100 Truths

What do you do when you are totally bored? Yep, you play senseless mind-numbingly stupid Tags :P. For all practical purposes done and dusted with IIT Madras, waiting for my super-busy guides to conduct my viva, I have absolutely nothing to do these days. Sitting in the lab for the AC and the Net (which isnt much help given that most friends are offline or too busy to chat), this seems to be the most productive use of time at the moment.

The game is this: You answer the following questions, truthfully, needless to add. Post them and then Tag your friends. So, here I go:

1. Last beverage = Water
2. Last phone call = Home
3. Last text message = Abhishek, Srikanth (parallel text chats are quite common here :P)
4. Last song you listened to = Cut, by Plumb and All I Need, by Within Temptation (playing continuously on loop)
5. Last time you cried = A couple of hours back I guess (wanna go home!!!!)

HAVE YOU EVER:

6. Dated someone twice = does repeated breaking up and making up count?
7. Been cheated on = yes, by friends (or people who claimed to be :P)
8. Kissed someone & regretted it = No (Kissed by, a resounding yes)
9. Lost someone special = Yes
10. Been depressed = Yes
11. Been drunk and threw up = Yes

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:

12. Sea Blue
13. Green
14. Yellow

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2010)

15. Made new friends = Yes
16. Fallen out of love = No
17. Laughed until you cried = Yes

18. Met someone who changed you = No
19. Found out who your true friends were = YES
20. Found out someone was talking about you = yes
21. Kissed anyone on your friend list = Isn't your loved one supposed to be on your friend list?
22. How many people on your friend list do you know in real life = All I guess
23. How many kids do you want to have = 2
24. Do you have any pets = 2, a mom and a sister, will that count ;)
25. Do you want to change your name = Oh, so badly, too many Shrutis around
26. What did you do for your last birthday = Oh, dont even remind me
27. What time did you wake up today = 6:45 AM
28. What were you doing at midnight last night = Watching Heroes with Sis
29. Name something you cannot wait for = starting up
30. Last time you saw your Mother= 13th April 2010
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life= Have yet to find the exact butterfly I stepped on which cascaded into an avalanche :-|
32. What are you listening to right now = I'm dying to catch my breath, Oh why don't i ever learn, I've lost all my trust though i've surely tried to, Turn it around.  Can you still see the heart of me? All my agony fades away, When you hold me in your embrace. Don't tear me down, For all i need, Make my heart a better place, Give me something I can believe... All I Need, by Within Temptation, amazing song!!
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom = No
34. What's getting on your nerves right now = delayed vivas, Chennai heat, creases on bedsheets...
35. Most visited webpage = 1. gmail, 2. facebook
36. Whats your real name = Shruti Srivastava
37. Nicknames = Everyone calls me with a different name
39. Zodiac sign = Libra
40. Male or female or transgendered= Female
41. Primary school = Carmel Convent Sr Sec School, BHEL, Bhopal, India
42. High School = Carmel Convent Sr Sec School, BHEL, Bhopal, India
43. College = IIT Madras
44. Hair colour = Black
45. Long or short = Long
46: Height = Highly confidential info
47: Do you have a crush on someone? = No
48: What do you like about yourself? = Resilience, I suppose
49. Piercings = Ears
50. Tattoos = None, yet ;)
51. Righty or lefty = Righty

FIRSTS :

52. First surgery = Corn, before JEE
53. First piercing = Class 2
54. First best friend = Jasmine Gujral
55. First vacation = of those I can recall (from my memory and not pictures in albums), Nainital, April 1993
56. First crush = Rahul Dravid

RIGHT NOW:

59. Eating = nothing
60. Drinking = nothing
61. Doing = Blogging, listening to two amazing songs on loop
62. Listening to = two amazing songs on loop ;)
63. Waiting for = my sister to wake up

YOUR FUTURE

64. Want kids? = Yes
65. Get married? = Yes
66. Careers in mind? = Heading to be a Financial Analyst, should be followed by being a Serial Entrepreneur eventually a VC :).

WHICH IS BETTER :

67. Lips or eyes = eyes
68. Hugs or kisses = Hugs
69. Shorter or taller= Taller
71. Romantic or spontaneous = Spontaneous
72. Nice stomach or nice arms = Arms, to hold
73. Sensitive or loud = Sensitive
74. Hook-up or relationship = Should I even answer that, relationship ofc
75. Trouble maker or hesitant = Trouble Maker

HAVE YOU EVER :

76. Kissed a stranger = NO
77. Drank hard liquor = Ahem
78. Lost glasses/contacts = Glasses, yes
79. Sex on first date = Ewww
80. Broken someone's heart = Sadly , yes, many people
81. Had your own heart broken= Yep
82. Been arrested = No, not yet, at least ;)
83. Turned someone down = Yes
84. Cried when someone died = Yes, the memories still bring tears
85. Liked a friend who is a girl? = liked as in?? you do like you friends, right?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

86. Yourself = Yes
87. Miracles = Depends
88. Love at first sight = Naah, it would be attraction, at best lust, not love.
89. Heaven = Well....
90. Santa Clause = No
91. Kiss on the first date = No, classic third date is fine.
92. Angels = Maybe, maybe not.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:

93. Is there one person you want to be with right now? = Yes, I hope he knows it
94. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? = No
95. Did you sing today? = Yes
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go? = Like I said, need to pinpoint the exact butterfly.
98. If you could pick a day from last year and relive it, what would it be? = Last year Saarang, Delhi trip
99. Are you afraid of falling in love? = Afraid, yes, because anything that makes you feel that good can also hurt you immensely (High on the risk-reward frontier)
100. Posting this as 100 truths? = What does it look like :PP

Now, I TAG Nitin, Sirisha, Abhishek, Priyasha, Misha, Tarun, Punchar, Aruna, Abhishek, Aditi

The Missing Slipper

It all began with an article about teen actors minting millions, which reminded Arun of his long-cherished dream of acting in movies, along with his losing 4 pairs of slippers:

Arun: i always wanted to act

even now

  http://omg.yahoo.com/news/top-box-office-teens/37349?nc

 

 i mean movies

 me: dont worry we'll make one 

 Arun: yeah

 me: cast u in it

 Arun: :yahoome: CTIDES productions present

 Arun: The one and only Arun

 me: in The Missing Slippers

 

 Arun: sounds gr8

 me: introducing Arun Srivatsan

  and we will need an anorexic female opposite u

 Arun: i need one pseud heroine and a rough villian

  i need dream sequence in Swiss and action sequence in hongkong

i need emma watson for female lead

  i love her

 

 me: too many ppl do..

  see with swiss n hk budget wud shoot

  didnt Mash teach us to use finances wisely

  Arbit can be the heroine  better to take people from the team, only one girl and 'that' girl doesnt do pretty female roles

n Tarun can play the rough villian

 Arun: pack

  not Arbit

  nice trrry

  surely flop

  remember Mash told

  about selecting a nice team

  Arbit heroine

 me: he can convicne Isha Sharavani to be thr

 Arun: iam not acting

  ohk

 me: she looks anorexic enuf to suit ur looks

 Arun: dats nice

  my looks demand only emma,

  i will try and adjust with some isha

 me: she wil look fatter than u dude

 Arun: well, in dat case, ok

but atleas as a gueat appearence

  emma shud be thr

  can u see the relation

  emma watson, Arun sriWatson

  me: this will sooo go on my blog

rough hero ke liyeTarun is ok?

 Arun: well, fine..........his bodyguard will be Kartik

  Tarun seems fine..................

  put a black glass on his eyes and some black leather jacket

  give him a pistol

  he wud look

  but ask him to clean shave

 me: and Robo as the mad scientist who tries inventing the algorithm for finding missing slippers

 

 Arun: oh nice..................and whr r u?

 me: im the director

 Arun: u have to act

  nothing doin

  u must act

 me: all roles taken

 

 Arun: u can be police officer

 

  who comes in the end of movie

  u will get a double role

 me: no the CIA director who is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring the formula doesnt fall into tarun's hands

 Arun: other one being a comedian

 me: (ironical that i wud work to keep knowledge from tarun)

  na females in comedies.. doesnt work with the audience

  remember the rule KYC: know your customer

 Arun: fair enough............i dint think of itme: so who is the producer

  lsg or mash?

Arun: errr, producer is CTIDES rite?

 

 me: ctides wud be the banner

  one person wil have to take charge as the producer

 Arun: well, then it shud be Mash

 me: tarun cant- since he is the rough villian (looking like he does is arbit's facebook album)

 Arun: his name is funky

me: ok..funky is good

  plus lsg might not release the movie till a decade

 Arun: dats thr

 

  So mash be the producer

 me: plus mash's wife can help us with the contracts in exchange for equity

 official legal advisor

 Arun: who will be my mother?  

  i need a mother in the movie

  imp role

need some other young girl

  with lot of makeup

  to look old

  pls pls

 me: ed doesnt have girls sadly

  pick one from our class

 Arun: yeha

  or may be MA

  will also do

 

me: they'll look like ur daughters re

 Arun: put make up na

 me: the mother wont fit with the script re

 Arun: see it will

  thr will be flash back

  where we will show

  my mother buying that slipper

  and telling me, keep it properly forever

 

 me: ohhh..senti angle

 Arun: yeah

 me: we will need ekta kapoor on our board of directors

Arun: or the baalika vadhu team

me: we should give chance to our insti talent..

  isha sharvani will drain the budget

  we wil have to compromise on the Maa

 Arun: well pack her

  put MA junta

  they r better

me: dont u need a nice dream sequence in switzerland?

 Arun: for that she will be thr

  other times pack

me: cameo, ah..

 Arun: yeah

  her typical

 me: we'll ask some MA junta to play the Maa

 Arun: MA ?

 me: comeon they wud do fine

 Arun: and yeha,,,dont ask some MA junta............Ask some nice MA junta.................I havemt spoken to MA junta atall,..........so u must do all thr work...............

 me: ma newz has to be a good actress

 dont discount btech

  they might be interested

  lets do one thing

  have a talent hunt

  we will raise spons money thru that

 Arun: i will be thr..............

 me: and get free publicity..bootstrapping

  Mash will be so proud of usArun: one more thing   this summer i wont be available., so shootign in Canada

 

 me: lets do the dream song in cananda

good locations

  nice snow et al

  and more economical

  switzerland has been used too much

  we need to get innovative location

 Arun: k.............will be cold.................may be freezing................the colder the better

  Vancouver is fine i guess

 me: its settled then

Arun: we will ask cheerleader of the winter olympics to dance behind me and the heroine

  sasta bhi padega

 me: romantic song re..no extras

  they will look like kebab mein haddi

 Arun: romantic song

  yippppppppppe

  i always wanted to do one

watever u say then

 me: deal sealed

The Vampirism Test

Published in the leisure section of a Bhopal-based newspaper:

You might be a vampire if:

• You have a strong desire for blood.
• You have a nameless craving that can never be fulfilled.
• You can go without food or sleep for an unusual amount of time.
  
• People find you interesting at first, then begin to avoid you.
• Even when surrounded by others, you always feel alone.
• You tend to be a night person by nature.
• You have had a strong interest in vampires.
• Sex tends to leave you feeling revitalized and full of energy.
• You are very sensitive to sensory extremes.
• You believe in reincarnations and have had past life visions.
• Your relationships tend to be passionate and intense.
• You look younger than you actually are.
• You can see and/or read auras.
• Animals tend to get along well with you.
• When you will things to happen, they usually do.

I checked on 14 out of 15 traits. Whats your score?

Credits: Poster: Sirisha

When Butchers perform Surgeries and Nanotechnologists dole out Justice

With the placement season upon us, the campus has been witnessing the usual pre-placement talks by several firms who wish to recruit purely for the reason of a certified intelligence level that has been rated by an examination noted for its rejection rate. However, being a believer in Howard Gartner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, it is quite natural to wonder about the possible consequences of a mismatch.

The consequences might not be that devastating upon hiring engineers to perform financial services (except , probably, an unhealthy dependence on mathematical models that has proven to be fatal in the past). However, imagine a situation where for the mere sake of fulfilling a legal requirement, an on-paper committee is created to handle legal mishaps in, say, an educational institution. While in corporate organizations, it is the Human Resources department that handles such issues, in some consultation with people possessing legal knowledge, academic institutes have been content with asking professors to fill in for such roles. After all, shouldn't they be allowed to enjoy the benefits of the lack of a proper corporate governance structure.

Imagine a situation where an electrical engineering academician is asked to tackle harassment complaints. Not really their fault that human behaviors don't follow the equations that our bright minds are used to. True ,they might have degrees to their credit and have patents and papers published, but often, they have zero knowledge of  psychology, let alone criminal behavior or jurisprudence. Their methods of handling cases that come their way would make even first year law students roll around on the floor laughing. Researching methods on fabricating semiconductor devices does not teach you to validate evidences or cross question testimonies. People should stick to what they know. Not try to perform duties they know naught about. Deciding whether a punitive or preventive action has to be taken can only be done by understanding the case profile and the profile of the accused, something which cant be aided through IEEE.  I mean, come on, I have a friend who has  basic medical knowledge, despite her automotive engineering education, she can even tell you the required medication in case of common illnesses, but she doesn't go about performing surgical oncology procedures. Its an even bigger mess when the persons handling the wrong job, by virtue of being experts at their actual job, have a pretty high opinion of their intellect, which causes them to accept what they see and renders them incapable of accepting that there can be more to a situation than is meeting the eye. What they don't understand is that their clumsiness coupled with apathy can harm a  life, damage a life, wreck a life, or even take a life. When they don't have the skill, they most certainly should not have the right to mess around with people's lives. Because while those lives involved might mean nothing to our high-bred academicians, they do to others.

For Everything Else, There's Mastercard

Auto Fare Round-trip to Cream Centre: Rs 120

Refried Bean Tacos: Rs 125

Half-and-half Enchiladas: Rs 220

Total expenditure on the Thursday lunch: Rs 696

Authentic Mexican Meal after having craved for a month: Priceless :).

Credits

Of Seances, Spirits and the Subconscious

Lemme begin by asking, Do you believe in ghosts?In black magic? In God?
This post probably stems from the psychological and para-psychological turmoils  of the last few weeks. The recent bouts of insomnia ravaging my being have presented me opportunities to meditate upon excruciatingly weird issues, for reasons still unknown.
A rational scientific mind might argue to the non existence of such entities. But has it never happened that you do feel an unexplained presence in your life, even if it is your guardian angel? I have been blessed with an above average intellect and by virtue of pursuing my education in applied sciences, I have been bestowed with a pretty rational mind. But, yes, I do believe in the paranormal. Whether it happens as a result of the manifestations of the human brain or the existence is for real, not sure, but I do not deny the effects of such phenomena on life as such.
Possessed by an incessant urge to speak with a dearly departed, I began researching methods. Seances and planchits have been long advertised as means to do so.But whether they establish a communication channel between the spirit of the actual person or are just a manifestation of our hearts deepest desires is still unclear (ref). A friend recounted a story told to him by his father about a seance having gone horribly wrong, with  an uninvited invisible guest showing up and refusing to leave; they were later rescued  by an ancestor, who in their dreams told them never to do it again. That did it. Seance was out of question. Then I wondered if simply praying would work. Maybe it did, maybe not. I'm waiting for a reply. And something tells me I shall receive one ( Worry not, I am as sane as you are).
While we are on the subject of spirits, what are they precisely? Remnants of a life? Or the very life itself? Or the energy that makes the hydrocarbon matter come alive? Dan Brown's Angels and Demons presented theories drawing parallels between concentrated energy fields and the soul. Brown's latest, The Lost Symbol, puts forth a similar view point. Are we coming close to understanding the concept of God and divinity? Or are we just trying to explain it using what we already know? I remember Papa explaining to me the concept of wave-particle duality using the same funda, that people had tried classifying light as either a wave or a particle in the same way man had tried describing God as a human incarnation or a heavenly bright source of light. The Lost Symbol talks of divinity being intrinsic while Eric von Danniken talked of the Gods as being extra terrestrial colonizers. Is it really a mere energy field running through us all that makes sure all modules of this super program function without a glitch?
Speaking of inner manifestations and the hidden signals transmitted by our subconscious, I remembered this book I had read back in the summer of my freshman year. I dont recall the title but it had something to do with Wicca, as the practitioners like to call their craft, which is witchcraft or black magic to the unaware. It talked of how it was possible to program any human mind into dying of its own accord, apparently there lies a hidden, teeny-tiny portion of resentment in all our lives which when excited and nudged into wanting release, starts walking upon a path of self annihilation purely by choice. The hocus pocus of voodoo dolls and chants is to create the suitable atmosphere thereby allowing the victim to submit his mind willingly to the  influence of the practitioner. Needless to say, the above cited was an example of black magic. The counterpart white magic uses the same technique for healing purposes.
Exploiting the power of the subconscious mind was branded witchcraft in the medieval times. When Rhonda Byrne packages the same as the Secret, she delivers a new kid on the block, something that has actually been around for ages. The Law of Attraction poses interesting questions, the first being why not a law of repulsion. Several interesting conversations circled around with the typical IIT minds trying to find a catch in the same. One argued using the string theory, while one tried to figure out if neurons could actually be radiating systems despite being covered with mylein sheaths.
Zillions of ways, countless cures to try to soothe pain and offer hope, each weird in its own way. Maybe they are all the grown up versions of the chocolate Mom gave you as a kid when you were crying, just to make you feel better. And, it works, even if for a very short span of time. So what if it might just  be a temporary escape route, it helps, like booze. And frankly between booze and this nameless, faceless entity, most of us will always prefer the latter.
PS: Why am I writing this? Scroll up. The insomnia demons are on rampage and I'm so high on lack of sleep!!!

Tol Mol Ke Bol

 

Found in a bowl in a friend's room. Guess the amount.. ;).

Third Degree

The cover page of Greg Iles' Third Degree had something thought provoking to say.

PS: This is not plagiarism. It is through mutual consent ;).

The Piggy Paranoia

The last few weeks have witnessed an obsessively incessant paranoia about swine flu. From mass quarantines to entire states declaring shutdowns, signs of people's fear are everywhere. Aren't we over-reacting, to say the least. I mean, come on, more people die of regular influenza every day, which is just as contagious. And an even larger number die every 3 hours of tuberculosis, which again falls into the highly contagious category. And I am not even talking road accidents yet. I seem to remember a similar scare following the Avian influenza outbreak and the SARS epidemic. I guess people do get scared and panic easily given this level of hoopla. Some might reprimand me for being insensitive and remind me that the diseases did claim lives. True. And so have cholera and drunken driving. I had intended to argue, by way of this post, that being so totally paranoid is not really rational, but halfway I realized I am just terribly missing Iced Tea (serving of any cold drinks has been suspended everywhere on campus as a precautionary measure).

Yeah that's the sign at Basera :(

The Inconvenience Caused is Regretted

Waiting at the domestic departures terminal of the IGI Airport. My flight, SG 309, to Chennai was scheduled to have taken off an hour back. There have been continuous announcements , each shifting the departure time only further. Am bored and irritated, even more so considering the fact that I could have spent these last two hours more productively at my best friend's home, where I had spent a rather happy part of the day (embarrassing photo albums topped by his mom's delightful cooking). Sitting here, listening to "May I have your attention please. SpiceJet flight 309 to Chennai has been delayed. The flight would now depart at 2030 hours. Inconvenience caused is regretted", isnt really what I had in mind.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S: TOW which was the favorite one

Dont know if its because I seem to be needing some means of relaxation for the past few days or because I am simply too fond of the series, I just embarked on a zillionth re-run of Friends.And apparently it isnt just me, everyone who has followed the series has loved repeating it. There are some particular episodes that are especially fun to watch all over again

• TOW the Football, the not-so-thanksgivingy fight for the Gellar Cup
• TOW the Embryos, the episode with the embryos being transplanted into Phoebe, more memorable for the who-knows-whom-better quiz
• TOW the Flashback, where Janice asks which of the 6 of them had almost...
• TOW that could have been, if Ross was still married to Carol, Rachel married Barry, Joey a TV star, Monica still fat, Chandler out of work and Phoebe a stock trader
• TOW where everybody finds out, about Monica and Chandler, they dont know that we know they know we know
• And, of course, TOW All the Other Ones

Anyone wants to add any more here...

Re-emergence

Well..back from a long period of dormancy..thanks to Aniket. For insulting me repeatedly.. And as promised, I am acknowledging it here..
aniket: ek kaam karo

delete your blog

Taunting reminder mails..with chat excerpts

Shruti: yaar bahut saare blog likhne hain

aaj raat mein likhti hoon

Aniket: chod do, tumse nahi hoga

Shruti: oh ho

we will see!

Aniket: dekhte hain

And the others too

me: thinking of blogging

srikanth: rehne do

tum sirf bolti ho

So..Here I go

Well, a brief round up of whatever could not get its share of the limelight here so far:

• The Sem- mixed bag, Mtech courses with ultimate boring content, and even more boring profs
• The Parties- Hostel Nites saw how guys can cry like human hosepipes and how girls can act, when high..On a serious note, also began to accept that I too am going to miss this place a year later , despite my repeated vehement refusal to accept the fact
• The Partings- Btech friends started leaving for home, traditional bidai scenes witnessed
• The Wedding- attended my best friend's sister's wedding in Hyd, first South Indian wedding I have been to, Snow World being the cherry on the cake (or ice cream)
• The Internship- @iDiscoveri as part of the E4SI fellowships immersion programme, still on. more on that to follow

Here's to Verity Season II

XOXO

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

I am home, have nothing much to do. I am not supposed to be disturbing my kid sister who has her pre-board examinations a week from now (that she chooses not to study of her own accord is something my parents refuse to believe). Anyways, watching television seems to be the only pastime available, as I have realized how useless net seems to be without being accompanied by our LAN. In spite of countless shows running on an infinite number of television channels, all I feel like watching are FRIENDS re-runs and Best of FRIENDS on Star World and Zee Cafe. The series still appeals, even though I have watched the various seasons again and again. Some products just happen, pretty much like a Black Swan event. Probably because it was the first of its kind or because every character was so endearing or whatever the reason, none of the countless me-too sitcoms that it spawned off could attain the cult-like status achieved by FRIENDS. My mom still cant understand why people were so attached to the series and its characters in the first place. Maybe I can, since I know now how friends can form a support system, become a kind of a substitute family, when you stay away from home, with an unspoken agreement saying I'll be there for you.

Of Glamour and Grace

There have been innumerable women who have been termed as "wow" women from time to time. The media as well as the masses today categorize the sultry hot bods as being wow. I mean comeon, there is more to feminine charm than pouty lips and a statistic represented by three numbers. True female beauty is about grace, poise and elegance rather than brazen sex appeal. The likes of Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Angelina Jolie and the Victoria's Secret brigade can never stand a chance in front of a Maharani Gayatri Devi or a Jacqueline Kennedy. Its more about the carriage than what you carry around that counts. Unfortunately, couldn't get my friends to agree. I asked one of my friends, "Wasnt Audrey Hepburn beautiful?". "Well", was his reply, "she certainly looks graceful, but is flat." So much for guys.