Friday, January 21, 2005
I have always been a very voracious reader of books of all kinds, and this subject comes up from time to time when I talk to my friends. They always ask me, "So, how many books did you read since we last talked and any you would suggest?" And I always had a pretty decent answer to both questions. However of late, I haven't been exactly up-to-date on my reading. As some of you might remember (I wish!!), I used to read a lot. Since I came to OSU, well, to the US infact, I haven't read more than 3 books I haven't read before. I can't believe it myself. It only hit me when a friend exclaimed, "What's happening dude?! Just three!!" I guess that this is one of the main things I feel is bad about the States. I mean, too much work to do when there is work. When there's no work, all I can think of is sleep and laze off... No time to read. In India, happily, the time I used to work was allotted to reading books, and so I used to get time to laze around as much as I wanted. I miss those days.
Anyway, what the intended topic of this post is how some people say that they didn't read LOTR simply 'coz "there are too many characters to keep track of"!! How many are there? Having read it twice already (and planning a triple soon, hopefully), I can assure you there are not many infact. How can anyone stop reading such a good book for whatever reason? There are some other books as well which my friends give this reason for, but LOTR sticks up maybe because I heard that excuse about the book from quite a few people in a very short time. The god-damn best book I've read to date, and there are people who say its too painful to keep track of (at maximum) 15 important characters!! And I used to think I was lazy!!! Well, people should realize that some books are worth reading however difficult they may be to read - and for that reason alone must be read even if they don't like reading as such. Well, I know that this post doesn't mean anything to anyone else, but I had to shout out somewhere...
As a proud IIT-M alumnus, I want to tell all those who maybe able to go that IIT Madras' culfest Saarang is on from today, infact I think it must be starting in maybe an hour. Those who can, please do go - this year looks more promising than last year; and last year was simply the most awesome edition of the fest for a long long time...
Anyway, what the intended topic of this post is how some people say that they didn't read LOTR simply 'coz "there are too many characters to keep track of"!! How many are there? Having read it twice already (and planning a triple soon, hopefully), I can assure you there are not many infact. How can anyone stop reading such a good book for whatever reason? There are some other books as well which my friends give this reason for, but LOTR sticks up maybe because I heard that excuse about the book from quite a few people in a very short time. The god-damn best book I've read to date, and there are people who say its too painful to keep track of (at maximum) 15 important characters!! And I used to think I was lazy!!! Well, people should realize that some books are worth reading however difficult they may be to read - and for that reason alone must be read even if they don't like reading as such. Well, I know that this post doesn't mean anything to anyone else, but I had to shout out somewhere...
As a proud IIT-M alumnus, I want to tell all those who maybe able to go that IIT Madras' culfest Saarang is on from today, infact I think it must be starting in maybe an hour. Those who can, please do go - this year looks more promising than last year; and last year was simply the most awesome edition of the fest for a long long time...
Friday, January 07, 2005
Same Ol' Same Ol'
Ever wonder how one's life gets into a routine, and one doesn't realize it till very late in the day? I am told that it is a very common phenomenon. Apart from being told, I have seen many people falling into a routine, and waking up one fine day - usually long after the routine set in - and saying, "Oh my God! What has happened to me? How did I become such a creature of habit?" I can say that it is not the case with me...
Oh, no, I am not saying that my life is very exciting and is not in a boring old routine. No Sir/Ma'am! I am very much in a rut (as I like to call it - others call it by different names). The only difference with me is that I tend to realize it early on. I can say well at the beginning of any endeavor whether I'd be falling into a routine, and whether I might enjoy it or not. For example, any thing about classes, and semesters, etc., is sure to throw me in a very very boring routine. Holidays, in contrast, were always good. OK, some people might say, "what do you do in holidays that's not usual? Get up, get ready, and go meet your friends, and hang out. So, what's new?" Well, I guess going out brought with it new things daily. So I beg to differ with those who may say that holidays also follow a routine... Well, I might even accept that they might be usual, but they were interesting at least.
That is, until now! This past vacation period, I don't know what the hell I did - 20 odd days in my life unaccounted for - following the pattern from the last four years! And now, the damn classes started. Yes, from one boring routine to another... Why, God, why? Why couldn't something have happened to me (something good I mean)? I was once enthusiastic, energetic, so on, so on... Now, all I did during vacations was sit home, sleep late, very late into the afternoon and did nothing after getting up! A day spent reading a book is awesome - didn't happen this time! A day watching TV is OK - decayed into another boring pastime! I even had some work to do - afterall, my advisor isn't paying me to cool my heels - didn't do any appreciable amount!
"Why this sudden despair over this boredom?" you ask? Well, that's 'cause I have a meeting tomorrow with my advisor and I am expected to show something tangible for the time I was supposed to have spent doing some work. So sat up the whole night doing some work - boring work again - and have to head out now again to the lab and put what I did on paper onto a comp, and pray that the damn thing works!! Keeping my fingers crossed...
I just realized that I called the work boring - well, to be truthful, I guess I never liked whatever Mech-related work I did till now. I am beginning to see that this thing ain't bad, and is in fact interesting! Why am I not able to bring myself to enjoy something I am feeling is interesting? What's happening here? Well... whatever... here's a resolution I am sure to break within two days flat - I'd change my ways a bit, and start working on time and in time!
Oh, no, I am not saying that my life is very exciting and is not in a boring old routine. No Sir/Ma'am! I am very much in a rut (as I like to call it - others call it by different names). The only difference with me is that I tend to realize it early on. I can say well at the beginning of any endeavor whether I'd be falling into a routine, and whether I might enjoy it or not. For example, any thing about classes, and semesters, etc., is sure to throw me in a very very boring routine. Holidays, in contrast, were always good. OK, some people might say, "what do you do in holidays that's not usual? Get up, get ready, and go meet your friends, and hang out. So, what's new?" Well, I guess going out brought with it new things daily. So I beg to differ with those who may say that holidays also follow a routine... Well, I might even accept that they might be usual, but they were interesting at least.
That is, until now! This past vacation period, I don't know what the hell I did - 20 odd days in my life unaccounted for - following the pattern from the last four years! And now, the damn classes started. Yes, from one boring routine to another... Why, God, why? Why couldn't something have happened to me (something good I mean)? I was once enthusiastic, energetic, so on, so on... Now, all I did during vacations was sit home, sleep late, very late into the afternoon and did nothing after getting up! A day spent reading a book is awesome - didn't happen this time! A day watching TV is OK - decayed into another boring pastime! I even had some work to do - afterall, my advisor isn't paying me to cool my heels - didn't do any appreciable amount!
"Why this sudden despair over this boredom?" you ask? Well, that's 'cause I have a meeting tomorrow with my advisor and I am expected to show something tangible for the time I was supposed to have spent doing some work. So sat up the whole night doing some work - boring work again - and have to head out now again to the lab and put what I did on paper onto a comp, and pray that the damn thing works!! Keeping my fingers crossed...
I just realized that I called the work boring - well, to be truthful, I guess I never liked whatever Mech-related work I did till now. I am beginning to see that this thing ain't bad, and is in fact interesting! Why am I not able to bring myself to enjoy something I am feeling is interesting? What's happening here? Well... whatever... here's a resolution I am sure to break within two days flat - I'd change my ways a bit, and start working on time and in time!
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Happy New Year...
Well, many people I know have been looking back on the last year and as is expected, there are mixed reactions from them. I never used to understand why people look back on time during such dates which signify another small rotation in the small cycle of time that is given us. Now, I am beginning to understand why people do it. Of course, I guess it is the best time to identify our shortcomings and such, try to be better than what we were till then... the usual stuff which prompts people to make resolutions. I, for one, am not the kind to make resolutions, unless I have the express intent to break them. Anyway, it is indeed nice to make some changes for the better and take stock of which direction you want to take your life in. Guess I would also have to sit down and take stock and decide what I have to do, and what I would rather not do - but most important of all, I guess I need to figure out why I would want to do something or the other. Need some time...
Anyway, till I sort out at least part of the confusions I am in, Happy New Year. Here's hoping that the new year is better for you all than the previous years were. And that you are better from this year onwards than you were till now...
Anyway, till I sort out at least part of the confusions I am in, Happy New Year. Here's hoping that the new year is better for you all than the previous years were. And that you are better from this year onwards than you were till now...
