Do I Need Change?

So I just realized that it is way easier to parallel park when you are drunk.

I just got back from my friend's house. She had made Diwali dinner for a bunch of people. I was in a group in which just about everybody was atleast a Ph.D - very intimidating. For the first time I realized that just having a masters is not enough. And anyway, I have always believed that people who do their PhDs are just great. They deserve to be on a different planet - with their own kind of people. They could/should leave this small world for us mortal people. Well, I think I will never discuss this story again.

But a discussion about marriage with my friend and her husband over a few rum + cokes kind of left a deep impact in my brain.

My friend said that as human beings we constantly seek change. We cannot just keep doing something that we have been doing forever. I thought she was right because I think I am at that stage where I would enjoy somebody's company. I am not referring to a potential girlfriend or wife, but perhaps a social circle which would keep me busy and entertained. People usually ask me about my marriage plans and I tell them that I would probably wait for another two years. I know for a fact that all the pretty girls have been married, but I think at this age, I should look at how beautiful a woman is from the inside. Beauty, after all, is only skin deep.

No, sorry, that's bull crap. I would still want a pretty girl when I decide to get married.

Anyway, I came back home and decided to blog. I started writing my post but stopped in the middle because my head was spinning really bad, and I wanted to sleep. It was three in the morning afterall.

I got up this morning, totally hungover, and suddenly last night's discussion popped into my mind from somewhere.

I laughed out loud. And I am still laughing.

ODC??Power User??...Namaste Ji!

I met this very nice guy a few days ago (he is Abnormal's friend) who has come from India on a project. We started talking about software projects in India ,and at the end of the conversation I realized that I now have a decent understanding of how onsite/offshore teams function. He was very kind and patient - I had so many questions and he answered all of them. I now understand how people are selected, how they are placed in projects, and what can they do to get kicked out of a team/project/company. His profession as a techie guy has allowed him to travel to many countries - he mentioned Germany, Singapore, New Zealand, and the US. I asked him if it's fun to travel around the world on a ticket paid for by the office. He said it can be, but the shorter trips don't mean much (~a month). Apparently monday to friday is spent in office, and there is only so much you can do on weekends. I guess it does make sense. But still, I think all them techie guys in India are damn lucky :-).

Dang! I should have taken a picture with him! I like getting my pictures taken with nice people.

Anyway, a different story - this is more about my experiences with random nice people. There is a lady at the Wal-mart I go to who looks hispanic, and has great interest in Hindi. Every time I meet her she greets me with the usual namaste. I think she learns words and phrases from other Indian customers too, because after the usual namaste, she once said kya haal hai? (how are you?) and something else the second time. She asked me to teach her "good morning" and "good afternoon". I did tell her what good morning was in hindi (I wrote it down on a piece of paper), but guess what - I did not know what good afternoon was. I totally blanked out. I tried to recall, I was pretty sure I knew what it was, but just could not come up with a/the word. This was yet another moment where I made a fool of myself by giving the impression that I don't know stuff about my own country/language. Digression - this keeps happening to me at work, when my colleagues ask me "India" questions and more often than not, I don't have an accurate answer. I sometimes make things up, but I do tell them that "I may be wrong". Then I usually look it up on Wikipedia and go, "oh! this is what it is!". Anyway, so I sheepishly told the lady that I don't know what good afternoon is in hindi( I actually wanted to say that there's no hindi equivalent of good afternoon, but stopped - I did not want to make a fool of myself yet again), said bbye, and walked out of the store, thinking how stupid I really am.

I might not go that lady's register again.

Nah, I will.

It's Not The Couch, It's Not The Floor...It's Not Even The Sleeping Bag!

I am couch friendly. I am floor friendly. I am sleeping bag friendly.

These are the things I sleep on/in whenever I visit friends over weekends. But this weekend was a lot different - I got to sleep in a bed! A pretty big bed with 2 pillows and a comforter!! Seriously, it was a privilege, considering that I always carry my own pillow and comforter everywhere because my friends don't have extras.

Anyway, I am just looking forward to my trip to Dallas. Seeing the concert with Dr. sahab should be fun. I hope he has learnt the lyrics to all the songs by heart by now.

I had deer meat today. It was good.

Run, Forrest, Run!!!!

I have been pretty inconsistent with my running, and I openly blame my shin splints for that. I have been running almost everyday now. There was a time when I couldn't even run a mile. Now, on a good day, I can do 6. But I know for a fact that I cannot do 6 miles on a regular basis. I usually end up running between 3-5 miles. I try to run atleast 3 everyday. Yesterday was perhaps the only day that I ran only a little over a mile mostly because it was suddenly very cold outside, and I was running in my shorts and t-shirt. The cold wind slapped my chest constantly and I could not breathe. So I decided to stop there and then. But, like I said, I get shin splints every day. Every day my legs hurt - the right one more than the left. I have tried icy hot, and pain killers. I also bought new running shoes for God's sake.

But when I run I can feel strength building up inside of me. I think I get shin splints because I am running after a long long time. It will go away for sure. I just have to keep running, and I think I have reached that point where I somewhat feel cranky if I don't run at all. And guilty.

My legs may cry after my daily run, but it sure feels wonderful when I am actually running in the park.

I finished watching all the Wes Anderson movies just a few minutes ago..

It's OK, It's Not All That Good: Pain - tagram

While listening to music at work yesterday I decided to check out Pentagram, the Indian rock and roll band that I slightly admired when I was in India. When I searched for them on Rhapsody, I found two entries for Pentagram. The first one was a doom metal band, which I knew was't the one. The next one did not have a genre attaached to it, so I clicked on it. It turned out to be the band I was looking for - the band from Mumbai, and their newest album was listed there too. It's called "It's OK, it's all good". The cover of the album has a peace sign and a "I want to rock & roll" next to it. Anyway, I added the songs to my player and started listening to them one by one. The first song, "Today", got me totally bewildered. I was expecting some cliched Iron Maiden/ Metallica kind of guitar riffs, but instead I heard an entirely different "sound" - a mish mash of metal/techno/punk-pop, a heavy bass line, and Badlani's filtered voice. I must say I liked the song - very much. It was something I did not expect from an Indian band. Kudos to Pentagram for introducing a new sound to the Indian rock and roll sound. All the head banging losers should now realize that it is time to change. The world has a lot more to offer - not just Maiden, Sepultura and Metallica (oh btw, the newest Metallica album is apparently very very very very heavy - for the first time their fans complained and asked them to turn the volume down a little bit).

So, the first song had a lot of energy and was very encouraging. But...

The second song, "Electric" is a blend of NIN, daft punk, LCD soundsystems, digitalism and any electronic band you can think of. Of course, Dadlani using filters to sing kind of gave him a Danzig voice. This song made me cautious. "Are all the songs going to sound the same?" - I though to myself.

And sound the same they did. Every song is an over ambitious attempt at making the song more electronic, which is totally fine. But the only problem is that usually, every song on an album has a different feel to it. I once again appreciate Pentagram's attempt to introduce a new sound, but their lack of experience perhaps let them down. And 16 songs on an album? Please, nobody has the patience to listen to 16 songs now. Give me 10 good quality songs and I am more than happy.

Of course, Dadlani should stop singing. Has somebody ever told him how bad his vocals are? Thank God he used filters, but still in a few songs he sounds like himself which is totally disappointing. Make way for someone else now, Dadlani.

And the lyrics..oh My God! Childish and hilarious. They have tried to sound very bold and serious, but the words are just silly and nonsensical. "Man Eat Man" is a joke. Listen to it if you get a chance. I think it's about how Man has created everything that is bad. I could not understand many of the words because of Dadlani's filtered voice, but it's just stupid. And oh, this song has a very peppy beat to it. Who would ever think of singing about serious things in this world to dance beats, huh?

I heard 5 or 6 more, then gave up. It was deja vu. I had bought their first album in 96. It had a few good songs, but the album was not solid. This one is very similar, except that it's electronic.

So in a nutshell:

- Pentagram's got balls *applause*.

- Very over ambitious , should have been a little cautious (first attempt at something new, you see).

- Don't use filters on all songs, you guys.

- Dadlani should stop singing. He is a good musician, and an equally bad singer.

- Hire a lyricist.

- 16 songs on an album? Don't joke with me please..

Ewwww!!!

Some people are just so disgusting.

I just watched Hugh Hefner's birthday on TV a few hours ago. First of all, this guy is pathetic - 82 years old and still screwing 20 year old females. His so called girl friends should be shot in public for getting screwed by this creep every day and every night. Show a little class and dignity now, you girls.

Anyway, so they were showing his birthday party on TV (his birthday is actually in April but the party was broadcasted now). So this dude goes to "The Palms" in Vegas with his girl friends where the owner of the hotel gifts him his own table. The table has black and white pictures of Hugh and the three chicks with "Hef's Table" written in red in the middle. The dude and the girls are surrounded by hundreds of people who are obviously excited to see this old pathetic fuck.

Apparently there's one more surprise party for the guy. The girls and the dude go somewhere else where...oh my God! I just could not believe it. I still cannot believe it.

Pamela Anderson, naked from head to toe, greets our man. She is holding a birthday cake in her right hand with so many candles on them. She is kissing this old fart non-stop and this lame bastard, who is all smiles, is kissing her back and what not. I was surprised to see how Hugh Hefner was caressing Pamela's ass - and she wouldn't stop smiling as if she was enjoying it a lot.

Now the grand finale - They all go back to his mansion (Pamela too). There the girls, Pamela, Hugh's sons, and a few more people sing "Happy Birthday to you.." for him, he blows candles once again, and then receives gifts from his girlfriends. Now, these are not ordinary gifts - he gets chocolate casts of private parts of his girlfriends. He gets Kendra's ass in white chocolate with a brown circle in the middle (oh sick!), Bridget's tits, and Holly's vagina..

Oh man..enough.

I think this entire Hefner' birthday experience was the most disgusting thing in the world to the power of n.

I will go puke now.