The Chronicles of a Happy Life

I’m slightly tired of wordpress’ shoddy features, so I’ve now shifted back to  http://rastogi29.blogspot.com

Circa 1992 A.D. I was all of eight! I distincly remember one boy telling another, “Look at that kid, his parents are so spendthrift that they let him have ‘vada pav’ everyday!” A ‘vada pav’ cost Rs. 3, then. I think we had just learned the meaning of the word, ’spendthrift’.

Cut to 2003. It was the first week of second year in college. A batchmate, a senior and I had gone to have dinner at a dingy place called Raj Bakers (I miss those days!). The senior says, “Yaar! The chicken here is too good, but sometimes I feel… is spending Rs. 70 for a meal, fair to my parents?” (The guy makes over Rs. 200 an hour now at Microsoft).

Now, we’re back to the present. I’ve spent around Rs. 14,000 over the past few days shopping. I’ve bought a shirt made of Egyptian cotton, a shirt that Amitabh Bacchan endorses (he’s wearing the same design in the poster!) and even a shirt that is very plain but costs a lot of money because somebody has drawn an arrow on it! Suits, pants, deodarant (”imported from France, saar!”), ties, watch, too. And I think I’ll also buy new glasses.

It’s crazy how the same amount of money sounds like peanuts when talking about earning it but sounds obscene when spending it on yourself!

Here’s a link to my old blog : http://rastogi29.blogspot.com

I have been a truly absent-minded professor today. This is what happened. Yesterday evening some ppl from ug1 asked me to take a tute. I decided to take it the next day, i.e. today. That night (or should I say morning?) at 1 am, the clock tooltip showed Thursday, so I sent a mail then saying that I’ll take a tute on Friday, and I got ready to take a tute today at 9. Surprisingly, some ppl actually turned up and oblivious of everything I started to teach. After around 15 minutes of the best teaching I had done all semester (I did prepare well for this class), somebody enlightened me with the morbid truth. I felt terribly stupid and embarassed. Anyway, the girls made a few phone calls and soon the class had the modest strength of 30-40 students. Confident that not many more would have come even if the tute was as scheduled, I decided to continue. A truly ‘doh’ experience!

That is the question I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I just don’t know whether I should do an MBA or not. See, here’s the thing: I’m decent at technical stuff. I’ve got fair grades in iiit. I like programming and there sure is a lot of money in this industry. On the other hand, I’ve been thinking like an MBA all my life. I’ve always been interested in management books. I’ve been reading ET since class 8. And there is even more money after MBA.

As for changing the world - The world is always changing, it always has, even before the computer industry happened. Plus, why should I be bothered with changing the world anyway? I just want to be rich, NOT famous and have all the time in the world to do what I want to do. Let the world stay the same!

Then there is my dream of starting my own company. But that also fails to serve as a guide because my chances of doing that don’t increase or decrease whatever I do.

At some time, some placement counsellor in REC Trichy told a guy, whose blog I read, that jobs were like marriages. He said, “your job is like arranged marriage. When you start looking for the woman/man of your dreams, you want everything, family, money, beauty, booty, minimum siblings, maximum property, education or cooking skills etc. And no one ever gets that one in a million special person they’re looking for. They try real real hard, but they never really make it. And then finally after months, years of hard work marriage happens. Sometimes in all the wrong ways. And then it all doesnt matter anymore after a while. Years down the line, you dont care two hoots about all that you wanted and all the wonderful alliances that didnt happen. You just praise the lord for what you have. And its the best thing in the world as far as you know.” The guy got into IIMA, btw.

This philosophical stuff made great sense to this guy. However, it makes no sense to me. It’s not a solution. It’s just a lot of philosophical garbage that sounds nice and is quotable but does not tell me anything except that I shouldn’t even be thinking of this question!!

I’ve brooded SO much on this topic, irritated most of my friends with this discussion and yet I’m no closer to this answer. I’m not very bad at both things too. I have a decent shot at getting a good tech job and an almost equally decent one at getting a seat in a good college.

Some feel that whatever I do, it’s important that I be happy. But that’s no help since I do not know how happy I will be in both places. Programming and hanging out in ultra-modern offices in casual wear is a lot of fun at 20, but will I still be happy doing that at 40? Maybe at that time I’ll wish that I was in a suit orchestrating the fates of entire companies, nations even, with my fingers on a stock-broking terminal.

A friend recently accused me of being more ‘business-oriented’ than ‘tech-oriented’. He said that I’m more known for finance and other such management stuff than for any technical achievements. He pointed out that I didn’t even do honors in Vision like all well-behaved tech-oriented geeks do. My Dad is from IIMA. Like father, like son. Thus, he concluded that I was better off doing MBA. But that’s asinine.

Dunno what I’ll do. Thank God, at least I decided about not doing MS!

Btw, Siddhu, you were right about ‘That 70s show’. I’m over FRIENDS but I’m now a hopeless addict of that show. Damn you!!

WLAN was back in a day after writing my blog. I suppose that proves that God does exist :) I had missed the net so much that I stayed up the entire night when it came back. I watched a movie, surfed a lot, chatted a lot…just didn’t want to stop and sleep. It was pretty childish, actually.

Sorry dear readers, for not blogging for such a long time. Just didn’t feel like it… After a long time, I read all my favorite blogs and finally decided to write this one.

Ravi has a great style of writing.. Trust me yaar, this is not ‘dhobadam’. When Ravi talks, you feel like you are reading.. and that is reflected in his posts. Blogs were invented for ppl like him. I hope he writes more often. He even reviewed my blog. It was a decent review. He was not stingy in giving appreciation where it was due (well, he can’t help it if he didn’t find anything good in it, can he? :P) and didn’t hesitate in criticising what he felt where he felt it was needed.

Ravi, I didn’t review other people’s blogs because I felt that I was superior to them.. I did it because I thought it was a nice idea and that people would like to read it. Also, my poetry is for that very reason. I agree that I’m neither Wordsworth nor mythalez, but writing poetry is fun! I had’t done that since school, save for a single poetry competition in between… so I guess I’m making up for all the lost time.

Anyway, it’s good that you commented. It’s always nice to get feedback. I have learnt a few things abt blogging in my brief journey.. I’m putting them down here to serve as a small lamp on this dark, unfamiliar road. [No feeling of superiority intended]

1. When you write about some people, they will definitely read your blog
2. Even ppl who think you are full of crap, take you too seriously ;)
3. It’s fun to start trends, but one must resist the temptation to boast about them.
4. It’s even more fun to reply to a comment (esp if it’s anonymous) in exactly the same way as it was written :D
5. People do read this blog, I must be careful not to hurt anybody
6. A blog is a good way to get back at people
7. Some like it hot, some like it cold while some like it in the pot nine days old… not everybody will like your blog.

I got an A- in a subject I had completely given up on… Unfortunately I got to hear this info at the same time as Mr. A. Now, I will have to bear the brunt of his caustic, sarcastic snides for a long time.. I hope that at least their quality improves so that I can genuinely laugh at them! I also got a B- in a subject. I won a bet because of that :) I hope the guy pays up :D

Ppl who don’t like my poetry can stop at this point :P

Why do we have to say goodbye?
or put a fullstop to each sentence?
Can’t our dialogues just hang or lie,
to be resumed when we are again in each other’s presence?
And so never really die
or be interrupted by an acquaintance,
and all of us have just one never-ending conversation?

WLAN is not working. The past 2.5 days seem like years. I feel totally helpless. There is absolutely nothing to do in my room. Everything requires the internet! So blogging from the lab.

It’s been a really long time since I last used the lab. I’m experiencing a mix of nostalgia and angst. The same slight frustration when you find that your pc is being used by your pc partner, being surrounded by a lot of people speaking loudly in a language you do not understand (I don’t mean to offend anybody, please just understand that I’m terribly frustoo right now)… Then there is the struggle of finding a pc with a guest login on it. If finding a pc with a ‘ug3′ login does not qualify as detective work, figuring out the password for such a login when you have found it certainly does! If one does manage to login, there is not only the frustration of working on a bullock-cart PC but also the frequent reminders that it does not have any of the configurations that you have grown.. oh! so familiar with!!! Oh, how I yearn for my love - SAGARRASTOGI! (No, I’m not Narcissus, that’s just the name of my room PC) And I don’t even want to talk about the chairs X-(

In fact I had so little to do that I actually completed today’s assignment a full five hours in advance, something I had not done since first year. Its a very weird feel sitting here in the lab, bloggng and listening to Maiden (May God bless Natraj) while most people around me are frantically working to complete the assignment on time.

I have a CG assignment submission tomorrow - …absolutely no intention of doing it :(. I have to do some Felicity work (Yes, it lingers!).

The internet is down
There is nothing to do but frown.

Waiting for wlan to be up,
I’ve been forced to joined the lab club.

Watching a movie, surfing the net,
It all requires the computers to connect!!

The room is silent, boring and dull,
Why did it happen, I begin to mull

Oddly enough the network works on linux
Hollow and wicked seems the laugh of the tux

Silly and frustoo this poem is
unfortunately so deep is my sorrow’s abyss.

I’ve been spending a lot of time reading blogs lately… so here’s what I think of some blogs. I’ve included only blogs of ug3. If I’ve missed any blogs.. please let me know.

Rao Was reminded of Bombay Times. Seriously! The last post is bitchy. IMHO.

rama Inspiring. Abstract. Poetic. sleep! Not necessarily in that order :D

Kitty An interesting read.. it’s probably what a blog is supposed to be by definition - a web log.

Mani A newbie. His blog is a lot like Abhishek Bacchan. After all, both our creations of very great men :) As a fan, I sincerely hope that he doesn’t get lazy and have his blog go the same way.

Su Su seems to me like a noble king ready to anything for his subjects (or a trade union leader, in the dean’s opinion, hehe) I don’t think I’m qualified enough to critique royalty just yet :D but neway here goes - nice posts, but must post more often. Junta must definitely read “First Encounter of the First Kind”

Axe SETI should be interested.. hehe.. Ok ok I agree that it was a lousy joke. He writes nicely, but like in most things with him, in a highly detached manner.

Arvind Krishna What a chuppa rustum!! He writes stort stories (methinks they are in Jeffrey Archer’s style)

Pati The first guy from our batch who started blogging seriously. His is the most hopelessly romantic blog I’ve seen :P Lucky dog!

[Gyan's blog] He’s told me that it is not for public consumption. If anybody finds the link.. please do share it with us :D

A lot of newbies… I’ll review them once they have a sufficient number of posts.

Ankit; Gautam; Gundu; MIT; Dharam; Shiben; Ravi;
Nayak

Oh btw, if you feel that I’ve been unjust or plain cruel in anything below, please don’t hesitate to tell me.. and since a lot of ppl have asked me this.. guys, I really did write the poem, “Thoughts of a hopeless romantic” on my own and no, it really is not based on any particular girl/incident.

This has unfortunately become a too frequent experience for me lately. In some cases, I just keep sleeping for up to an hour after the alarm clock starts ringing. Sometimes, the alarm clock just refuses to ring - giving up without even trying. However, most days, I do wake up with the sound of the alarm clock, turn it off and go right back to sleep. And no, the alarm clock is not right next to my bed. I actually get up, stand, walk a few steps to the clock, shut it off without hesitation, sit for sometime contemplating the various reasons for setting the alarm in the first place, one by one, discard all of them as irrelevant, take a sip of water and then lie down again. Then there are days when though I am not able to convince myself that sleeping would be the most worthwhile thing to do, I lie down and close my eyes, promising myself that I will wake up in 5 minutes. I generally wake up an hour after breaking my promise.

The saintly among you, and I do not mean it in a derogatory way, might ask why I choose to put myself through the ordeal of waking up this way. A person I know, religiously sleeps every night at the early hour of midnight and wakes up at 7:30 in the morning. He actually has breakfast everyday! Unfortunately, I’ve tried and failed in adopting this habit. Most days (or nights?), the only time I’m truly free is after 1 AM. At this time, I could either sleep or spend my time doing something interesting… Also, I need a full 8-9 hours of sleep each day, otherwise I become irritable and angry. So I generally end up being late for or entirely missing the morning class.

The same happened last night. I spent the night reading a novel eventhough I knew I had a CL class in the morning today. The class was supposed to start at Indranagar at 6:45 AM. I slept at 3:30 AM. A loyal friend faithfully woke me up at 6. I decided that an irritable and angry me would be worse than a refreshed one even if it implied being a little less educated on the mysteries of ratios and proportions. It took less than a second to weigh all the pros and cons, and make an informed decision about taking a calculated risk to skip the class. I woke up again at 9:30.

Any comments to help my terrible situation or to discuss your even worse condition are welcome. Please be kind enough to post using the name your parents or some friends christened you with - what’s the point of hiding behind the shield of anonymity?

Waking up late…

Sleep, oh sleep,
thou art the sweetest thing ever
Away from this world and its tensions deep,
I find peace in only this endeavor.

So many lectures to attend, so much to do
After waking up late, I sometimes rue
Classes of cl and the Software engineering lecture.
I need help to change, would someone do me this favor?

A lot of friends with the same difficulty,
All thinking, this habit is very nasty,
if in doubt read http://mythalez.blogspot.com
and so would tell you every mom.

Oh! Why did God design us this way,
so that 8 hours sleep is required?
Wouldn’t it be better for consciousness to always stay,
and not make us all tired?

[Book Review] I read ‘Childhood’s end’ by Arthur C. Clarke yesterday night. It is interesting and manages to maintain a tasty suspense, however it is not as great as ACC’s other works like 3001:A final Odyssey. The story has apparently been stuffed with irrelevant details and some subplots that do nothing to further the story. A lot of the predictions are way off the mark, but of course, we do not hold that against the master author.

[Movie Review] ‘The Rain Man’ sounds like the title of a John Grisham thriller and one expects to see Tom Cruise to come bursting in or out of some court any second.. for the first fifteen minutes. Finally, one realises the gruesome truth that the movie is about family, love and all that senti crap. I hate senti movies - they make me sad. To give credit where it’s due, the part where they go to a casino is interesting, but on the whole my recommendation would still be - “Don’t watch it if you are like me!”

The enemy loomed upon the horizon,
Bearing upon us swiftly, yet silently.
Yet another battle was to start that day,
Who’ll win, who’ll lose, who could say?

We came forth with weapons drawn,
swords unsheathed and guns loaded.
We thought we were ready for whatever was tossed,
but against a B-52, all was lost.

Some of us had stayed up the night,
preparing for yet another fight.
Some had begun their advance days before.
Some cried, “what is all this for?”

The entire paper of Compilers was predictable,
Yet to solve fully a single question, I wasn’t able.
A five percent weightage was all SE had,
but it tried it’s best to make me sad.

I didn’t expect much from Computational Geometry,
at least the defeat there was self-explanatory.
A few answers I did scribble,
couldn’t do much though; every question was a riddle.

In three quick strokes, the sword fell,
felt like I was under an evil spell.
A little more preparation could have saved the day,
All of the above is factual, by the way.

What do you think? Post a comment.