ROCKS!!!
Umbridge is as "supremely annoying" as portrayed in the book, Sirius as comforting a presence, Voldemort as nasty an adversary and Hermoine, Ron, Fred and George as cute and dependable as ever :)
Luna Lovegood was awesome!
And of course Harry rocks too!!!
How am I going to wait until 21st?!
July 15, 2007
July 10, 2007
25 going on 30!
I hear the late 20s are the time when people are most confused (besides midlife crisis), when they vacillate between early 20 something kids and well into 30s parents with kids :) They yearn for the carefree life of the bachelor(ette), late night parties and impulsive decisions. But, the secure, comforting family of three with an adorable toddler holding on tight to the mom no matter how much you try to entice it with chocolates also paints a sweet picture. We wish we could be certain of what to do with this thing called life, like the aunty and uncle we spoke to recently, knowing exactly what they want to do, and, we also know that comes with wisdom that only age can bring along. So, where does that leave us? The people who check the 25-30 box on forms hoping they could curtail their age in that box for a little more time? The to-be-married/just-married/no-kids/SINKs/DINKs?
We still remember the not too distant past when we woke up on snowy mornings and having missed the School bus, trudged along in the snow to teach an 8 AM Calculus class. Why, we even remember the day we stood in the long visa line, with friends from our colleges and even parents, from morning till next morning! And of course, we remember our college crushes like they happened yesterday...we remember how Oasis used to be, how KSR and TRS taught so well but we still didn't get into IIT, no matter BITS turned out to be loads of fun anyway...
And we also know we are standing on the brink of something life-changing - a cliff overlooking an ambitious yet scary future, promising elements of a cosy family life, with little kids gazing at us adoringly, a time when the person the kid refuses to leave is us...not them, and also bits and pieces of unknown paths - a mishmash forming our destiny, the future we hope to experience but can never be certain until the moment is upon us to be the present...
And walking along this path, we often look back, wondering if we could just linger a little longer, but at the same time yearning to experience the treasures that our journey will bring...and until we cross that distance, we remain the elusive 25-going-on-30 people; don't worry we'll get over this together!
And to those people who fall in the 20-25 group, you know the kind that goes, "Oh man, you'll be 30 in a coupla years!", I wish I could say, "Wow! And you are still 23, I must say, that is quite an achievement, your parents must be awfully proud of you!"
But I am a nice girl, I am not rude, given most situations. So, in the infinitely greater wisdom that the few years have given me over this astute 23-year-old, I would nod and smile. Also with wisdom. Ah, such pleasure to possess such wisdom :p
Hey you! Big Three-O, am all ready for you, bring it on, baby!
Uhh...take your time though, not in a hurry!
We still remember the not too distant past when we woke up on snowy mornings and having missed the School bus, trudged along in the snow to teach an 8 AM Calculus class. Why, we even remember the day we stood in the long visa line, with friends from our colleges and even parents, from morning till next morning! And of course, we remember our college crushes like they happened yesterday...we remember how Oasis used to be, how KSR and TRS taught so well but we still didn't get into IIT, no matter BITS turned out to be loads of fun anyway...
And we also know we are standing on the brink of something life-changing - a cliff overlooking an ambitious yet scary future, promising elements of a cosy family life, with little kids gazing at us adoringly, a time when the person the kid refuses to leave is us...not them, and also bits and pieces of unknown paths - a mishmash forming our destiny, the future we hope to experience but can never be certain until the moment is upon us to be the present...
And walking along this path, we often look back, wondering if we could just linger a little longer, but at the same time yearning to experience the treasures that our journey will bring...and until we cross that distance, we remain the elusive 25-going-on-30 people; don't worry we'll get over this together!
And to those people who fall in the 20-25 group, you know the kind that goes, "Oh man, you'll be 30 in a coupla years!", I wish I could say, "Wow! And you are still 23, I must say, that is quite an achievement, your parents must be awfully proud of you!"
But I am a nice girl, I am not rude, given most situations. So, in the infinitely greater wisdom that the few years have given me over this astute 23-year-old, I would nod and smile. Also with wisdom. Ah, such pleasure to possess such wisdom :p
Hey you! Big Three-O, am all ready for you, bring it on, baby!Uhh...take your time though, not in a hurry!
July 08, 2007
Chennai 40508 VolleyBall Tournament!
Three days of intense volleyball, hoarse cheers, starbucks coffee and dinner outside! Remarkable team work and some stunt shots by the "Mokkai brothers" won the game for them!
Woohoo!
Yet another volleyball trophy to add to my showcase collection!
A~'s slogans deserve special mention:
- "Anjukapram aaru, appu adichaan kumaaru"
- "Twinkle twinkle, little star, Sujan is a super star"
- "Dhumm adicha poga varum, Kamal adicha kalavaram"
- "Marathukadila school da, Bharath aalu dhool da!"
- "Lakalakalakalakalaka!"
- "Ilaya Thalapathi (Vijay), Vazhga!"
"Sakkai podu potoma !!! - "Rakai molaicha parapomda !!
Woohoo!
Yet another volleyball trophy to add to my showcase collection!
A~'s slogans deserve special mention:
- "Anjukapram aaru, appu adichaan kumaaru"
- "Twinkle twinkle, little star, Sujan is a super star"
- "Dhumm adicha poga varum, Kamal adicha kalavaram"
- "Marathukadila school da, Bharath aalu dhool da!"
- "Lakalakalakalakalaka!"
- "Ilaya Thalapathi (Vijay), Vazhga!"
"Sakkai podu potoma !!!
mokkai pota thanguma !!!!!!"
mokkai adicha sethom da !!! "
- "Bit adicha pass da
nanga adicha closee da"
July 04, 2007
My muse.
There was a time, not long ago, when words would flow gently, uninterrupted, from my thoughts to my hands, when rain or shine neither interrupted nor distracted my earnest attempts to string them into sentences...what happened to those words now? Why do they hide in the dark at the smallest pretext - a passing cloud in the sky, a passing phase in my life...?
Nary a phrase nor a word,
Not a sound echoes in all the silence.
Where lies my muse?
Where hides the thrill that perfect words bring?
Who imprisons the epithets that colored my lines?
What of the delightful train of lyrical phrases and melodious clauses,
that chimed along, in tune with me?
Oh, how you dwell in darkness!
Perhaps the whimsical winds, the capricious clouds,
the showers that alight without a call are to blame?
Perhaps, you shy away from the colors of nature?
Did they not embellish your presence once,
why then do you shy away now?
What use is your silhouette when I seek to limn a portrait?
If I seek thee on a bright and sunny morning,
my muse, would you care to return to me?
Nary a phrase nor a word,
Not a sound echoes in all the silence.
Where lies my muse?
Where hides the thrill that perfect words bring?
Who imprisons the epithets that colored my lines?
What of the delightful train of lyrical phrases and melodious clauses,
that chimed along, in tune with me?
Oh, how you dwell in darkness!
Perhaps the whimsical winds, the capricious clouds,
the showers that alight without a call are to blame?
Perhaps, you shy away from the colors of nature?
Did they not embellish your presence once,
why then do you shy away now?
What use is your silhouette when I seek to limn a portrait?
If I seek thee on a bright and sunny morning,
my muse, would you care to return to me?
June 26, 2007
Story time!
Silambattam, as in this, not this :p
Kept thinking of KamalHassan in Thevar Magan as I wrote this story :)
Kept thinking of KamalHassan in Thevar Magan as I wrote this story :)
June 19, 2007
Over the hill?
So, k turned thirty and unlike me, my husband loves to celebrate his birthday with a bunch of people, so, we rented disco lights and amplifier from Doo Wop (our local music store), ordered cake from Maggi's bakery, pizzas from Joe Bolognas and we were all set. We had a blast! But, what made the party more energetic were the group of 20-somethings from the University (Yes, I get to say that although am still in my 20s - not for long though :p) - ready to dance into the night and linger over silly conversations, which was such a rare treat for me...
Anyway, seeing them reminded me of my own early 20s and I was pretty much like them - wanting to try new things out, always ready for a road trip, talking to friends late into the night...not that am very different from that now. I still do like talking to friends late into the night, I still like going on road trips, but now everything has a clearly defined boundary. The friends that visit have a set time allotted for the visit (the concept of "lingering" long forgotten...or what we call "Daira podardu" in Tamizh :), the road trips that we plan are anything but impromptu and people have their own preferences, some of which they would rather not sacrifice even for a day. So, everything has to be planned - where we eat, when we eat, where we visit, even a visit to a coffee/ice-cream shop has to be co-ordinated prior to the trip...
Sooo, where does that leave 25-30 somethings like us? The 9-5 people who look forward to weekends to relax because their weekdays are monotonous and in the process of relaxing creating yet another monotonous-routine for weekends...?
I don't know. I guess in a way, this is the life that we worked hard for but we had just pictured it differently...
All I know is that I am grateful to the unexpected visits, the long conversations, the late-night parties and the "lingerings" that still manage to occur in my life :)
June 10, 2007
Someone's got a make-over!
Our friend insisted on a complete make-over and I though I ought to indulge her whim, after all she is close to my heart :)
I experimented with the most web-readable color-combination and it didn't look that interesting, so switched to a rather dramatic color scheme. Please bear with yours truly while the experiment with the costumes continues; the perfect shade lurks nearby, just around the corner :p
Also, not that I am being a show off but "Did you check out the cool tag cloud?"
*RS stops gushing and signs off before further damage*
I experimented with the most web-readable color-combination and it didn't look that interesting, so switched to a rather dramatic color scheme. Please bear with yours truly while the experiment with the costumes continues; the perfect shade lurks nearby, just around the corner :p
Also, not that I am being a show off but "Did you check out the cool tag cloud?"
*RS stops gushing and signs off before further damage*
June 06, 2007
Lost dreams.
Is there anyone out there who is doing exactly what he wants to do? Getting up in the morning with a thrill that he is going to spend the day doing exactly what he likes doing. He is not doing it for money - although that is a great side-benefit - he is doing it for the one reason that he would rather not be doing anything else.
Anyone out there who hasn't claimed, "If I had the time, I would rather do this all day long!" Substitute photography, dancing, writing, being-with-the-kids for "this". And several years down the lane, does it matter that we worked so hard doing something else because we thought we had to - to make money for the bigger house, to save for retirement, for the kids' college education?
Or would we just look back as we are wont to do and say to ourselves, "I wish I had...", repenting for what we had not done?
I knew these 9 AM meetings at work were not good for me, especially since they are M,W,F meetings and for 2 consecutive weeks :(
Anyone out there who hasn't claimed, "If I had the time, I would rather do this all day long!" Substitute photography, dancing, writing, being-with-the-kids for "this". And several years down the lane, does it matter that we worked so hard doing something else because we thought we had to - to make money for the bigger house, to save for retirement, for the kids' college education?
Or would we just look back as we are wont to do and say to ourselves, "I wish I had...", repenting for what we had not done?
I knew these 9 AM meetings at work were not good for me, especially since they are M,W,F meetings and for 2 consecutive weeks :(
June 01, 2007
Doing the dishes.
Ask me to name one thing that has been around ever since k & I got married, always there to remind us of what life can offer, that "if we dish 'em out, we better be able to take it",always full, always loud and always demanding our attention, and I would reply instantly (like those annoying first-bench students in school who would raise their hands even before the teacher asked the question - I, on the other hand, was cool, I sat on the second bench, NOT the first! Ok, aside over, back to topic now->)...where was I? You know what? I am not very fond of asides, as my Professor once said, "If you think something's important enough to put in parenthesis, you might as well make it part of the original sentence". Anyway, back to our constant companion:
"The Sink!" (accompanied with drumroll)
You are now going to ask me if I have had too much of coffee or javascript for the day and perhaps, I should blog at a time when my brain decides to construct relatively saner thoughts? And I would say, "Ah ha!".
Actually, I would say, "Let me explain why" but I would probably throw in the "Ah ha" too - it make such an impression in a conversation, don't you think?
Where was I? The sink. Yes, our long association (especially k's looong association) with the sink began during our marriage - nalangu (the fun and games part of a TamBram wedding). I had a small container of dal and k had to convince me to give him the dal and this is what followed:
"Please give me the dal"
Lol (like that would work!)
"I will buy you a saree/piece of jewellery/something cute if you give me the dal"
"Gee, thanks! But, no thanks!"
"Ok, tell me what you want..."
(Now we are talking!) "Promise to do the dishes the first three months after our wedding"
And things were going pretty much according to plan (mine) when k's mom, who until then was busy chatting with her sisters, suddenly turned to k and asked, "So, what did she ask" and after being informed of my demand, she said, "Whaaa? My son is not going to do the dishes! Poooor Kamal" etc. k, predictably, beamed.
I, being the docile, shy bahu etc smiled and looked down and gave k the dal.
Scene change. Fast-forward a year into our marriage and you will see "beaming k" loading the dishes carefully into the dishwasher (hey! don't give me that look, I cook and unload the dishwasher!)
Scene change. We are at B&P's place and have just had tea. I rinse my mug at the sink and k follows. But we notice that he spends an extra long time at the sink. Apparently, their sink (like ours) is unhappy with k and wishes to gush out in anger at him.
Scene change. We are at work and I walk into the break area at around 10 AM and whom do I see there but my dear husband, staring morosely at the office sink. It clogged too!
And that's when k made peace with his constant companion, the kitchen sink. They clog less when he's around now and he in turn, treats them with the TLC that a faithful companion deserves!
"The Sink!" (accompanied with drumroll)
You are now going to ask me if I have had too much of coffee or javascript for the day and perhaps, I should blog at a time when my brain decides to construct relatively saner thoughts? And I would say, "Ah ha!".
Actually, I would say, "Let me explain why" but I would probably throw in the "Ah ha" too - it make such an impression in a conversation, don't you think?
Where was I? The sink. Yes, our long association (especially k's looong association) with the sink began during our marriage - nalangu (the fun and games part of a TamBram wedding). I had a small container of dal and k had to convince me to give him the dal and this is what followed:
"Please give me the dal"
Lol (like that would work!)
"I will buy you a saree/piece of jewellery/something cute if you give me the dal"
"Gee, thanks! But, no thanks!"
"Ok, tell me what you want..."
(Now we are talking!) "Promise to do the dishes the first three months after our wedding"
And things were going pretty much according to plan (mine) when k's mom, who until then was busy chatting with her sisters, suddenly turned to k and asked, "So, what did she ask" and after being informed of my demand, she said, "Whaaa? My son is not going to do the dishes! Poooor Kamal" etc. k, predictably, beamed.
I, being the docile, shy bahu etc smiled and looked down and gave k the dal.
Scene change. Fast-forward a year into our marriage and you will see "beaming k" loading the dishes carefully into the dishwasher (hey! don't give me that look, I cook and unload the dishwasher!)
Scene change. We are at B&P's place and have just had tea. I rinse my mug at the sink and k follows. But we notice that he spends an extra long time at the sink. Apparently, their sink (like ours) is unhappy with k and wishes to gush out in anger at him.
Scene change. We are at work and I walk into the break area at around 10 AM and whom do I see there but my dear husband, staring morosely at the office sink. It clogged too!
And that's when k made peace with his constant companion, the kitchen sink. They clog less when he's around now and he in turn, treats them with the TLC that a faithful companion deserves!
May 29, 2007
Yakity, yakity, yak.
Last weekend, one of my friends from Chicago visited Lex with her husband, daughter and parents. We were room-mates at UK several years back and it was really nice to catch up. She gave me latest updates from her life and I kept going, "Oh, you are?", "Oh cool, I didn't know!"; she told me she tried to keep in touch with our "gang" from UK and I caught myself wondering why I did not. I told her I was not much of a phone-person, I communicate better through email or in-person, but wondered if that was really true. I mean, however awkward I am on phone, a phone call now and then would have helped me catch up with her life...so, I promised her I would try to stay in touch at least from now on.
Her trip reminded me of this book I read that said women feel an extra surge of happiness than men when they talk, "relate" with each other. It went on to explain why women talk so much more than men and how they are capable of talking most if not all the time - a question that periodically baffles k, every few months he forgets the question intrigued him in the first place and proceeds to ask again :)
My friend's trip just made me realize how accurate the book was. We do like to yak, don't we? We (I?) talk to fill uncomfortable gaps, we need to talk to feel close, talk to remove frustration, talk to express...(one of my friends told me, "You know, you don't really have to express every single thought/feeling that crosses your head!") sometimes, we talk just for the sake of talking :)
Her trip reminded me of this book I read that said women feel an extra surge of happiness than men when they talk, "relate" with each other. It went on to explain why women talk so much more than men and how they are capable of talking most if not all the time - a question that periodically baffles k, every few months he forgets the question intrigued him in the first place and proceeds to ask again :)
My friend's trip just made me realize how accurate the book was. We do like to yak, don't we? We (I?) talk to fill uncomfortable gaps, we need to talk to feel close, talk to remove frustration, talk to express...(one of my friends told me, "You know, you don't really have to express every single thought/feeling that crosses your head!") sometimes, we talk just for the sake of talking :)
May 15, 2007
Ganesha and his trunks!
Image source: http://www.skinbase.org/
Dancer's block. That's what I have.
My teacher says, "The words, expressions, emotions that flow through your pen...I need you to bring it to your face. You need to allow yourself to emote. You need to feel the dance...and be the dance."
I try really hard but the magnificent expression that lights a good dancer's visage fails to alight on mine. The harder I try to be a happy dancing Ganesha, the more confused I look. A confused Ganesha dancing, looking at his feet every now and then, sometimes with two trunks instead of one - I am supposed to sway the left hand against my left ear to indicate Ganesha's ear and move my right hand like his trunk; instead I sway both hands enthusiastically, Ganesha's two trunks dancing to their own rhythm!
And if I struggle thus for a happy dancing Ganesha, how will I show a terrifying monster, a ruthless demon, Shiva performing his rudra tandav? How will I express love, how will my eyes show, not talk, kindness and courage?
Ah, those days will come. For now, Ganesha and his Ananda Narthana beckon. This time, he will have one trunk, not two :)
April 30, 2007
That safe place called home...
exists in Atlantis!
Where can I begin...let's see:
1. I thought my water was safe...
2. I thought my floors were safe...
3. I thought my air was safe...
4. I thought my food was safe...
5. I thought my habits were safe...
You get the point.
Blah, what a bleak post! Promise to post something optimistic soon!
Edited: And then L sends me this cartoon, oh well!
Source of cartoon: EveryDayEcon, CartoonBank.com
April 24, 2007
:-( -----> :-)
So, I thought I would post photos from Georgetown Kite Fest. But, for some reason, I just don't "feel up to it". I feel like moping for no justifiable reason. Maybe it's because I woke up with a start at 7.30 AM with the thought that I had made a coding mistake! So weird, but I had actually saved a password that I should not have saved to source control. So, I went rushing to my laptop even without my cup-a-coffee and tried to "fix" my mistake as best as I could (Turned out it wasn't such a big deal, my colleague told me, "Don't sweat it, Ramya, we all make mistakes!" which was nice of him). Then, I spent a tensed morning half-concentrating, half-worrying about a presentation I had to give in the afternoon. And come afternoon, all the nice things that can and will go wrong did go wrong. I fumbled to project my laptop screen to the projector screen - Fn F7 just refused to work for me! Then, I had trouble pulling the stupid projector screen down. Then the meat of it - the actual presentation - and I heard my voice whispering to myself and shaking - quite a feat! And because, I was so nervous, I gave a 2 second demo instead of what should have been at least a 2 minute demo. Anyway, it's quite unfair to let the few of you still reading this post leave on a not-so-thrilled note like this (I blame it all on the faulty female hormones), so I am going to fight my moping ghost away and upload some pics!
See (talking to myself, you obviously do see), all I needed to do was a collage of bright and sunny photos with smiling faces and I feel better already :)...although I did think the kite-fest organizers were just going to approach us to say, "Ahem...you all have been here for more than 6 hours and really, you are the last people left at the park, could you kindly, you know, go home?!"
See (talking to myself, you obviously do see), all I needed to do was a collage of bright and sunny photos with smiling faces and I feel better already :)...although I did think the kite-fest organizers were just going to approach us to say, "Ahem...you all have been here for more than 6 hours and really, you are the last people left at the park, could you kindly, you know, go home?!"
April 22, 2007
Sunday routine!
One good thing about watching this on Sundays is this.
Most of the recent articles I read seem to claim multi-tasking is bad, this worked out ok for me, though :)
Oh, also, I like Anbudan (marks the end of the weekend to me) although the lucky people who get to watch other desi channels claim Anu Hassan's talk show is much better...
Most of the recent articles I read seem to claim multi-tasking is bad, this worked out ok for me, though :)
Oh, also, I like Anbudan (marks the end of the weekend to me) although the lucky people who get to watch other desi channels claim Anu Hassan's talk show is much better...
April 16, 2007
Sometimes...
I lose faith in humanity.
Remember how people claim, big problems can be solved by small changes, by you and me?
How?
Remember how people claim, big problems can be solved by small changes, by you and me?
How?
April 10, 2007
Similarly crazy!
You know the moment when you know you have connected with someone? That moment changes everything. You go from listening to empathizing. It can happen in the middle of a conversation or out of the blue and you have the "Aha" moment, the moment when you know exactly what the other person is talking about. I can never truly understand what you feel because I am intimately familiar with my thoughts, I hear them in my head and I know exactly how I feel. But, when you talk, I hear the words, translate them in my head and try to make sense of them. Sometimes, I don't do such a good job of translating them and they don't make sense to me (courtesy - Stumbling on happiness). But in spite of being two different people, there are moments such as these when we almost think as one. I call it, being "similarly crazy". Because at some level, we all are crazy but being crazy together? That experience is something special.
Philosophy aside, I managed two stories in a row! Some wise person once said (Was it me? I can't remember but it always sounds authentic when you begin a sentence with "Some wise person once said..." :p ) "If you want to do a better job of writing, do it everyday. Write. Write. Write. It may sound like gibberish to you initially, but it gets better." So, that's what I do. Gibberish or not. I write because I have to. And I want to.
I titled my short story, "Rayin Snegam" (Rayil = train, Snegam = love, affection, friendship...). I couldn't find an equivalent in English. I began the story with an intent to try something different - use many short sentences instead of awkwardly long sentences. But half-way through, I forgot all about the short sentences and followed where the story took me, a mish-mash of thoughts from the books I have been reading recently (Stumbling on... and Maximum city), the ever-present nostalgia that all NRIs deal with and how life changes in a moment - the regular stuff :p
Philosophy aside, I managed two stories in a row! Some wise person once said (Was it me? I can't remember but it always sounds authentic when you begin a sentence with "Some wise person once said..." :p ) "If you want to do a better job of writing, do it everyday. Write. Write. Write. It may sound like gibberish to you initially, but it gets better." So, that's what I do. Gibberish or not. I write because I have to. And I want to.
I titled my short story, "Rayin Snegam" (Rayil = train, Snegam = love, affection, friendship...). I couldn't find an equivalent in English. I began the story with an intent to try something different - use many short sentences instead of awkwardly long sentences. But half-way through, I forgot all about the short sentences and followed where the story took me, a mish-mash of thoughts from the books I have been reading recently (Stumbling on... and Maximum city), the ever-present nostalgia that all NRIs deal with and how life changes in a moment - the regular stuff :p
April 03, 2007
Whew!
Managed to cook up a story.
Theme? Love story. What? Don't tell me you are surprised!
Be nice with your comments now. It's 12.30 am after all and my brain cells are only partially engaged in the process of intelligent thought.
Also, watch out for a deliberately vague ending, am hoping it's not really that vague :p
Theme? Love story. What? Don't tell me you are surprised!
Be nice with your comments now. It's 12.30 am after all and my brain cells are only partially engaged in the process of intelligent thought.
Also, watch out for a deliberately vague ending, am hoping it's not really that vague :p
April 01, 2007
Object Oriented Thinking.
If you are not programatically inclined, the code below just proves the point that I spend the major part of my day thinking thoughts that are not really worth thinking (you might want to read the stuff in green though). I spend the few precious minutes left behind (if any) thinking the thoughts that I really ought to be thinking. So why did I post this class below if I know the result already?
Because this is one crazy space (nothing extraordinary goin' on up there) and I plan to maintain it that way :p
/*
* Class to estimate how I end up spending all the time
* in my life. Best results when program is executed every
* 6 months and results compared.
*/
package com.lex.rs.thoughts;
public class ThoughtsOfRS
{
public static final boolean confused = true;
public static final long SECONDS_IN_DAY = 43200;
public static final long MAX_TRIVIAL = 10000;
public static final long MAX_RANDOM = 5000;
public static final long MAX_CRITICAL = 5000;
public static final long MAX_PAST = 5000;
public static final long MAX_FUTURE = 5000;
public static final long MAX_HYPOTHETICAL = 5000;
public static final long MAX_INDIA = 5000;
//Variable introduced after k explained that my previous class
//assumed I would think trivial thoughts all day long!
protected long actualTrivialTime = 0;
ThoughtsOfRS()
{
//Note that this does not honor the SECONDS_IN_DAY field.
while(confused)
{
think();
}
}
public void think()
{
initTrivialThoughts();
initRandomThoughts();
initCriticalThoughts();
initPastThoughts();
initFutureThoughts();
initWorthyThoughts();
}
public void initTrivialThoughts()
{
long startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
brain.getTrivialThoughtsFromCache();
brain.processTrivialThoughts();
brain.recheckProcessing();
brain.storeChurnedThoughtsToCache();
long endTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
actualTrivialTime += endTime - startTime;
if (actualTrivialTime > MAX_TRIVIAL)
{
brain.storeChurnedThoughtsInLongTermMemory();
addToLoadForTomorrow();
actualTrivialTime = 0;
return;
}
else
{
initTrivialThoughts();
}
}
//Similar methods for random, future, past, hypothetical and
//critical thoughts in decreasing order of importance.
public void initWorthyThoughts()
{
long otherTime = MAX_CRITICAL + MAX_FUTURE + MAX_HYPOTHETICAL;
otherTime += MAX_INDIA + MAX_PAST + MAX_RANDOM + MAX_TRIVIAL;
long worthyTime = SECONDS_IN_DAY - (otherTime);
//As of current estimate, I get a whopping 3200 seconds to
//think all of my worthy thoughts !
}
}
/*
* If the GOF ever read this program, they would definitely publish this
* as a classic antipattern. Oh well, as long as I get my name on a published
* book...*sheepish grin*
*/
/*
* If you work with me, just fyi this is my evil twin who doesn't know a
* thing about programming.
*/
/*
* And if you are wondering about the weird green and yellow color theme (I know this link is not blue, but humor me and click it anyway :p)
*/
Because this is one crazy space (nothing extraordinary goin' on up there) and I plan to maintain it that way :p
/*
* Class to estimate how I end up spending all the time
* in my life. Best results when program is executed every
* 6 months and results compared.
*/
package com.lex.rs.thoughts;
public class ThoughtsOfRS
{
public static final boolean confused = true;
public static final long SECONDS_IN_DAY = 43200;
public static final long MAX_TRIVIAL = 10000;
public static final long MAX_RANDOM = 5000;
public static final long MAX_CRITICAL = 5000;
public static final long MAX_PAST = 5000;
public static final long MAX_FUTURE = 5000;
public static final long MAX_HYPOTHETICAL = 5000;
public static final long MAX_INDIA = 5000;
//Variable introduced after k explained that my previous class
//assumed I would think trivial thoughts all day long!
protected long actualTrivialTime = 0;
ThoughtsOfRS()
{
//Note that this does not honor the SECONDS_IN_DAY field.
while(confused)
{
think();
}
}
public void think()
{
initTrivialThoughts();
initRandomThoughts();
initCriticalThoughts();
initPastThoughts();
initFutureThoughts();
initWorthyThoughts();
}
public void initTrivialThoughts()
{
long startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
brain.getTrivialThoughtsFromCache();
brain.processTrivialThoughts();
brain.recheckProcessing();
brain.storeChurnedThoughtsToCache();
long endTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
actualTrivialTime += endTime - startTime;
if (actualTrivialTime > MAX_TRIVIAL)
{
brain.storeChurnedThoughtsInLongTermMemory();
addToLoadForTomorrow();
actualTrivialTime = 0;
return;
}
else
{
initTrivialThoughts();
}
}
//Similar methods for random, future, past, hypothetical and
//critical thoughts in decreasing order of importance.
public void initWorthyThoughts()
{
long otherTime = MAX_CRITICAL + MAX_FUTURE + MAX_HYPOTHETICAL;
otherTime += MAX_INDIA + MAX_PAST + MAX_RANDOM + MAX_TRIVIAL;
long worthyTime = SECONDS_IN_DAY - (otherTime);
//As of current estimate, I get a whopping 3200 seconds to
//think all of my worthy thoughts !
}
}
/*
* If the GOF ever read this program, they would definitely publish this
* as a classic antipattern. Oh well, as long as I get my name on a published
* book...*sheepish grin*
*/
/*
* If you work with me, just fyi this is my evil twin who doesn't know a
* thing about programming.
*/
/*
* And if you are wondering about the weird green and yellow color theme (I know this link is not blue, but humor me and click it anyway :p)
*/
March 18, 2007
Personal finance!
Short break from regular post ->
Found this in Anupama's blog...my visual DNA :)
Regular post continues ->
Now, there's a title you would not see again on my blog posts :)
So, my (comparatively) financially-aware husband decided to start a small investment club here, a pretty informal weekly gathering where we brainstorm financial ideas, discuss strategies to become rich in a few weeks and regularly implement ideas to save money and the world at large. I wish! Anyway, we do manage to meet as regularly as possible (movies, icecreams and napping have higher priority, of course) and discuss personal finance and related topics. k updates his blog (yes, it has been revived from it's semicomatose state and is now trying to hobble back to life, please provide incentives to revive said space :p).
So, inspired by his blog valiantly fighting for life, I also decided to revive the financially side of my peaceful brain (which has been largely dormant, one could also use adjectives such as doltish, dumb...you get the point) and voilà! we have a presentation!
Also, I made this nice pie chart with our controllable expenses divided into nice wedges, spent a good one hour on it, didn't want to miss a chance to brag although I did have to remove the chart out of the presentation because this is on the big, bad www....shudder!
Back to comfortable dormancy. S'long.
Found this in Anupama's blog...my visual DNA :)
Regular post continues ->
Now, there's a title you would not see again on my blog posts :)
So, my (comparatively) financially-aware husband decided to start a small investment club here, a pretty informal weekly gathering where we brainstorm financial ideas, discuss strategies to become rich in a few weeks and regularly implement ideas to save money and the world at large. I wish! Anyway, we do manage to meet as regularly as possible (movies, icecreams and napping have higher priority, of course) and discuss personal finance and related topics. k updates his blog (yes, it has been revived from it's semicomatose state and is now trying to hobble back to life, please provide incentives to revive said space :p).
So, inspired by his blog valiantly fighting for life, I also decided to revive the financially side of my peaceful brain (which has been largely dormant, one could also use adjectives such as doltish, dumb...you get the point) and voilà! we have a presentation!
Also, I made this nice pie chart with our controllable expenses divided into nice wedges, spent a good one hour on it, didn't want to miss a chance to brag although I did have to remove the chart out of the presentation because this is on the big, bad www....shudder!
Back to comfortable dormancy. S'long.
March 15, 2007
Marriage, workplace and related 100% nonsense!
Their hands remain locked in an intimate embrace throughout the get-together. Now and then, she smiles at a joke and leans casually towards him, gently touches his shoulder and shares a private joke with him-a small family secret just between them-and he smiles indulgently. When dinner is served, he stands in line for her, chivalrously balances two plates and hands one of his plates to her. She says something along the lines of “Thank you, dear” and he replies, a look of serious concern on his handsome face, “I took some extra salad for you, you do like cherry tomatoes, don’t you?” And he is right. How can he not be? They are the perfect couple. They are pleasant, charming, absolutely in love and totally faking it.
While it is nice to imagine rosy sequences like above, real life is more like this:
He drives over the speed-limit because they are late for the party. She holds on to dear life and promptly requests that her husband slow down, now! She cares for her dear life even if he doesn’t! His response does a good job of matching her sarcasm. And finally they arrive at the party. They immediately go separate ways as if the party has just relieved them of their almost unbearable prior company. They eat standing away from each other and they don’t know if their spouse has eaten yet, perhaps they don’t care. They sulk and prefer silence to social niceties like nodding and uh-uh-ing at appropriate intervals. They drive back in silence.
I guess, most of us fall somewhere in-between. We have some good days and some not-so-good ones. And for couples like us that work at the same office, there are several interesting ways to extend a fight. Summarized below are just a few examples:
1) We now have a set of virtual channels customized just to enable and further our arguments! Hey! I can ping him on chat, send him an email or walk over to his cube to tell him what I have already told him on the way to work – “You are wrong!” And surprise, he can respond back, again, with “No, You are not.”
See? Not only have we enriched our lives by spending more quality (fighting) time with each other, we have found meaningful ways to diversify the channels along which our arguments flow!
2) Then, there is the drive. The drive to work, the drive from work, the drive to lunch and back where we can further analyze and reiterate our points of view. Good food and good chemistry! Now, who can beat that?
3) Now, ask me how else we are contributing not only to our marital entertainment but to the good of everyone and I will tell you – we car pool! That means, we get up on time and go to work at the same time and leave at the same time. This seemingly innocuous activity has further strengthened our bonds. We can now have healthy arguments with each other like – “I need to be at work for a meeting at 8.30AM” and pat comes the reply, “It’s already 1 AM, I don’t think I can get up in time for your meeting.” See how we have so many more interesting riddles to solve? I mean, how boring is it to drive separate ways and come back in the evening to spend an hour describing the day’s activities to your spouse! Nah, we like to have healthy discussions about when we wake up, go to work and return, everyday! It’s like vitamin pills for a marriage!
4) And if you are an organized woman like most women are, who truly believes that "Cleanliness is next to Godliness", even though it's a cliche, maintains lists and classifies chores as his, hers and ours, firstly, you should rename your lists to be more specific like -his chores inside the house, his chores for the yard, miscellaneous cleaning activities, her kitchen chores...(getting carried away, focus now!), secondly, you can now ping him on chat once an hour and remind him to check his tada-list, how cool is that?! You have thus proven that you are a successful house-keeper (home-builder? Whatever the current catchy phrase is) while still being a career woman! Three cheers to you!
And in conclusion, I recommend that couples work together at the same office and marital stress will be a thing of the past!
And thus ends my essay (of course, it was fiction! What did you think? :p) titled: “Short-term and long-term effects of workplace on married folks!” or “Why couples should work together!”
Note: Until brain returns back to sanity and writing returns back to tolerable, do please put up with bits and pieces of nonsense such as the above. Thanks.
While it is nice to imagine rosy sequences like above, real life is more like this:
He drives over the speed-limit because they are late for the party. She holds on to dear life and promptly requests that her husband slow down, now! She cares for her dear life even if he doesn’t! His response does a good job of matching her sarcasm. And finally they arrive at the party. They immediately go separate ways as if the party has just relieved them of their almost unbearable prior company. They eat standing away from each other and they don’t know if their spouse has eaten yet, perhaps they don’t care. They sulk and prefer silence to social niceties like nodding and uh-uh-ing at appropriate intervals. They drive back in silence.
I guess, most of us fall somewhere in-between. We have some good days and some not-so-good ones. And for couples like us that work at the same office, there are several interesting ways to extend a fight. Summarized below are just a few examples:
1) We now have a set of virtual channels customized just to enable and further our arguments! Hey! I can ping him on chat, send him an email or walk over to his cube to tell him what I have already told him on the way to work – “You are wrong!” And surprise, he can respond back, again, with “No, You are not.”
See? Not only have we enriched our lives by spending more quality (fighting) time with each other, we have found meaningful ways to diversify the channels along which our arguments flow!
2) Then, there is the drive. The drive to work, the drive from work, the drive to lunch and back where we can further analyze and reiterate our points of view. Good food and good chemistry! Now, who can beat that?
3) Now, ask me how else we are contributing not only to our marital entertainment but to the good of everyone and I will tell you – we car pool! That means, we get up on time and go to work at the same time and leave at the same time. This seemingly innocuous activity has further strengthened our bonds. We can now have healthy arguments with each other like – “I need to be at work for a meeting at 8.30AM” and pat comes the reply, “It’s already 1 AM, I don’t think I can get up in time for your meeting.” See how we have so many more interesting riddles to solve? I mean, how boring is it to drive separate ways and come back in the evening to spend an hour describing the day’s activities to your spouse! Nah, we like to have healthy discussions about when we wake up, go to work and return, everyday! It’s like vitamin pills for a marriage!
4) And if you are an organized woman like most women are, who truly believes that "Cleanliness is next to Godliness", even though it's a cliche, maintains lists and classifies chores as his, hers and ours, firstly, you should rename your lists to be more specific like -
And in conclusion, I recommend that couples work together at the same office and marital stress will be a thing of the past!
And thus ends my essay (of course, it was fiction! What did you think? :p) titled: “Short-term and long-term effects of workplace on married folks!” or “Why couples should work together!”
Note: Until brain returns back to sanity and writing returns back to tolerable, do please put up with bits and pieces of nonsense such as the above. Thanks.
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