Your jig is up?
'Your jig is up', said the Sheep to the wolf in sheepskin, while jumping off the cliff to the gas barbecue underneath.
Kill me not
I wake up with the morning Sun, and try to go to bed with it. In between, I try living. In Kathmandu, you don't live-- you attempt. You succeed sometimes, you fail other times-- but you move on.
It's a battle everyday. You have to fight for the water to cleanup in the morning, and then for the precious electricity to cook your food, charge your cell phone, and maybe use internet if the gods of the webs and the lights are kind enough. You go to get the groceries and realize there's been a 20 percent increase in the price of everything overnight. You pay without complaining-- and run up to the work.
Navigating the streets of Kathmandu is an art form. The rules of the road seem to be optional-- and one must learn to dodge and cut short the public buses hurtling straight towards you. And when the big mean buses get away, there's the murderous pedestrians. They carefully dodge the sidewalk, or any walking space whatsoever on the street, and get straight in the projected motion-path of your vehicle/legs. The buses may or may not get you, but the pedestrians will make sure you end up either in the emergency unit or the block.
It's a battle everyday. You have to fight for the water to cleanup in the morning, and then for the precious electricity to cook your food, charge your cell phone, and maybe use internet if the gods of the webs and the lights are kind enough. You go to get the groceries and realize there's been a 20 percent increase in the price of everything overnight. You pay without complaining-- and run up to the work.
Navigating the streets of Kathmandu is an art form. The rules of the road seem to be optional-- and one must learn to dodge and cut short the public buses hurtling straight towards you. And when the big mean buses get away, there's the murderous pedestrians. They carefully dodge the sidewalk, or any walking space whatsoever on the street, and get straight in the projected motion-path of your vehicle/legs. The buses may or may not get you, but the pedestrians will make sure you end up either in the emergency unit or the block.
Blog Column
Now that every Nepali with enough teeth has a column in some newspaper or other — offline or online — I am considering getting one myself. I don’t want to be left behind the times — I have important things to say, rehashed and trite as they may be, and the younger crowd seems to love anyone who will go against the established rules of spelling, grammar and linguistic coherence. LOL.
Hyperbole and exaggeration go a long way in making a good writing, and that applies for everything that’s ever printed here. Be it the release of an ‘unconventional Nepali cinema’, or opening of a new restaurant, the occasion is always marked as being ‘historic’, and ‘first time in Nepal’. A time-frame, or period is never sufficient for us Nepalis, the opening of every third organization is marked by a new ‘era
Hyperbole and exaggeration go a long way in making a good writing, and that applies for everything that’s ever printed here. Be it the release of an ‘unconventional Nepali cinema’, or opening of a new restaurant, the occasion is always marked as being ‘historic’, and ‘first time in Nepal’. A time-frame, or period is never sufficient for us Nepalis, the opening of every third organization is marked by a new ‘era
Poetry: Take 42
Let's shake hands, and then the booties
We will talk and have fun, and who knows
What else.
It's team work-- and I know you're in,
We're all friends-- we should.
I am a dude,
With an attitude.
The socks, oh the socks,
The shame--the shame of the socks
The disgrace, the socks
They say the socks are the in-thing
Socks and Pizza, socks and pizza
Never thought about them together, did you?
The thief in the manger
The faker in the exhibition
The freebie in the restaurant
All wait, like a murderer
Get straight to the point
And run for it.
We will talk and have fun, and who knows
What else.
It's team work-- and I know you're in,
We're all friends-- we should.
I am a dude,
With an attitude.
The socks, oh the socks,
The shame--the shame of the socks
The disgrace, the socks
They say the socks are the in-thing
Socks and Pizza, socks and pizza
Never thought about them together, did you?
The thief in the manger
The faker in the exhibition
The freebie in the restaurant
All wait, like a murderer
Get straight to the point
And run for it.
Writes the third person
The third person is a strange individual: he will talk to someone else, and it will be reported in exactly the same way he said it. When he comes to a person, he will be called by first name--always-- because he is the third person, and using pronouns to address him could dangerously turn him into a second person. The greatest threat lies, of course, in the third person becoming the first person. For, the trap on the first person is one that's impossible to get out of. Once one gets in the first person, it becomes extremely difficult to come back up to the third person. A third person is respected and admired-- the first person, thought of as egotist with possibly a good sense of humor, but only if he or she pulls it off fabulously. Beware of the first person!
The writer is the medium, not the source
Imagine creativity as a sort of a mischievous imp, coming to people at all the wrong times. When you desperately need it, it will hide in the corners, and when you know there's no point in even trying, all your juices start flowing in the hyperdrive. The biggest fear writers have is fro mothers, and readers. Mothers, because--well dads understand. Moms are usually less--understanding -- of the display of one's craft.
Which i not to say sometimes, when you need to be hit by the proverbial apple, you will not be hit. It's just that out of a hundred times, you will get inspiration only say, 7 times. The trick is to, of course, write all the time. That works in two ways: first, it improves your strike rate, and second, since you're hitting so often, you are bound to strike more often. There are some geniuses, of course, whose every piece of writing is inspired and fantastic, but the normal mortals such as us have to go the hard way.
The biggest mistake novice writers make is trying to look for their voice. You cannot decide what your writing will be-- your writing decides what the voice of your writing will be. If you try forcing the desired voice in your writings, the readers will immediately feel something is wrong. They will not be sure what's wrong, but they will know something is definitely wrong. And that is the end of one's career as a writer.
Which i not to say sometimes, when you need to be hit by the proverbial apple, you will not be hit. It's just that out of a hundred times, you will get inspiration only say, 7 times. The trick is to, of course, write all the time. That works in two ways: first, it improves your strike rate, and second, since you're hitting so often, you are bound to strike more often. There are some geniuses, of course, whose every piece of writing is inspired and fantastic, but the normal mortals such as us have to go the hard way.
The biggest mistake novice writers make is trying to look for their voice. You cannot decide what your writing will be-- your writing decides what the voice of your writing will be. If you try forcing the desired voice in your writings, the readers will immediately feel something is wrong. They will not be sure what's wrong, but they will know something is definitely wrong. And that is the end of one's career as a writer.
What are we gonna do
How many undergrads does it take to screw a lightbulb.
Not as many as you might think.
Not as many as you might think.
So many digitals
I have two digital media classes this sem. And I am a Comp Sci and IR Major. This is going to be a fun and hectic week. I love tufts.
Banda
Normal life in the Capital has been crippled on Wednesday due to the valley banda called by thirteen students union and nine youth union affiliated to various political parties protesting against fuel price hike.
-The Kathmandu Post, Jan 23, 2012
The students like to protest, and protest, they shall. While the Americans and the Middle Easterners are proud of their student protestors, ours are not so-- pride-worthy, shall we say? Political consciousness holds a very special place in democracy, and it's for certain no democracy can remain healthy without a certain vibrancy amongst its constituents. But the buck has to end somewhere. Our students take things too far-- way to far for any true lover of democracy to be comfortable with.
To begin with, democracy is not the rule of the mob. Dictators and autocrats certainly try to portray it that way, but once a democracy starts functioning on the whims of mobs, people stop voting through ballots and instead take to rioting to make themselves heard. Which is exactly what has been happening to us for the last two decades.
Writing for the papers again
The last few days have been a warm-up. I'm getting ready to write a series of writings for the papers back home. I've not done writing that's supposed to be taken seriously, for a very long time and it feels good now that I'm back. Wish me luck.
A romantic scene with a nonexistent monster
On the drawing: A romantically involved couple watches a non-existent Nessie in a lake. Which begs the question: how existent is their romantic involvement? As the History Channel folks would say, such secrets will forever remain secrets.
The Ground beneath her feet
The ground beneath her feet, make what you will out of it. Happy New Year to you all.
Must.Stop. Stalking.
I've tried blocking some people to avoid stalking them, but I somehow end up unblocking then and adding them back as friends. They must have accepted my requests at least a dozen times. It's a fun life.
Going back?
Will I go back? Will I be a farkeka? Will I get a lot of comments on my write-up, and be made fun of in some circles? My arguments are invalid because I'm a freshman.
I am going to write heavier stuff, because I can. More than the stuff that's currently getting published anyway. We need better leaders, readers, and writers. We need artists and poets. We need people who can dream without the constraints.
I am going to write heavier stuff, because I can. More than the stuff that's currently getting published anyway. We need better leaders, readers, and writers. We need artists and poets. We need people who can dream without the constraints.
A symphonic experience
We went to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra yesterday. I couldn't have asked for better first time-- the last composition got a 10-minute standing ovation from the audience, including me. I was Joe, for yesterday, and hilarity ensued.
I was not lost
Hi there!
Message to my floormates:
Do you ever get this weird feeling when you feel your existence is less solid than you think it is? Neither do I. Huh!
Message to my floormates:
Do you ever get this weird feeling when you feel your existence is less solid than you think it is? Neither do I. Huh!
Bro-rat
Watched B(r)orat again with friends. Borat is a-good, no? He is the no 1 journalist in Kazakhstan. Very nice. The slightly unsightly(ahem) parts were censored, Al-Hamdulillah, unlike the version I
had previously watched. Funtimes were had.
had previously watched. Funtimes were had.
think of us
Think of us,
As a pair of gym socks
Who stopped speaking.
Not that hard an exercise,
I imagine--
A pair of gym socks
Who don't talk.
Don't take this too seriously though--it's just meant to be a pair of socks and nothing more.
As a pair of gym socks
Who stopped speaking.
Not that hard an exercise,
I imagine--
A pair of gym socks
Who don't talk.
Don't take this too seriously though--it's just meant to be a pair of socks and nothing more.
Us
When we get hungry, we'll munch on each other; when we get sad, we'll crunch each other. When we get mad, we'll kill each other, and when we get sentimental, we'll send each other extremely long emails detailing the exact cause of our sorrows, why s/he does probably not know of our existence, and why we wish we had made different life choices-- god, we're such imbecile idiots.
We're the people, and as people, we vote. We vote those bastards who have cheated us again and again and again, because those are the only bastards we can vote. Those bastards who can lead us, and make us prosper, are prospering themselves, because they're selfish bastards, like all of us bastards. We lose in the elections, because we cant win. Democracy is a loser's game for us, and we play it for the heck of losing.
We're the people. Just like the other people, those who look like us, eat like us, speak like us, and drink like us. They love like us, and they have pretty eyes like our people. And we hate them the most. Because they're too much like us. Because we're not unique anymore then. We teach our kids to hate people who look like us, and who love like us. Because we don't like us. We live, we lose.
We are the idiots. We won't speak when we must, because we are scared. And we speak when we really should not, because we are scared they'll know we are idiots. We swallow in all the injustices, all the injustices those with big sticks and wallets and guns do on us, because we do. And when those with slightly less deadly sticks and wallets and guns injustice us, we speak. Because we're scared idiots, and we don't like people to think that we are scared idiots. We are the citizens. We are the citizens of Metropolises, and dirty cities, and destroyed cities, and pretty cities, and big cities, and all the cities and towns there are, and more. We are the citizens. We lose, because we're the citizens.
And yet, we live. We munch and crunch and kill each other, and get sentimental. We cry, and we complain, and we curse the mfking electeds, but we live. And that's us. That's the existence.
We're the people, and as people, we vote. We vote those bastards who have cheated us again and again and again, because those are the only bastards we can vote. Those bastards who can lead us, and make us prosper, are prospering themselves, because they're selfish bastards, like all of us bastards. We lose in the elections, because we cant win. Democracy is a loser's game for us, and we play it for the heck of losing.
We're the people. Just like the other people, those who look like us, eat like us, speak like us, and drink like us. They love like us, and they have pretty eyes like our people. And we hate them the most. Because they're too much like us. Because we're not unique anymore then. We teach our kids to hate people who look like us, and who love like us. Because we don't like us. We live, we lose.
We are the idiots. We won't speak when we must, because we are scared. And we speak when we really should not, because we are scared they'll know we are idiots. We swallow in all the injustices, all the injustices those with big sticks and wallets and guns do on us, because we do. And when those with slightly less deadly sticks and wallets and guns injustice us, we speak. Because we're scared idiots, and we don't like people to think that we are scared idiots. We are the citizens. We are the citizens of Metropolises, and dirty cities, and destroyed cities, and pretty cities, and big cities, and all the cities and towns there are, and more. We are the citizens. We lose, because we're the citizens.
And yet, we live. We munch and crunch and kill each other, and get sentimental. We cry, and we complain, and we curse the mfking electeds, but we live. And that's us. That's the existence.
My achievements of the year 2011
1. My new friends. That includes Bu, Il, Su, and all the fantastic new people I got to meet.
2. People in my floor. My roommate's the smartest[even though he's an Engineeeerrr] and the easiest person to live with, and others are so very sociable. I realized late that everyone's not so lucky.
3. Drama people. I know it's almost forgotten, but the drama people really made my first half of the year.
4. The college. DUHH.
5. My new shiny and awesome Nikon D5100.
6. My second Kindle 3.
7. Began to learn to grocery shop and cook.
8. Got a few more lessons in gifting.
9. Being reminded of the several unpleasant phases a person must pass through, including starvation, and getting through all it almost unhurt.
10. The knowledge of a new script and a new language. I can read Urdu, and am starting with Arabic.
11. Getting over the ' you can tell a St. Marys ko keti ' thing. In Nepal, and here, I met many ketis who've proved the idea strange and misguided. '
12. Stopped bothering the other Su with weird emails. Also discovered that everyone has several threads of those embarrassing weird emails they send to close friends, that are meant to be forever forgotten.
13. Never got into more trouble than I could handle.
14. Got to meet many new people and know them. And then those people who knew those people, thus forming a lattice structure of human relationships. Totally different from no 1.
15. Tried both Dorritos AND Burritos.
16. Had several refills from the Freestyle Coke Machine! Technically, it was 2012, but all in the 2011 spirit.
17. Pillowfight Kathmandu 2011!
18. My involvement with NepalUnites and Die Nepal Banda Die!
19. Made my own burger, sandwich, and ice-cream sundae.
20. Learned to program, finally. Thanks to Pra Da for giving me thumbs up on beginning it in college. Now I can totally program a su-doku solver. I totally can...even though I have not.
21. Being in one of the most cultured, pretty, and smart city in the US.
22. Got a smartphone. Even though it makes me want to smash it into pieces every day, it's still technically 'smart'.
23. Realized the American culture is slightly more, and less, than The Office, Friends, Baywatch, The Simpsons, HIMYM, Phineas and Ferb, and American Pie Series.
24. Finally fell in love with all of the New Yorker-- all of it, not only Shouts and Murmurs and comics.
...I'll might keep adding things to this list for the next few days.
2. People in my floor. My roommate's the smartest[even though he's an Engineeeerrr] and the easiest person to live with, and others are so very sociable. I realized late that everyone's not so lucky.
3. Drama people. I know it's almost forgotten, but the drama people really made my first half of the year.
4. The college. DUHH.
5. My new shiny and awesome Nikon D5100.
6. My second Kindle 3.
7. Began to learn to grocery shop and cook.
8. Got a few more lessons in gifting.
9. Being reminded of the several unpleasant phases a person must pass through, including starvation, and getting through all it almost unhurt.
10. The knowledge of a new script and a new language. I can read Urdu, and am starting with Arabic.
11. Getting over the ' you can tell a St. Marys ko keti ' thing. In Nepal, and here, I met many ketis who've proved the idea strange and misguided. '
12. Stopped bothering the other Su with weird emails. Also discovered that everyone has several threads of those embarrassing weird emails they send to close friends, that are meant to be forever forgotten.
13. Never got into more trouble than I could handle.
14. Got to meet many new people and know them. And then those people who knew those people, thus forming a lattice structure of human relationships. Totally different from no 1.
15. Tried both Dorritos AND Burritos.
16. Had several refills from the Freestyle Coke Machine! Technically, it was 2012, but all in the 2011 spirit.
17. Pillowfight Kathmandu 2011!
18. My involvement with NepalUnites and Die Nepal Banda Die!
19. Made my own burger, sandwich, and ice-cream sundae.
20. Learned to program, finally. Thanks to Pra Da for giving me thumbs up on beginning it in college. Now I can totally program a su-doku solver. I totally can...even though I have not.
21. Being in one of the most cultured, pretty, and smart city in the US.
22. Got a smartphone. Even though it makes me want to smash it into pieces every day, it's still technically 'smart'.
23. Realized the American culture is slightly more, and less, than The Office, Friends, Baywatch, The Simpsons, HIMYM, Phineas and Ferb, and American Pie Series.
24. Finally fell in love with all of the New Yorker-- all of it, not only Shouts and Murmurs and comics.
...I'll might keep adding things to this list for the next few days.
Photo day 1
As I play with the filters, the grass looks greener on the other side. No really-- the grass is actually greener than otherwise.
The pigs are a-oinking
The damn pigs must stop oinking this very moment. Or else, there will be some pork chops.
I've always wondered when pigs stop being Piggie Wiggies, and start being food. Is there a definite moment, a moment of decision, where you have to choose sides, or are they really not mutually exclusive?
Such are the questions that mystify me. It's a wonderful little world, I am hungry and about to be broke, and I have decided to change myself. If I make it without starving, the world will be a happier place.
I've always wondered when pigs stop being Piggie Wiggies, and start being food. Is there a definite moment, a moment of decision, where you have to choose sides, or are they really not mutually exclusive?
Such are the questions that mystify me. It's a wonderful little world, I am hungry and about to be broke, and I have decided to change myself. If I make it without starving, the world will be a happier place.
30-day resolutions
Everything goes in and out of focus.
I should start writing. Because that's the only thing that used to make me feel good about myself. I can talk to wonderful people now, and I can do fantastic things with the resources available to me, and all that's good and dandy. There's some things I really want to do, and should definitely do, over the summer. And those, I shall do. But writing, I shall do the most. Cuz' that's what I do.
Matt Cutts started the 30-day challenge. He succeeded. If he did, there's no reason I should not.
Resolution 1
Beginning on Jan 12, until at least Feb 14, I'll take at least one photo every day, and post them here.
Resolution 2
Beginning on Jan 12, and ending after Feb 14, I'll do at least one post to this blog every day.
Resolution 3
Beginning on Jan 12, and ending after Feb 14, I 'll use twitter, google reader, facebook, and other news sites for no longer than One and half (1.5) hours every day. I'll read books, catch up on all the work and writing I need to do, and work on my projects instead.
Resolution 4
I won't try to find loopholes in the resolutions to cheat on them, or cheat in any way. I might break res. 3 for my project(s), without guilt.
Signed and sealed,
Owner of this blog.
xixi-ooxxx
I should start writing. Because that's the only thing that used to make me feel good about myself. I can talk to wonderful people now, and I can do fantastic things with the resources available to me, and all that's good and dandy. There's some things I really want to do, and should definitely do, over the summer. And those, I shall do. But writing, I shall do the most. Cuz' that's what I do.
Matt Cutts started the 30-day challenge. He succeeded. If he did, there's no reason I should not.
Resolution 1
Beginning on Jan 12, until at least Feb 14, I'll take at least one photo every day, and post them here.
Resolution 2
Beginning on Jan 12, and ending after Feb 14, I'll do at least one post to this blog every day.
Resolution 3
Beginning on Jan 12, and ending after Feb 14, I 'll use twitter, google reader, facebook, and other news sites for no longer than One and half (1.5) hours every day. I'll read books, catch up on all the work and writing I need to do, and work on my projects instead.
Resolution 4
I won't try to find loopholes in the resolutions to cheat on them, or cheat in any way. I might break res. 3 for my project(s), without guilt.
Signed and sealed,
Owner of this blog.
xixi-ooxxx
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