My Desktop

This is an image of my laptop's desktop :)
Added multiple instances of the App Launcher Vista gadget.
Love this appearance and the neatness of the desktop :)

I know gadgets utilize a lot of CPU ... but I still love it :P

Blog Update :)

I seem to do this over and over again.

Anyway, for the record, i quit my job at CTS, and am currently pursuing MBA at SIBM, Pune. Thats Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune.

Actually im on a hill-top at a place called Lavale, which is outside Pune. And it has its set of pros and cons.

Pros being, its like being on a hill-station all the time. Cons being, your pretty much cut-off from civilization. You can just see it in the distance. :P

MBA has kept me busy due to a rather hectic lifestyle for the last few months. Got a few days free and decided to update my blog.

As always, when updating the blog, I changed the look & feel, and for added frills and fancies, added a Poll and a couple of gadgets to boot :)

So do let me know how you like the new appearance, hopefully I will contine to update it frequently :)

How do you avoid people on the bus?

I’m sure everyone has gone through a journey where they are using a shared mode of transportation and have felt a compelling desire to avoid people.
(I wonder why I keep blogging about compulsions, perhaps I’m more like my blog name than I realized :P)

So far, from my real life experiences and that of people around me, the list of folks I have wanted to avoid include

Folks who attack you on an olfactory/(equivalent hearing related word?) front:
a. Dirty Old Geezers who smell of cheap cigarettes. (If you have to smoke, at least get decent smelling stuff. If not for yourself, have pity on the guy whom you sit next to)
b. Girls who make me wonder if they shower or not. What’s the necessity for the truckload of perfume? Unfortunately, these ones do be pretty at times.
c. Guys who seem to never shower, wear dirty crumpled clothes and don’t bother to wear perfume to mask the smell either. They are a bit better than the women when it comes to being brazenly honest and in your face with their dirtiness, but that doesn’t really count for much other than being brazenly dirty :P
d. Folks who talk loudly on the phone (and prevent you from talking on the phone at reasonable decibel levels :P )
e. Guys who seem to never shave or trim their smelly beards. I mean, how much can a guy love his beard? Don’t they realize there’s a thin line between hairy shaggy person and beggar without money to shave? And they are well beyond the line.

Folks who attack you from an intellectual standpoint:
a. Folks who have to necessarily engage you in conversation, while they positively suck at it
b. Folks who decide that they want to know the story of a 12 book saga in a 30 minute ride
c. Folks who decide to argue about the virtues of Anantha Vikatan against whatever you are reading :P

Folks who behave inappropriately:
a. Like girls who don’t know you from Adam, but decide to strike up a conversation with you the first day they meet, and slip in the fact that they live alone, at XYZ location, and go on to say that they are ultra modern and love to have fun (Flutter of eyelashes here)
b. Like gay-assed fawning folks who studied with you, who need to necessarily grasp your arm, even if you deliberately hide it from them.
c. Like old men on the highway who decided to go by bus because they no longer getting rides from blokes on scooters (I just had to :P )

Some of the techniques I follow to actually do the avoiding
1) Acting Asleep and ‘sleeping’ in the aisle seat
a. Obvious Draw Back – If the dumb schmuck wakes you up, you have to move over. :(

2) Keeping luggage on the seat next to you
a. Obvious Draw Back – If the dumb schmuck asks you to remove the luggage, you have to let him sit :(

3) Blatantly lying that you are saving the seat for someone.
a. Obvious Draw Back – If the dumb schmuck asks for the seat once the bus departs and nobody has come for the seat, you have to let him sit :(

However, as you folks can see, none of these are foolproof and can always be circumvented by the dumb schmuck if he/she/it is annoying enough.
If anyone knows any alternative/better method, kindly post it in the comments :)

CNA, in and as Mr. Spit!

It’s just another day at work. (Actually it’s a one of a kind, fabulous Wednesday but lets not tell anyone else about it)

One of my colleagues comes up to all of us and warns us that the water dispenser has power supply today and is giving both hot and cold water.
I saw warns us because normally it lacks power supply and just functions as a glorified water filter.

Half the day goes by. Suddenly folks tell me something and I am lost in thought.
I go to the dispenser and pour myself half a glass of water.

Points to be noted
I’m rather finicky about getting my hand wet when I go to drink water.
Also for some strange reason I never drink an entire glass of water even if I am thirsty. I drink two half glasses.
And it’s a plastic glass which does not indicate the warmth/cold nature of the water it holds.

Being the absent minded dodo that I am, I get it from the hot water tap and pour it straight into my mouth.
Spit!

Folks start giving me a strange look as to why is this guy spitting water like this in public.
And that after looking like such a nice cute decent guy (I do, I really do :P)
I give all of them an abashed look and say, boiling hot water.
Everyone’s face lights up in recognition and understanding. :P Nuts to them

Its a week later and every other person is blogging. While I did not know what to write about (Until now, when I abuse everyone’s sensibilities by means of this post!)

I got blisters all over my mouth and I can’t even smile because it hurts too badly.
Yet I’m surprisingly upbeat.

I wonder if I should learn to keep a hold on this expression as it would help if I need to mask my emotions in future.
(Does that not appeal to your secret ‘secret agent’ streak in you? … Will blog about that sometime … But until then don’t tell anyone … If you do, I would have to kill you! )

Folks have been asking me why I am so dull lately, and I am telling everyone this sad story. While it hurts mildly to even talk.
Ironically, I’m avoiding the phone totally, because I figure I should reduce strain on my mouth. :P

The only +ve out of all this is, my blog’s updated.

P.S. For the uninitiated, the blog post title is derived from
Christopher Reeves, in and as Superman :P