THE STRANGER

I smiled today in the seminar hall. I didn't want to but I did. It was etiquette; A lot of times we are forced to do things which we don't like and at those times, we wear a "MASK".

Why do we wear such masks? Why is it difficult for us to express our feelings or words or actions? We have all picked up this uncanny ability to place ourselves better in front of others by changing our originality. Everyday lies are really part of the fabric of social life because people want to be accepted, and because, sometimes telling things as they actually are, can be damaging to people's hearts and relationships, so people stretch the truth a little. We, are delighted in the temporal glee that the mask affords us. It provides us with temporary satisfaction but wont help us in the long run.

A year back i bought a book named "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie. I just want to share a quote from that book.
"Well, if you ask me, I would say, let the dogs eat the dogs in their own world! Stay far away from those who want to tell you where to jump off, and keep running till you find those who will tell you where to jump on!"

A few people are super pretenders wearing multiple masks.They wear one in front of their family, one in front of their bosses, one with their friends and so on. They may even act as different persons for different people under the same scenario. They are the ones for whom you must carefully watch out for. These are the people who are nice to you until they get their job done and may show their cold shoulders once they are done with you.

There are some pretenders whom you can never forgive.Those who pretend to their loved ones. Pretending to everyone else may be a etiquette. But, to your loved one is an unacceptable crime. It is the one with which you are going to roll your life. Once they find your real face, your life may end up in a tragedy. Be in love with a person who really likes you for what you are rather than who he/she wants you to be.

The problem is that, after wearing a mask for really a long period, one loses his originality and becomes the masked man. In such cases, he also loses people who really liked the man inside the mask. We must learn the truth that these mask are for definite to shed off one day.

But I have learnt to live with the masks people wear. I don't like them but I wear them and more importantly, I know that others do too. I think we all understand...we have accepted it as inevitable. It's what we call "society".

ANDHA EZHU(7) NAATKAL - PART 1

This is a very special blog to me. I was wondering for more than a week about how to put these "Blissful days" of my life into words. Some unimaginable things happened that bestowed good changes. It all started on 23 Aug, 3.30 pm at Chennai central. Total of 94 enthusiastic students including me, were waiting eagerly to board the Ernakulam express. Myself and Siddarth, being freshers in organizing, were looking at each others blank faces with cold blood flowing through our veins. We were not sure about how we were going to manage those three days. I have gone for many tours during my school days, but this one was quite different. I presume that my enjoyment was washed away due to responsibility on my shoulders. But sometimes, as I said in the previous post you just need to be thrown into cold water and learn to swim. This is what we started doing that day.

So, at 4.00pm exactly the signals changed from red to green and our journey started. The first thing that forestalled my enjoyment in the train was the bloody squad. ( to whome we paid 2000rs fine) Then during the night, in train it was one of the fantastic dinner I had with a whole bunch of my class mates packed inside a single part of the coach. It was my first sleepless night...... We also got blasted from a constable for giving lot of trouble to the co-passengers. Actually, we were making a lot of noise which disturbed their sleep.
Next day, we stepped into the STAR LAGOON hotel. Till date, its one of the finest hotel I've been. I fell on the bed with my shoes as I was travel-worn. Meanwhile, Sidd and Vigneshwaran went inside the bathrooms (I mean, they went to two different, separate, "heterosexual" bathrooms) and it took nearly half an our for them to get out. Really no idea why it took so long for them to bath. Then, we all got ready to hit the streets of Cochin. The "crack brained" travel agent, made us wait for nearly one hour on the road and wait for the bus (with our empty stomach) which really pissed me off. Unable to control his hunger,Vijay started swearing at the Agent, which the latter grumbled to me later.So, it started out to be a very dull morning and the 'boring' ferry ride added to it.


P.S : There is still an amazing evening and another sleepless night ahead....... In my next post...................

BARRIERS BEATEN

Its been a long time since I posted my last topic. Actually to say, I lost my interest for a month in blogging as I was drudging for IV (IV ngara paerula dept emathitu ooru suthardhu). Organizing it was an elusive task. Half the work is in getting the nod from HOD and princi. For the past two weeks me and my friends have used these words "PLEASE" and "SORRY" to many people and especially to some head weighted IT staffs (u ppl know who i am talking about). From college peon to non-teaching staff to princi, we had to bow down to everyone to get our job done (maanam ketta pozhapu). We needed to atleast plead for 5 min for getting a college letter pad and I was nearly two days behing this man "Lal" (EEE lab asst) for getting the concession forms. But thankfully, Vigneswaran of our class who is his favourite student made it sure that Lal kept some forms reserved for us.

Not only teachers, but also seniors tried to stop this tour to make us work for the symposium. But god's grace neither of their plans worked and we finally got the official nod. We started filling out the concession forms. Nearly some 42 forms had to be filled and I was not single handed while filling those (Thanks to the people who helped in filling it). So atlast, on a fine monday, I bunked the lab and set out to central railway station to book the tickets. But that was the worst day in my life. I needed to produce some letter from college to railways (which i dont have). I pleaded for a long time to supervisor and at last made him to sign in the form. But, the man in the counter did not accept bulk booking without the letter. I felt annoyed for travelling from a far away village called kelambakkam (bunked the lab) to central and go empty handed without tickets. The next day, me and sidd went again to central with the letter and finished nearly half a dozen f****** formalities and finally got the tickets. Phew!!!!!!!

This is nearly only the post tour work. Still had got to manage 3 days there. Its just another new experince where I have learnt how to deal with people and get things done. Still a lot more to learn............

Thank You, Bill Gates!

Today is Bill Gates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates ’ last day at Microsoft and typically we would not care that much if a company founder goes into early retirement. But whether we like it or not, there is no denying that Bill Gates has achieved what many of us dream to achieve - to touch as many lives as possible and make your time count. While the modern tech industry loses one of its pioneers I am glad that Bill will not simply disappear, but has decided to make room for new talent to evolve and dedicate his wealth and influence to charity.

Over the course of Bill Gates’ years, of course, there were many events that will remain in our memories. There was the big IBM deal in the 1970s in which the Harvard drop-out sold an operating system he did not have, the creation of Windows, his success that was based on controversial business practices, the monumental oversight of the Internet, little episodes such as a pie being thrown in his face or system crashes in public demonstrations, continued promises that a PC would be as reliable and as simple to use as a TV as well his technology forecasts (most of which did not come true), his public battles with Linux and Apple and countless lawsuits against Microsoft that somehow always appeared to be targeted right at Gates.

There is a lot to like and not to like about Gates and the way he brought up Microsoft. On the positive side, it is the type garage company we all are waiting for from time to time - a company that eventually touches all of our lives. You can always speculate what would or could have been, but we know that Microsoft has sparked an ecosystem that provides millions of people with jobs today and billions are using a computer today, which in my opinion will be what Gates will be remembered for: The guy who turned the PC into a commodity. Yes, there is the bad side as well and he went to great lengths to protect Microsoft businesses and future opportunities. We know that Microsoft holds monopolies and it is clear that it is defending and expanding its market position at the expense of others.

Going forward, Bill Gates appears to be dedicating his time and influence for charity. His charity is already one of the most important and recognized charity organizations in the world and it is good to hear that the 52-year-old Gates will be spending even more time on this effort. People say with great power comes great responsibility and we are seeing a great example of this here - an example that should be taken more seriously by a new generation of wealthy IT entrepreneurs such as Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Microsoft we will have next Monday is a company that has lost its charismatic face and that is exposed to more challenges than ever before. Microsoft is in danger losing the Internet race against Google, it has a struggling operating system with a successor that does not appear to be able to turn things around, the gaming and entertainment business lacks focus and there aren’t any significant new ideas coming out of Microsoft that could spark passion for the company. Steve Ballmer may face the perfect storm in the next two years and I wonder if he will be able to sail through it. It seems that Microsoft these days is more vulnerable than ever before and Ballmer will have to come up with solutions that will prevent Microsoft from becoming the General Motors of the IT industry.

Somehow it appears that it is this time that Microsoft would need Gates the most. But sometimes you just need to be thrown into the cold water and learn to swim. This is what Ballmer and Microsoft will need to do starting next Monday.

BREEZY SUMMER

After receiving good comments for my first blog, with confidence, I begin my second......
This summer was different from others. The reason being not only the heat, but also my tensions were less. This was the most relaxing summer I ever had. Before i started writing this blog, i was woolly-minded about what to write. Let me start from the first thing i did after coming from college (after finishing the idiotic EE exam). Just within an hour, i hastened myself and ran to praveen's house and started watching a movie called "Shawshank Redemption". Later when the clock struck 9.00pm, we (me, praveen, anand, viggy) hit the road in praveen's car. We roamed ard besant nagar and chatted for a while squatting on the sands of bessy beach. We reached back home (praveen's) at 11.00pm and started watching another movie. But even before the credits rolled out, my eye lids did. The next morning, i was served with milkshake in his house (But later i found out it was "aari pona milo" lol).
Then, for the rest of my holidays, school friends took the center stage. I started spending nearly 7 to 8 hours with them on a daily basis. I was reminded of all the fun i had during my high school. Also, i involved myself in lot of activities such as portal designing, short film making and also bird watching (lol)..... As i shifted to my new house only during this summer, i had to do some works to set the thing in right place. Just two days ago, after 6 hours of tiring carpentry work, i set up my 5.1 sony speakers on my ceiling (phew!!!!!!). Also, me being very concerned about my fitness, started to work out in my gym again....(nearly after a 2 months gap)
So, as i said in the beggining, it was just a very relaxing and a comfortable summer for me without problems and tension. Spent a lot of time with friends, movies, family and ofcourse "online". My day starts only at 10.00 am. But i am irritated to be reminded that i should be up by 6 from 25th as my second year at college starts...............

ONE VALUABLE YEAR

Hi friends,

This is the first time i write a blog. After seeing lot of my friends who blog, i got interest in it. I Don't know how to start.........Lets go down the memory lane........ First and foremost i feel proud to get a seat in a prestigious college like SSN. I could still remember each second of my first day at college. It was a bright, sunny day and i was almost awake by 5.30 am. Being the first day , all parents accompanied their wards to the college. So, unfortunately the buses were crowded and i had no place to sit. Traveling around 42 km, i was standing all the way through. But nothing could dampen my spirits. After the wearied journey, I got down from my bus to see all new, happy, bright, sparkling, bubbly, lively faces.......( Can't find more adjectives to describe) The main auditorium was vibrant with some energy. I was looking out for some familiar faces, but could find none. I was astounded by looking at the interiors of the auditorium. I've heard that many international conferences were held there. (Glad to be seated in such a place). So, this was how it started with a bright note. Thank god!!!! I was not ragged on the first day :) :) :)

Actually, my life was a roller coaster in SSN. It had its own ups and downs. This was the phase where a lot of things happened in my life. I met different kind of people. This is the time where everyone takes a while to adapt. But it took a bit longer to me. This was the year in which i made one of my best friends in life. (Of course, i have some best school mates) After stepping out from my high school to college, it was like a bird coming out of its nest to see how vast and cold the world is. (overa philosophy paesareno?????) OK..... stories apart. I got a good set of class mates to enjoy with. I still remember the first movie which we went together--- "Billa" (The fun and the noise we made at the theater...ah!!!!). Then we hung around a lot of places. To mention a few important, "vandaloor zoo" (every second, we were bursting out with laughter). But at the latter part of the year, i missed out a lot of outings. Never mind.... I have 3 years left.

So at last, came the burden...... "SEMESTER EXAMS"........During the study holidays, I used to study together with my friends, which has helped me in a big way. Whatever results i produce, i owe it to my friends. Cant imagine a pass without their help. I also used to bug praveen for a milkshake at midnight during combined studies. (praveen, viggy, siddu and sri will be knowing abt this....... LOL!!!!!!) There was a lot of fun and enjoyment during the study holidays. But anyway, i am sure that i will clear all my papers. Three more fantastic years to unpack. Lets see what surprise they hold.... :)



P.S : being my first blog, pl don't mind about the grammatical errors.......