The New Black

2007-04-02T15:46:00.000+04:00

Anything to Get Over Last Nights Post
THE FRAY

Something that always cheers me up.
The Fray. They never fail to captivate me. I’m not going to bore you with superfluous details, because it doesn’t matter and def would be a lot easier if you just listend to it. However, I’ll tell you what type of music they make, and who they are.
Well. The Denver-based quartets intense and melodic songs have been striking a huge chord with audiences. They got fame the old way, they really earned it. It's a story you don't hear much anymore nowadays: local area gigs led to enthusiastic local press and local radio support. People thought they came out of nowhere quickly but they had been working hard before the mainstream public had heard about them.The first single from their album is "Over My Head (Cable Car)" and it climbed into the top 10 on the Billboard singles chart, has been certified platinum, and was streamed more than a million times on MySpace in just one month.
The Fray doesn't fit easily into any niche, and they don't need to: word of mouth (or, word of digital mouth) has been good enough. The songs stand on their own, no clever marketing or catering to genres necessary.
The Fray are my favorite band BY FAR. My favorite song by The Fray, will always be, of course, How To Save A Life. But enough of my opinion, you should seriously get their album. Good lyrics. Good good music.

2007-04-02T02:58:00.000+04:00

Everyones Favorite Cliched Topic
[But I don't care because it's what I feel, and honestly, the word 'cliched' is cliched.]

Change.

Well. I was just having the strangest feeling in my stomach. Queasy-ish. And I have this growing urge to talk to have someone to talk to, to explain ‘change’ to me because as much as I try to understand things the less sense they make. A few days ago, courtesy Facebook, I found one of my best friends – in the first, second, and third grade. His name was Ryan Faer, it’s been 7 years. It seriously made me think a lot. Mostly about home, but that’s something I think I’ve mentally sorted out. However...
Change is still on my mind. My elementary school years they purely rocked. After that, there was change. And more change. And more change.
After third grade, the awesomest year of my life so far, we moved here. I guess you could say life was really different, not really in a bad way, just realllyy diff. When I look at the third graders I know, I feel like I was so much more mature than them. Life used to be ‘bigger’ and ‘realer’, if that makes any sense. Well anyways, then my dad decided that we were going to move. It was pretty sudden. So I guess I .. I was excited at first. I was excited, I didn’t know what I was getting into. Maybe I wasn’t that mature then.
I went to the American school from fourth grade till the end of sixth grade. I never fit in there, I don’t think anyone really did. There were eighty percent Arabs, and the rest were from all over. I had one really good friend, who was Australian, who did keep in touch. Because in 7th, I changed schools again. Finally, I thought, people I have something in common with! I made friends, but besides three really awesome friends, everyone else was barely more than an acquaintance for around a year because it turned out that no matter where I went I would always be really different. I wouldn’t want to take back anything, but things could’ve been better. More change. Fights. More change, in many many ways. Which wasn’t very pretty. But yea.
But then… After well. A lot of personal stuff that I’ve kept from most people, I think I finally found a bit of myself again. Things were good. And that summer, I went away. And I was told that I wouldn’t be coming back. But I did. For 8 months. And those eight months, were finally, good good months. Even if I was missing half a family. Things were better.
And then. More change. I don’t know if I was supposed to approve or embrace it but at first, I told myself I did. I mean. There’s nothing like being with family. But looking back, this is the most used to anything I’ve ever gotten and I don’t know if I can adapt all over again.
So change has left me bruised and battered and now it’s approaching again. And truthfully. I don’t know what to do. If only I was given something to believe in ..

PS: You're wrong. I'm not over reacting.

2007-03-27T03:01:00.000+04:00

I try to be like
Grace Kelly.

Do I attract you?
Do I repulse you with my queasy smile?
Am I too dirty?
Am I too flirty?
Do I like what you like?
I could be wholesome
I could be loathsome

I guess Im a little bit shy
Why dont you like me?
Why dont you like me without making me try?

I try to be like Grace Kelly
But all her looks were too sad
So I try a little Freddie
Ive gone identity mad!

How can I help it
How can I help it
How can I help what you think?
Hello my baby
Putting my life on the brink
Why dont yo like me
Why dont you like me
Why dont you like yourself?
Should I bend over?
Should I look older just to be put on the shelf?

Say what you want to satisfy yourself
But you only want what everybody else says you should want

I try to be like Grace Kelly
But all her looks were too sad
So I try a little Freddie
Ive gone identity mad!

I could be brown
I could be blue
I could be violet sky
I could be hurtful
I could be purple
I could be anything you like
Gotta be green
Gotta be mean
Gotta be everything more
Why dont you like me?
Why dont you like me?
Why dont you walk out the door!
Ka-CHING !
PS: Figure out what this is yourself =P

2007-03-21T01:57:00.000+04:00

*Sleep

Yeaa .. Insomnia. She can't sleep either.

It seems to be something I’ve been dreading these days and here I go.. turning my blog into my own personaldiarytypething.

I know they say sleeping ‘at-the-right-time’ [that's supposed to be read as if your mom was saying it hahah] is one of the most imperative things, but sleeping… My body just doesn’t see the point.
Sleeping means not using every moment possible, because no matter when I sleep I always wake up at around 12PM [excluding days like today, when I slept at 7AM].
It means missing talking to my mom and brothers, who only get free at 3PM their time, 12AM our time.
It means missing out on a certain type of privacy and silence which I can’t get during the day. Oh and how I love that..
But sleep. Sleep can be scary.
People do weird things in their sleep. I do weird things in my sleep. Cough. Such as calling people, hiding newspapers, and some more things I’d prefer not to disclose. I think I may have a sleeping disorder, and I know you’re rolling your eyes Nishant. Maybe I have anxiety problems, because sometimes I just lay in bed thinking, nerve-racking.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who doesn’t like sleeping. I mean, I enjoy the sleep itself, just not the idea of it, if that makes sense. I’ve tried getting to sleep – counting sheep and the whole shebang, but it just doesn’t work if there’s something else I want to be doing.

Anyways. Let’s see if it goes away, I’m praying it’s just another phase. That’s life right?

2007-03-17T02:39:00.000+04:00

The inauguration of the incredibility that is The Isonephic Valentine (IVY), the invention of us, is on March the 23rd. 2007.

What are we?
Well. Simple. We’re, for now,

Leona. Menaka. Reshma. Sonia. Radhii.
We create.

We’re not a band. We’re….hmm. A group.

We do stuff.

And on the 23rd… You’ll find out what that means.

2007-03-07T21:08:00.000+04:00

A Leviathan Irritance to say what's on MY mind.
Why don’t people just say what’s really on their minds . . . . ?
Truly, it plain baffles me beyond belief.

2007-03-03T14:32:00.000+04:00

Okay. Randomness and haste personified. I have fallen in love. With a song. No. A band. Incubus.
I just can’t get over them!! They're just so good for me. Okay I know that doesn’t make sense, but it is. Incubus. All their songs are so imaginative and original and and and ... So likeable. It’s impossible to get sick of any of them! This song. Agh. This song. AGH! If I don't see them in concert, if I don't get to go on the 10th, I may just die. All of you HAVE to get this song. Tell me what you think !

* .. DIG .. *

When weakness turns my ego up
I know you’ll count on the me from yesterday.
If I turn into another
Dig me up from under what is covering
The better part of me
Sing this song
Remind me that we'll always have eachother
When everything else is gone.

PS: Like all Incubus songs .. There are tons of 'Ooh's' =P

2007-02-21T18:28:00.000+04:00

Exams. Leaving. and a Whole Lot of Other Stuff.
I have a strange feelin in my tummy. It’s a mix between the ‘the-second-before-you-hear-the-buzzer-and-dive-into-the-water’ one and the one you get when youre with someone who gives u butterflies.

During the last period today, there was loads running through my mind. Something was worrying me, and till this moment I’m confused and upset.
Things it could’ve been:
* Tomorrow is our first exam. Potatoes and Dimaonds..! I’m not one to get exceedingly stressd.
* I’m under the weather and I have a headache. I don’t want it to get in the way but then again there are a million other things that are impeding my progress.
* My mom and brothers just called after point number two and I was the most stoical jackass ever!!!
* My mom’s makin me go to church today because its Ash Wednesday and God will ‘bless me’ if I go. It’s already 5:30 and I still haven’t finished EVS.
* I can’t get DDR out of my mind even though I’m no ultra colossal metal fan. It's evident why.
* My mom just called again for another 18 minutes. She wants me there in March, right after exams. It’s not going to happen, not if I can help it. Which is just great because it’s making this ‘feeling’ in my stomach become more painful. Whether it’s the guilt of not wanting to be there or the fact that I am going is a different story.

But I KNOW what it is…. And I HATE thinking about it.

Today possibly was my last proper day in school. I don’t want to think about it!!!! You guys told me you would help me talk to my dad and I don’t want to go… atleast if I’m going to be in UAE till this summer… I miss my mom but this the most used to a place I’ve ever gotten and I don’t know how it’s going to be when I go… What if DDR is actually the last time I see all of you together? What if after I go I never see you again? I’m dying to write about each and every one of you but I can’t because I have to study and I know that I won’t be able to concentrate and all I’m going to end up thinking about is you guys and what amazing friends I have and how it’s not frigging fair that this is something I want and I can’t take you guys with me. Anu…Resh….Shanni. Please keep your promise. I love all of you guys. =(

2007-02-11T16:14:00.000+04:00

Irrelevancy at it’s best?

Okay. This is the most random and extraneous topic I’ll ever write about, but yea. I want to tell you about my tennis coach back when I used to live in Florida.
His name was Dennis, and he had an issue with punctuality. Infact… Come to think of it. Half the time he didn’t even show up, and tried justifying himself in some pretty gay ways. Oh, he was also REALLY attractive. He had the whole sports car – gelled hair – hot girlfriend thing going. He’s 29 now…Yea well. Guess what?

He’s the MAYOR now. I’m repentant but.. WHAT THE HECK IS THIS WORLD COMING TO?!!?!?

2007-02-09T03:01:00.000+04:00

Not So Simple Simple Things

So… Point of this post? Maybe define my day a little, you know… Maybe just write a little. There’s nothing like reading, there’s nothing like writing.
As of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and next week, I survive this world on my own. Dad’s in Iran, Bahrain, and Mom, brothers in Boston. It actually feels weirdly wonderful, yet it kind of really sucks. Too much ‘alone time’ isn’t healthy. This is what it did to me…
It made me realize more than I wanted to about life. I caught onto the fact that friendship is a simple thing, but that the simple things in life are never actually quite so vanilla. To make them simple, all you have to do is do the things you're supposed to do, which is far from simplicity itself. The more the unnecessary things you do, the more the complication. For example, to have a really good friend all you have to do… is be devoted and trustworthy. But this can be the most complicated because to have more than one devoted friend, you have to be obviously loyal to both people. Loyalty for some people means the whole ‘tell-eachother-everything’ sha-bang, not that I’m saying every relationship is even close to being like this. To do this, you might have to deceive the other devotee and tell the other aficionado things about the first one. Which if they are eachother’s devotees, this aggravates both of them, which in turn confuses you. This is just a simple example, it gets much worse. Oh.. and it also applies to everything.

So ummmmm. I think I’m stuck.

Song of my day. Hmmmm. Only because I’m re-obsessed with it, Boston by Augustana.

2007-02-02T13:37:00.000+04:00

Welcoming Myself Back .. *

I feel pretty crummy that my first post in over a month isn’t big, good, or out of the ordinary. It’s small, humble, and it means something to me; and I followed the statement ‘dont post something bad just for the sake of postingg’ unkowingly. Thank you, Tejas.

Everything I had to say is small and sweet, whether it’s a goodbye to the 12ve’s, yesterdays awesomeness and satisfaction, my vacation, or just how much I phreaking missed blogging!

So, for the 12th graders… You know how much you’re going to be missed, each and every one of you. I'm sure you’ve been told that a million times, but it’s still worth saying! School isn’t going to be the same without you guys, Sharjah bus isn’t going to be the same without you guys, nothing’s going to be the same. I'm never going to forget you guys.

Nextly (new word :P), Sports Day was incredible. From marching, to running, to my flat-foot-ed-ness killing me, to relay, to getting torn apart by jungle-ball-playing-savage-fifth-graders! My house did astoundingly; we won. I made myself proud; I got gold in all my individual events (besides high jump, stop laughing!). My relay team rocked… My band friends rocked… My friends broke records… Yesterday was just out of this world.

Winter vacation. A very very overdue Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! I saw my ENTIRE family, therefore my vacation, though it had its bad parts, was so worth it. Two new beautifully wonderful places and one old one. Is it possible to not have fun in Delhi?

Lastly. Blogging. I’ve missed blogging SO much. There’s nothing like writing, there’s nothing like reading. Regularity is back!

PS: I couldn’t not include this. Song of January: Here (In Your Arms), as much as you may hate that Reshma :P

2006-12-07T23:43:00.000+04:00

Ten things I’m dying to do before December ends ..
(however impractical or unrealistic any of them may be)
1.Drive my dad’s car on the highway.
2.Sing in the entirety of the public… Really. Really. Loud.
3.Catapult off the Garhoud Bridge. I doubt I’d actually get hurt. It’s only water right?
4.Slap the following people: John Kerry. I wonder if the Botox would make my hand bounce off. Hmmmmm…
5.Hug the following people: George Bush. Shaquille O'Neal. Donald Rumsfeld. Simon and Garfunkel.
6.Kiss the following people: Cesc Fabregas
7.I want to walk home from school, not to school. Maybe on Children’s day. Who knows? :P
8.Give a speech on the importance of the existence of some sort of catholicon. *guuurrrrrr*
9.Have a comedy marathon-although I will need a popcorn parter. John Cleese. Steve Martin. Jerry effing Seinfeld!!! John Travolta. Johnny Depp :P (although not exactly comedy) Katharine Hepburn. Ben Stiller! Omg. I could just die......
10. Learn how to play this one song in this one million year old piano book I found at home.

2006-12-05T21:52:00.000+04:00

..εxposed..
I finally formed a thing for my art! Yipee! :D Under my link list thing it's called *мy artsy sтuff .. !
Tell me what you guys think. For once I hope to get some encouragement. I've only put one thing up. Will be putting up more later! Ta's !

2006-12-01T19:42:00.000+04:00

Dynamite!

(or should I say dynooooo-miiiite!)

The last three days of November have been three of the most eventful in my life. And now is where I spill, because there’s a point in my life where I need to pass. There's also something I want to get across. There are people I want to say things to. Because I want to! And ... because this is temporarily my divulging/draining space. :P

Basicamente, over the past four days (including today), a lot has gone on and I’m just a little hesitant right now. Don’t really know what to do…But hey. Maybe this is just life. Ahh… I don’t know.
Okay. So Monday the 27th…. wasn’t exactly an electrifying day so that’s why it’s not included in the ‘three days’ mentioned above, but it’s when everything started. The next day was the 28th. I named it ‘Safe Today, Alive Tomorrow.’ You’ll see why later. :P
It was just…. AHH! ESTUVO LOCO!
...Francais. I think it’s pretty much a known fact that all French exams are horrific, except for people like Shravanti and Sonia. Best friends I swear! :P
...The previous day’s drama. Dear god, have mercy on me… I didn’t know what was happening!!
......I think I’ve been accused of PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING under the sun. It’s just so ridiculous and hilarious, but so serious at the same time. Sometimes I don’t know how I pull through some things. Thank god it’s all over now.
...I was supposed to go to Resh’s house. No note. No nothing. Just a big bag and a bunch of clothes.
...Swimming=dead. Primarily, twas sure as death and taxes that I wasn’t going to Resh’s place, because we had ‘swimming’ till 4. But we weren’t exactly told after assembly because we had a 3 hour exam and were told to ‘go’. I’m not saying that I wasn’t looking for a reason not to stay back, because clearly, I was.
...We left Resh’s house. Went to Bur Dubai. Nuff said.
...Certain people decide to believe rumors when they know they’re made by people who bullshit more than my computer freezes. Or maybe they don’t, but they do for strange retarded reasons that only they know. They decide to cause problems.
...Made a cat sick. *tear*
...Screamed at one too many people.
...Cried. Made three other people cry.
...Realized that someone I thought cared about me, and someone I told everything to whether they told me anything or not, probably wouldn’t care if I got run over by a bicycle and died. Honestly. When someone says they can’t call and they can only message (when you want to talk about something important), they’re not supposed to disappear for 3 days inbetween.
...It finally hit me how this whole ‘separation’ thing is (when I needed someone, and my ‘so-called-friend’ wasn’t there). I’ve never called my brother and gotten his voice mail.
...And that too. Left a message saying “It’s me Radhi. I’m walking on a street in Bur Dubai. I need to talk to you. Where are you? Call me back.”
...The one thing that can make anyone feel better is ICE CREAM. I asked Reshma and Leona if we could drop into Baskin Robbins at Burjuman (do you get the ‘name of the day’ now?) , and we did. Except………. I didn’t get any.
...I told my dad I would meet him at 4:00. Then 6:30. Then 8:00. And then finally we met him at nine. I died again in the car on the way home.
...*Finally got home exhausted. The next day we were getting papers. Peachy!*

Now the papers day. 28th of November. Honestly not your average day.
… I expected my marks to be okay. Turns out they were okay to bad. The one thing I was supposed to get above 70 on 80, I got 60s in. Thanks EVS. But that’s not it. Ahh screws! I’m not moaning about marks, I promise myself. So after getting three papers, we finally got math. Now Reshma and I were like “%^&*$#!!!!!”. How did I manage to screw up so bad? I mean it was so bad, that I was thinking to myself “I would have to become smarter to become stupid. I must be like…Dumber than a box of hair.”
But then that all changed….
Mrs.Premkumar took us to Al Noor. This was immediately after we got our math marks. Here I was crying about bad marks when there were all these young people which were born incapable of doing so many things we take for granted.
They would never be able to walk around alone in Bur Dubai, take the exams that I took, and so many other things that I regret doing. I have to use what I have, study harder, I should be just. Grateful. I feel awful.

The next day was the inter-school swimming gala. We came third, got whipped by Wellington, and just lost to DAA. We came third in our relays. But in the same spirit of the previous day, I’m just thankful.

And today… Today was my realization day. Everything hit me like dynamite! Everything seems to fall in place sometimes. I realized….. Sometimes you just HAVE to move on. You could be angry, sad, in ‘love’, irritated, mad for no reason, cynical and doubtful, pretending, who god damn knows?!? But you have to eventually. I figured out things with myself, and even though things aren’t even remotely sorted out, I feel good. There’s just one person who always helps me. No. He actually does something!, I’m not just saying it. There are so many types of people. There are those who pretend. There are those who are so stupid that somehow they think someone would lie to me about what I’VE done. Some just need to open their eyes! MIERDA! SEIZE IT THE MOMENT IT STRIKES YOU! WHAT YOU THINK… IT.. IT’S TRUE! Some people need to prioritize. Just sit down and introspect for a little while! Some people need to stop being such girls/drama queens/putas/emo freaks. Some people need to stop flirting with other girls when they’re going out with someone. Especially when the girl they're flirting with has a boyfriend. Some people should just grow up. Realize what life is. It’s wonderful. It sucks. Look at it from 100 different angles. Dammit do I even make sense?
This just all needed to come out! I want to out out everything, but I promised I wouldn’t edit anything in this, so sorry if you find it random and weird. All I want to say is that I have the best brother in the world, and he is just….He’s just awesome, and no one could ever come close to being as friggin cool as he is. Natasha Law, I’m soooo pissed off with you, but I love you and miss you so much! MOM! 16 DAYS! Reshma Varghese, you rock :D. And Nishant.. I’m sorry. I really am.

This post was for me.

PSST! Excuse all the spanish. :P Was simply in the mood for acting like Steph.

2006-11-23T01:03:00.000+04:00

Ahhh. Tis precisely 2 A.M.
I'm supposed to be doing comp/sleeping/whatever.
Unfortunately though, I have the attention span of a hyperactive flea, and 'Navdeep publications' isn't making my life any simpler. Soooo yea.Here I am. Surfing youtube, bolt, and myspace videos. I came across a few good ones, and one was just SO cool, and strange, and hyper that I'm naming 'Video of the Month'. Not that I'm anyone to judge, but whateverrrr. Worth the watch! :D I was going to put up Micheal Richards ('Kramer' Actors' Racist Tirade At Laugh Factory) giant goof up, but there was a bit too much swearing. OOH! Another thing. Do any of you watch the Nobodys Watching videos? They're so funny man! Anyways, moving on.

Finally getting on to the actual video.
It's made by a european dude,Lasse Gjertsen, who apparently takes his 'hyperactive video editing style a step further' to make a song, using the piano and drums, when he doesn't know how to play either one of em. Hence the name of the video, Amateur. I just think it's REALLY awesome. Tell me waht you guys think!

2006-11-21T21:45:00.000+04:00

*Decking the Halls....*

Today is… Today is the first proper day of winter! I’ve bored quite a few of ya’ll about how much I absolutely adore winter, now I move on to a bigger audience. . I have such fond memories of winter. Winter is like… Dammit, WINTER IS WINTER! Don’t tell me you don’t feel different in winter. Just think about it. Serene, full of love!, less whiny, and JOLLY!!!!! :P .. *sigh*

The days of winter… The weather is always perfect! That’s one thing I love about this country. It’s like spring during winter. The weather is just... AHH! To die for! It’s not too hot, not too cold and usually it’s breezy. Christmas is just… There’s nothing better than just being with your family the whole day. Christmas Eve nearly ties though. It’s like.. You spend the entire day having fun, going to all the parties which have kick-ass food, and of course, kick-ass people, receiving those lastttt few presents, and having the pleasure of trying to figure out what they are! And at the end of the day, you lie in my bed, snuggled under your warm blanket, in your room(which for me, is usually decorated accordingly) and just think of the days events. It’s just amazing. I don’t know… I’m speechless.

The smells of winter… It’s not quite the same here, but it innt' so much different. There are just some smells that make you feel like dancing! Walking into a house where Xmas cake is getting ready. Jesus Christ …!!!! I don’t think there’s one single smell that beats the smell of Christmas cake/pudding/whatever. When you think of winter what smells come to your mind? Cinnamon, Vanilla, Pine needles, wood burning in the fireplace, stews, and soups.. Really.. Makes you smile don’t it?

The clothes of winter… Taking out the winter clothes is always a highlight. Gathering hats, mittens, wooly blankets and scarfs. Not that you need them here.. But either way….

The sounds of winter… Bells, phones ringing, laughing, crying, mom screaming that the food's going to get burnt.. :P My favorite, the sound of Sonia singing Christmas carols. It brings back memories from last year. Miss you Tasha.

The habits and traditions of winter… Putting up Christmas trees is the best. I always get so carried away with decorating, my parents are usually shocked when they get home to see the halls 'decked' :P. Bows and wreaths, and MISTLETOE! Poinsettias, egg nog (or however you spell it) and ginger al! .Taking long walks, spending time with people, presents!!! Holidays, long icky flights, shitty airports/amazing airports.. The list could go on forever..

But best of all….

The people of winter… No matter what happens... The best part of winter, is being with the people you love the most. I miss you mom.

Anyways.. This post.... was just to say..... HAPPY WINTER!! :P
Peace out!!

2006-11-12T21:41:00.000+04:00

My Passion.
I have a problem. A threat to productivity. A possible attachment to a product of boredom, but an addiction, nonetheless. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but I’m addicted to drawing.
I don’t expect any of you to comment, or think anything of this, because somehow I feel like I'm writing in a diary... But I need help, help deciding if my addiction is my passion. Today, while ‘studying’, my utter and complte enslavement decided that it wouldn’t let me rest! There in front of me was the best of ten notebooks I had unconsciously made for my art, and I was getting finicky, with it tantalizing me and all! I had an itch, no ordinary itch, more like those ones you get when you wear a cast. They just don’t go! I started doodling in a corner, which turned into some strange monstrosity, a mix of my name and tendrils of green highlighter fire. I gave in.
Only… I’ve never been sure if it’s a passion… Ohhh .. Passion means absolte devotion, right? There’s some line saying that above all, you should decide whether you can put your whole heart into somethng, and if you can’t, then take out whatever part is in it. Since I left Florida though, I haven’t done anything to promote it. When I was little, I was hooked on arts. I went to Stetson University for Ballet.. and during the summer, for art, where I sold my first painting. Since I moved here, I’ve been a vegetable....
I never forgot about art, just set it aside, but now it’s come back. I don’t think I’ll ever stop. Correction, I won’t ever stop. A friend the other day used the word ‘stupid’ for me, said that if I was good at something, if loved it, I should do something! I think I agree with him now. By writing this short thing in ten minutes though, I’ve decided that art is something that I love to do more than nearly anything else, and it truly is one of my greatest passions. And I’m going to do something with it. Wish me luck..

PS: A thanks to Dolly! for giving me the idea of putting up some of my art ... Which I'll be doing soon enough.

2006-11-10T11:25:00.000+04:00

Potatoes and Diamonds
Yep, I did indeed not think of not putting up a tedious ‘Oh my god exams are coming we’re all going to die’ post, but hey, what the heck right?
Today in the bus, on the way home, I wondered how the next few weeks were going to be like, without Niki around to force me to study, or to distract me. Either way, it drifted on to why everyone made such a big deal about these things we call 'exams'.
Whether it’s Laura, the hyperactive tube light (Sonia), who’s become extremely over-sensitive, or Reshma, who makes me shut up in French class nowdays (when she’s normally the only person who can stand me), or Nishant, who is studying ‘The Guptas’ while I’m on the phone, everyone completely changes before exams! Everyone’s under so much pressure!
Guys. Come on, it’s only two weeks! Don’t worry! I know I’m not one to talk, but just cram, and then at the end of it, enjoy yourself all you want. You guys know what I’m saying. The point of this was not to say that though, it was to say, DO AMAZING!, best of luck! And if you try your hardest, you’ll all do well! After all, diamond is only coal that made good under pressure! Peace out!

2006-10-31T20:21:00.000+04:00

An Unwelcome Discovery

First up.. This was written yesterday. For some irritating reason, blogger.com was going really, really, REALLY, realllyyyy slowwww.. So just pretend its still yesterday :P

BOO! Did I scare you even remotely? Yea, I doubted it. Well, Happy Halloween anyways! Does anyone actually go proper trick-or-treating, egging, or toilet papering here? What about goosey nights? DAMN! I miss old Halloweens! Well… anyways, that’s not even what this post is about. What I’m about to write about is quite breathtaking. Scary. Not in a Halloween way, but still terrifying.

While on the New York Times website, a few days ago, I read an article called ‘An Unwelcome Discovery’. It was about a man, a leading respected doctor, Eric Poehlman, a prized scientist in the field of human obesity and aging. And guess what? He was also the first doctor in the history of the United States of America to be jalied for fraud; falsifying stuff in a grant application.

He was a professor at the University of Vermont, College of Medicine. Eric Poehlman built his rep as a leading authority in the field of metabolic changes that occur with aging. He published more than like, 200 articles over twenty years. He researched the genetics of obesity and the impact of exercise, also using human subject to document change in their physiology. However, his ‘stellar’ career unravelled when Poehlman's misconduct was detected… And here’s another ‘guess what?’ for you guys. Guess who exposed him? Walter DeNino, who viewed Poehlman as his ultimate mentor. He was accused of scientific misconduct/fraud/whatever and in March ’05 he pleaded guilty to the charges. Yes. He acknowledged falsifying 17 (yes, seventeen), grant applications to the National Institutes of Health and fabricating data in 10 of his papers that were submitted between 1992 and 2000.

So there it is. Dr. Poehlman fraudulently diverted millions of dollars. He ruined his own life. In addition to jail time, Poehlman’s permanently forbidden from getting any more federal research grants, and was ordered by the court to write letters of retraction and correction to many scientific journals. Can you imagine anyone doing that? The seriousness of it.. Medicines were made based on this information!!! Not just a few, so many! People were treated based on his shit! Why'd he do it? Who the hell knows? According to me, he did it due to career pressure and money.. It might’ve just been ‘The ability to get away with it’. Results are hard to reproduce correct, since they’re obscured by noise and other extraneous data.So basically, even if a scientist does like, totally fabricate data, they can expect to get away with it - or at least claim innocence if their results conflict with other peoples. Appalling eh?

Well. That’s basically what I wanted to tell you guys about. The picture of the evil pumpkin serves both topics pretty well don't you think? This kind of stuff really gets you thinking… about what kind of people are actually living in todays world. There could be millions of people who’ve done this, but no ones found out. Think of the consequences of what he’s done .. So much of today could all just be a lie. You really never know!

2006-10-27T15:59:00.000+04:00

The Adventures of Zoot Woman! Part One ..

Were any of you wondering where Sonia had disappeared a few days ago? This IS a really bad first ‘proper’ post, and really random too, but I found it funny, and couldn't resist! (PLUS, I’m listening to Nth Degree and that might explain a lot). So were you trying to call her? No response? Well, if she hasn’t told you, it’s because she decided one morning, while eating ‘breakfast’ , to go to Oman. Yes, you read right! They picked up their passports, and they went to Muscat absolutely spontaneously. Absolutely on the spot! The storys a little something like this…

You guys know the drill. Last day before a set of holidays. Hugs. Goodbyes. Conversations about when we’re going to meet up. Movie plans. Plans regarding things we know are never going to happen. Well, my pally wally Sonia was shedding a few tears due to the fact that we have 34 science chapters this term. I told her I would call her. When I eventually did, we talked about, if my memory serves me right, cheese and having a night were everyone would come over; we would rent DVDs and watch them till like 3 in the morning. She told me to sleep on it. The next morning, at around 12, when I called Sonia to finalize everything, she didn’t pick up her phone. So I called her house phone, but to no avail. I waited a few hours, then I made another attempt. I finally gave up after like 100 missed calls. Two after that I saw her online! You know what? See it for yourself. The advantages of Messenger Plus!

(7:59 PM) * .. radhΐι .. *: HEYwhere the hell have u beenn gurrlllllll ??
(7:59 PM) L@ura s0n!@ suB: Heyyy .. supp?
(7:59 PM) L@ura s0n!@ suB: dont ask
(8:00 PM) * .. radhΐι .. *: ... u may continue typing ..
(8:00 PM) * .. radhΐι .. *: * continues to waiitt *
(8:00 PM) L@ura s0n!@ suB: we went out with cARoline n her family fer breakfast day before yesterday...n landed up in de Muscat Sheraton
(8:00 PM) * .. radhΐι .. *: UMMMMM .. excuse me?
(8:00 PM) * .. radhΐι .. *: :S

So as I was saying, two days later she comes online like the monkey that she is and has the nerve to ask me ‘suppp ?’ . I was like, “What happened to our plans?!?”.. So basically during these holidays my activities have been limited to ' couch potato-ness ' and starting this blog. I did absolutely nothing while people whisked off to various countries! And that’s all she said before going offline and telling me to ' call ' ! Oh well. Atleast now I know why they call her Zoot Woman!!!

PS: I'm just kidding. Zoot Woman has nothing to do with being an idiot!
PPS: HAPPY belated DIWALI to everyone !!
PPPS: SORRY! One more thing .. I defininately AM going to get killed for the picture which i don't think sonia knew i had :P .. SO UH .. I NEED SUPPORT !! :P

2006-10-25T16:45:00.000+04:00

The First One ..

Hey guys!! I know you were expecting some amazing, interesting, phenomenal blog post, but really, I figured since this is my first one on blogspot.com and I've ditched the whole ' MSN space ' thingy, I should write some sort of an introduction...

You guys know I’ve tried blogging before, if it even counts as blogging. There are quite a few reasons that I decided to start a proper blog… The first being that my brother, my best friend, is a trillion miles away and I’d like him to be somewhat up to date with what’s going on in this far from exciting country. It’s not only my brother though, it’s my entire family!! My mom’s in Boston with Niki, my cousins on my moms side are all somewhere in the states. Be it my amazing cousin Steph in Florida, my cousins Anish and Karun in Oklahoma, or my cousins Richie and Mary (who btw went to MIT :P). On my Dads side a predominance of the family lives in Delhi and the rest live places that are anyways far away from the UAE. Another reason was that of course, the reason everyone makes blogs, just to express thoughts on pretty much everything, see other peoples opinions, and in some cases inform people – like Rayna’s Diwali thingy which by the way, I – the uninformed Hindu Christian liked a lot. Last but not least, I like to write, I LOVE to write :P. Well, that’s about it. That's my super duper introduction. Look forward to the one I told most of you about, it’s nearly done! A big thanks to Jyothsna! OKAY! So here’s to blogging!