000-08:00

Thirst Quenched

Yes I'm back from a rather fantastic trip to Goa and it's time to get 'spaced out'. It's too tough for me to type down my experiences as most of the time I was thoroughly sloshed in fenny. The 'after thought' that strikes after drinking is probably one of the most rationale things to happen. I felt this often, as I quenched every desire I had in my life. Goa was a perfect host, so good that I felt like a materialistic arsehole. I got drowned in the illusion of life with a lavish combination of 'lust'. I fell and regained my conscious self. The whole episode was sort of short lived. Never imagined the amount of possibilities that existed around me. This place made me more sensitive.

Most Hillarious Moment in Goa

People (mostly Indians) dressed in formals, while on the beach to get wet. Guess their leather shoes are really rough to bear the conditions.

St. Francis Xavier definitely looks young for his age.

Sad Music but it's fun time for all the spared lobsters, crabs, prawns, fish etc.

I expected good samba dance, but it never took off. I hate sea food, hence I missed out on them. People say Goa trip stands incompelete without a complete Goanese food. Can't help it's their perspective. I enjoyed it and felt good about it. I managed to sneak a bottle of fenny from Goa to drown myself in the fond memories of the place and my experiences therein.

Juxtapose

While going through the (16/17/18/19/20 th century ) portugese paintings in Old Goa, I felt transported back in time only to be awakened by the curator's loud burps. Here, in these paintings I could actually see the way people dressed, the sturdy wooden chairs (which was capable of taking their bulk) against which they posed, the contempt and pride that each portrait carried within itself, the fat fingers with clean nails, the dull heavily drunk eyes going down to the colours and architecture of those days, the weapons people possessed, the wigs that nobles wore, it was simply a visual feast. These paintings stood in sharp contrast to today's lifestyle. A neat transition from the past (probably it's changed for the best)

Design

Lovely interiors but sad menu card. Good signage system but narrow roads. People fluent with different languages, but keep staring at you as if you have said something which they are unable to interpret. Good local craftsmenship, but it comes with an exhorbitant NRI / foreign price. A good way to attain sustainability, thanks to the tourism industry and to cops, who get 10% of their earnings.

On Conversations

2005-01-18T23:44:00.000-08:00

My Floydian Friend

Conversations are essential. It makes me feel a part of this so called 'workplace'. A chat conversation sans web camera is even better because you are free to yawn and burp. Most of my chat conversations are dry and montonous. There is always scope for the law of uncertainity and expectations to occur. During one such conversation, my dear 'floydian friend' (believes himself to be a true pink floyd devote, unlike me...) comes up with probably one of the sanest scripts for a nice film on Dananjoy Chaterjee, a person who was recently given capital punishment for an act of rape and murder of a school girl. I must accept that the chat was pulsating.
Ideas mostly originate through sources that you come in contact with. Each idea is born out of a chain of thought processes magnificently connected. My friend was a recepient to one such thought process.

Party Time

Things are moving at a steady pace for me, there is a sudden burst of energy in me. I just out of the blue landed booking a ticket to GOA!!! Its party time for me finally. The new year and convo party had to happen 'cause they were mandatory. It was inevitable and planned to near perfection unlike this one. I see the sun bursting from the sky, which fills me with tremendous joy.

As the Great One (Kundun) always says,

" I see a safe journey and a good return. "

Self Probe

2005-01-18T03:46:00.000-08:00

Bermuda Triangle

Great, sometimes they say that work just pours in. Today was one such day. Guess I'm put on 3 projects. Hope they take me off from one of them, though I still don't have any confirmed reports of me being tagged onto one of them.

Conscience

There was a moment of joy when I heard that my picture was posted in the 'President of India' website. I was so exicited that I started informing this to all those around me. On a closer inspection I began to feel a bit sick about the whole thing. I felt as if I was seeking glory. It really sucked! Good that I realised it very soon.

Monologue

Am I being childish? A guy just walks into my house, stays for 2 days. I know him just as my junior with whom I've hardly communicated. It makes me think, is this how the world works? I mean can I also seek shelter at my senior's place though I've hardly spoken to / known him or her? It's quite a serious question for me to ponder on. Is this 'person' a perfect example of 'opportunism' ? I think I would rather seek shelter with other better known people or simply choose to stay in a hotel.
But that would be strictly me, cause I'm very uncomfortable with people whom I haven't 'closely' interacted with. The word closely is very relative. It means anyone with whom I can vibe with, which of course is a tough challenge for me as well as the other person. I don't mean to offend this 'interesting' person, but I surely am amused with attitudes that people possess.

Art of survival

Do I have a bloated ego within me, or should I say the pride in me makes me a less opportunist in life. I guess 'dumb' is the right word that's to be used. I somehow failed to learn the art of survival in life. What made me give shelter to this particular person? Did I assume that he was completely helpless? Questions keep bouncing at me every now and then, leaving me dazed and lost, whenever I think of this topic.

Everyone's left the workplace except me. My watch reads quarter to 20:00. This is probably the best part of the day. You have the space for youself, nothing to bother about. Wish I was a bit drunk to enjoy it to the zenith!

Enthusiasm dies fast

2005-01-17T05:38:00.002-08:00

Saad, nice to hear from you after a long time. I guess Prathibha had put in a word. Guess you are having a good time.

Murphy Rules

This is frustrating, I just typed a whole lot of information and pressed the ' Publish ' button just to see an error page. All was lost. I surely can't type down the same exact words, but still will try and put things together.

Plateau

For the first time, I enjoyed my day at the work place. I finally got to do some ' design '. It gives a feeling of fulfillment and pleasure. It's tough to see people giving more than 4 points in a scale of 7 for job satisfaction. It's too fast to comment for me right now, but today's day was a perfect plateau.

Up---------------Stable---------------Down, right from where it began.

Do I see a System's Model ?

Thirsty, I drink water from one of the bottles kept in my desk. I'm conscious of the fact that my good friend is laid up with the yellow fever. The water table in Mumbai is fast deminishing. Thanks to the massive expansion of the city, which is desperately trying to accommodate every soul seeking shelter. Smart are people out here, they have drilled in numerous borewells, thereby making our 'drinking water' no longer safe. It's full of arsenic. A whole industry thrives in these conditions. From Aqua Guard to our local plumber who drills down the bore benefit from us.

At least for once I can proudly say that I contribute to the system.

A Quick Update

2005-01-15T23:46:00.000-08:00

Alexander : Lost in Translation

The weekends just flew by. Saturday was fun, had some amazing encounters. Went to my cousin's place (Mulund), saw this relatively censored and shortened version of the film 'Alexander'...eeesh just couldn't connect to it at all. Felt as if the director had purposely styled it so. The movie never took off, was really disappointed. I should admit that somewhere at somepoint I started comparing it with Troy, hence the effect just drained off!

Duplicacy : Go the Wal Mart way

The movie was followed by a tour to a shopping mall, which resembled Wal Mart (hear say, I have never experienced / seen Wal Mart). Sources say, that it was almost a look alike of the 'original'. I surely was impressed, not for its sheer structure and size but the numerous customers who shopped there. A perfect sample for any user survey. Atitudes, were just a class apart. Indians in particular I believe have this desire in them to inspect each and everything they purchase. Guess the trust factor in them is 'dead' >> Psychographics eh!!!

It was amazing to see people dressed in their best (probably that's my perspective, I suppose I was shabbily dressed) when they shop. They converse mostly in our adopted mother tongue and carry a sense of pride while enjoying their shopping experience. Does it always work this way ? Unfortunately I'm unable to post the snaps that I caught in my mind while I was there. My eye is just not that good enough I presume.

It's all about templates

Once shopped, they move out to the nearest eating stall (Pizza Hut / Mc Donalds) and feed their sacred stomach and those of their loved ones. The young ones carry a real loud voice, just enough to grab the attention of those sitting in the adjacent tables. The world works in a very systematic manner. Most of them are purely templates. It has to happen, just for the pure reason of it.

Saviour of the Day

Just as I was getting pissed with most of things happening around me, my cousin made the most decent decision. It was a perfect telepathy, the most eternal thing to happen to me at that moment. He stopped at a nearby liquor shop and proudly announced, "Lets drink it out tonight". Picture perfect, I thought. The day ended rather quietly with a few sips and talks on relationships.

Sluggish Sunday

Slept till my eyes could no longer bear it. Water scarcity in amchi mumbai!!! Washed more than a dozen of my soiled clothes which changed the colour of my palms from 'skin to pink'. It gave me a sense of discipline. It's tough to put in the word 'discipline' cause the word has different meaning for different people, infact that's so for every word. The thought or should I say the desire to possess a digi-cam once again crossed my mind. Only the eternal force knows, when the moment will arrive. I'm longing to possess it. I sometimes feel that I'm materialistic.

My 'wants' are getting converted to 'needs'. Is this a universal phenomena?

The World of Sweat Shop

2005-01-14T02:12:00.000-08:00

Welcome Address

This is getting a bit too much, my brain is going on a spree. It's able to think by itself, my body no longer feels a part of it. Am I doped or drugged ? There are no conflicts, no emotions, it's detached even as I write this. The brain is controlling my body to a large extent. I see people at my workplace aimlessly going about doing their respective work like machines. The person sitting next to me is probably the most dedicated worker I have seen or should I say that I'm hopelessly lost in the world of ' Sriram '. I see this person take just those right amount of breaks that the company would like every employee to take. Worth applauses.

People have moulded themselves to such a lifestyle. They seem to have accepted defeat. Defeated, they lie helplessly in the ground trying to reach out for a stick, a stick they are never ever going to even see. The more fortunate ones do catch hold of the stick but don't dare to leave it. They keep holding to it as if it's their life, possessive to death, should I say. Few are those who have the courage to stand up boldly and fight it out without a stick or a support.
Bob Marley rightly says,

"Get Up, Stand Up,...Stand up for your Rights...Don't give up the Fight..."

Comforts I seek

I wish to seek solace in a more comforting place. I have two options : either follow what I'm supposed to do ( which is a bit tough) or move on ( that's tough too). It's easy to crib and complain about a system but its too tough to contribute to it. We all learn it the hard way I guess.

Music to my ears

It's ideally suited to soothen my nerves. 'Healer' should I say or am I in the process of being healed. Statements are to be carefully made. They are prone to debate and cross examinations. You think you have passed a harmless statement and there you have just gravely offended one of the noblest beings in planet earth.

Spirit of life

2005-01-13T03:20:00.000-08:00

Well the day started with a slight headache...I have been experiencing these aches for quite a few days now. It's probably the climatic changes / may be the AC effect in the office. The lunch at HFI (the place where I work) was good, thanks for not having any breakfast ( just one lil' Tropicana), it gave me extra room to eat, grinded every bit of it especially the roshgulla which was a bit hard.

The Tea Episide

A strange thing happened to me after lunch I had this strong urge to drink tea. I never drink any beverage after food. My brain forced my body to react and there I went walking towards the lift ( I was in the 4th floor) pressed the button, the bell rang, the door opened and here was I going 'down' all the way. As soon as I reached the ground floor, my desire to drink tea just vanished... I remembered I had to go to the bank to make a stop payment of a cheque that was lost. I never knew how it got into my head all of a sudden. My system was acting abnormally and I could actually feel it. I wanted to do something, but it never really took off. Is there some force controlling me. I'm beginning to feel psychotic (hope there is word called psychotic).

Banking On

I had a small problem in the bank . I was issued this token and suddenly I see this lady standing next to me, come up with a statement " May I help you sir ? " Shocked for a second, (it was too tough to imagine her as an employee) I blurted out, " Yeah...I need to make a stop payment ". I still couldn't figure out whether she was an intern / employee / quality inspection staff etc...Just as I was about to ask her, my number blinked in the damn screen. She was prompt enough to immediately point it out to me. Man she was fast, smart and pretty. Gosh, all my efforts for a good date got spoilt. This is the external force that I was always scared of. It scares me. I was led to a counter which probably had the most stern face in the office. It sucked even more when the lady at the counter replied with a cold voice. It literally woke me up. The transition state from previous lady to this one was drastic. Hmmm..makes me wonder if the bank will ever have raise in customers.

Sandeep : The Dancing Guru

Was quietly working in the office till Sandeep (our dance teacher >> amazing guy) came and called us for a round of cha cha (that's his favourite). Danced and sweated for about an hour...it was pure fun.

Realisation

All the fun disappeared when I was called in for a meeting for some project. Man working life does get boring to a large extent...sad scene. Realisation dawns at last. I know where this is going to take me to. At the end of the day, it's just a damn ordinary life ' sans spirit '.

Better late than never...

2005-01-12T01:22:00.000-08:00

I always wanted to pen down things, but it never took off till I got inspired by my friend Saad. Should have done this long time back..anyways it at least took off.

National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

With a post graduate diploma in visual communication from the National Institute of Design I hope to make this a visually rich experience...

Located currently in India's commercial capital, Mumbai originally called Bombay, I work with a firm called Human Factors International Incorporation Limited...hope i spelt that right...

Now here I'm not trying to publisize the company or its achievements but just trying to put in the thing that I'm working on...fine I work as an Interface designer ie we come up with usable solutions for a better living...hope that sounds "ok".

Keywords commonly used to describe my kinda work

Virtual and Cognitive Ergonomics
Usability
Human Computer Interaction
Please add on if you know more...

Common now, this is getting to hysterical levels...emotions running high and dry. Can you imagine I'm unable to insert my pic. in the right place. I hope one can customise these lousy settings. Shit man this interface sucks to the core and here I go again talking about usability.

Quote of the day :

" Crap is Usable but Usability is not crap. "

Just attended a seminar delivered by my good friend Saurabh (more details on saurabh later) who works in the same office as I do. It was pure techincal design that he delivered. This guy, he hasn't changed a bit. It's remarkable as to how people remain same, unaffected by the immediate surroundings.