I Want To Break Free

Today was photography day! There are several new additions to my Still Shots and Nature and Randomly Real folders, many of which will be Radar-ed shortly, when I have a better net connection. I really liked the plaintive air about this flower, which although still attached to its mother plant, was aching to reach out to the world outside.

A Window to my World [VII]

The time has come, as LD says
To talk of many things
Of fests, and food and dumb charades
And of allergies and billings,
And how the rain has been pouring down
And whether LD sings.

It has, to say the least, been an eventful and interesting week. It started off with my winning a two-hundred-buck voucher from Crossword and hundred bucks in cash for this inter-college poetry thingy held in college. That sort of felt nice although they misspelled my name on the certificate. Monsieur Mosquito won himself the first prize although it is believed that an iron rod also contributed. Yes yes, I am advertising, but enough on that!

The next day saw my H.O.D. sharing a light moment with us, when an exchange between her and one of my classmates who was insistent upon the need for pessimism and low levels of oxytocin in our lives (this was vaguely related to a seminar presented last week) prompted her to tell us all to “take it easy yaaar” and “go fall in love now, when it is the age to”. Suffice it to say, the class was in splits and this happened to be the first class in the morning. We didn’t know whether to hide our faces and laugh or simply laugh outright. I did the latter. I also bought a banana clip for my hair that day. Do not laugh at the name.

Wednesday had the early morning class which found almost all of us nodding off at some point or the other. I was given a hand massage by Miss Minnie Mouse — and this led to me almost falling off my seat as I was a little too relaxed and too sleepy. The professor noticed, in spite of my sitting in the last row. She was quite nice about it though, not being a morning person herself. After freezing to death in (one of the) labs later that day, there was redemption in the form of yummy chocolate and phuchkas! And other things. :P *Jumps up and down mentally*

I also deposited the cheque for my cell-phone bill but was told later that evening that it had to be drawn in favour of something else. So, I had to go all the way to the place from college the next day and replace it with a fresh cheque to avoid a late fee. Thankfully, that day, miraculously labs got cancelled and the professor taking the classes after labs was away attending a symposium. A complete day of no classes is a rarity in my college. And so, it was fun.

Yesterday was the day of food and dumb charades. And some singing as well, on my part. There was a long gap between the last class and the afternoon seminar and some of us spent quite some time playing dumb charades in the canteen. After which, we promptly gorged on pav bhaji, soda sikanji, and cotton candy (I had the white one while DM had pink). I also had an ice cream and a roll later in the evening before coming back home. I guess, since I’d eaten so much I was practically out cold on the way back. :P My vial of anti-allergic cough syrup also finished yesterday and I’m pretty glad about it since I’ve been a complete zombie in the morning for the last two weeks.

The weather has been beautiful since morning, enough to prompt me into writing after ages. I suppose having had a good breakfast also helped. So far so good! LD out.

Identity Crisis

According to Google, creating a new email address is a piece of cake. My little brother (who is now not-so-little-and-is-taller-than-me-damn-him) would beg to differ though, since the two of us spent the entire evening thinking of a username for him. As he was reluctant to use his own name, we had to come up with something that had not been taken already in the long-enough-relative-to-Internet-time history of Google. And that, my dear friends appeared quite the Herculean task.

My brother insisted on suggesting the most trite of all possible usernames, inspired by his limited creativity and gaming and TV (anime mostly) influences, which, staying true to the spirit of collectivism spread throughout the world when it comes to originality, were already taken. A list of some of the names tried out that I happen to remember at the moment is given below. Please feel free to laugh your backsides off at appropriate (and inappropriate) moments.

catseye : Taken
(For some reason, my brother showed a sudden feline influence in his taste)
straycat : Taken
(The poor kid had really wanted this. *Grins evilly*)
stinkykitty : Taken
(This was suggested by me owing to certain odours being emitted by the person involved)
stinkykitteh : Available
(A variation based on LOLCats which my brother wanted to murder me about)
mybrotherisakitty : Available
(The above reaction was repeated again)

stupidlittlearse : Taken
(A rather surprising revelation, when we decided to indulge in profanities)
aceoffarts : Taken
(Another surprise, for obvious reasons)
aceofasses : Available
(A relief, of sorts, but the little chicken was too scared of what mummy would say although it was his decision that we try this out :P)
motorfart : Available
(A suggestion of mine which induced much laughter in us toilet-humour-driven souls, although it did not seem like an appropriate ID)
constipation : Taken
(Lo and behold! Weren't we surprised! And amused. xD)
idonthaveabackside : Available
(Thankfully. Yet, my brother found that he could not relate very well to this)
idonthaveanarse : Available
(We tried this one out for the sake of variety. It was discarded for the same lack of empathy)
shittykitty : No suggestions from Google
(They probably thought it way too inappropriate)
noreturntype : Available
(A suggestion of mine that the kid didn't like. The idiot)
nomorepoo : Taken
(More shocking revelations unfold! The Internet has too many similar minded perverts (ab)using it)
nomoretoilethumour : Available
(A product of sheer frustration on my part. It was scapped, most regretfully, in spite of its strong social comment)

thinkofsomething : Taken
(My brother's heartfelt plea to me)
numberXIII : Taken
(The chap could come up with nothing better on his own. *Shakes head regretfully*)
ihopenot : Available
(My response to the above suggestion)
thecatoftoday : Taken
(This would be the kid reverting to I-want-a-feline-ID mode)
darkraven : Taken
(Duh. I had told him it would be)
strawberryjam : Taken
(He wanted to kill me again after this one)
pikachu : Taken
(I wanted to kill him, after this)
To which, my brother suggested: "Pikapika?"
And my response was: X(

raisedeyebrow : Taken
(Sad, but)
skinnyarse : Taken
(I had a feeling it would be, but we laughed disgustingly nevertheless)
swelteringsands : Available
(I liked this one, but that fool did not. Still, IT SHALL BE MY USERNAME ONE DAY. NO ONE HAD BETTER STEAL IT, I AM WARNING YOU!!!!)
stinkysands : Available
(But then, my brother got insulted)

By this time I had suggested he try some of the word verifications that had made themselves visible to us: lentusil, tionotomm and mattassorse. But he disliked the idea. Meh.

We also tried these out...
soulpiper : Taken
(Hah. It would be)
soulreaper : Taken
(Double hah from my side)
sourfish : Taken
(Ok, I was amused)
sideprofile : Available!
(I had really really liked this one. *Sigh* NO ONE HAD BETTER STEAL THIS ONE EITHER)
dumbduck : Taken
(A product of my frustration at my brother not liking the previous one)
catmusic : Taken
(I had told him. The idiot never listens)
catastrophic : Taken
(Cliche, cliche, cliche, I had said)

iatemyowndna : AVAILABLE
(My own creative masterpiece, the virtues of which were woefully ignored)
sociozoid: Available
(My brother's stewed brain came up with this)
Inflated with the "Available" status, he suggested: flairazoid
To which I replied: That is STUPID! It sounds like a Pokemon! *shudder*
flamesoftime : Taken
(A sigh from him)
gigafire : Taken
(Another sigh from him)

And by then I was extremely annoyed with him and gave him an extremely filthy look when he suggested, "Terrorist?"
I responded with "vegetablepot", which was available.

Finally, the chap came up with something decent that was available, which I will not mention here, and created his account. I just want to mention this... whoever said that creating an email ID is easy, lied big time.

River

Date: 16.09.2008
Time: 5:45 p.m.

I flow where the earth directs me
Moved only by hard rock, and nothing soft
I flit as I see fit, from stone to stone…
The company of stars above, a constant
The gentle breeze, a restless guide,
I move briskly over shingly shores
And seep softly through the sand
My countenance, a reflection of where I am —
Left to myself, I frolic amidst the pebbles
Contented by my own waters and the life that they contain
Surrounded by voices, I am the gurgling crescendo receding with the sound,
As I glide past those many lives which wish to be heard more than I do.
I shimmer when brightened by the sun,
Shiver at the tender touch of rain
Swelling up in ecstasy at the feel of kindred drops
And relapsing sullenly into moistened banks
When reminded of my limits,
Ill at ease when I am stagnant
I drift… carrying with me mere remnants of lands left behind
Life travels with me as grainy memories —
Sometimes conjoined into larger fragments that threaten with stillness
Till I leave them behind for good…
A heavy load shed for the sake of the present
That demands its own share of burdens,
I meander on and finally reach the sea.

End: 6:05 p.m.

Positivity

There are some days in your life when you feel that no amount of people not being quite what you'd want them to be, parents shouting at you owing to hunger-related-anger and bumping your head painfully against automobile doors can dampen your spirits and that sudden drive to be positive. Today was one such day... a day to throw out some garbage and start afresh. I think I've made a decent start. And one thing that I'm quite proud of is that I paid full attention in all my classes at college, something that is only wishful thinking on most Mondays, when I have the most number of classes in the entire week.

My weekend marked the end of a long and trying week. My granddad's last stitch got taken out yesterday, I was given anti-allergic cough syrup along with tablets for something that I suspect is more psychosomatic than anything, and we had two amazing cakes at home on two consecutive days, one on dad's birthday on Saturday and one last evening to make up for my own dismal one last month. I can't call myself displeased. There's still ice-cream left in the fridge.

Most importantly, I made up for a lot of lost time, and spent a day in Sheer Contentment's arms. It almost felt as though I'd been doused in reviving waters that washed away all the deathly ashes that had accumulated on me. I hadn't felt as ready to live in a long, long time. And yes, it obviously felt rather good. I'm now charged up and am ready to take on any rot that comes my way.

Seriously.

Scream

Something that can pretty easily be called CRAP. But well, I needed something to do, so yes. Thankfully, the mood has passed. :P However, the writing bug seems to have left me for a prolonged holiday. Sigh.

To A Little Girl

Date: 06.01.2008
Time: 9:50 p.m.

Choose your man with care, little girl
Instead of being charmed by that stare, little girl
A dash of style and a hint of flair
And you’re completely wooed by what he wears
It really isn’t enough to know that he cares.

Do know if your man is sly, little girl
Fret less about how he wears his tie, little girl
A sincere word can be hard to discern from a lie
Masked intentions only lead to teary goodbyes
And you spend time sniffling till your tissue dries.

Know what you want from your man, little girl
And ask him, to see if he can, little girl
It might alarm you much to find him deadpan
You may wonder if it’s you he likes more or his fans
You could even wind up mentally kicking cans.

That disarming smile may make you melt, little girl
Along with tingles that you felt, little girl
But dear, do know the cards you’re being dealt
For an unexpected move planned out in stealth
Might leave you bereft of all your wealth.

Take your time to decide, little girl
Don’t go by presents and the fancy ride, little girl
Heartbreak’s not your preferred guide
Would you like it to constantly remind you and chide?
It will surely be more hard on your pride.

Grow up and first reach your prime, little girl
You won’t run out of time, little girl
It’s more the rhythm of honest words than the rhyme
Poetic flattery should certainly not make you pine!
Wait for the right sounds and you’ll be fine.

End: 10:40 p.m.

***

Postscript: This, as the title says, is to a little girl. Someone I happen to know. It would be something of an experiment, writing this, and well, I am hardly sure how it has turned out ... it might sound a bit didactic I guess. Oh well. A product of boredom and a bit of conscious thinking.