What would Forrest Gump do?

At the end of it...

• Your legs are too weak to even make their way into the warmth indoors
  
• Your fingers hurt so bad that you worry they might fall off because of frostbite
  
• Your shirt is soaked in sweat that has forced its way out of you despite the 5 degree Celsius temperature outside.
  
• Your whole body trembles due to the exertion.
  
• People never get tired of ridiculing you.
  

Yet...at the end of it, the “runners ecstasy” that comes with completely a 4km run non-stop makes everything worth it!!

I have lost count of the number of people who have asked me the question, “What’s the big deal about long distance running?”
I always reply saying that it is something that has to be experienced and once u get a whiff of it you are never going to ask yourself that question.
But occasionally I act snooty and say stuff like Runners, we are different. :)
On a different level, I think it has got to with the sole fact that unlike other sports there is nothing to distract you in long distance running (never mind the walkmans!). It is just a test of pure will power. And that’s what makes ‘everything else just a sport’!

And just cuz I’m feeling all good-old-times-where-are-they types, this is big hey to Subbu, Rabbi, Vidya and Paki. These were the guys with whom I trained for and ran the Mumbai half-marathon in Feb’04. (Actually there was one more guy who had flown in from B’lore the day before just to run. Talk abt enthusiasm . I don’t remember his name though!) And we kept ourselves inspired with a really cool paragraph that one of us found somewhere,

Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

It does not matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up you would better be running!

Some adrenalin rush it was!
Who is up for some more? :)

BTW...Happy New Year!

Play that funky music, brown boy!

A couple of days ago I was minding my business when a friend of mine came up to me and gave me a flash drive filled with songs of his liking and asked me to check them out. As I eagerly dug into them hoping to find some obscure Sabbath or Zeppelin masterpiece that I probably forgot about I realized that he was in fact a closeted pop-lover who never came out :P. His entire collection was filled with Avril Lavignes, Celine Dions, Kelly Clarksons, Elton Johns and the like.
Nevertheless I kept the collection and in the next few days discovered quite a few songs that I had once listened to passionately but until then had completely forgotten about. As I dug up more and more pop/techno/non-rock songs from everywhere I realized there are a few songs that have a very very high repeat value for me. These are the songs that I could listen to over and over again and probably never get bored. And then I thought to myself, “You know what...there are people out there who would love to read a list of your favourite non-rock songs”. Then reality hit me hard, just like the way the truck hits the kid’s bed in “Enter Sandman” video. I realized I was kidding myself. Still to re-quote one of my favourite quotes “To inflict such misfortune upon mankind isn’t my style”...so whether you like it or not and just because you are here and also because I like writing useless stuff about music, you are doomed to read...

“Ro’s amazing top 10 list of non-rock songs (with very high repeat value)”
in no particular order
except that the numbers are ascending :P

1) I want you - Savage Garden:
From what I know this was the song that put Savage Garden on the map. The melodious chorus is excellently complemented by the almost rappish way Darren Hayes sings the verses. Their next album was also quite good and I remember liking all the songs. But somehow “I want you” remains up there. The lyrics are fun to sing along to...but one thing that always puzzled me was as to why he sings “shaggy yeah” right in the middle for no reason! This song's got a cool video too.

2) Kiss from a rose - Seal:
I don’t know of any other song by Seal except this one. But I think I can safely say this is his best song. Seal’s melodious voice, excellent lyrics and captivating music gives this song a very ballad sort of feel. All in all one amazing song...and very well complemented by Nicole Kidman in the video! :)

3) Jam - Michael Jackson:
Michael Jackson was the first artist whose albums I collected, back in the pre-mp3 cassettes and cds days. I would love to listen to any MJ song any day but ‘Jam’ has to be my fav and one of his best. I could never understand what he sang without reading his lyrics and singing his songs phonetically was good fun (“...aint yet, too much, it aint too amuchforme to JAM”). Michael Jackson was called the king of pop...but I would say he (or whoever wrote his music) also pioneered a lot of unconventional (techo-ish) sounds too. And the video of Jam has Michael Jackson dancing and Michael Jordan dribbling in it. Was enough for me to get hooked onto it for life!

4) Come undone - Duran Duran:
What a song! This is only one of the couple of Duran Duran songs that I’ve heard of but nevertheless I’m convinced of their musical prowess. With absolutely awesome lyrics, I feel the song gets its charm mainly from the way it’s sung. The mix of the “Can I forgive u for falling apart” part and the “Who do you need, who do you love, when you come undone” makes this song a masterpiece. Heck I feel like listening to it while I am typing this!

5) That thing you do - Fountains of Wayne:
As I found out from the very friend I was talking about at the beginning, I learnt that this is actually a Fountains of Wayne (remember Stacy’s Mom) song and in fact launched their career. FoW had made this song for the movie for a contest and they sure did a good job. The most captivating thing about this song is the casual way it’s sung and its simple yet rhythmic drum pattern. I might even add, at one point of time I even knew all its lyrics!!!

6) The Mission Impossible theme – Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton:
This has to be the mother of all themes. I don’t know how to describe it. If you haven’t listened to it there’s something you are missing. I haven’t seen the original TV series so I have no opinion about it but the music perfectly captures everything the movie is about. Even Limp Bizkit’s rendition is quite addictive! :)

7) Breathe - Prodigy:
Scary guys with heavy makeup + alligators + some very cool techno music = awesome song with awesome video. Prodigy has made some very good techno music and ‘breathe’ is one of their best. I know many people who’ve been repulsed at the thought of listening to techno music when I suggest Prodigy. Agreed its not conventional music which can be played live on instruments but what the heck! Whatever prodigy does, it does good. They have quite a large range of sounds and they do a good job of putting everything together. So yeah...don’t shy away from techno. Just breathe with them.

8) Staying alive - Bee Gees:
“If you can tell by the way I use my walk
I’m a woman’s man, no time to talk”
Tell me how times you must have heard this song pop out of nowhere and immediately felt a need to sing along and groove with it. The typical Bee Gee’s falsetto in which it is sung makes it very appealing and the music taunts you to try and stop yourself from moving! Definitely one of the most popular songs in the world...and deservingly so.

9) How deep is your love - Take that:
They say first impressions last the longest. Applies very well in this case. I loved this song when I saw ‘Take that’ sing it on MTV but when I heard the Bee Gee’s original later it came nowhere close. I found the way ‘Take that’ sings the chorus much more appealing than the original. It has really nice lyrics and Take that’s video of this song (showing a girl torturing and ultimately drowning the four band members tied to chairs) is simply superb.
The above line makes me sound like a sadist! :D

10) She’s got the look – Roxette:
Again, maybe just one of the 2 or 3 songs of Roxette that I know. But I am pretty sure this is their best (and most popular) one. This probably is the first song that I’ve listened to amongst all the songs on this list and I remember liking it so much that I even wanted to sing to some girl I liked at that point of time. However I never could muster up the courage to do it (maybe it happened for my own good :)). Never mind the lyrics cuz they are sung very nicely. I remember having a discussion with Sidney about the different ways the line “Loving is the ocean, kissing is the wet sand” can be interpreted!(The things I used to do :() Nevertheless, a very catchy song that has stuck to be one of my all time favourites.

That’s the end of the list folks.
See how I managed to waste a precious 5 minutes of your life making you read about stuff that is not going to be useful in any conceivable way! Yeah...I have a knack for such things. So don’t be surprised if in the future you’ll be reading about “Ro’s amazing top 10 things to do while you are taking a dump”.
Until then...I suggest you put your time to good use.
Tata

I gotta hole...

...not in my soul...but in my pocket!

I went to the City Hall today to find out about my speeding fine and pay it up!
Everything went without any hassles!
I am now poorer by 127 dollars!

All condolences will be accepted in the form of money orders, checks and cash.
Once the total reaches 127$ you may sympathize with only kind words.
Thank You very much!

FFF... 20 years down the line!

U might want to read this before going any further!

Rolling Stone
December, 2025

The return of five funkmen!

Ever since their first concert Fuel For Fantasy (more popularly known as FFF) had come a long way. 14 albums and over 50 hit singles (including the largely popular ‘Epiphany’) the band had reached success they had never known before. From their first album “Our first rock album” to their last one “FFF: The unsung songs” these guys reached dizzying heights of success. In many ways they seemed to be the perfect formula for the success of any aspiring rock band. Consisting of friends who met each other in college, the band was put together largely due to the efforts of their bassist Golu. They more or less shared the same inspiration of music, played together locally for a couple of years covering many bands in the process and acquiring a style of their own along the way. Briefly separated after college for about 4 years to pursue their own academic interests, the band realized that they were destined to play music together during this time and quickly got back before turning pro. All the while bonded together with a friendship that seemed to surely last forever, in 2008 the rockers of the world stood up and noticed as FFF had arrived. The band enjoyed a string of successful albums and fans eagerly lapped up everything thrown their way from the FFF headquarters (even the abysmal solo effort by Golu proved to be a creative success). Yet…nothing lasts for ever and FFF was no exception. A cliché that surfaces time and again in rock bands, their rhythm guitarist G was rocked with a severe case of heroin addiction and went into rehab for a long time. The band had sworn not to play with anyone else thus stalling all future projects and waiting for G’s return. The wait didn’t turn out to be as simple as they had expected. It was during this time that their drummer Viral would reveal having an affair with Golu’s grad school sweetheart turned wife. This severely cut off Golu’s rapport with Viral and his further involvement in the band. Golu was undoubtedly one of the creative forces of FFF and his distance was a serious impediment. There were other problems too. Sidney (the lead guitarist) proved to be a “dominating bastard” (words used by Golu himself in the December 2010 issue of the “Rolling Stone”) There was a difference in opinion regarding an opening act for rock legends ‘Metallica’. Golu wanted to do it and Sidney did not. To make matters worse their front man Zubin was struggling with a few personal problems of his own. G, after his return to FFF echoed every fan’s feelings when he said, “I never thought I would be returning to a band that would end up doing much worse than when one their guitarists turns out to be a drug-addict”. Somehow they managed one last tour with a replacement drummer as no one in the band was on amicable terms with Viral. FFF for the first time had performed with a lineup different from what it was 20 years ago. The tour was a failure drawing only the hardcore fans. The FFF that people knew and loved seemed lost forever. Their fans prayed for a miracle.

And it came...in the form of G’s relapse to heroin addiction. Depressed by the current state of the band G took to drugs once again and this time found himself dangerously close to death. Convinced he was not going to make it, his last wishes were to play with FFF once again. For this the band put all its differences aside (which included a public apology by Viral) and started jamming again. That was all G needed. He hooked himself back to life with a new found vigour and FFF was back. Their comeback concert was aptly held in Mumbai, India to a crowd of over 50,000, the same place where they were first formed and first performed. Put together in only 2 weeks, the concert was a mess…..G smashed a few guitars, Zubin forgot his lyrics, Viral managed to punch a hole into his snare drum, Golu was rocked with bouts of nervousness and Sidney was just being Sidney. But the fans didn’t mind. They knew that FFF was back and here to stay for a long time!


Sam Etaro
Kick-ass Rock Journalist,
Big fan of FFF,
And part time drummer too. ;)

Disclaimer yada yada: In the above post the only thing that is real is FFF. Everything else is made up and I wrote it for fun. This shud defly not be seen as my view of the way things are going to turn out in the future! Although I wudnt be too shocked if Viral pulls off something like how it is described above :P

And just so things make sense to others too...FFF stands for Fuel For Fantasy...a college band comprising of:

Zubin Jacob(T.A.V): Vocals
Gurzada Pawankumar (G): Rhythm guitar
Sidney David Rosario (Sidney): Lead guitar
Dheeraj Singaraju (Golu, T.A.B):Bass guitar
Aviral Saini (Viral): Drums

who no longer play together as the band members are on different parts of the earth.

I wonder...

I recently read about the murder of Manjunathan here
In brief, Manjunathan was an IIM-L graduate who worked for Indian Oil Corporation and was murdered on Nov20th in Uttar Pradesh when he refused to play mute spectator to the illegal adulteration of petrol.
Things like these (remember the murder of Satyendra Dubey) always make me question my largely hedonistic point of view in life. These are people who go against the system and stick to their beliefs and are killed for it.

I wondered if I would have the courage to give up a definite lucrative job in a probable MNC that comes after an IIM degree and instead work for a government organization like the IOC.
I wondered if I would just accept the corruption of the system as a byproduct of the society I live in and get on with my life.
I wondered if at some point of time my conscience would stab me into doing something but the fear of the pain that I would put my family through if something would happen to me would prevent me from doing anything drastic.

At this point of time I don’t know at all.
I am not making any claims right now.
All I can do is pray that I can give back something to my country…somehow!
And that at least some amount of good comes out of this so that this man’s death doesn’t go in vain.

But then...what about all those who probably were killed for being honest but don’t have an IIM or an IIT degree. The news of their deaths doesn’t even reach us! Who prays for them?

Speed Demon

I would very much like to think I am one!
The Traffic Police Department of Mississippi however tends to disagree.

Yesterday morning I drove to Memphis (in a friend’s car) to attend a Thanksgiving dinner. I have been driving for a while but this was the first time I was going onto a highway and hence was just a little bit apprehensive. I completed the 80miles journey without any event and was quite pleased with myself for handling it so well.
Today morning was the drive back to Oxford and having pulled off yesterday quite fabulously I was sure nothing would happen. The journey was almost coming to an end and after taking the exit from the highway towards Oxford I mentally gave myself a pat on the back assuming that nothing could go possibly go wrong now.

I was so wrong.

Now the streets of Oxford were quite deserted what with it being the day after thanksgiving and I was cruising along when I saw a speed limit signboard that said 30mph. I immediately looked at my speedometer and realized I was doing 55mph! For those who are unaware, if the speed limit at any street is X mph then as long as it doesn’t say “strictly enforced” you can go at X+10 mph. So here I was going at 15mph over the limit. I immediately slowed down but it was too late. I heard the cop’s siren and noticed his car right behind me in the rearview and I pulled over. Now the law here requires people to stay put in the vehicle when you are pulled over. But somehow I decided that it was worth a try to get out and convince him that I didn’t really mean to speed. I don’t know what my body language suggested but he concluded that I was not going to be co-operative. He called out to me asking me to go back into the car. Unfortunately, I couldn’t understand him clearly cuz he was speaking with a very thick southern accent. I took a step towards him to hear him better and that’s when he took out his tranquilizer gun and shot me in the thigh. I recovered around 2 hrs later to find myself in a hospital room and I cursed myself as to why I had to get myself into this shit in the first place!


:D Ok...All that really didn’t happen!
I pulled over and the cop came up to me, spoke to me very politely and gave me my speeding ticket (my first one...:)...not that I want more...I’m just kicked about this) and went away. There wasn’t any of the drama as above but I found out I might end up paying anywhere between 100 to 150 dollars as the fine...which of course isn’t a very nice thing!

First time that Ive broken the law and have been caught!
Will try and avoid it in the future! ;)

DRIVE SAFE EVERYONE!

Drink in from the Goblet!

Let me say what I should probably be saying at the end of this post. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is an excellent movie and I would highly recommend it for both fans of the series and those who haven’t seen or read any of the movies/books.

Now lets get into my artsy-fartsy review of this movie :)
Warning: Might or might not contain spoilers. Mostly...might not!

The most striking thing about this movie is the fact that despite the omission of a zillion things from the book the essentials have been faithfully stuck to and the result is an enjoyable movie that is appealing to everyone.
The movie begins with the Quidditch World Cup and the special effects are a treat to the eye and made me realize how poorly I had imagined the whole thing when I was reading the book. Unfortunately, the world cup isn’t a pivotal part of the story and even before you finish explaining what is going on to the chic next to you (who doesn’t care much abt Harry and his friends) the wonderful imagery ends. Things unravel at a very good pace and the bulk of the story revolves around the ‘tri-wizard tournament’, a competition amongst three wizarding schools (I couldn’t help notice that Hogwarts was the only co-ed one...the other two happen to be a complete girls and a complete boys schools) in which four competitors (two from Hogwarts and one from the each of the other two) compete for the much coveted tri-wizard cup. The many subplots in the book have been omitted and during the course of the tournament events unfold culminating at the end with the return of Voldemort and another not-seen-before-in-the-previous-movies shocker which will surprise you only if you are someone who follows the series through the movies alone.

Someone worth mentioning is the very pretty Emma Watson (who plays Hermione Granger). I feel there is a little bit of a mismatch between the books and the movies that concerns her. The books have always described her as a plain-Jane who isn’t exactly known for her killer looks. In this story there is a part where she gets a complete makeover for a dance (the Yule Ball) and everyone is just floored by her new look. However when you see this particular scene you don’t really get the same feeling. She looks just as pretty as before. Instead of going from plain-jane to stunning-beauty she turns from pretty-girl to pretty-girl-in-a-nice-dress. Not that I’m complaining :)...its something that occurred to me.

The movie does have its little negatives here and there. Somehow I felt the goofy-humour content is shown a little more than necessary, to the extent that it takes away a little bit of the seriousness. Dumbledore and the others act goofier than before doing silly things and it kind of bugged me a little. But then again I guess I’m just being a purist!

And finally...Ralph Fiennes is GOD!
I was thrilled when I heard that he was playing Voldemort and my expectations of him as being a chilling, cold, evil overlord were fantastically met! The guy is awesome when it comes to these evil roles. He was excellent in the red dragon (as the ‘tooth fairy’) and of course the nazi officer in Schindlers list. Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort is one of the many things to look forward to in the rest of the movies!

Like I said at the beginning...its worth your time and money! So watch it!
Tata

iPod...therefore I am!

Yeah...I now own an iPod shuffle! :)
A friend of mine leaving the lab gifted me this!
I have to mention that this is an extremely neat toy to have. Really high clarity of music and very handy to use. The only downside probably being you cannot see the playlist and if you want to choose a song if you have skip your way rather than just jump to it. Then again ... the 'shuffle' option does compensate for this cuz its nice to have songs play in a random order. So yeah...its pretty cool. And now its time for me to ROCK ON with my new iPod! :P




PS: I didnt come up with the name of this post...I wish I did but I didnt! I saw this on a book and its a neat title for sure!

The one that got away!

Sometime in mid October 2005

It was just another day in my life...nothing extraordinary had happened till then and I certainly did not expect that to change. After spending a good 6 hrs of the day trying to get some research done I decided to give my poor brain a break and work out my body instead. So off I went to the swimming pool to do my usual laps (After great thought I decided to refrain from mentioning the usual number of laps that I swim cuz I am not sure whether the said number would be impressive or insulting!) So there I was in the pool ‘doing my thing’ when I notice this chic 2 lanes away. Now it’s quite normal for me to check out all the chics at the pool...but I was checking this girl out also because
A) She was a kick-ass swimmer...you could look at her swimming and say stuff like “Is that a shark? Is that a speedboat? NO! Its super-swimmer-chic” or something like that...AND
B) She seemed to be checking me out!
Now before I proceed any further I want all of you out there who are smirking to wipe the stupid expression off your face. Yeah...some girls find me hot...or not (as you shall find out)! But at that point I was convinced she was checking me out. Every time she was doing the fro part of a to-and-fro lap using a float-board, I could see her looking at me. And this happened quite a lot. Why was this girl checking me out so much…the question plagued me for a full 1 minute and then I remembered something!

Now take a break from this story and imagine that you and I are in a room standing around a circular table with a large circular bowl filled with a clear silvery liquid. I am holding a wand and I touch my head with it. Out from my head clinging to the tip of the wand come out silvery threads of thoughts which I empty out into the bowl. Yes...you are right...we are looking at a 'pensieve' and I want you to bury your face into this bowl with me so that you can relive the flashback I had during that time at the pool. (In case you are not a Harry Potter fan, then all you need to know is that I remembered something else looking that girl at the pool and I am jumping into it right now)

Sometime in mid February 2005

I had just finished 'doing my thing' and was walking out of the recreation center when this random girl I don’t recognize walks right in front of me and says

Random Girl: Oh...you are done?
Me: Excuse me?
RG: You done swimming for the day?
Puzzled Me: Uhhh...yeah...just finished...Uhh...you going now?
RG: Yeah...I see you swimming all the time.
Still Puzzled Me Oh! (smiles stupidly not knowing what else to do)
RG: Alright...Ill cya arnd.
Now thinking ‘WTF’ Me: Yeah...cya!

And then she was gone. Now all this happened in a matter of a few seconds and since things like this don’t happen on a day to day basis I was quite unprepared. The worst part is that I don’t remember her face. Even now I don’t even have the slightest clue as to how she looks. We probably must have crossed paths numerous times later but never once did I manage to recognize her...MAAAYBE UNTIL NOW!

As I say this you see silvery threads circling all around your face and with a bright cool flash you are out of the 'pensieve' and back to the present situation poolside


The same sometime in mid October 2005

So here I was, thinking that maybe it’s the same girl and that’s the reason she seemed so interested in me. Although I had set out to rest my brain it refused to do so and did some logical analysis for me...
->Probability of cute chic checking you out with so much interest: 1%
->Probability that she is a possessive stalker: 50%
->Probability that this stops you in anyway whatsoever: 0.001%
->Logical conclusion: Go talk to her!

Whom am I to say no to my brain. So I waited for her to finish swimming. She got out of the pool and made way to her towel. I got out and followed her to pick up my towel (Im no pervert! Everyone keeps their towels in the same place here). As she was rinsing herself I approached her and said Hi.

And I smiled...
a not very confident “Hey...how have you been...its been a while” smile
but a subtle “Do I know you? If so smile back and start talking else take it as a polite southern hospitality thingie and continue rinsing”.

And she smiled back...
a not very open “Oh my gaawd...its you...the hot guy Ive been waiting forever to talk to but after that disastrous first meeting I was scared of being thought as a freak but now that you have said hi Im going to take you back to my place and make you do things to me that would condemn us both from heaven forever”
But a very subtle “Huh...why is this freak saying hi to me while I’m rinsing myself!Im sure he is an engineering graduate student...they often tend to be so desperate and socially stunted. I better smile back politely and get the hell out of here before he tries to hit on me”

And then she left!

And I still don’t know if this was the same girl from before!

Cruel world: 1
Ro: 0

Apocalypse Now!

Has anyone else wondered about the large number of natural disasters...

The tsunami!
The hurricanes!
The earthquake!
The rains and flooding!

...all happening within such a short span of time!
I suggest that everyone start doing all those things you have on ur "Things to do in life" list cuz I am pretty darn sure that...

The end is near

Confessions of an Engineering Grad Student!

I wrote this as an article for my university's Graduate Student Council's (GSC)newsletter. The editor told me that she is going to have to chop it up due to space constraints (or maybe she just doesnt like it that much!). Nevertheless, to inflict such a great loss upon mankind isnt my kind of thing. So I am posting the entire draft here. This was written for a demograph that is familiar with Olemiss and the town of Oxford...so if you dont fully comprehend certain parts please call upon the considerate person inside you and move on! ;)

-------------------------
Confessions of an Engineering Grad Student
-------------------------
Being a grad student is no easy task. Being an engineering grad is even tougher. If you all were in a large hall and I had said this out loudly you would definitely shout back “Oh Yeah!” and would be intently waiting for me to say something wise. Of course you would be disappointed! Not very different from what’s going to happen here! Nevertheless, as Pink Floyd says “the show must go on”.
When I set out to write an article for this newsletter I had no idea what would make an interesting read. Someone suggested that I should write about life as an international graduate student. So I did some thinking. And I realized that so many aspects of my life had changed when I moved on from being an undergrad to a grad that they merited a compilation somewhere. So much for trying to make this an ‘interesting read’. You can safely remove the ‘interesting’ from the above line and toss it straight out of the window next your workstation (God help you if you don’t have a window!). What I have put down is an arbitrary and utterly disconnected list of things that should help you get deep insights into life as an Engineering Graduate Student from a Whole Different Country (EGSWDC...f you will!)

Starting on a somewhat serious note, life as an undergrad is so much different compared to life as a grad in terms of the amount of studying one does. During my undergraduate years all I did was hang around with friends and goof about (didn’t we all? ;). But now I put in long hours of work to do grueling research that will ultimately lead to every man, woman and child in this world leading a much better and more fulfilling life (yeah...right!). Maybe it’s the feeling of responsibility that comes with getting paid for your work or the wisdom that comes as we get older :P but now it’s not uncommon for me to spend long nights in my department trying to get some work done. So much so that I have my own pillow in my office for a quick snooze, am good friends with the janitor of my building and have nice talks with her at 4 in the morning, nights and days have reversed for me and I love working on weekends because everything is so quiet and peaceful without any bothersome classes!

Secondly, one of my biggest cribs about this world is the obvious lack of plenty of women in engineering grad school. As you might have guessed by now, this leads to a social/party life that is just about as exciting as......a really old and dull object. Not that this bothers me too much. I am not a very clubbing person but I’ve seen and heard my many EGSWDC friends whine about it so I speak for them. Social life for me consists of an occasional get-together of friends, random sporting event, once a while movies, even the GSC social ;) and these leave me quite content. I see the Thursday/Friday/weekend night parties that happen on campus and I am reminded of the once care-free life that I used to lead. I realized how boring I had become where a lab mate and I were once made fun of by a pizza delivery guy for staying up late at night in school and ordering pizza on a football game weekend! Things were put into perspective for me when during the course of a recent conversation I had with a friend I realized I knew the exact operational timings of the swimming pool at the Turner Center but didn’t know anything about when the bars in Oxford open and close! I can’t believe I am wasting the last few years of my youth this way and don’t want to do anything about it! :P

Food...cause of both agony and bliss. The agony of not being able to find a convenient source when hunger pangs hit at really odd hours of the day (like 3 in the morning) and the bliss of finally managing to get your hands on a pizza or burrito at those same odd hours. If it had not been for places like Taco Bell or Papa Johns that operate late into the night or for the heaven on earth called Huddle House that not only is open 24hrs but also serves the tastiest omelettes I’ve ever eaten, I would have turned insane by now. And who can deny the comfort of not having to go anywhere/spend any of your cash that comes with the ‘free pizza’ that is given at almost every meeting that happens and you care to attend. All it takes is a little patience and some nodding in agreement (or disagreement) while the person talks about some stuff and within an hour you are rewarded with the wonderful smell of freshly made pizza. Haa...bliss!

Finally...the internet! An unavoidable consequence of spending a lot time doing research on a net-accessible computer is the huge amounts of time wasted away browsing the world wide web. An hour of research warrants a 15 minute browsing break where I end up doing a multitude of tasks like checking my email (for the 100th time that day...and its only 1pm), reading the news updates, checking the temperature outside (online...instead of just going out), checking the temperatures for the next 10days, looking for good deals on just about ANYTHING that might prop up out of nowhere, checking my own and various other blogs, typing in reviews about movies severely criticizing the tastes of those who dislike your choices, messaging/chatting with others, checking my email once more...the list could just go on and on if I cared. And once all this is done I invariably turn towards my lab mates and ask them if anyone wants to accompany me to check their P.O.Box and/or get some coffee! Of course this doesn’t happen all the time (being the responsible fellow that I am ;) and I must add that I did exaggerate things a bit...so don’t start judging me!

That’s about it folks...and as parting gift for continuing reading till here instead of turning the page I leave you with my very own “You know you are a...” list. Use it wisely and these should help you spot an engineering grad student almost instantly. But be nice to them...we aren’t that bad! In any case you know you belong to that much joked about, loved/hated, exploited, extremely lazy yet hardworking in their own special way, geeky clique of engineering grads if...

0) You start a list with 0 instead of 1.
1) You prefer a particular brand/type of pizza over others.
2) However that above doesn’t matter in case the pizza is free.
3) You secretly like being a geek but think twice before admitting it openly.
4) You know about the geek code and you not only consider it to be very cool but also have your own code and have used it somewhere.
5) You think PhD comics is very funny and heartwarmingly close to reality and wish you could sketch as well to start your own strip.
6) Someone gifting you a 1GB flash drive excites you way more than the other ‘mundane’ things.
7) You draw parallels in your field with everything. (For eg...here’s one from Electromagnetics...“Oh they weren’t meant for each other...there was too much of a phase mismatch!”).
8) You love geeky jokes and look down upon people who don’t understand them (like the above one).
9) Every time someone says “Wow...grad student eh? You must be smart”...you wave your hand dismissively but in your heart of hearts you think “I RULE”.
10) You are baffled as how can anyone find the quantitative section of the GRE hard but avoid saying this in a large group of people for the fear of being seen as arrogant.
11) You are jealous of the guy who has a better laptop than you...it doesn’t matter that you have a better car/apartment...what kills you is that his laptop is faster and slicker than yours!
12) You have at least one shirt from geeks.com (actually it’s a good website...I strongly recommend it!)
13) This is not the first ‘list of things that show you are a grad student’ that you have read.
14) You still like it and want to pass this to your colleague...(do it anyway man!)

And remember...there is a world out there that needs to be saved and made better and it is upon us, the graduate students to accomplish just that. So good luck and keep the faith! Adios!

If I stick pins in it...will Golu's advisor beat me up?

Hendrix must be turning over in his grave...not to play the guitar behind his head but because of this...

Some people!

Random Thoughts: Part Deux

One morning this guy got up with a fantastic idea for a brilliant story. However he was too lazy to put in the effort to make it a wholesome one. So he just left it hanging in his head. The second morning he woke up once again with another idea...which he again tucked away into a corner of his mind. This happened a few times. Until he realized he could compile all of these brilliant ideas into a collection of short stories, get them published and make it big. And that’s exactly what he did. We all know him now as Roald Dahl. He has been an inspiration to me ever since. He has taught me that there is a beauty in the works produced by lethargy. He has shown me the door…the door to blog about random unrelated events and trick others into reading something that neither enriches nor entertains. He is the One and I am his follower.

Ok..all that about Roald Dahl was obviously a bunch of BS but you get the idea...so here goes:

Okati) I went for an American football game last saturday…my first. It was reasonably entertaining but I have a few cribs.
Firstly, why in bluddy hell is it called ‘foot’ball. For most of the game the players run around with the ball in their hand..so call it handball goddamitt. Not football. Football was taken a long time ago and is a much more entertaining, not to mention simpler game. If the Americans wanted to be different (like always) they could have at least called it American rugby. Or, as suggested in a 'Friends' episode it could be called ‘sissy rugby’. All I am saying is that this game should not and does not deserve to be called football.
Second, according to the rules of the game there is the quarterback who throws the ball around and there are the guys who try to catch it and run. These guys are pretty much the only ones who get to touch the ball. And what do the others do? Push each other around! Quite silly if you ask me. And this is only the offensive side. I learnt that a whole different team comes on for the defense and then all they do is push each other. Yeah sure it takes strength but I wonder after how long does a linebacker(I think) begin to get bored and wants to do something other than just fight with the opposite team like overgrown kids.
Third...is a crib concerning only Olemiss. Apparently over the last few years the football games here have transmogrified into a dating scene. What would you wear to a game? Comfortable shorts/pants, tees shoes...anything but what you would see here. All the girls go extremely heavy on the make-up, wear elegant formal gowns, put on dazzling jewellery and high heels. All the guys are just as formal. And the best part is that everyone adds the final masterpiece to their attire for the complete Olemiss football fan look...a large beer cup in one hand !!!! Silly to the point of being absurd. Id like to imagine what Eden gardens would look like, filled to the brim with men in suits and women in sarees/salwars watching India Vs Pakistan and cheering wildly! Quite an image eh? :D

So much for my cribs, Im surely going to another game in one of the coming weekends!

Rendu) I was stereotyped last week!
Not once...but twice!
Over my choice of beverages!
I would be outraged...but Im not senti like that! :P
(And its quite funny as you shall see)

Offlate I have been addicted to coffee...for no particular reason I feel an urge to go to the on-campus coffee/bookstore and spend $1.61 over a cup of coffee while relaxing and reading about why Jen and Pitt spilt, how Angelina Jolie is having some trouble regarding Zahara’s adoption and crappy stuff like that…which is the best thing about goofing off. But,like people say,I digress. So neway the other day I went to order my coffee and the girl at the counter takes one look at me and says “Tazo Hot Tea...red dragon (or something)”. I was confused and must have done a splendid job of showing it on my face. Looking at my puzzled expression she goes “You don’t want tea?”
WTF? Just because most of the brown people order tea (as she told me later) she assumed that I would order tea and on top of that was surprised that I was not going to. For the record I have never had tea there until now, although I plan to try it sometime only but when this particular stereotypist isn’t working! :P

A few days passed, during which all I did order was only coffee without any incident. Then I turned up one hot afternoon to drink some ice-cold frappe! As luck would have it she decided to play her guessing game that day and this time she DID NOT EVEN ask me what I wanted. She took out a coffee cup and filled it with coffee and placed it in front of me and said $1.61. WTdoubleF? I thought she was filling it up for someone else. I mentioned the insignificant fact that I did not want coffee that day and that’s the reason I had not ordered it. To which she says, “But you always have tall coffee”. (Note the way she even mentioned ‘tall’, not ‘venti’, not ‘grande’...’tall’.) Thanks moron but sometimes I like to try other things. Yet I didn’t want to create a scene and quite frankly (like I mentioned before) I am addicted now. So I took my ‘tall coffee’ and left feeling rather weird.

I still go there almost every day and I still order ‘tall coffee’. But whenever I go I stare at her in a very strange way which says “If you try to guess my order once more before I make it...Im going to take your suggestion and order it, not to drink it but only to empty it on ur head...Biyatch”. Seems to be working, she has not played her guessing game ever since. B-)


Moodu) This is my mandatory music/movie blah-blah-blah that I have to put in!
First, the movies...Ive been going to these free international movie screenings. Movies from China, Russia, Spain etc. Too many thoughts about too many movies, so Im going to avoid putting them down. All I wish to say is that a lot of these movies have been very good ('House of Fools')...but at the same time a few have been very very disturbing ('Bad Education')! Overall a good experience.
Coming to music...I had mentioned Smashing Pumpkins before here. After that I went on to purchase ‘Rotten Apples’, their greatest hits compilation. I discovered the Pumpkins to be hardcore rockers (they aren’t around anymore). They even had two hot chics for a bassist (D’Arcy, followed by Auf De Maur (Hole)). Their drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin is another drumming gawd. Their lead guitarist, James Iha inspite of having very different sound/style of playing the guitar as compared to Billy Corgan’s manages to blend into the songs very nicely. Billy Corgan, the frontman absolutely rocks and one of my fav things abt SP is Billy’s use of two types of vocals. All in all an awesome band! Worth every single second/paisa spent on them. Rotten Apples is the best thing to pick up if u haven’t heard the Pumpkins yet.

Thus ends a long useless post!
The Concluding act of an entire day wasted away goofing!
Bringing with it a feeling of guilt too overwhelming for words!
Only escape being the act of going home and sleeping it over!
I shall do that now!
Adios!

BTW, Roald Dahl is an awesome author...the only book of his I’ve read is his collection of short stories and it kicks come serious chilling ass!

Paris Hilton (Updated)

No! This is not about her infamous tape! But its kind of related to it. :)
I recently came across this mock interview of Paris Hilton done by Jimmy Fallon on Saturday Night Live and its hilarious! The file is too big to put a link to but I thought its worth posting the transcript (or atleast what I remember of it!)

Update: Thanx to internet wizard Golu...here is the link to the interview on google videos. Link


Jimmy Fallon: Thanks for coming on. As we agreed, we won't be discussing the scandal that's been in the papers these past couple of weeks. We just want to find out about you, Paris Hilton.
Paris Hilton: Thanks Jimmy, I appreciate that.
JF: So, your family, the Hiltons, own hotels all over the world, right?
PH: Yes, they're in New York, London, Paris.
JF: Oh wait, so.... there actually is a Paris Hilton?
PH: Yes, there is.
(pause)
JF: Is it hard to get into the Paris Hilton?
PH: Actually, it's a very exclusive hotel, no matter what you've heard.
JF: I hear the Paris Hilton is very beautiful.
PH: I'm glad you've heard that.
JF: Do they allow double occupancy at the Paris Hilton?
PH: No.
JF: Is the Paris Hilton roomy?
PH: It might be for you, but most people find it very comfortable.
JF: But I'm a VIP. I may need to go in the back entrance.
PH: It doesn't matter who you are. It's not gonna happen.
JF: Ok...Ok. So I throw a lot of events...I was wondering if there is a ballroom at the Paris Hilton
PH: Yes there is.
JF: Great! I would love to have my balls held by the Paris Hilton.
PH: Not gonna happen Jimmy.
JF: Really...I mean atleast I can check in right...cuz I wont be able to stay long...maybe minute and a half at the max.
PH: Good Luck Jimmy!
JF: Thank You very much! Paris Hilton everybody!!!!

The Scientist

The force with which the car landed on the ground flung Meg out through the windshield like a rag doll and she hit the ground with incredible force. The impact broke her neck and she was dead instantly. Adam’s seatbelt however kept him pinned to his seat as the car flipped over at least 10 times before coming to a rest in its upright position. The shock of the accident left Adam unconscious for a good one hour after which he came around only to find his beautiful wife lying dead at a distance.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The car was turning all over the road and was beyond Adam’s control. Over all the confusion he could hear Meg screaming hysterically. The world around him was literally spinning and there was nothing he could do. What seemed like eternity to him was in fact just 5 seconds before which the out-of-control spinning car hit the barrier at the edge of the road, tore through it and headed towards the grassy plains 10 feet below.
------------------------------------------------------------
It took only a fraction of a second for Meg to notice the truck on the wrong side of the road headed towards their car from the corner of her eye. She screamed out loud which quickly snapped Adam’s attention back to the road. He swerved reflexively but not before the truck clipped the back of their car sending it into a vicious spin.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Adam and Meg were cruising at 65mph on the highway in their brand new car. They were going to visit Meg’s parents and she could not contain her excitement. The drive was going quite well when Meg realized that she was very cold due to the chilling air-conditioning in the car. She wanted to reach for her sweater in the back seat and took off her seat belt to grab it and put it on, in the process momentarily distracting Adam.



Disclaimer:This is a completely plagiarized idea. It’s the video of Coldplay’s song “The Scientist” and is essentially shown as described. I wanted to see if I could capture the visual idea in words. It’s a decent song too.

Ro Thorpe…a legend in the making!

Not many readers are familiar with Ro Thorpe. He is a quiet, unassuming person who hasn’t really climbed the Mount Everest of stardom…well maybe the ‘sameer’ of stardom but that’s pushing it too! Yet we bring to you something that he has accomplished only a few days back...something that’s not outstanding yet worth mentioning, something that won’t get him laid yet maybe win a few make-out sessions with the chics. Are you on your edge of your seat waiting to find out what did he do? No? Good. Cuz before we divulge that lets look into some historical facts about him.

Ro Thorpe was originally called Ro Cannot-swim-even-if-my-balls-depended-on-it. His swimming skills were limited to swimming underwater in 3ft depth and drowning and being rescued. After facing a lot of mental trauma due to his painfully long surname and his limited aquatic skill-set he decided to take matters into his own hands (Hyuk Hyuk :D ’matters into his own hands’ Get it? Hee hee) He joined a swimming camp a year ago and in the final end-of-camp swim session he finished a triumphant 3rd. Well it’s a insignificant thing that his coach had asked everyone in the water not to race. So in a competition in which no one else was competing, Ro came in 3rd. What can beat that? A lot of things I guess! So neway that was when he changed his misnomer surname to the then swimming rage ‘Thorpe’. Realizing that speed wasn’t his forte he shifted focus to jumping off diving boards. “Why?”, you might say. “Why not?”, he would reply and then climb atop the 15ft high diving board and gracefully take off and not-so-gracefully land in the water!
Very soon he realized that his skills weren’t receiving the proper attention he deserved in his home country of India. So he shifted base to the United States, where he got ‘F-ed in the A’ real bad (not literally...no no..just swimming wise). People were swimming 3 times as fast as him. Yet, the more severe competition and the really really hot lifeguard chics kept him going and a few days back he crossed a major milestone in his life aquatic (that movie sucks btw)!

“So what don’t you just tell us what he did!” you might impatiently say.
To which I would reply “I already told you. Re-read the previous line.”
............major milestone in.......


He swam a mile!
A whole freaking mile...1.6kms!
36 laps!


Without much ado lets grab a large bag of oatmeal and hear everything we need to know from the horse’s mouth.

SE: So Ro, How does it feel to be able to swim a mile?
Ro: It feels great man...except that my elbow hurts like hell now and I have a terrible cold to go with it and Ive been sick for the past week. Apart from these it feels great!

SE: So did you do it in under 4 minutes or something like that?
Ro: Huh! No way dude...all I managed was 36 laps in maybe about 75-80 minutes. I am not trying to be the Roger Bannister of the pool or something like that...and I don’t think I can even if I wanted to, so I’m quite happy with my slow pace! Swimming is tiring man and it requires a lot more will-power to keep going than long distance running does.

SE: Yeah I guess doing a mile at a stretch can be quite a task!
Ro: Hmmmm...actually...I didn’t do it in a stretch either. I took my breaks whenever I felt like I needed them. I was swimming with a friend and we kept chatting quite often in between and checking out the hot lifeguard chics!

SE: Then do you honestly believe doing 36 laps in your own sweet time, with all the breaks you need is a big deal...I mean a lot of people out there could have easily done that right?
Ro: Well yeah, but I think its good to make a big deal out of it...it keeps one inspired and helps inspire others! Besides, I think you should make a big deal out of everything just for the sake of fun! (grins)

SE: Ok...so are any of the hot lifeguard chics hitting on you now?
Ro: Unfortunately no! But I hope the situation improves in the later stages when after finishing a mile I walk away looking cool instead of looking like a 50-year old slowly making his way towards the lockers with a painful expression on his face!

SE: So u didn’t break any records, you didn’t get any girls…then what’s the point of all this?
Ro: (‘what a bastard this guy is’ kind of look) Well...I would say...fun!

SE: Fun?...hmmm...ok...whatever...finally, what’s in the future for you?
Ro: Well...swimming and hopefully some more swimming. Let’s see where I go this time. And to all my fans out there (Ed: Fans?) keep up the good work people. And if its not the good work, stop doing it!(stupid grin again) Until later.
Peace everyone!
Love -RT


That’s it folks. U’ve read everything there was to read about this. Remember, here is a legend in the making. But thats going to happen after a long long time...so for now go home and chill [in the pool ;)]

Sam Etaro
J.V.V.E
Journalist Very Very Extraordinaire

Infinite Sadness

Slouching in my chair I looked around a little bored in the darkened room. The light reflecting off the projector wall illuminated the faces of my advisor, my department chair and 6 others who were sitting and listening intently. Stifling a yawn that was forcing its way out, thanks to only 2 hours of sleep the previous night I tried hard to concentrate on what the guy standing next to the screen and pointing at it was trying to say. Weekly research meetings and I have a love-hate relationship. This week was filled with hate. I was going to present my work (90% of which was done only the previous night) after everyone else. That normally meant a waiting time of about 21/2 to 3 hours. I looked at my watch...3:45pm. Damn! I still had a couple of hours to kill. I tried to put the numbers and the yawns behind me and listen to what this guy had to say. I tried to judge how much work he had actually done that week and how hard was he trying to show it off as a week’s worth! The things I do to keep myself amused!

Like every other week I sat facing the door to this big room. Bless this strategic positioning; I could see her walk by. She is a beautiful girl. She works in the same building and is a friend of mine. She drops by my workstation once or twice a week for a quick chat. She has a beautiful smile. But today she seemed sad. In the couple of seconds that I noticed her walk by that room I could see she was in deep contemplation. There were definite traces of sadness in her eyes. And yet she seemed more beautiful than ever. Her drooping eyes with those large lashes, the hair tucked behind her ears and her gaze on the floor as she went past me painted the picture of the most gorgeous thing that Ive laid my eyes upon. I’ve often heard about there being a certain beauty in melancholy. Today I have seen it myself. The irony of those two simple seconds isn’t lost on me. Just a glimpse of her sadness has filled me with bliss for a much longer time.


I wish I was better with my words so that the world can better understand what I felt.
I wish I was a painter so as to at least make an attempt at capturing this on sketch.
I wish I was a songwriter so that I could maybe write a song about this.
I wish that someday I could tell her how captivating she looked to me for just those 2 seconds.

But mostly......I wish I could see that sad yet divine face of hers once again.

Run, rabbit run!

Vincent(Ethan Hawke): A year is a long time.
Irene(Uma Thurman): Not so long. Just once around the sun.

The best two lines from Gattaca that echo my feelings.

Its been exactly one year since I had landed in the US (on August 16th 2004) and I cant even remember how time just went by. The funny thing is that I still am so caught up with life’s pace that if it had not been for a very sweet mail from a very close friend of mine telling me how it has been a year since I left, I wouldn’t have stopped to take a moment and make this entry. No matter how insignificant this might seem, this entry is dedicated to her. So P, this ones for you. :)

Though its just one trip round the sun, a year truly is long enough to do a lot and learn a lot. A wise man once said “You never know what you think until you put it down in writing”. Just to prove this particular wise man right and also for some fun reminiscing I hit upon the idea of putting down all the significant things about the past year. Lets see now...

1) My exposure to research in the true sense of the word: This is without a doubt one of the most important things that Ive gone through in the past year. Me in undergrad and research were two diametrically opposite concepts. It was very important for me to do proper research for 2 main reasons,
A) I was getting paid for it and it was ethically wrong to slacken
B) I had to know if I was cut-out for a PhD.
In hindsight I think I could definitely have worked twice as hard and who knows maybe it would have yielded more fruitful results. I did go for a conference too, but again in all honesty that was just pure luck. Although I have now promised myself to work harder I am convinced that a career in research is something that doesn’t come naturally to me. But fate it seems is not without a sense of irony!

2) My December and July vacations: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy! So what should Jack do? Take a vacation at the end of every semester :). These two trips have been filled with amazing fun. There’s nothing better than catching up with good old friends and hanging out. These trips are something that Ill cherish for a long time for many many reasons and if it had not been for them I would probably have been filled with self pity thinking I have been working too hard only to get stuck in a non-productive hole!!

3) My new friends: Everyone I met here from my seniors to my roommates to my other friends (desi and international) have been as great as anyone can be and I couldn’t have asked for better companionship! Still, old is gold! :)

4) My India Association Presidency: This has a lot more significance to me than I let people realize. Although I held a few organizational posts during my undergrad, nothing compares to the magnitude of responsibility and tasks that I had undertaken as the president of the India Association here at Olemiss. I learnt a great many things about how to deal with people, when to make a stand and stay firm in your beliefs, how to deal with extreme criticism, the importance of delegation, the qualities that make a good leader...what not. This was truly a very important learning experience and though it did harm me a little bit from an academic stand point I don’t have any regrets. In fact my tenure is going to finish in a month but I have bigger things lined up. I am going to be working for our Grad Student Council in quite a responsible position but this time I have promised myself that I’m going to be smarter than I was in prioritizing this with my acads.

5) Wakarusa: Very recently I read a James Hetfield quote, “Id rather regret doing something than not doing it”. Something like this being said by none other than the MetallicA frontman was nothing short of exhilarating for me. Life is about experiences and Wakarusa was a freaky one. One of the most significant for sure, in spite of being not very socially acceptable. ;)


6) My failed love-life: Although I don’t admit this often, this past year has been quite a failure in terms of wooing women! I failed TWICE! The first time was a simple crush and it ended pretty soon. I was blunt and she was blunt. In hindsight I don’t really regret this cuz it really was what I knew it was, an infatuation that surely would go away...and it was never meant to be. The second time was with someone I really thought was meant to work out. I never knew her well and I still don’t…but it was one of those gut feelings that make you think she’s perfect. This time I was more careful…no bluntness…I tried to be subtle. But the ‘negative’ force was strong in her! ;)
Maybe I need to take some wooing lessons!

7) A new country: Last but definitely not the least…this is more of an all encompassing experience. Life in a new place is by default exciting and the US is no different. The different lifestyles, viewpoints, stereotypes...everything is both frustrating and fun but nevertheless fresh . Unfortunately, words expressing my feelings about this fail me at this point so Ill just say that one thing that surely rocks about the US is the centralized air-conditioning in just about every building you walk into. Such bliss! :P
Something more meaningful maybe some other time.

Spent a good one hour typing all this…but re-reading makes it seem very silly! Still Ill let them be! Maybe a year later Ill make another entry...wondering what new stuff Ill put down then!
Until l8r

Mutton Curry by Golu Da Chef

The following is a rare recipe for mutton curry that has been typed out by Golu Da Chef himself. Information like this is normally confined to only some esteemed mailing list and for the first time this bootleg is being thrown out to the public!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I am not sure if one marinates mutton like they do to
chicken. But if they do then first make a batter out of curd, chili
powder, salt, some chicken masala powder and spices that u feel will
make the thing taste better. Put the mutton in this batter for some
time...like an hr.

In the meanwhile, either dice onions to very small size ...or i wud
suggest just dump them into the mixie and get onion paste. Ek pan main
oil daal and heat the oil for like 10-20s. Then put the onion paste
and put the flame on low-medium. Remember never cook food on high
flame...else khaana doesnt cook well. Keep stirring the onion now and
then and u will get a brownish feel in like 5-10min...depending on how
much oil u had put. The more oil..the faster it cooks...but the fatter
it makes u :D. So after the onion gets brown...put tomato puree and
stir well....so that the overall mixture becomes thick (if u have
ginger garlic paste....put along with onion paste). THen add salt,
chilli, dhania powder as u wish and let this gravy cook on slow flame.
Keep stirring every 2 min...aur beech main check karte rahe if u think
the gravy is ok. Once it is done...put the mutton in the gravy and
acchi tarah mix kar so that the gravy fights to get into the mutton
and then continue on slow flame. Cover the pan for about 5 min. Go
hillalo, come back open the pan's lid and
....swaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadisht :D
...swaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadisht :D

waise u can substitute mutton by any thing (then no need to marinate
also)...stuff such as aloo, peas, eggs, cauliflower...anything can be
made in the same sauce.
----------------------------------------------------

Apologies to G for stealing his idea of posting e-mails :P

Lone Trivia Question

So I was wasting my time browsing when I came across some interesting stuff which I quickly put into a trivia question. Just take a look at the 3 pics and guess the theme. Obly proper fundaes are needed. This is not some dayaa question and I feel is quite nice too. So good luck!

Will post answer/fundaes when people stop responding!
And try and avoid googling. In case u need a hint then google the first pic...this shud hopefully lead somewhere, and if it does then fundaes for 2 and 3 are mandatory!

And to ensure that ur answers dont spoil someone elses fun, use this translatorto translate ur answers to chinese and post them. Ill cut paste them and re translate them back to english and see if they are right or wrong!

ALERT: Thanx to shrini you dont have to indulge in the aforementioned absurdity. Use rot13.com

Pottermania (Updated)

Update being:
This link to a video of a guy who goes to a bunch of people waiting outside a bookstore and shouts out the Harry Potter ending! The reaction of the last lady is hilarious!
Warning: If u choose to see this video obviously itll ruin the ending for you too!

I couldnt resist posting atleast something about Book 6: "The Half Blood Prince". I stole a pirated e-version of the book from someone else's comp (which I guess makes me twice removed from the act buying an authentic copy of the book) and finished it in just about 2 days. Just like most of the previous 5 books, this one too is unputdownable. Still, from an overall point of view I thought it was a little absurd at some places. Those of you who intend to read it...need not worry because Im not sadistic enough to reveal anything (unlike my sister)!
Since this is the penultimate book, I can be sure that they are a million people out there trying to guess how its going to end. Of course, I have my own theories. So if anyone is enthu enough to discuss this mail me!
Another thing abt the Harry Potter books is that they are being released with too much gap in between them (Book 5 had come out in 2003). Whether this is intentional or unavoidable I do not know but it makes it very difficult to fully appreciate the new books. I hardly remembered what 5 was about until I was well into book 6. And they say that the final one is going to come out in 2007. I can imagine how tough itll be if the final book includes subtle fundaes from all the previous ones.

On a different note, have u ever had that wonderful feeling of ecstacy when as a kid you would go through the pain of waking up early in the morning, getting ready and making your way to school only to joyfully find out school's been shut for the day. I got that feeling today when I found out that my weekly research meeting has been cancelled. So I used the time to do something Ive been wanting to for a long time, Upload some new pics onto my yahoo a/c. Enthu people go here and see the ALL NEW albums.
Adios dawgs!

Vacation 3…

...lasted 15 days (from 3rd July 2005 to 18th July 2005). It was more a mixture of a conference and vacation. From the 3rd to the 8th I was in DC attending my first international conference. I had a great time there getting a nice perspective about the work in my field. I got to listen to some brilliant presentations and most interestingly got to see all the big names up close and personal. I also got a very disheartening truth-laid-bare perspective on the kind of work I had done.

Once I was done with the conference I went to Baltimore to meet up with golu and subbu (who had come down for the weekend from Texas) Me and subbu then went to NYC to meet up with prade and zubin and amongst the usual NYC sight seeing we managed to go to a Bryan Adams and Def Leppard concert with Kakkad and some friends. I had never listened to too much Def Leppard except for the usual popular songs but still have to admit they rocked harder than Bryan Adams. Nevertheless Bryan Adams is what he is and he was one of my favorite artists at one point of time. He put up an excellent show and it was gawd! Coming back to Leppard, in case you are unaware, DL’s drummer lost his left arm in an accident a few years back. He wanted to leave the band but the band didn’t let him encouraging him to keep playing with some additional help. The result is that he now uses a acoustic/electric drum kit. He has a standard bass pedal for the acoustic bass drum and the kit are three left pedals, one for the acoustic high-hat and two other for a bass and a snare sound both of which are electrically generated. All the cymbals were acoustic which he played with his right arm.
Why am I telling you all this? Cuz he drummed gawd! The man’s talent and the way he adapted himself are exceptional. Check this out for some pics of his kit.

So neway, concert was great. We went back to Baltimore and subbu left on Monday. I did nothing for a couple of days and took the bus back to NYC on Tuesday night to go hang with kakkad. Tuesday evening in NYC was fun ;).
Met rabbi and his gang from Cornell on wednesday. Had dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant which was very good.
Met up with 2 school friends(Vivek and Karthik) I had not seen since 5 and 7 years respectively. It was good fun to catch up!
Princeton was next on the itinerary. Did nothing but relax at Zubin’s house on Thursday and Friday. Received Golu and Prade on Saturday and we all went kayaking which was freaking awesome to say the least. We also played some very nice music at Princeton which from my point of view rocked more than kayaking. 
Nothing significant elapsed after this and by the time I got back home via Baltimore, DC and Memphis!


BTW I opened up a restaurant in NYC. Its on 8th avenue between 53rd and 54th. Drop in if u r in the city and say you are a friend with this picture as proof. They’ll treat you nicely. In true IIT-spirit Ive decided to keep it open 24hrs!



PS: Panda made some very nice chicken curry for me when I was in Baltimore. This means that panda makes chicken not just for girls but for guys too. Hence panda is not CKD. ;)

Vacation 2...

...is what this is about. I must have piqued everyone’s curiosity about my vacation 1. Most of you should be knowing. For those who dont click here and be enlightened or whatever.

Q: So where did I go for vacation 2?
Ans: Higher ground ;)

Actually it was to a music festival called ‘Wakarusa’ at Lawrence, Kansas. (BTW, did you know that Kansas city is actually in Missouri) It was a 4 day music and camping festival with about 80+ bands playing 18hrs of music each day at 5 simultaneous stages(June 15th 2005 to June 19th 2005). A guy I met here had told me about this and invited me to go along with him and his friends. The whole experience was quite awesome. It involved a 10 hour drive from Denver to Lawrence in an RV (a recreational vehicle) which was a first time for me. RV’s are a very nice concept. The downsides being that they are a tad expensive to even rent and they drink up gasoline like a ravenous monster. Still, having the RV’s helped us escape the heat of the day leaving us to stay awake most of the night enjoying the music.
One significant thing about this concert was that I got to realize something about the music scene in the United States. For a long time I was under the impression that the music which is quite popular in India (rock, pop, hip-hop etc) is the same stuff that people here listen to. I assumed I would know almost all the bands that might have a huge following here. I was wrong by a big margin.
There exists a second, very local tier of music in the States, a tier dominated by bands which (I am told) choose to not go international but maintain an extremely large and loyal fan-following in the United States itself. I’m not sure if this applies to all the genres of music but most of the bands that I listened to at this concert had a very funk-rockish sound to them. And they were good. To name a few bands which were the supposed crowd pullers, I can think of “String Cheese Incident”, “Wilco”, “Government Mule” and “North Mississippi All Stars”. All the music I was exposed to here was previously alien to me, except when “String Cheese Incident” did a cover of “All along the watchtower” which was quite an exhilarating experience. These bands release CD’s too which apparently are bought up very eagerly. They have hardcore fans that follow them everywhere in the US. And these people hardly give a damn about the more famous international bands. Another notion of mine that was shattered was my assumption that almost everyone in my age group here in the US listens to Hip-Hop and there is no other form of music alive. This experience told me that there is some non-hiphop type of music out there…it might not be pure rock and roll but its definitely something that doesn’t suck as much as rap/hip-hop (what’s the difference anyway?)!

Interestingly, the name ‘Wakarusa’ is derived from an old Indian word which means ‘Ass deep in the river”. I got a cool tee as a souvenir which says ‘Ass deep in music’!

I simply wanted to share the musical viewpoint of this trip. Please don’t mention about anything else as I wish to keep this entry only about the music. And as Ozzy once said “Thank You Goodnight we love you all”

Random Thoughts...

...I love putting down random thoughts. No pressure to maintain coherence, no need to write enough to make it seem interesting and most importantly no need to put in that mammoth effort to bring yourself out of a state of lethargy and force yourself to make an entry. They just flow, so here we go...

1) What we really need in todays world are earplugs that let you listen to music while you are swimming. Its not fair that you can only distract yourself while running and not when you are underwater. I have done my fair share of swimming and it gets awfully boring after a while. And the music that plays at the pool can be heard only when you stop in between laps with your head outside the water! So, I came up with a weird way to keep myself distracted while doing laps. If I know the song that is being played then I note the moment of the song before I start my lap
(at which point Im cut off from the music) and keep playing it in my head and see how close I am to where the song actually is when I bring my head out after I finish the lap! Though its fun I still think man should invent water-proof ipods or something! Get to work you lazy ass mongrels!

2) Yahoo is a bitch! It is forcing me to buy LaunchCast-Plus. I think I just might cave in! Well, this is what is compelling me. If you are an avid listener of launch you should be knowing that they allow 600 songs per month after which they take away your skipping rights! Not that it bothered me much, I beat that by shifting stations to get to new songs. I never really cared about the commercials either, if they were too long and annoying I used to remove my earplugs and wait for them to finish. But now yahoo has gone ahead and done something absolutely horrific. If you now exceed 600 songs they dont let you listen to any station except your own customized one! That just breaks my balls. I love my station and all but Id much rather listen to songs on Classic Rock or RHCP Fan station or Love songs (just kidding ;) This is such a corporate bitch thing to do...mofos! I wonder what happens to those listeners who have broken the 600 barrier but dont have a customized station of their own. I think Ill just go ahead and pay "less than 3$ a month to get unlimited song-skipping and commercial free radio"...and also double-latte with whipped cream :)

3) I have always heard about Smashing Pumpkins being a great band. Now Ive listened to one of their songs and absolutely love it. Its called "Bullet with butterfly wings" and it rocks! Will be on the look-out for more Pumpkins!
Also hooked on to this Rolling Stones song called "Sympathy for the devil". Damn good vocals by Mick Jagger.
And lastly and also the leastly...Jessica Simpson has a new song called "These boots were made for walking"...a cover of a Nancy Sinatra original ( remember the song "Bang Bang" from KillBill...thats a Nancy Sinatra song) Its quite catchy.
You can check out all the above songs on yahoo videos

4)I somehow cant get over my OCD to keep spreading links to funny videos! Help me nuture my disorder
http://www.wimp.com/impressions/

5) Ill be off to DC this monday for my first international conference. Have to admit my work isnt of very high standard but still I guess I have to begin somewhere. Am equally excited about my vacation after my conference. But for now I am yet to finish my presentation that Ill be showing to all the big shots in my field. Thus common sense dictates I stop this randomness and I work on presentation. And before I go check this out...(Im on a family guy roll :)

Peter: Well, I'm gettin' something really special too. And by special I don't mean special like that Kleinaman boy down the street. More special like... like Special K, the cereal. Hey, what do they do with the regular K? And for that matter, what ever happend to K. Ballard? You know, if you said mallard and you had a cold, it would sound like ballard.
Brian: Do you listen to yourself when you talk?
Peter: I drift in and out.

Stewie's...

..."Sexy Party"
http://music.yahoo.com/ar-20348981---Stewie
You have gotto check out the video! Its hilarious!

NBA Finals...

...happened yesterday night and the Spurs took the title beating the Pistons. I was a little disappointed cuz I was rooting for Detriot. They are an excellent team in the true sense of the word and I loved the way they had trashed the Lakers last year. Yet, while reading about the game in todays news amidst seeing a few Spurs' team pics I couldnt help but admire Duncan and the Spurs. They have an innate nice-ness about them. Duncan seems to be such a humble person despite being a player of his stature. And the rest of the team seem to jell so nicely with each other. The Spurs seem like a team with immense talent and the temparament to go with it so that they dont create any unforced problems for themselves. To quote the article I was reading today..."the Spurs are built to last". I definitely agree!

On a different note...have you guys heard about the AND1 basketball guys who are going around the US cities inciting the local basketball studs, telling them that they can kick their local ass and making mix-tapes of them actually kicking some serious butt!
Google for AND1 mix tapes and explore.

50 till I die...

Im sure the 3 words "What the fuck?" went through your head coupled with a broad smile on your face. I accidentally happened to find this long-forgotten scan of my caricature today morning and wanted to share it with the world!
The artist stuck to the true definition of the word caricature by making sure my nose looked as fat as it could possibly get, my glasses looked as geeky(sad?) as they actually are and my eyebrows were as thick as caterpillars, in effect making me look 50! Keen observers might have noted this was done during a time when my hair was at its longest as I was trying to grow it. If I remember right I got this caricature made in October 2004 and a few days later I went back to my crew-cut and got myself contacts!

Mondays...

...how I hate them! They give me the blues and I dont even know why. I know what you are thinking and you only have my words to believe that it couldnt be further away from the truth. I dont get up early in the morning to go to a 8 to 5 job from Monday to Friday so that by the end of the week I am totally exhausted which in turn motivates me to have a blast of a time during the weekend...only to be really depressed when its time to face the demands of a new week.
I sleep 10hrs a day, dont exactly exhaust myself working, my advisor is very cool and he lets me work according to my schedule, I attend social gatherings at a fair regularity and also indulge in good amount of sports.
Yet...I feel so blase!
One of the primary reasons I feel is the lack of above mentioned strict time based work ethic...I have this feeling that it would be really nice if I had the attitude of working hard from 8 to 5 and then totally forgetting about work for the rest of the day. I could so enjoy whatever I am doing in the latter part of the day. Right now, theres always that feeling of unrest in me...a feeling that I could have done some more (or as on some days...a feeling that I should have done atleast some work) which I THINK is preventing me from being completely refreshed and yearning to get some work done!
One train of thought that Ive had is that I feel the root of all my problems is my clear lack of self-motivation to do research (work for me). I know people who have a burning passion for the work that they do...almost all my professors and a good number of my colleagues belong to this category. They get up in the morning with an enthusiasm to do research. Like people say, "Love your work and you wont have to work a single day of your life"...These guys dont work! Maybe I should clarify, I do enjoy what I am doing. EMW rocks and Id rather be in this than any other field. Whatever little research I do I really have fun doing it. My problem is to 'begin' to do it. I always keep putting off reading a paper but once I force myself into doing it I find I enjoy it a lot and finish it at a satisfactory pace. But then its time to start something new and it takes me about 2-3 days to start working properly again!
All this has made me conclude that Im not cut-out for a PhD for sure! I just hope circumstances dont force me into it.
I feel like I am at a point in my life where I need to travel the world and see places and meet people. Id like to think of it as a soul-searching expedition but maybe Im just trying to give the sloth in me a nice name. :)
Hmmm....So why do I hate mondays? I can think of no particular reason expect that I have my weekly presentations on this day and it sort puts me to work on a sunday evening and also takes up a good part of monday and not-to-mention the exhausting presentation of our entire group from 3 to 6pm. Incidentally I had interrupted this writing to attend to my presentation today!

Everything Ive said above holds for me on any given day during this phase of my life...but truth be told, today I have an additional more personal reason to feel blue!
Cant decide how to end ...so heres an old joke!

One Atom to another: Hey buddy...whats with the sad face?
Atom 2: I think I've lost an electron.
Atom 1: Are you sure?
Atom 2: Im positive!

"Brainwash"

He was only 10 years old. And was one of the brightest chaps in his class. He loved English and his command on the language and his mature grasp surprised all of his teachers. He excelled in school at this subject. So much so that his proud parents rewarded him with a computer of his own. He was thrilled. His quick sponge like mind absorbed all there was to learn about the internet. He spent hours browsing the web. The net was so huge and eclectic and such a wonderful source of information and inspiration for the kid. He read books, learnt about great men and their great achievements and about all the literary geniuses. And with characteristic and prodigal depth of thought, he contemplated about everything he read. He was a truly inspired kid ready to take on the world if only given a chance. But there was just one problem.

She wasn’t the English kind. She loved math. And seemed to enjoy only the company of those who loved math. It bothered him to see her with that boy only because he could do all those useless multiplications faster than her. He was convinced that only his ‘lhau’ for her was true love. ‘lhau’…he had grown to like this word.. He was running out of ways to impress her. In his own little world, if knowing the complete meaning of the word ‘sarcastic’ when his classmates couldn’t even spell it properly wasn’t good enough for her then what more could he do? Wasn’t it enough that he could explain what ‘democracy’ meant? Wasn’t it enough that he was now even inspired into taking up poetry? Yet, She didn’t really care about him
The more he saw her and the boy together at school, laughing and narrating those stupid tables the sadder he grew. Something had to be done. It was all a matter of muttering up the courage. There was just the impetus lacking. Life seemed so pointless. He decided to make the empty yard in front of his house his own park. Every evening he would just sit there looking and waiting anxiously for the miracle to happen. His behavior and lonely yard sessions troubled his father but he refused to tell him anything. It took an evening spent in the bosom of his loving mother on the front yard for him to spill out his woes about the girl he ‘lhau’ed . His mother smiled at him understandingly. She told him that such things were worst when kept hidden and that he should go up to her and declare his love for her. “It is a question of now or never” she told him. His innocent eyes filled with joy when he heard those last words from his mother sitting in the yard. That’s all that mattered to him. The impetus had arrived. Everything made perfect sense to him. He knew what to do. It was clearly mentioned.


“Good Evening! This is Sam Etaro bringing you the news at 10 and with me is Tanya Burns. In further investigation of the unprecedented and gruesome murder of two 10 year old schools kids by their classmate, police investigators said that in a search of the accused’s computer they found several stored links to various weblogs (or blogs as they are more popularly known). Further investigation has revealed that the contents of one of the blogs seems to be some sort of inspiration for the accused’s methodology of using a hammer and a penknife. Police are trying to trace the location of all the bloggers linked to from the accused’s computer hoping to get some more insight……"

Slpeling...

...I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The pweor of the hmuan mnid is phaonmneal. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tnhig is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sltil raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the hmaun mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh, and I awlyas tghouht slpeling was ipmorantt.

I do check for spelling errors in my post duh...(re: comments for "Hey!Teacher") But this is an illustration of why I probably didnt notice that I had misspelt "Poems" as "Peoms". (Were there more errors???) I know this is a very common forward but it makes for a nice read for a small population of those who actually havent come across this!

"Hey! Teacher"

"Poems Everyone" said he in ridicule,
Made the kid feel like a fool.
For great was his strife,
His Mother controlled his life.
He was filled with bitterness and pain,
He took it out by using the cane.
The kid just wanted to scream,
Instead with his friends he chose to dream.
In it, they threw him in a fireball,
While singing, "Another brick in the wall"!

I stumbled across this on a piece of paper in my "Fibre Optics Communication" notes when I was looking for something else. I had written this about a year ago in one of those F.O.C lectures when Shevy would go so over my head that I had to think of something to do to kill the remaining time. I remember Subbu liking this. I then showed it to Duh and he wrote a review below saying that he was practising "critical analysis of literature" for his Lit. course. Duh bastard had this to say:

"7/10. Message is nice. But the incessant use of rhyme makes it seem childish. Not in keeping with the theme of the poem. The play on "his strife" and "his mother" which seems to be about the kid but becomes the teacher is the highest poetic touch in the poem"

Bluddy daawg duh! :)
Shevy, F.O.C and Priya Lunch Home rocked!

God...

How many people can command respect like this?

PS:Thanks to Anurag for this pic!

Comedy...

The caption for this pic reads "Looks like he is not going to make it"
Humour as dark as it can get!

Fight Club...

I always wondered...Why am I so fascinated by this movie? What is so bloody inspiring about watching a bunch of people beat each other up? Its not the idea of the movie about how people have become slaves to todays materialistic world and how we must free ourselves that appeals to me (Remember Tyler's words: "Sometimes the things you own, end up owning you")
Apart from obvious "coolness" that Pitt and Norton exude, I think the reason lies in whats written in the pic. It couldn't have been put better. I seriously dont want to die without any scars now!

Racism...

...now what would I have to say about it? Well get there but check this out first. This is an ad that ran in our university's local newspaper about 3 weeks back. The ad was printed by a group called the American Renaissance and it showed a pciture of a white (caucasian) baby with the heading "Will she be a racial minority by the time she turns 40?"
The ad then goes on to say this:

"Third World Immigration- both legal and illegal - is now running so high that whites are expected to be a minority raceby mid-century. Will this be good for America? Everyone tells you to "celebrate diversity," but for whites to "celebrate diversity" is to celebrate their dwindling numbers and declining influence. Would Mexicans "celebrate diversity" if whites were pouring across the Rio Grande, threatening to reduce them to a minority in their own country?Diversity is a weakness, not a strength. Just take a look at your campus. Are different racial groups a source of joy or a cause of friction? Dont just swallow slogans. Think for yourself."

This got me thinking...not angry...just thinking and I put the paper aside. Of course it was the next day that I found out about the ruccus this ad had created and how there were many angry people and for the rest of the week the newspaper issued many apologies (including a personally written one from the editor who said that the ad had slipped thru them and if they had realized it they wud never have printed it). Many people wrote in articles that I followed with close interest. All that has helped me give shape to my thoughts. I came across so many opinions and here are mine:

1) There is nothing wrong in a community trying to preserve its culture (and jobs). In fact I wouldnt be very surprised if there is a serious backlash from the indigenous american community about how the profit looking companies give their jobs to cheaper labour pretty soon.
2) I would say that Mexicans (in fact any community) would definitely not celebrate if something as suggested in the ad would happen.
3) I still think diversity is a strength not a weakness at all. And different racial groups are a source of making life interesting.
4) These guys assume that all those who disagree with them are people who cant think for themselves and are just swallowing slogans. Thats plain bigotry.
5) I didnt think there was really any need for the newspaper to apologize so much and say that if given a second chance they wudnt run the ad...Do newspapers always have to agree with everything that is said in their ads. I am not familiar with the way things work but a strong letter frm the editor saying that "she (and if need be on behalf of everyone at her press) does not agree with the content of the ad" was all I would think is enuff! And that too only if she means it...I am not saying I have the balls to always stand up for my beliefs but obviously doing something like that makes more sense than resorting to mass appeasal.
6) I never really could figure out 'racism'. I do have a few prejudices but I try to supress them as much as possible. And these prejudices never affect me once I get to know a person and like him/her. But does having those prejudices still make me a racist? I find it hard to believe that people can like everyone equally without having any preference to people of their own kind. And I dont see anything wrong in it! So doesnt that make the whole world a racist place to begin with? Of course its wrong to harm (and stupid to hate) others because of your prejudices. So do we call only those people who resort to such wrongdoing (and stupidity) racists?
Ill have to see more of the world and meet more 'racists' to figure this out! ;)

And to conclude...the only reason why I feel they shudnt have run this ad is to avoid putting thoughts of murdering all international students into some random psychos head!
I cant help thinking of the line "Jeremy spoke in class today" and recalling the end of the video :)

Faux Pas...

...A social blunder. Thats how dictionary.com simply describes faux pas. I commit loads of them (which my good friend Dheeraj can readily assert ;) But I think I have found my worst. I seem to have an amazing knack for using the words "What are you doing here" in exactly the worst way possible. I meet a new person at the university, exchange hellos and nomenclature and then come to the logical inquiry about what the person is upto in life, so I simply say "What are you doing here?" and the person I am talking to interprets that as "State you business and it better be good cuz If I find that you dont have a reason good enuff for me for you being here I am going to fucking kill you"
I have had people look at me with a shocked, sometimes even offended look and giving out answers like 'I was just taking a walk...alright Ill see u then"!!!! This has happened so many times. I have even tried to change my tone and make it sound as polite as possible but doesnt seem to work! Neway here are my 2 favourite experiences regarding this.
1) I bumped into an American undergrad that I was acquainted with at a Diwali party (which was for desis) and due course of our conversation I realized I didnt know which year he was in...so I said "What are you doing here?". I would pay to see the look on his face again...he was shocked and embarrassed and quickly pointed to some desi at a distance and said "Uh...that guy invited me...Im sorry I didnt know this was only for Indians". I had a hard time convincing him that I didnt mean it that way :)
2) And just recently I got talking to some random person in the undergrad lab and since he was quizzing me a lot about my work I felt obliged to return the favour and ask him what he was doing there? The chap was taken aback but managed to blurt out..."Ohh I thought I would use these computers to do this course project we have to submit tomorrow"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WTF? :)

I think its the usage of the word 'here' that leads to the misunderstanding! But is it really too much to expect people to follow the train of thought and not assume I am suddenly extremely interested in their present activities. Dont know how many have I offeneded with this but for me it has now become good fun to see the looks on their faces when I blurt out my impoliteness :)