A good year?

So, the year end is here.
Have you bought a new calendar yet? No? Neither have I…ever. Since times immemorial, I have left this task to various shopkeepers and organizations…who give me 365 days neatly packed…sometimes all on a single sheet…sometimes on twelve. I prefer the ones that have 365 sheets…they are more convenient because only one day comes at a time. And if you are lazy and forget to tear yesterday’s sheet, you can fool yourself into believing that maybe time is standing still. Even if it is for a day. Is that too much to ask?
Then there are newspapers. They will tell you exactly what all happened in the entire year, what was good, what was bad, what went right and what went wrong. It is good…refreshing memories. But when I tend to do this for myself, it is such a difficult task. I tend to forget the details. And details are very important because they make the plot interesting. Maybe I should be more curious about my life than remembering trivia about celebrities. Still, even if I am unable to remember the finer points at this moment... a good year? Yes. The best year? I hope not.
And because every year end is another year’s beginning, I will now go and have chocolate cake.
Hope you have an interesting 2007.

Random Muse -- 7: It multiples

Like...
... Oil from hot cutlets through a paper napkin
... Fog through clothes left outside on winter nights
... Sunshine through a thin slit in the curtain
... Dust through shoes that were once white
... Sound of a buzzing alarm through a lazy dream
... Drowsiness through a mind fighting to concentrate
... Restlessness through a child who is ordered to sit still
... Glee through eyes planning to celebrate
Like so many things that become routine
Boredom is becoming an interesting constant
It seeps through the days moment by moment
And because it has time, it multiplies.

Book Review -- 4: The Kite Runner

The Review:

A kite runner chases kites – the kites that have been competitively cut, the kites that have been aimlessly flying till they are grabbed by two eager hands, the kites that are as treasured as the babies who are lost and found. The kite runner is a twelve year old servant boy who chases kites for his twelve year old master. It’s the story of their lives and how circumstances force them to change. But you will say, what is so great about this? Are not all our lives changed by our circumstances? True, they are… but some circumstances are more trying than others. Circumstances like living in a turbulent Afganistan…of happily suffering the worst disgrace to prove your loyalty… of feeling you are not loved enough and that is why you have earned a right to not love enough back… of carrying the burden of your roots…of having your future defined by your caste and religion…of losing everything you have…of leaving your childhood and growing up in five minutes flat, of finding love in a used-goods market, of discovering that life becomes worse if you grow up...because sometimes you are forced to keep promises that were not even made. It is a poignant tale…a story so well written that one feels Khaled Hosseini – the author, is narrating it to you word by word... rather than you reading it. Still, if you feel that you already have too much reality thrown in your face and will like to read a fairy tale romance for a change...you might want to skip this.

In a nutshell...it is a tale that will touch your heart – a tale that will re-enforce the reality that at the end of the day... come what may...
Zendagi Migzara – Life goes on.

Rating:

8.5/10

Why I read this book?

Highly recommended by two friends -- SC and CG (and now by me too).

Next Read:

I am on a reading spree because I have a lot of free time these days (three cheers to post-placement-inclination-towards-whatever-interest-I-ever-had-in-MBA-education)
Also because I have in my possession four brand new books (aren’t you envious?)

Because definitions change

Confused
5 years go – it’s me
A year ago – it’s me
Right now – Well...you guessed it right...it’s me again

Crazy
My sister, who stays in Mumbai, telling me on Friday late night that she is coming to meet me and I should come and pick her up from station, Saturday early morning.

Love
Hmmm...Have never been able to define this heavenly concept but I guess if it were to take an earthly form, it will come in the form of chocolate truffle cake.

More love
Definitely, more chocolate truffle cake.

Non-verbal communication
Best form – A smile
Worst form – A backslap

One more reason why I should exercise
Earlier, the only reason to lose weight was that maybe if I am fit, I can have chips more frequently. But I guess if I become thin, I will be able to talk more too...
Because a few days ago, this happened...
I was sitting on a bench at the station, waiting for my sister’s train to arrive. The train was an hour late, maybe more. I was sulking...in general...because of cold, having to wake up early in the morning, on why trains are never on time, etc. Now, when I am normal, I speak little but when I am angry, the person who is (trying) to make a conversation with me might as well as go and bang her head against the water tank at the station. So, I was sitting quietly, when a lady came and sat besides me.
Lady: “You seem to be feeling very cold.” [Ok...I am looking like a mini version of Eskimo but isn’t it so cold...and why does she not mind her business...]
I: give lady a very cold stare
Lady: “You are wearing a lot of clothes...cap...gloves...good...its very cold today”
I: “Hmmm...”
Lady: “I am from Allahabad...blah...blah”...in short...a fifteen minute monologue...I am not interested...and I am generally staring into some space behind her.
Then suddenly, something like this...
Lady: “In Delhi, people are so fat. You should take care not to put on weight.”
I (at my curt best): “I think it’s too late...I am already overweight.”
Lady: “Fat people are very rude. So, if you became fit, you would be talking more and feeling happier...”

That was the point when I got up from my bench, went and stood near a water tank and contemplated how seriously would it hurt if I banged my head against it.


Proxy
Earlier defined as – “I don’t believe in proxies...I mean...how you can be both in the class and outside it at the same time...”
Now – “Well, I don’t believe in proxies...but I guess we all have to survive in the system...and you see...sometimes one faces crisis in beliefs...”

Self – help books
While growing up, I got a lot of books as gifts – both fact and fiction. Every year, invariably, I got at least one self help book. All of them gave a lot of tips on how to start conversations, make small talks, become public speakers, make friends and influence people. My definition of any self-help book – “Oh! Crap!”
Then the other day, my sister tells me that I should maybe buy a self-help book on ‘How to make proper introductions.’[A typical introducing-my-sister-to-my-friends scene – I introduce my sister or I introduce the other person to her. I have not yet done both together. Sometimes, if two people are sitting on the same table, I introduce my sister to just one of them]. I wonder how many social faux-pas’ is a person permitted before she is socially boycotted. But even then, my definition of any self-help book – “Oh! Crap!”

Very Lucky
Around two years ago, if you would have asked me what is being lucky, I would have replied, “Oh! Lucky is getting a call from an IIM”. A year ago, I would have said, “Definitely...Lucky is surviving BS end-term”.
I think “very lucky” is getting these three books that I have been really wanting to read -- all in a span of seven days.



Wait
If you would have asked me last Thursday how was it like waiting for twenty days to get placed, I would have said, “ Countless moments of despair, hope, fear, tears, hugs and backslaps.” Ask me today and I will tell you, “Oh! Well... twenty days were like twenty days...no big deal.” Five years down the line, after I have seen better quality struggles than a 20 day wait, I will most probably reply, “Really? Did I wait for twenty days? Don’t seem to remember now...though I wonder why I didn’t wait more... I mean those were some good old days...”

Hmmm...Why does the way we define some things keeps on changing? I don’t know...maybe because our circumstances change...or maybe because we just keep growing up...
So, have any of your definitions changed recently?