Friday, February 25, 2005

So what's the point?

Wat’s this world coming to???
People don’t realize the importance of having a good cup of coffee… I ask for filter coffee… it has more sugar than coffee in it…
Now if anyone wants something sweet… he’ll get himself a chocolate… or a candy… or maybe just some plain sugar… coffee does not have to be oh-so-sweet…
And me… I’m addicted to caffeine… not sugar… I ask the guy to put a little less sugar in my coffee… the dude gives me coffee without sugar…
These are times when I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally really miss my dad…. The best coffee maker in the whole world… (where's my DD ... she'll second me on this... ;) )
Cheers to Dad… (on a cup of coffee… and no… no Bottoms Up!!!)

So what’s the point? Oh don’t bother… and if you DO get it… well then.. still.. no points…

~K.

Friday, February 18, 2005

Finished reading…

... Train To Pakistan. Had got the book as a birthday present. What a book! When I finished, I almost felt as if I shouldn’t have. It’s strong. And very moving. Set in the time of the Indo-Pak partition, at the heart of it, is a simple love story.
A couple of things that immediately and almost simultaneously came to my mind.
One, the lot of us have a LOT to be thankful for, to have been born in a time that did not have to witness the partition. God bless the people who survived the trauma, and even those who didn’t.
Two – there is immense power in simplicity. If you ever get a chance to read that book, you’ll realize why I’m saying this. The power of the book lies in the simplicity of its narration. It’s blatantly simple. And that’s what leaves such a great impact on the reader. (did on me, rather)

And finally – there is an amazing power in love.

If you get to lay your hands on that book… don’t lay off without reading it.

~K.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Wishin' And Hopin' n Blah Blah Blah'in...

Ever imagined what it would feel like playing scrabble in Chinese.. or maybe Japanese. But then.. doesn’t make much of a difference. They’re both Greek to me.
But coming back to scrabble… imagine this.. a game you would like to participate in… coz you probably like it… or maybe you could help a player win… only if could figure out what the symbols meant.
And how do I know? Oh well… part of my job… I get a good chance of imagining all that at work… at meetings, or some general discussions, or some knowledge sharing sessions. That’s when I slip into a world of my own. And when reality dawns, I realize the advantage of knowing a foreign language. Or rather, knowing the local language in a foreign land.
The other day I’d gone to a friend’s place for lunch. Her mom was asking me how come I still hadn’t picked up the local lingo, considering I’ve been staying here for more than a year now. And what do I say to her – I never felt the need. Which is true. Never felt the need outside office. But at work.. I wish there was some kind of a device which I could implant in my brain which would translate all what is being said around me. My personal interpreter. (Only thing to take care of… it shouldn’t be something that translated “Dunston Checks In” to “Ek bandar Hotel ke andar”… )
Food for thought for all the scientifically inclined…
For the linguistically inclined, however, there’s more in store here at status quo.
Coz if you look at it from another point of view, it does have some benefits.. not knowing the local language. It builds your creativity. How? You hear something like blah blah blah K (that’s me) blah blah work blah blah … schedule blah blah blah… Now it’s all left to my imagination how I want to fill up those blah blah blah’s. Never did I think being a techie would also help my creativity grow. Talk about perks!!
Another benefit - how else would I realize that the concepts that seem so tough when stated in English would sound even tougher in another language? I’ve got it made! Hah! Poor blokes! Imagine having to work even harder for the same thing which already drives me up the wall when I do it in plain simple (?) English.
I suppose I should revisit my wish list. That device I was talking about.. oh well.. will think of something more worthwhile. Things are so much more convenient like this. And anyway, who needs to know what’s whining in the grapevine? And to fill those blah blah blah’s – hmmm… how does eggzellent sound?

~K.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

(Awe)Some job!!!

Whew... think of a topic... then write about it... (tough enough..) then post it... and then figure out.. it aint worth it.. and delete it... only to be republished in a comment... with a silly alibi... (Technical glitches... yeah right !!!)
Man.. m i glad i'm not my own blog... life would've been so weird... and unpredictably so... What's more.. i wud've kept coming back to life...
I'm sure you wouldn't really be able to understand what i'm babbling about... ok.. just revisit the article "Welcome to the machine" and check out the 3rd comment...
Any comments on that one... post it in this one please... and if no comments.. well then... :)

Just what i call a job... uh well... done.

~K.