Exam fever!!!

God, I love exams. There's nothing like a million butterflies in your stomach to truly make you feel fabulous. Finished the last two labs of my bachelor's course this week. Its a strange feeling. Seems like just yesterday that I attended the orientation ceremony. Well, time and tide wait for no man.

These old adages are really funny sometimes. One tells you - "Out of sight, out of mind". The next one you read will be - "Familiarity breeds contempt". So what is a girl to do? Stay near, but be distant?

My theory exams start next Thursday. Trying to study. Just a week left. God, I need loads of help. It sure would be great to have a time freezing machine, or a photographic memory, or a lookalike robot. I don't know why scientists haven't come up with versions of these things. They're just wasting their time trying to figure out nuclear fusion, and trips to Mars.

I was watching a show on tv this morning, Ed. Its been a really long time since I followed it, so didn't really understand what was going on. But this is what I gathered. Ed's really upset that he doesn't have anything to leave behind for posterity. No special talent. And this feeling's only intensified by his genius artist-client. After sinking to the depths of self - pity, he starts designing his headstone. He then gets a letter from a lady who knew his great-grandfather, saying that he was a good man, who is greatly missed by all his friends. He then changes what he had written - "Art was his life" to "Life was his art". Just made an impression on me. Don't know why exactly.

Well, at any rate, its something to think about!

CCN

Notice all the paraphernalia that we need to educate ourselves, no wonder Ranj ditched us after just one day!!!!!
We just can't study without three remotes, two mobiles (one's not seen 'cos its taking the picture you are seeing), lip gel (for Meh, God knows what she's doing), Tiger Balm (we've already finished a couple of containers, we've ordered them in bulk, so contact us in case of emergencies), spectacles, and last, and definitely the least, the all-important syllabus book, without which we would have to read the entire book(boooooooooooohoooooooooooooooo).

This is a joint effort from Meh and me - a must-read for seventh sem sufferers!

These are the only things that makes the study of this subject entertaining.

1. ".......surf the web from the beach". (We think, pun very much intended).
2. "Foot - shoe size of a long dead king". Hehehe.
3. "Incredibly, astonishingly, prodigiously high frequency would sound nice". It does sound nice. Extra fact : this is the frequency our dear friend Himesh sings at.
4. Page 102, third paragraph - guys, literally, guys, there's a hot babe for you all there. Hop there soon!
5. "....the suddenly, the Cadillac next to him began behaving like a bucking bronco". Rodeo's calling, people!
6. "This effect would be fine if one were planning to build a huge microwave oven for roasting passing birds, but for communication, it is a severe problem". KFC's fuel problem is solved, if only they could get poultry to fly past the oven.
7. "Some people who believe in reincarnation think that Charles Darwin came back as a member of the IEEE standards association to weed out the unfit". Unfortunately, he didn't weed out enough!!!!!

This is just the beginning. Contributions most welcome, they will be acknowledged with due ceremony on this blog.

Hakuna Matata!!!
PooMeh Productions (Name may be changed for artistic purposes, in due course).

2 a.m.

So this is what it feels like to be two-day insomniac. I'm wide awake at two in the morning, and blogging, to boot. For the fourth time in the last couple of days. Girl, you've come a long, long way.

Finally finished sending the online applications. A couple are left. I've filled them up, will send them soon. Its exhausting work, believe me. Absolute murder on your back. Hopefully I'll be done with the entire deal by tomorrow. I've got to start studying for my exams soon. Little more than a fortnight left.

I saw a movie called "The Paper Chase" last night. About three hours ago. Its about a group of first year Harvard Law Students. From the clothes, it looked like it was set in the seventies. Its a good movie, very funny in parts. But for people who like a well-defined end, its kind of frustrating. No actor I know has acted in the movie, but the casting is impeccable.

Finished Eldest too. Again. Can't wait for the third book. Don't mind missing the movie, but I know I'll be one of the first in line to get the book. Tolkein, Paolini - all these people, I wonder how they came up with an entirely new language for their characters, with grammar, structure, and all the other pesky details. Its hard enough for me to keep the ones I know straight. I would very much like to find out.

2007 is just 21 days away. Its time for resolutions. Every year, I grandly say that my resolution is that I won't make any resolutions. But this year, I am going to make one, a concrete one. Don't know what yet, but will keep you (whoever you are) posted. At least, it will give me something other than books and my friends to write about.

I feel very sorry for some of the icons on my computer screen sometimes. They never seem to get used. So as a special treat for them, I'm going to format this blog in a different way. Let's start off with Right Justifying it. The next blog will have some other feature. Look out!

Happy 10th of December everyone!!!

Dreams Come True.....

Bloodthirsty things happened in my house today. After performing brain surgery (read studying neural networks) for a while, the three of us came down for lunch. We had lunch without incident. And then, Meh forced Ranj to stab herself. Yes, you read right, she stabbed herself, right below the mouth, with a weapon of great power. After all, if the pen is mightier than the sword, why not a pencil?

A piece of poisonous carbonaceous material got embedded in her skin. The perpetrator of this vicious crime tried to remove it, but to no avail. It was left to me, Pooja Goldenhands, as I shall be known from today, to rescue Ranj from further harm. With the aid of my trusty Swiss Army Knife, a safety pin, and a tweezer, I removed the treacherous barb from my faithful friend's chin. (I wish I could say fin, that would be a good rhyme. Ranj, why weren't you born a fish?)

At long last, I have realized my dream of making a mark in the medical profession. From this day forward, the removal of graphite from the human body shall be known as the Goldenhands technique, in eternal gratitude to you know who.

Ranj, you will be contacted for the fee in a short while. Start counting your cash.

Life's Firsts...

There are so many things that you can do for the first time in your life. First word, first step, first tooth, first day at school, first exam etc etc etc (Quoting that wonderful teacher of mine). Today was one more first for me. It was truly momentous, a life changing event. Guess what??????????????????????????????????????????????

I BLOGGED TWICE IN THE SAME DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Megha's busy chatting with her beeeeeeeeeeeeeeast pal Zee. Hehehe. Ranj is busy reading this blog over my shoulder. Apparently, my blog is a great boredom-buster for her, especially the ones about Meh. I can understand, with a genius like me, who has such impeccable comic timing, even a booooooooooooring subject like Meh will come to life.

I am re-reading Eldest. Finished Eragon yesterday. For once, the second read is even better than the first. Wouldn't mind watching the movie.

One of my most memorable firsts was, quite unsurprisingly, my first book. It was Enid Blyton's Five Find-Outers' mystery - the one about the Pantomime Cat. I took around three months to finish reading that book. Don't be shocked, I was six at the time, a mere babe in arms. Till date, I've never taken that long to finish a book, text books excepted. ( I don't finish those anyway). I abandon books in the middle of the story sometimes, when it gets so boring that I feel like going into hibernation. The Devil Wears Prada is a case in point. The movie was much, much better.

Ranj is pestering me to finish so that she can read this. Actually, she's not, but I want to stop writing, and I couldn't think of a better end to this phenomenal piece of literature!

Combined Study...........

Ranj, Meh and I have started studying together - the grand old subjects of ASP and ANN. We've done exactly one chapter from 12 in the morning. Its 5 now. That's actually not bad, considering that it could have been zilch. Now Meh's busy with her applications, Ranj is pushing forward with CCN, which only she seems to have the patience to study, and I'm blogging.

Lab exams start a week from Monday. God knows what will happen. These are our final labs in engineering. Kind of nostalgic, but that's overshadowed by a feeling of overwhelming relief. Sorry, gotta go and help Meh check her appli, be right back.

Ok, Meh accidentally closed the browser window, so here I am. This is like live reporting from the field. Gotta go again!

Since the title of this blog is "Combined Study", I guess I should write something about it. Does it work? Well, to a certain extent it does, but then again, its always better to study alone!!! That statement is a piece of total hogwash. I really gotta go now. So long........

Silence of the Lamb!

I HAVE LARYNGITIS!!!

I've hardly spoken a word for the last four days, which has been UNBELIEVABLY tough. There's absolutely nothing wrong with me except for the fact that I just can't talk. Even if I try really, really hard, nothing comes out. My larynx has just gone on strike.

I've felt really isolated by all this speechlessness. If you've experienced it, you'll probably know.

Applications going ahead, not full steam, but at a good pace. Exams start in a couple of weeks, which is an added tension. You would think, after six semesters, I would learn to study from the beginning of the semester. But know, my inner imp never lets me do that. She insists that I cut it so fine that, well, I'm not able to find an apt simile right now.

My dad's gone to Europe. He lost his phone, which was brand-new, in Frankfurt. I think it was at the airport. Apparently, after a trip to Geneva, and back to Frankfurt, he went to the airport, to find it, which would normally be a shot in the dark. But guess what, he actually found it. It just reaffirmed my faith in human nature.

Recommendation for today - Book lovers out there, don't miss the Artemis Fowl series. Its brilliantly written and Arty is a refreshing break from all the oh-so-good heroes out there. Seriously, pick up your copy today.

I have to go now, and finish watching "Yun Hota Tho Kya Hota", so the next blog will be its review. By the way, I watched Dhoom II last week, and I just have one thing to say, and its this - Hrithik rocks. God, can that guy dance, or what!!!!

Continued.......

To our combined shock, we qualified!!! We were the only girls, and the only non RVCE team. Felt kinda weird, but in a very good way! Should I cut a long story short??? I think I will.

WE WON, WE WON, WE WON.............

Its an amazing feeling to win. It doesn't matter what, it's just great.

Meh and I started studying together in our second semester. At first, it was math, integral calculus. We studied hard, and I mean, hard. It proved to be quite effective, so we progressed to other subjects, and now, well, you can imagine. We've managed to squeeze in a number of movies while we were supposedly "studying" together. Its been great.

Meh loves "Miss Congenialigy". You won't believe the attention she's paid to the dialogue. She knows strange wildlife facts, and she has no hesitation whatsoever, in enlightening the general public.

Another thing you should know is that she's totally unpredictable sometimes. We had gone to Nagarhole last year. She was totally freaked about the cabin's location. Apparently, she was scared that tigers would come and gobble her up. She's probably going to seriously injure me after reading this. If I don't blog again for some time, you'll know why.

Edition III

Obviously, we didn't qualify. But it was great fun watching the finals. We learned how good we had to be. The next day, we were volunteers for potpourri, which is a hodge-podge of DC, picto, 20 Q and any other event that the organizer can dream up. That was fun too.

We had a goal now, but before we started working towards it, we needed a 'Naamkaran'. We thought about a whole bunch of stuff, but nothing clicked. Finally, we came across a guy called "Justforkix" in Asterix, and Wham!!! we had an identity.

The next event we took part in was some fest at RVCE, it was potpourri. This is an event which has written prelims, by the way. We reached late, which was probably because of Meh:-), and also because they had PRE-PONED it. Anyway, we did the prelims pretty ok. Had to wait a while for the results, so wandered around the college for a bit. Hey, this is becoming more of a blog about the history of Justforkix, than about Meh. But here, the philosophy is "Go with the flow".

Since we waited so long for the results, its only fair that you wait for what happened next!

Part II

To continue from where I left off..................
And from there on, it was a tale of triumph, tribulations and tears, just like one the saas-bahu sagas. Actually, we had a few(read as 3 or 4) triumphs and lots of tribulations, but no tears. Puhleeeeeeeeeezzzz!

I remember our first venture as a team. We were still nameless, and clueless. Nobody knew us poor little freshers venturing out into the bold, bad world of screams, curses and shouts of "Come Onnnnnnn, Dude" and "Its on the tip of my tongue", with various four letter words thrown in. It was confusing, which is a gigantic understatement.

Meh was elected to be the actor of the team. We had actually met up in Nik's place the day before to practise. I had painstakingly made a movie list, which was pretty loooooooong, wonder where it is now, can pass it on to juniors, hehehehe. Love the previous sentence. The morning of that fateful day, sometime in April 2004, or may be May, we went to Nik's place in the morning. Then came to college, where, as usual, everything was delayed.

Finally, it started. Some teams were tremendous, and totally intimidating. Finally, it was our turn. The movie we got was the Tom Cruise tearjerker - "Born on the Fourth of July". Got that. The person was Noam Choamsky. Don't even bother to wonder if we got that, we didn't. The place was Ajanta/Ellora, got it, naturally. The word, if I remember right, was voluptuous. And at that point of time, Meh was too decent to act the word out, as is. And if you know her now, you'll know how far back in time that day was. Did we qualify?????

That's a story for another day!

Megha!!!!!

Now what do I say about Meh? I've been promising her that she'll be a subject of my blog for a really long time now, so this is really long overdue. Instead of making this one long blog, which would be boring, for all concerned, this is going to be a series of articles.......

I've known Meh, officially, for the last four years. The first year is a total blank, though, 'cos we didn't actually "know" each other. Madam was attending tuition, totally, "naam ke vaaste". Zoom in, zoom out. And to be honest, I had better people to hang out with:-)

But somehow, by some diablolical[Meh's learnt something from the hundreds of word lists she used to devour!!!] means, we landed up in the same college/school/university/undergraduate course/some shit.....

Didn't really talk even then. The first few months are a total blur. All I remember is learning about natural resources{yet again!!!} in the Mech Engg course. But the day b4 AT, the same 'bhoot savaared' Meh, Nik and me/I. [Pick the correct one, I don't know what it is]. We all had the irresistible urge, at the same time, to be dumb. And play charades, of course.

And then, well, wait for the next instalment.......

Enforced Insomnia

I've had a sum total of ten hours of sleep in the last 80 hours. Am walking around in a total daze. And now that I'm done with the tests, I know from experience that I'll have great difficulty sleeping. The tests were ok, nothing great, though.

I was just listening to Bad Day by Daniel Powter. I really like that song. It manages to cheer me up no matter how upset I am. Like the video too. I can't imagine my life without my iPod. Its tremendously soothing to have music in the background always.

Mum and I are going to buy dolls for Navratri in a short while. Its my favourite festival. One of my earliest memories is working with my Pati[grandmum] and Mum to set everything up. Hope I get some good stuff today.

Will probably watch a movie tomorrow - The Devil Wears Prada. Still not done with the book. Its progressing really, really slowly. Also have to prepare for a placement test on Friday. Hey, my life actually seems to be more hectic than it actually is.

Well, like the warthog, meerkat and lion said, "Hakuna Matata!"

I'm Back!!!

Gosh, its been a really long time. And I sound like a school girl from Enid Blyton's books. Don't know why I haven't gotten around to blogging before this. Its not like I've been hectically busy, or anything like that. I've been occupied, but not all the time. Well, better late than never! [Let's see how many cliches I can work into this]

I had gone to Singapore a while back with my family. Its a great place. Everyone's very friendly. What did I buy? Nothing much, usual touristy stuff. Bought a DVD of the first season of Grey's Anatomy. I really enjoy that show. Oh, I also got this amazing jigsaw puzzle, with all my fav Disney characters on it. The pieces are really tiny. Its gonna be great! I couldn't get lots of anything 'cos I had Mum looking over my shoulder all the time, telling me things like "A penny saved is a penny earned" and "Look before you leap". Well, she didn't actually, but I had to keep up my cliche count!

Got placed in a VLSI company. The day of the interview was real fun. Stayed in college till half past ten. Most of my friends got into the same company too. I guess birds of a feather do really flock together.

I'm done with my GRE and TOEFL. That's really a big relief. Now I've to just concentrate on college, which is easier said than done. This semester is promising to be a challenging one. Tier 2 placements are on in college, and everyone's busy studying the so called "basics" again. I'm not even trying.

I'm having terrible luck with my movies lately. The last three flicks that I watched in the theatre have been terrible. But, I watched Mulan at home, and totally loved it. Mushu, you can be my guardian lizard, sorry dragon, anytime!

Internals coming up on Monday, so I gotta go and study. My headache is increasing by leaps and bounds, so I won't get anything substantial done today. Well, that's life. Slogging till two in the morning on the day of the test. Back to having my nose stuck to the grindstone. Back to burning the midnight oil. Until later.............................................

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!

Salaams to the people who recognised this quote!

When I heard it in my first DC at AT, I went back and read the book all over again, and decided that RB is the coolest guy ever! Lots of initials happening here:-)

I'm done with TOEFL now. Waiting to get my final scores. Now I just have to get through this semester without any major hiccups! Then come placements, GRE, GATE and lots of stuff I don't even know I have to do yet. Whoever feels that college life is easy deserves to be flogged. Then again, I'm no expert at time management. I end up doing everything at the last possible moment. And I know that I'm not the only one!

Have lab internals next week. Haven't a clue where to start. Spent five and a half hours in the lab today. Repeated a whole bunch of experiments. Totally exhausted. I don't know how many of my classmates out there agree with me, but this semester totally scares me to death! I don't know why, exactly.

Let me come clean now! There's this one thing about me that most people don't know. Well, 'the guys', ( you know who you are ) know, but the general public is still unaware. I TOTALLY HATE COCKROACHES. Can't stand them. Start screaming the house down when one flies into the house. Really don't know how I managed to dissect one in II PUC. The fact that I had 103 degree fever might have helped;-)

On the sixth of November, 2002 this was the entry in my diary - "The test was ok. We have an enormous amount of Botany to study". Its really scary how vague I can be. Haven't the slightest idea what test it was.

The latest show that I'm addicted to is 'Grey's Anatomy'. Thoroughly enjoying it, and recommend it to atleast a dozen people a week. Brings back all my medical aspirations with a bang. Well, Que Sera Sera!

This is the most disjointed blog that I've written. Well, you can't stick to the same topic all the time. That would be like attending a class. Anyway, think about this - "Some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some just grate". Don't know the source, but this guy knows what he's talking about!

Why does this need a title?

It's been a really long time since I blogged. Can't really say that I've missed it, 'cos I'm not hooked on to it yet. Its been a really hectic two weeks, and I'm really looking forward to a lazy two days.

It was my birthday on the fifteenth. Had a total blast. Tasted my first glass of wine. And if I'm being really honest, I didn't like it all that much. Tasted weird. Really admire the way Ranj n Shetty drank a whole mug of beer! Well, I guess Meg's Rs 500 incentive was too good to miss:-) Also, its a good thing that none of you has seen any of us at two AM in the morning. Believe me, we're not the same people!

What happened next? Had to go back to college. The usual. Then we went to a fest in BMSCE. Megha and I won our first tech prize for programming. Whatever everyone says about participation being the important thing, winning something, anything, is definitely BETTER. Megha and I have been studying together. Most of our friends know that we do this before every test. Everyone also knows that under this pretext, we watch a lot of movies! This time was different. And if you think that we did study this time, you're dead wrong. We slept, and slept, and slept. It was like we were reincarnations of Rip Van Winkle.

Internals were here, and now they're gone. That's all I have to say about that. For the non Gumps, please watch the movie. And for the Gumps, congratulations, proves that you really paid attention while watching it.

Aatma Trisha is probably entering its final stages right about now. We qualified for Antakshari and Pot Pourri finals, and totally messed up both. Well, others have to win some time:-) I just can't believe that I messed up guessing the Nach Baliye song. Absolutely adore it. Had great fun in the last two days. Recommendation : Dal Tadka has good food. Thanks for the treat, guys, you know who you are.

I completely forget about the shopping trip. Ranj and I went to buy gifts for a whole bunch of people. You know, I never thought I would find anyone who's as crazy as me about ear rings. Welcome to the club, Ranj!

Read HOMGKGWAGAL recently. Its the ultimate in pointless fiction, but still a good way to waste time. Not reading anything at the moment. Have to start working for my TOEFL. Need lots of prayers. May the force be with everyone! [This seems to be the day for quotes]

One last thing - Mark Knopfler is God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Beginning!

Ok, so I had a holiday today. Made great use of it. Doing what? Reading Agatha Christie. It's truly a wonderful life. What could be better than waking up at 10, lounging around, reading fiction and relaxing all day?

"The Body in the Library" is ok, not a great Christie but still better than "Passenger to Frankfurt" or "Postern of Fate". Recommendation : Pls don't ever buy these two books, let alone read them.

Books are truly amazing. I have some that I can read time and time again, and still not get bored. This irritates my parents sometimes, who want me to graduate to more sophisticated reading [read non pulp fiction]. The books i've read most often are my collection of school stories, which really take me back, Georgette Heyer [she's an absolute genius, if you've not read any of her books, read them NOW] and the Anne series. Not to forget Asterix, who, with his companions, never fails to make me laugh.

Tomorrow is our traditional New Year. I have this habit of forgetting all details about any festival after its done, so have absolutely no idea what's gonna happen tomorrow. Vaguely remember this - as soon as I get up in the morning, I have to walk to the mirror without opening my eyes, which is tough, and then look at all the stuff laid out in front of it. I have no idea why this is required. I get to wear new clothes, which is nice.

Thought for the day :: Read this in Reader's Digest, so its not original. Here goes - "My mother's menu has just two things on it - take it or leave it". Sorry, Mum. Btw, this is not an exact quote, and i don't remember who said it.

Happy New Year!