Dormant GέέK

For some reason or the other, going at 40+ kmph on a bike seems to be more dangerous, and hence more thrilling; consequently more fun when compared to, well a car going at the same speed [when you are inside of it, of course] or at 40mph on the American freeway. It's just uber hard for me to really conceive that we are indeed going at speeds approximating 120kmph on the American freeways. Maybe a convertible might seem dangerous; who knows - it might be the enclosure around us that's tricking us.

Driving a bike is much more fun than the scooter, I have to say. The roads in India here are pretty bad; tons of potholes and stuff. You know what, I'll adorn this post with pictures tomorrow or so. It's going to be fun~ I'll add information then. So wait up, peoples!

I was browsing Wikipedia since I felt that my General Knowledge wasn't upto par, and I after clicking through links after links, I stumbled upon this article with the title, "Indian tourist most impolite." Here are teh stats according to the article:

Overall Tourist

The Best

1. Japanese


2. Americans


3. Swiss

The Worst

1. French


2. Indians


3. Chinese


4. Russians


5. Brits

Indians were also berated on the following fronts:

• Most Impolite


• Second Most Messy


• Worst Behaved





Now I don't really care for who were the best, and who were the worst [that's why I stopped mentioning all the "standings" after the 'final verdict']. But they were quite interesting. Hit the link above for more info.





What I find surprising is that I'm not surprised that we are in the last place. Our country is not the most well kept, which means that people aren't all that well kept either (This fact even spreads across to cyberspace. Indians can't web design for their life. Given the choiuce, they'd probably shout out 3564064 lines of code in AJAX rather than design a web page with just a few links and the header "My First Web Page"). Mannerisms aren't all that great, but we raise our kids much better than Americans who apparently have an OCD when it comes to "diseases" or "mental whatchamacallits" to ADHD.





But when I think about it, Indian people aren't all that impolite. I can see why they aren't considered "clean" and most Indian people aren't all that keen on trying other cuisines, although burgers and pizzas are quite famous here. I assume it's because Indian people are ashamed to eat with their hands abroad [if they did, people would probably claim them as messy] and when they try to eat with the fork/spoon/knife/chopsticks, they can have a helluva lot of trouble. It's weird - I can see why people see them that way, but at the same time, they aren't that way. Hella hard to explain that. And it seems like this update is a totally muddled update because I can't think straight.



Oh, and I used HTML [for the first tiem; which is why the paragraphs after all those lists are tilted to one side]. Woot?

So I knew that this week was going to be hell. Monday, nothing due. Tuesday, I had to submit my Physics assignment, Wednesday I had an exam at 8am, a homework due at 9am, and another assignment due at 12. On Thursday I have a Physics exam. So much~

So I rumble along, and enter teh classroom where my Political Science exam is being held. Time is 8am. I was absent for more than half the classes. The Professor wanted us to put in a sincere effort towards the exam, and I felt obliged (because he sort of pleaded. And I couldn't ignore that. I gave it my best (the best 2 hours I could muster) and went and checked out the video at the library (it has a lot of stuff-related content) and ran through the text book. So now here I am, in class, pencil in hand, waiting for the exam to start. Prof starts talking, and all of a sudden my ears catch one word,"Scantron" I am sitting there, confounded, going "What the gosh darn is this Scantrong thingy?" I look around and see every student with this greeny paper slip. I immediately give a /poke to the dude next to me and point at his Scanthingymajiggy. And he lent me one. Phew. And I just took a gamble and used my ordinary pencil. Eventually I was saved from my tough situation...

...but moar was yet to come.

And eventually it was English class. Our prof has this thing called "Roll Question" - she asks you a question each day that she takes roll. Today's roll question was: "Consider the following situation: You have a baby, and you raise it for a year. The baby is awesome, but one year later (ie, when the baby is a year old) the hospital calls you and says that they made a mistake; the baby is not genetically yours. We can rectify it right now. Given that that is your situation, would you keep the baby that is not yours, or would you switch it?" The question eventually came to me, and I, after thinking for ~30 seconds, I said,"I'd flip a coin". Everyone was half laughing and half going "WTF and a half". My reason: Both of the choices are equally bad, and instead of eating your brain over it, just toss a coin, and if you don't like the decision the coin makes for you, you can always pick the opposite. Either way works." The teacher was like, "hmm... do you guys want to make coin flip another category? (There was a person keeping tabs on who said keep and who said switch)". FInally, there were 12 switches, 3 keepers, and 2 coin flippers.

Yeah, fun class, wasn't it? XD!

For some reason, I've been really mad at myself for not doing as well as I can potentially do; and for letting other people "take over" you - as in, I feel like other students are smarter than me. It's now pushing me over the edge, and I have to make sure that I do better than them. It's actually a good sign, because I'm feeling competent. It's demanding at the same time too. So now, since there is all these emotions in me, I have to now be more systematic. Gao~

But yeah, I feel as if I've beat down, and I have to raise my head and fight back and be at the top. Sheesh, so much work. I can't stand this anymore either.

I don't get it. Why should Physics be like this? The prof throws up some problems. I can't do 'em, and when the prof does 'em, it's all easy. It's like, the problem just whispered the answer to the prof's ears. No fair!

And, geez, so much homework. Well, blame it on myself for procrastinating, but still...

Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are total hell. I'm at school for 12 hours+, and it's so tiring.

I don't have time for anything . I've missed a ton of Pol. Sci classes too. But every class I go to, nothing's being taught. But it still makes me feel good. But keeping up with the news is like plain hell. Especially given my schedule. And I can give you guys my schedule:

M: 8 to 12(class); 2 to 9(work; on campus, and inside a computer lab. Totally peaceful - all I do is make wishlists on newegg and configure random laptops)

T: 10 to 12(class); 2 to 9(work. See above)

W: See Monday.

Th: 10 to 12; 1 to 4; 6 to 9 (class. No work)

F: 8 to 12 (class). 7pm onwards, the usual Friday hangouts. I come back between 4am and 6am. Dead Tired, I crash.

S: Wake up in the afternoon. Waste the day, I guess. I usually start on my homework. But that's all I do.

Su: I don't feel like doing anything, since Monday starts the drill all over again.

What fun.

And, in other news: Use your Thinkpad/Macbook kinda like a Wii~!

OKAY. I'm back with a newsflash. I usually don't flash news like this, but this just has to be flashed.

Presenting, what is worthy of the word,"Touchscreen"

http://www.flixxy.com/minority-report-interface.htm

I lack words to describe that. Kick back, and just "orz". And when you _|￣|○, do it right.


*poof vanish*

What, I have not updated my journal in over a month?!?! I've decided that I've been lazy for far too long. Even though it's a bad start to this year (this month was mostly over by me acheiving nothing), starting February there shall be a rigorous change to my habits (yeah, that's what I say all the time)so that I get some stuff done.

What's new in the beta version:

1) Quick Bootup (Erm, I wake up early)
2) There's no lag between the welcome screen and the startup of the first app (I will not be late for class)
3) I shall run Task Scheduler more often (I will do homeworks on time)
4) I shall install new programs (I shall learn new and interesting stuff that might be helpful in the future)
5) I shall cleanse my system of spyware, adware and viruses (I shall start working out :rolleyes:)
6) I shall keep a logfile on my life (check back to LJ more frequently :p)

And some minor improvements. Also, I've been afflicted by the "Factor X" and I don't know if it is for the good or for the bad. Updates on Factor X later.

choose

• verb (past chose; past part. chosen) 1 pick out as being the best of two or more alternatives.
2 decide on a course of action.

Is making a choice as easy as it sounds? There are so many choices to make in life, that even defining the boundaries is a mighty task. One can choose when to wake up and when to go to bed and everything that we do in between are all upshots of the choices that we make. I hardly update my LJ - it's one of the choices I make. I usually update my LJ when I feel like I just simply have to let out something that's been building up inside me in a non-harmful way; in a way that anyone can read and (hopefully) reflect upon.

How often do we make the right choices? How quickly do we realize whether what we did is right or wrong? How often is it too late? How often do we manage the incredible and get back on track if we realize that the choice wasn't the best? Most of us do not make the right choices. I probably did not choose my last sentence well either. There's always something better, but that better may not always be available to the naked eye. I won't generalize anymore - I will just list all the choices that I have made, not necessarily in chronological order. Some of them have been good, some of them really bad, and a few remain uncertain.

I came to the USA 18-ish months ago. I still believe that it is the right choice, that I can make my own decisions and suffer the consequences or reap the rewards of my actions. I have always chosen to be lazy and always procrastinated, and the final two weeks of class is burning wailing hell; it's one of the choices that has had a huge negative effect on me, and something that I cannot revert. I hope to learn my lesson this time round, and be systematic in the future. I made friends whose interests mainly revolve around killing time in harmless ways. I believe that that is the right choice, considering the fact that I'm a geek/nerd myself who just has to be exposed to the world of technology, gadgets and other fancy shmancy stuff (yes Firefox, I do know that shmancy is not a word, so would you stop underlining it in red?). I chose my classes, and a lot more.

In any case, what has happened has happened. There is nothing that man can do to bring back time that is lost. Before you make a choice, think a week forward and try to foresee the consequence. Plan out the following month, and simulate situations in your mind and see if that is the best for you. Some choices once made are made - it cannot be reverted, no matter what. Choices are tricky, sometimes you have to make it and just hope for the best. I know this entry is really incoherent in the way my ideas are presented, but that is because I cannot help feeling that I should have been more careful about studying everything that was taught that day, and I regret procrastinating. I'm suffering so much now that it's not even a joke. Obviously, I do have the choice of going like this, but I would just be wrecking myself. Why do that when there are better choices to make? Why not just mend my ways this very second and keep pursuing the goal that you set so high that it is (seemingly) unachievable. As a final piece of something that may hopefully be valuable to the reader - when you realize that you are in a deep pit because of the choices you made, pursue that light that you can still see from the bottom; since the more you pursue, the less regret you will have building within.

-- Amol --

P.S.: Reader, forgive my update this time. I am a bit troubled and feeling kind of depressed. I am suffering the consequences of my actions (this is related to college, by the way) and I am learning my lesson. As the new year rolls around, I need to make a firm resolution as to be systematic and resourceful.

じかい：かいけつ

I've always wanted to experience the perfect rainy day. It will be raining the whole time, 24x7. I imagine it should go something like this:

I wake up at around 7am and see it's raining outside. I'm all alone in my house, so there's no one to bring me coffee or anything. Which is cool, since this is about the rainy that I'm experiencing, not me and my roommate (it's not the perfect rainy that "we" want to experience, lol). Going back to topic at hand, I put on a thick blanket(?) and heat some milk. Get some cocoa powder and have hot cocoa. Nothing beats hot chocolate on a gloomy day like this. Toast some bread and make some scrambled eggs with bacon. Have that with hot cocoa for breakfast. Mmmm...

After I'm done, I go switch on the television and watch something boring. Well I don't really intend to watch it - I just want it on to create the ambiance for work, since work is always boring. I bring my laptop and set it on the coffee table while I sit on the floor. By this time it should already be around 8am. I should be done with my work at around 12pm, at which point of time I would be feeling hungry again. I make myself some cereal, probably granola. I would have already shed my blanket and switched on the heater before all this happens (I usually do this without thinking so I don't really note the time). I watch some anime or a movie at this point of time (point of time is around 12.30pm) while eating by "snack".

Around 2pm I feel hungry again, so I make myself some nice food. I assume that it will be sausage, rice, and something nice(no mixing of chemical X here, XD) and thus, the lunh, is born. Resume my video that I was watching, and before I know it, it's already 4pm. I always laze around at least for an hour everyday, so around 4pm all I do is watch the rain with yet another cup of hot cocoa. I think it'll be a "mug of hot cocoa" since I laze around for quite a while. It's 5pm again, and I'm hungry again. This time I'm lazy to make anything so I whip out my stick-it-in-the-oven-or-microwave-instant-dinner-in-15-minutes-fast-food and have that. I will be having some cheesecake while my fast food is ready (Yeah, that was /b/). I eat my fast food and somehow it's already 6pm. I get really tired of the rain by the time it's around 6.30, so for the sake of this Live Journal entry, the rain stops.

Now 6pm is that time of the day where you don't really have anything designated - it's too late for tea time and it's too early for dinner. So what do you do? Well, no one really knows - I would play video games till it's like 8, and then go out for dinner. I come back at around 10, and it has already started to rain again. Why did it rain? Because I like it when it rains while I'm sleeping. I take a bath, brush my teeth and go to my room, pull up my blanket and sleep till I wake up to warm sunshine next morning.

Next LJ entry: The Perfect Sunny Day. Till then, Good_Bye!

--Amol.

***start credits***

Special Thanks go to: People who read my journal.

Written by: ._Amol_.

****end credits****

This is what happened today.I'm going to relate it to you in a book like manner.

Chapter One

Today sucked like hell.The morning was all good...I could go attend 3B and bump 3A[Calculus].I came home,feeling very good and then it was time for me to go to work.I took my cycle and decided to take it to work.I rode on and on,going onto the footpath,then sometimes on to the road...when in one split second it happened.I decided to go to the footpath[too many vehicles going to come because I was reaching a main road.]It suddenly struck me that the ledge was high and I wouldn't be able to climb it,even though I was going at say 8mph.I jammed the brakes.Jammed it too hard I guess...The cycle did a 180 flip and I went in a parabolic fall,hitting my chin on the footpath.I was bruised all over,but I didn't care because I've had near fatal accidents before,and this was just a freestyle fall.So I pick up my things and ride on to the BART station.I park my cycle there and board the train.

Chapter Two

I board the train - a Fremont train?It was defenitely crowded,and so I get in,helmet in one hand and the other hand holding the bar suspended above so that I stand.Oakland Airport/Coliseum station comes and goes.I still remind myself that it's just a minor fall and I can explain if I get late for work.There is proof on my body itself.So I smile to myself.And for a moment did it get dark?I felt like that something was happening,don't know what.I tighten my grip on the bar,and try to hang in there.No use,I see nothing and my arms give way.I passed out.

Chapter Three

I somehow find myself conscious again.San Lenadro Station.A guy asking me whether I'm fine or not.Of course I'm fine.Just a bit groggy.I need to freshen up but I remember the BART restrooms being closed for security reasons.The guy asks me whether I know what date it is.I tell him that it is the 23rd of August 2005,and it's a Tuesday.Do they think I'm an idiot?What's going on?The station master comes and I'm taken down to the restroom,which was open.Wierd.I clean myself up and I feel much much better.I wash my face and then decide that I can go to work again.But the guy says I can't because if something happens to me again,he'll be held responsible,and that the paramedics are on their way.I say alright and I have a seat.I was tired,defenitely.The paramedics come and do a checkup of me and ask me whether I want to go or whether I need to go to the hospital.Since I fell off and hit my chin,and I'm a bit groggy they doubt whether I'm OK.They tell me that it's my decision to go to the hospital or not.I say NO because I want to get to work!But after telling them what they think I thought alright,I might have a checkup.How can that hurt?Sometimes it's the spur-of-the moment decisions that can have serious consequences.

Chapter Four

The ambulance comes and I'm taken to the San Leandro Hospital.Got bored to death there.I was left in that wierd stetcher in that wierd sitting position.I felt absolutely dumb.Here I am,totally OK,just feeling sleepy,sitting in a hospital?What the...??I dread the hospital because I asked them what my bill can be.They said 1200 dollars.And mainly because I'm not medically insured.I wanted to get off and run.Run like hell.Ross doesn't give me health benefits!This is ridiculous! They charge me for poking me all over? I told them that's too much money and I don't know how I'm going to pay it.They said that I needn't worry for the time being.I didn't see anyway out of it either.So I quietly pick up my fone and listen to the music that was on it.It was like ages.And then I'm moved to a bed and another guy comes and checks me up.That's three checkups already,and no abnormalities.I'm told to change into a gown.I was thinking Oh Well...another darned day gone absolutely waste.I was too dumbstruck to think.I quietly change into my gown and then keep listening.The doc comes hours later and asks me what fone I'm having.gah??? I explain everything.He then asks me how can he help me.My initial reaction was to tell him to help me get the hell out of here.NOW.But I tell him the whole story again.They say I'm alright,and my helmet is as clean as a whistle,so there's nothing wrong with him.Then why am I here?I say nothing and let those idiotic moneymongers carry on with their moneymongering stuff.I'm discharged at 8.30pm.D'oh!I ask them how much I'll be billed.For letting me lounge around in the hospital for a reason god knows what,I pay an estimate of 441.75 or somthing like that.And that's just an estimate.Since I came by ambulance[I didn't call for one!!]that's extra and there's a whole load of extra costs.I say ok,fine,thank you.I ask the way to the BART and they say oh it's right here blah blah blah.I thank them and get outta there.Into the cold.

Chapter Five

I go to Walgreens to get some multivitamin tabs,and then hunt around for the bus that will take me to the BART.It's goddamn cold and I just got a flimsy shirt on.I'm cursing everyone in the vicinity.For all the damn good and the damn bad reasons.I wait for the 9.13pm bus to come.It's 9.33 and no sign of it coming.I hope to God that at least I'm applicable to financial aid so that I can get some money off my bill.I ask a pedestrian where the bus stop for the bus that will take me to BART is located.They tell me the way to the BART,and it's a 1 mile walk.I thank them and stuff up my ears with the handful of mp3s I have and start trotting,wondering how in the world I'm going to explain this,and getting pissed more and more by the minute.I finally arrive at the BART,and I say a thank you to the station manager and we had a small talk and I was on my way back home.

Chapter Six

I reach my BART destination and call my store and it was Carolina my supervisor who picked up the fone.She was very concerned.Wonder if Andre would understand.I had recently got a warning from him when I forgot my shift and showed up for another one,6 and a half hours late.What he says remains to be seen tomorrow.I bike back home,and this time I reach home safely.I feel sad and depressed,with my whole mood and everything good around me shattered like a fair glass that falls to the floor.











Author's (my) note: This happened on August 23rd, 2005. It was written by me in the form of multiple posts in a particular forum, and I thought that it deserved a place on its own - considering how big it is and I would consider this to be my "first official writing/written piece".


--Amol--