Im planning to run away and emigrate to live in a goddamn village in New Zealand and run a bloody sheep farm - No electricity, No internet, a 10 mile drive to the general store for a phone and goddamn tin box toilet with no walls - overlooking miles & miles of delightful meadows & misty clusters of trees.

I'l own and run a fucken 5000 acre sheep farm with about a dozen farm hands & about 20,000 sheep and think of nothing but fleece, lambs, grass, meat and border collies.

Too much stimulus these days - too much news, too many potential things to do - too little done at the end of the day - Too fucken depressing !

News!!

News which will most definitely interest all Junta who're Chem Eng'rs from ACTech (atleast those passing out from 04 - onwards)

Dr. R is getting engaged next week and is subsequently getting Married in June (22nd he said) - i got it off him when chatting last night with him.

Special chap, Dr. R is - B.Tech Gold medal, Gate Gold medal, MTech Gold medal (IITM), best outgoing PhD student (IITM Chem Engg Dept) - no pretence, no nothing - Professor, Project Guide & Friend - Well Gud luck to him !

True to his nature he and I have agreed that before breaking the news far and wide - that we'll try a little social experiment, - Ive put it online on the Orkut page for his "Fan club" run by a couple of Junior blokes - and keep mum - lets see how many people catch hold of the news :)

Heh !

http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=12970061

Busted!

Busted "What i go to school for"

I chanced upon it ystrdy - like after 5 years - i think it came out in '03. Seriously one of my Top 10 favorite songs ever :)

The Youtube link: Here Song Funda: Here

[ The embed code snip isnt getting copied on the clipboard for some reason i cant fathom ]

In certain aspects of work - im simply unable to schedule time and get things done on time - atleast before some1 sends an official deadline / strongly worded reminder

For most other things - iam able to proactively get things done ultra quick. In other cases - where i do menial chores like ordering, making statements etc. ive actually grown to do these things a couple of hours a day - like it or not.

But in cases where i absolutely DETEST the work im supposed to get done - the level of procrastination i usually get to will almost 100% get me fired if i actually were a fireable employee - i mean - if i were my boss - i wud fucken fire myself without a moment's hesitation

Am i just a plain lazy OR does this happen to every1 ?

Speed Racer!

Its happening all the time now - movie reviews written online are often more entertaining than the actual movies themselves

Heres a brilliantly written review of the Wachowskis' adaptation of Speed Racer: here

I remember watching Speed racer on Cartoon Network when back in School - the plots were the thickest & the dumbest youd ever come across - apparently - nothings changed

Go Speed Racer, Go! LOL

Glory! Glory, Man UTD

Ive been glued to the TV for the past 2 hours or so - with a huge backload of work awaiting for the rest of the night and into the week.

News:

Man UTD are the Champions this year. AND it wasnt just goal difference - Chelsea drew 1-1 against Bolton - Serves them right, i say.

[Theres more icing on UTD's cake - John Terrys broken a hand or something and is in doubt for Moscow]

Ronaldo's first half penalty and Giggs' second half strike sealed it for united today.

Wasnt exactly the mostly electrifying of matches - but it does give you a nice feeling to see (in Andy Gray's words) "The good guys" win :)

The week before last - Chelsea won 2-1 against Utd purely on the back of 2 or 3 horrendous referee errors - They have gotten licked now, havent they ?

There is one event left of this saga this year - the all English champions league final in Moscow (First leg on may 21) - UTD Vs Chelsea

Am reading Bill Bryson's "Down Under" - a chronicle of his travels into Australia.

I have a copy of his 'Life and times of the Thunderbolt Kid' and was slightly disappointed with it.

(The Plus with all of bryson books that make them readable are that they are moderately full of funda AND witty - the trouble with 'Thunderbolt kid' is that there is no funda at all - just interesting narration of boring stuff)

But Down under is pretty good. The bloke sure knows a few things about a good gag or two :)

[ If ur bored read page:26 - a description of how he sleeps : He starts off with "Most people when they nod off, look as if they need a blanket; I look as if i could do with medical attention....." and goes on to give in about 75-100 words - a hilarious account of how he dozed off during a car ride in Sydney. LOL ]

A very productive day -

Perhaps the only blemish was the incident at the Gym today - The darned water dispenser had two blue coloured taps and i assumed that no one wud be fool enough to mark both blue and then make one boiling hot and the other cold -

With just a little swig i fucken near burned my mouth - and spit it all out and said "FUCK" loud enough for several people to stop working out and stare at me.

Ive been licking bloody ice with my sore tongue for the past hour.

What kind of retarded cretins will actually buy a dispenser to make boiling water AND mark both taps blue !?

Moral of the Story: Be *bloody* ware of water dispensers

Tag

Nina's tag -

Disclaimer: End of a horrible day at work. Some answers might reflect my state of mind. But im fucken harmless, really! :)

Last movie seen in a theatre:

There will be blood - One of those movies which if id watched at the end of a day like this would av resulted in Murder. Nice acting - but negative entertainment value.

What book are you reading?

None this week. I have 'Inheritance of Loss' and the, now famous, 'My Name is Red' lying around - I suspect i wont read either of these for now.

Favourite board game:

Um, was scrabble once. Monopoly - sometimes too. I havent seen a board game played or participated in one - for, i dunno, like a fucken decade now.

Favourite magazine:

Reader's Digest before. (The Indian version is quite spoilt now) - Dont subscribe to anything here. I read the Hindu in the,um,Loo

Favourite smells:

Murungaikai in Sambhar. The smell of Tadka ('Thalitchu kotradhu' in Tamil), Cardamom, Filter coffee.

Favourite sound:

Um, i dunno.

Worst feeling in the world:

Solitude

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?

Um, how many times did i hit the snooze button ? 4 or 5 ? 4 means im 40 minutes late - 5 mean im 50 minutes lates :). [ Sidetrack: Did u know i sometimes get Hari to call me from the US at 4 or 5 in the morning to wake my up if i have an appointment online early or going on a drive ? Poor guy - and to his credit he always calls and wakes me up loving saying "O*%$a Edhirida"]

Favourite fast food place:

Theres a chaat shop in the Spencer plaza - in the ground floor - i think in the second phase - run by a couple of Biharis - The stuff is divine.

Khana Kazana back in Bessie beach - its closed now - there was a, i suspect, gujarati family and an army of small boys who served customers who sit on the sidewalk and eat from plates balanced on plastic moulded stools (sidewalk - seat - the stool is the table - if u get the idea) - Their Stuffed gobi paratha, stuffed aloo paratha & Jalebis

Future child’s name:

What kind of an asshole will have his future child's name thought up already ? It seems a nice and girlie thing to do [Why havent u done it yet, eh, Nina ? :)]

Finish this statement, “If I had a lot of money I’d…”

Id set up Eva Green with an apartment in Stockholm, Paz Vega with a beachside villa in Spain & Preity Zinta with a palace in Jaipur as full time mistresses. Then have fun splitting my time with them. LOL

Seriously - If i had a lot of money I'd take some time off, plan out an elaborate venture in nice detail and have fun running it

- More money if it works, then maybe i can afford Giesele Bundchen too ? :)

Do you drive fast?

Sure, i do. I kinda like it.

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?

No. A pillow behind my head usually - which normally ends up in my arms somewhere along the way :).

Storms - Cool or Scary?

There are these nasty stormy nights with a lot of lightening & thunder - a darned nuisance.

Do you eat the stems on broccoli?

There aint no broccoli in India. Cauliflowers all right - the stems too.

If you could dye your hair any colour, what would be your choice?

I wouldnt dare to.

Name all the different cities/towns you have lived in:

Madurai (17 years) Madras (4) Nomadic (3 years almost)

Favourite sports to watch:

Football. Cricket, of course. I rarely watch TV on weekdays - i like watching sports to watching anything else.

One nice thing about the person who sent this to you:

Nice girl. From what i know of her: Lotsa nice qualities mixed up in the right ratios.

What’s under your bed?

Wait let me peep - um, theres a tube of skin lotion ive been looking for a week, um, some bits of paper

Would you like to be born as yourself again?

Yeah sure. Maybe i ought to be like a new me whos all me but looks a bit like John O^%$a Abraham

Morning person or night owl?

Night Owl

Over easy or sunny side up?

i HATE runny eggs - fully fried eggs ,omelettes, scrambled eggs are alright.

Favourite place to relax:

Um, chennai flat for sundays. From places where ive been to: Thailand - Its cheap, sunny, exotic enough and has lovely beaches if you have the time.

Favourite pie:

Um, not familiar enough to have a favorite kind. Ive had the Apple, Custard, Lemon Meringue & the blue berry - kinds. Dont remember how each of them taste.

Favourite ice cream flavour:

Vanilla

You pass this tag to

– Hari mama.

Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?

Just Haris ben tagged and im sure he'll respond.

*Yawn*

Drove to Ambur through the night Ystrdy with Ajd - nice guy - back in touch after like 4 years - Nice to get back in touch with a friend who is also some1 who understands what work you do. How many of you know about wet blue, retanning, fat liquoring and eccentricities of Chinese Leather technicians ? heh.That was the nice part -

Drove back late in the afternoon today - testing 140/150 kmph marks on the rusty indigo through to Sriprmpdr - then got stuck in this horrendous traffic - the 180 kilometers till Sriprmpdr and the 50 odd kilometers to TNagar took me the same time - 2 hours each. Hell

Hit a guy (Well the guy claimed i hit him, but im 200% sure i didnt - he kinda collapsed with his motorbike under my car and in fact he claimed that i hit him because mine was the only vehicle still not moved from the spot - as he was sprawled out under it ! - The Asshole)

To cap it all off - just as i turned the corner off Tirupati Devastanam into my lane - another bloke pointed out that my front right tyre was flat - Damnation !

I got back home to find it hot, devoid of anything edible, dirty & lonely.

Took a shower, checked email to find that i have received an email with a mile long technical query from EDQM about my Metformin Hydrochloride dossier which i have to answer in 15 days!

Im angry, hungry and pissed off.

I am going to advertise for a roomate - who'll pay me fucken rent, cook occasionally, fucken wipe the floor if its too dirty & chatter endlessly - Know any1, folks ?

"Lower labour costs account for 39% of the China Price advantage. A highly efficient form of production known as "industrial network clustering" together with catalytic Foreign Direct Investment add another 16% and 3%, respectively. The remainder of the China Price advantage is driven by more mercantilist elements. Export subsidies account for 17% of the advantage, an undervalued currency adds 11%, counterfeiting and piracy contribute 9%, and together, lax environmental and worker health and safety regulatory regimes add another 5%."

Some hard figures finally !

Just got back into Madras today - went down to the Spencer's Superstore in the street corner.

I bought, in addition to other regular stuff - three mangoes - which weighed 1.3 kilos for which i was charged, hold your breath, a hundred bucks - approx 75 bucks a Kilo.

I was plainly stunned - that was what like 35 bucks per mango.

I hurried back with the mangoes and ate one of em. It tastes fine - but not very different from what i ate back home yesterday.

Back home in Madurai we have this small mango plantation where our factories are - and there are about 300 mango trees (there are more im sure) - and each of em producjng about 300 mangoes a year - that makes what 300 x 300 = 90000 mangoes a year.

And at wholesale rates around 6 or 7 bucks a piece - this must be surely worth about 90000 x 7 = 6,30,000 a year on the conservative side.

The contractor bloke pays us like half this last figure as per my mom [ Who BTB forever keeps hounding my dad to ask him for more ] for one season's mangoes and forever weeps that he barely makes a profit each year. For all i can see my dad isnt bothered.

I wonder though - so much value addition potential exists in such a small little thing -

Its like that all the time - sometimes we just dont have the energy to open up too many battle fronts in life and fight all of em with the same intensity, eh ?

P.s - Im going semi anonymous now and call myself 'A' [ I racked my brains nice n hard for about 5 mins for a suitable name - my mom calls me by a ridiculus nickname - all other names i can think of - i didnt like that much - So 'A' i am - for now ]

Bill & Dave

Iam reading "Bill & Dave - By Mike Malone" - How Hewlett and Packard built the world's greatest company. [ ISBN: 0-14-310239-7]

The best business biography ive read all my life - and possibly the book of 2008.

In the author's own words - 'Their story is something of a miracle - one from which we can never stop learning'

Gosh! I do wish that someday I do some 'this changed the world' thing too :)