Good times with old Pals...

I went online that day and chatted with my schoolmates from Josephs, Arun and Abhijeet. As arun was planning to come to Bangy, We (Josephians put up in bangy) decided to meet up in Barton center at 5pm. It's been 2 years since I last saw them!

From L to R ~ Arun Nagarajan, Abhijeet Sohni, Bindu, Chitra, Sireesha

There was a surprise package... Bindu joined us from hyderabad which was a big surprise indeed. Of course, I happen to think that my group of friends are the most fantastic bunch of people in the whole wide world, and we've been through a hell of a lot together, so it was just outstanding to have so many of us in one place at once.

It was so much fun to just sit around and talk like we'd never been apart. I could have sat all day just laughing and talking and drinking ice water (haha), and wasted the day away happily. Such comfort to be found in familiar faces. I enjoy moments like that, when we can visit, laugh, and remember.

The photo above is a proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. Born Free.. Taxed to death..It's funny how everything and nothing changes. We're still the good ol' friends from yester years, though we've all changed so much from 11 years ago. But I guess it's the indescribable bonds weaved through the threads of time, knotted amongst countless precious memories that never loosens.

And among these precious friends, are many shared memories I'll never ever forget. A high ho hum cheers.. Forever Friends!

Back to Back ~

http://prasannaramachandran.blogspot.com/2005/08/school-reunion.html

Birthday Bash on 21st May...

Wow - I can't believe how fast the days have been flying - I haven't had a chance to blog in ages! And, so I'm grabbing this chance to say hello to those who keep an eye on my blog and let you know i am still around, but been rather busy.

As a child I often celebrated my birthday in May at my grandparent's house along with a horde of mischievous cousins and whichever aunt or uncle happened to be chaperoning us that summer (the poor things!). The party would be a riotous affair in the big, old house and the cake would be made fresh that morning. But this time i hosted a party for my family members in Belsons & Taj, Hyderabad. It was great to reunite with all the family members after a long time.

I was woken up from my sleep and got some great B'day bumps.. After that there was a surprise cake cutting party arranged by my parents and my so called notorious cousins.. Everyone turns crazy upon seeing the cake.. Finally I blew out all but one candle, which took me another few more tries to extinguish it. Also was in a multi-tasking spree attending calls and cutting the cake. It fells really great when people remember you on your Birthday that also signifies a healthy friends circle. I am really thankful to all my friends and well wishers who remembered me on my Bday.

I had several birthday parties at home of course with elaborate cakes that are attractive to a guy of that age, but those simple parties continue to be a treasured memory.

When I was young, my birthdays were actually a sore point for me then, for the one reason that I never got to wear a "color dress" to school like the other kids who had the good sense to be born during school term (does anyone identify with this?) coz my birthday falls during the summer vacation. So these spontaneous, whimsical and often chaotic parties were an apt consolation.

In the evening, i met my good old friends and had a binge. We had been to Koyla, A roof top restaurant and pub in hyderabad... Had a great evening there. It was an evening to remember, a night of harmony as rival singers and composers came together in an exemplary show of bonhomie as they joined the celebrations, complete with a cake-cutting ceremony again and the popping of champagne minutes before midnight. My friends showered me with affection on this special day.

I could see more and more people flooding the place after we finished our dinner! It was time to say goodbye to the empty plates and bowls before we went on a long long drive. On the whole, it was a great day...

A Dream to Share...

My dream was to get out from under the heel of the oppressor and be my own boss. Unfortunately, I've found that to reach this level of civilized existence takes an amazing amount of dedication, perseverance, and a titanium work ethic, not to mention a bit of a bankroll for the dry days to come. I have none of these. I changed my dream a few months back and decided that entering a brand new class of pseudo-entrepreneurs was more up my alley. Technically, I'm still working for the capitalist machine, i.e., The Man. But, in my new assignment, I am now away from his ever-watchful eye. That is the draw, the reason for being, as it were.

And because of this new freedom my usual manners of wasting time, lollygagging, and procrastinating have reached new levels. Now every floor has a pantry. The coffee machine has been respectfully superseded by waking up whenever I feel like.

The days when I feel like getting some work done I might rise to the occasion a bit earlier. I grab some coffee and go online. That's where I do my work. And that's where I don't do my work. I get too distracted. The diversions multiply when you're at work. I check my bank account, check the cricket score and read up on the latest news and information.

"So what's the problem?" you might ask. Over the past few weeks I've begun to develop what seems like a guilty conscience. I'm not getting my work done, and it's starting to bother me. I don't have to turn in any progress reports. No one is calling me every other hour to make sure I'm not "Doing research" at the neighborhood bar. So I spend most of my time thinking about doing work and doing everything else. I got my desk cleaned the other day coz it was in a mess. Last week I set up an online banking account and spent most of the day logging in transactions and transfers. A couple of weeks ago I was on a shopping spree. You get the picture. In a normal situation, if I were able to get away with the types of procrastination and digression I deal with at my office, I would be ecstatic.

So, the latest development in this saga, is that I've decided to return to the world where i started getting up at 7:00 in the morning to do some exercises. I'm returning to the proactive, FYI, 'can I get back to you on that', 'let's have a meeting', land of coffee that puts a film on your teeth and conversations coming from the cubicle across the way. I'm still not partially getting my work done, but at least I don't feel guilty about it when the day is done. When it comes to fulfilling dreams, you never know what you're going to get. In my case, I discovered the frightening remnants of a work ethic, left over from some twisted past life. Until I can completely beat the beast down into submission, I will continue to do my part in working for the man...

"It's not that I don't like the idea of working, it's that I really don't like pouring my effort and mental energy into trivial, uninteresting, self serving projects that trade my time and my spirit for money which is the only meager measure of respect and support I'll receive.

It's not that I don't like money, it's just that it's our society's poor substitute for thought and feeds the consumerist urge to live a life in an amnesiastic distracted state, attempting to be a mythical non person ever consuming more media and entertainment while leaving a wake of first world social and environmental destruction, always just out of sight, and so pleasantly out of mind.

It's not like I don't like jobs and money and business, etc. It's just that most of the time they're completely worthless. Also I'm not partial to being professional. I'll do my best to be responsible, considerate, and competent. I'm nearly always creative and analytical, even when I don't want to be. I'll still write resumes, but only if I've got a good reason. Mostly if you would like me to do something for you, I'd like you to talk to me about it."

"Embarrassing date"...

Folks,

If you didn't see “The Tonight Show”, I hope you're sitting down when you read it. This is probably the funniest date story ever, first date or not!!!

We have all had bad dates, but this takes the cake. This just tells you how tough it is to be single nowadays. This was on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.

Jay went into the audience to find the most embarrassing first date that a woman ever had. The winner described her worst first date experience. There was absolutely no question as to why her tale took the prize!

She said it was midwinter... snowing and quite cold... and the guy had taken her skiing in the mountains outside Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a day trip (no overnight). They were strangers, after all, and truly had never met before. The outing was fun but relatively uneventful until they were headed home late that afternoon.

They were driving back down the mountain, when she gradually began to realize that she should not have had that extra latte. They were about an hour away from anywhere with a rest room and in the middle of nowhere! Her companion suggested she try to hold it, which she did for a while. Unfortunately, because of the heavy snow and slow going, there came a point where she told him that he better stop and let her go beside the road, or it would be the front seat of his car.

They stopped and she quickly crawled out beside the car, yanked her pants down and started. In the deep snow she didn't have good footing, so she let her butt rest against the rear fender to steady her. Her companion stood on the side of the car watching for traffic and indeed was a real gentleman and refrained from peeking. All she could think about was the relief she felt despite the rather embarrassing nature of the situation.

Upon finishing however, she soon became aware of another sensation. As she bent to pull up her pants, the young lady discovered her buttocks were firmly glued against the car's fender. Thoughts of tongues frozen to poles immediately came to mind as she attempted to disengage her flesh from the icy metal. It was quickly apparent that she had a brand new problem due to the extreme cold.

Horrified by her plight and yet aware of the humor of the moment, she answered her date's concerns about "what is taking so long" with a reply that indeed, she was "freezing her butt off and in need of some assistance!" He came around the car as she tried to cover herself with her sweater and then, as she looked imploringly into his eyes, he burst out laughing. She too, got the giggles and when they finally managed to compose themselves, they assessed her dilemma.

Obviously, as hysterical as the situation was, they also were faced with a real problem. Both agreed it would take something hot to free her chilly cheeks from the grip of the icy metal! Thinking about what had gotten her into the predicament in the first place, both quickly realized that there was only one way to get her free. So, as she looked the other way, her first-time date proceeded to unzip his pants and pee her butt off the fender.

As the audience screamed in laughter, she took the Tonight Show prize hands down... or perhaps that should be "pants down." ..And you thought your first date was embarrassing.

Jay Leno's comment .. "This gives a whole new meaning to being pissed off."

"Food for Thought"...

Hey Folks,

We've all been to those meetings where the boss says he wants more than 100 percent. Here is how you can achieve 103 percent...

First, a little math preparation~

How does one achieve 100 percent in life?

Begin by noting the following~

IF: A = 1, B = 2, etc., Y = 25, Z = 26 Then~

H A R D W O R K = 8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = only 98 percent Similarly~

K N O W L E D G E = 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = only 96 percent But interesting (and as you'd expect) ~

A T T I T U D E = 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100 percent That is how you achieve 100 percent in life.

But EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY ~

B U L L S H I T = 2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103 percent.

Moral of the Story...

So now you know what all those high-priced consultants, upper management, and motivational speakers really mean when they want to exceed 100 percent!

"Ringing into the New Year 2006"...

Hey People,

Let me take the privilege to wish you all a very "Happy and Prosperous New Year 2006"....

My Apologies for not keeping current with this blog. Since I’m a Software Developer who almost spend most of my time in front of a computer for about 8-12hrs a day, one would think I have a story to tell everyday.. Well I don't because my current assignment is pretty boring. This being my first post for 2006, just had time today to blog around..

I strongly feel that a new year is bringing a new beginning, gearing you up to face the new challenges in life. It’s not a romantic feeling of relief. It’s not as though the clock set her hands upon midnight and then wiped my slate clean or anything. It’s just been a self realization that this year will bring new things to my life, for good or for bad—hopefully good, and I need to make room..

My friends and I always have a binge on New Year's Eve. This year we had a countdown, and there was so much of noise and excitement all around. When the clock struck 23:59pm (Midnight) there was pin drop silence. The most reflective 60 seconds of my year. But near midnight, one of the representatives spoke about life and his year as the crowd stood. Then he looked at all angles, leaned into the microphone and in his unique style said in a near whisper, "Happy New Year to one and all..."

It came in a whisper this time, not a countdown nor with a bang, and I thought, "Finally, 2005 is history." So, Happy Birthday. Let's try again. Then the real party began.. We rocked the dance floor... It was great indeed forgetting the past and ringing into a new year with loads & loads of happiness and...

Though, 2005 can bite me. I understand many of you had milestones this year and Fabulous moments worth relishing.

Hope you guys have a great and fun filled year ahead...

"A Rejuvenating Trip to Coorg"...

About the trip.....

Eight guys hired a tata sumo and we set off on a journey to Coorg. We started at 12:00 AM on a cold sunday morning. It felt really great to leave office... and do something different, a break from the routine. It was all planned in a jiffy...

The whole trip started off with a bang!!! All over you could hear only noise as people were as energetic as ever... We reached mysore by 3:00 AM. Coorg was about 3 hrs drive from there. The driver ripped properly as ever... Trust me... The ride was absolutely bumpy as the Bangalore - Mysore highway was "still" under construction. The bureaucracy and corruption in INDIA is terrible. All the politicians make truck loads of money and stash it in Swiss Banks. We finally managed to reach coorg early in the morning by 6:00 AM. We didn't miss the beautiful sunrise. It was great...

Coorg is often referred to as the "Scotland of India", the land fragranced by the strong whiff of coffee, the aroma of fresh cardamom... People were back to form after the terrific journey. We freshned up and set to Abey falls. This was absolutely amazing.. We spent most of our time here literally having a binge...

The rest of the journey was just journeying, Sights, sounds, food, shopping. It was all about taking snaps, record our visit, the place. But there are things that the Kodak moments never capture - the fun, the laughter, the gay abandon and most importantly, the letting go of everything...

The drive back to bangalore was beautiful. Watching the sun set, with the buzz of the weekend traffic in the background was kind of a wierd mix...

Its moments like these where we forget our vexation with brats and begin to behave like one, ourselves (Infact there were may brats in our group). Its moments like these that make journeys, memories worth remembering, and cherish our friendships. Its moments like these when we forget our earthly lives, miles away and live in a world of our own; with heavens above and we sleeping on green dewy lawns...

Its been a week since my trip to Coorg. It feels like an eternity!! I wonder why...