I'm running out of ideas!

Not for this blog, no way. I didn't have any ideas when i started out, so no problem running out of them anyway..:P

Its actually with my holidays.. You see, i'm supposed to join my job in early October, and finished college with the knowledge that i had 5 months to waste away. Going to an intermediate job, was quite possibly the worst way to spend my time, i decided. Hence, doing nothing was the only way to go. Big deal.. Of course, 4-month holidays were shooed away many times in the past, so it would just be a matter of time (literally) before i saw them off.

Not this spell, though..

" சும்மா இருக்குறது எவ்வுளவு கஷ்டம் தெரியுமா? "

- வடிவேலு

It was funny when i heard it first, but now the full impact of the statement has hit me..:P Somehow, i've passed these 3 1/2 months by doing a variety of things, like:

Playing a million games:

I can probably give Gamespot and IGN a complex, considering the sheer number of games i've played these days. Racing, Shooters, Strategy, Puzzles, Action, RPG, there is not a single genre i've left.. And that includes our all-time online favourite, Counter Strike. Oh yeah, that is the perfect time-killer, as long as you don't get consistently nerfed by the 'mega-pro' gamers out there. Well, that's precisely what happened and i'm losing interest in it gradually. The occasional games don't hurt, but then, that defeats the whole purpose of it. That puts videogames out of the reckoning

Reading a dozen books and a few hundred ebooks:

Another generic hobby. During the early months, i bought myself a shelf full of books (Gan knows how big), subscribed to a couple of car mags and emptied my tiny bank balance in the process. The online duniya, on the other hand, found me a few hundred good picks from the e-species. Sure enough, they held me in good stead for a couple of months. Pushed my eye sockets a few millimetres back in the bargain.

Facebook and other online time-wasters:

If it had not been for the net, i'd have been paranoid by the first 2 months. Thankfully, i 'discovered' Facebook. Knowing how to click a mouse button has surely unlocked many secrets i never knew. For instance, i nowknow that i'd have been a 'Shaolin Monk' if i developed myself into a legendary warrior, and that if i wasn't me, i'd be 'John Lennon'. Terribly useful, these quizzes.. Tells you how many people are actually making a useless git of themselves and still have the guts to brag about it. I reckon i could create an entire blog about goofy quizzes in Facebook!

Wolfram Alpha, Mashable, Google Trends, Twitter all gave their 5 minutes of useless benefits too, though none good enough to completely fill my digital void..

Fighting for my provisional certificate:

This is one interesting aspect of govt colleges. Before you can get your provisional certi, you're supposed to get two 'no-dues' slips filled up. Boy, was that a treasure hunt! Approximately 9 people have to sign in 12 places, and to get those some of those signs, you have to finish a small set of objectives.. Its a lot easier if you get these done with your friends, but you're out of luck when alone. In spite of the early start, i got lazy and didn't want to get my certi any soon. And boy oh boy, did i pay for it. When i returned to coll, the next year had started and people were too busy to respond. The worst part was when i had to wait alone in the library for 4 hours to get 1 friggin signature! This whole thing took so much of my time that i could officially count it as a pastime..:D

There were a number of minor time-killers too, like sleeping extra 3 hours every day, trying to memorise the newspaper, kalaachufying friends, jabber jabber.. None of them could prepare for the 'shock' moment though..

Reality finally got the better of me, and i now have nothing else to do.. All the past-times which used to my hog my time are just staring at me blank as hogs. Not even thinking of what i can do helps me do something. For the first time in world history, i'm officially, completely bored! The end (of free time) is near, but i don't know if i can keep my brain-cogs running till then.

And this is where i need your help. Tell me something i can do to kill the remaining time. Stand upside down on my fingers; get chased by a mad dog; try to take on Osama, anything.. Any idea would be welcome, as long as it doesn't serve any purpose, and takes up a good chunk of my time..:P

Thanks in advance!

(Yet another)PS: I'll probably think of this sometime in the future and tell myself, "You could have done something more useful then". Heck, i made my choice between doing what is right and what is easy.. Doing Nothing! And i stuck to it.. Ever heard of integrity?

The 4-year old Car Manufacturer (Part 2)

Recap: After a series of interesting(!) events, I became the Youngest Wannabe Car Manufacturer of All-Time

Soon enough, I grew up to nurture my interest in automobiles. Within a few months, I was able to spot any motorbike just by the sound of its exhaust.

Here’s a small example I remember, slightly dramatized:)

Sound from outside: […thump-thump-thump…]

Neighbour (Talking to my dad) : What bike was that?

Me: It’s a Bullet, uncle!

N: (shocked)

Another one: […vrrrr..vrrr…] or something lyk that..

N: Bet you couldn’t tell this one, kid..

Me: Ind-Suzuki, of course!

N: x-P

Note: Don’t think I kept up that 'form', though.. Flash-forward to now,

Sound from the road: […cough..cough... sputter..]

Dad: Did you hear that? Which bike is it, Arjun?

Older Me: An old one, of course.. Who cares!!

(maybe its our pre-historic Rajdoot..:P Anyway, flashback to my 5-year old self..)

While going out, I caught site of any ‘Car and Bike’ Magazine on the bookstands and pestered Dad to buy them for me. Mom joined my side and ensured that he got me one. They weren’t cheap, mind you.. 150 rupees in 1992 was a big deal, especially considering it was for a boy who didn’t even know how to spell properly. But those books made me good enough to differentiate Ferraris from BMWs. They were the reason I gathered some interest in Auto Quizzing

The really amusing part was when relatives (and school teachers in class sometimes) used to ask what I wanted to be. Without any hesitation, I’d reply, “Car Manufacturer”. Shocked the hell out of them, all right.. Every time, it brought their best reactions out of them, be it facial or otherwise..:) After recovering from their dazed expressions, a few of them would encourage me, while most would try ‘advising’ me and my parents. To no avail, of course.. Even when I was three feet tall, I’d set my ambitions sky high, and never even thought of budging away from it.. And so did my parents. I’m really thankful to them for letting me pursue my passion. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be the car-nut that I am now

But then, I made the biggest mistake of my life. I grew up. Grew up to learn how tough it actually is to become a car manufacturer. Grew up to face reality. To embrace the ‘average’ life. I began to think that living the life of an engineer isn’t such a bad thing, after all. The naysayers finally had their way, and reason started to creep inside my mind. By the time I got my job, that dream had all but vanished from memory. I was looking forward to be just another one of those million automobile engineers who had a passion towards cars..

Except that this ‘kid’ in me stubbornly refused to grow up. Every now and then, he would crop up in my brain (like one of those manasaatchi characters in Balachander films, or a split personality, if u prefer Shankar) and remind me the true objective that I had set myself. I’d try telling him why I couldn’t do it, blah blah.. We’d never get around to a consensus, but one point was finally established. For now, I shall pursue my current path and be a ‘regular’ engineer, but I shall not forget my ultimate ambition in life – to be a car manufacturer!

If you don’t understand what I really mean by the above lines, then so do I.. This post has to come to an end, right?

P.S: If you know of any bankrupt carmakers who are in need of a lousy GM (no pun intended), do tell me.. I’ll b more than happy to acknowledge your offer..=)

P.P.S:

Upon popular request (?), i've posted a picture of the 'kiddo' me in a ride. My first car this.. Rode it for 4 years until it could bear my weight no more. I've done some nifty tricks with this one, figuring out the brakes when there were none (don't let the pedals move), reversing the car (pedal in reverse, of course) and carrying 3 ppl on the 'bonnet'.. If you want any proof, just look at the condition of the front wheels..:D

Just for fun

Here is a small collection of funny and weird stuff I came across..

|| Witty and humorous quotes ||

Ø The road to success is always under construction

Ø I don't have a solution, but i certainly admire the problem

Ø To err is human, to really foul things up requires a computer

Ø Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation

Ø Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether

Ø A professor is one who talks in someone else's sleep

Ø If you can't learn to do it well, learn to enjoy doing it badly (Me playing Counter-Strike:)

Ø The only reason people get lost in thought because its unfamiliar territory

Ø The whole purpose of your life is to serve as a warning to others

Ø Radioactive cats have eighteen half-lives

Ø Don't let people drive you crazy when you know it's within walking distance

Ø It's not what you say in your argument, its how loud you say it

Ø If you cannot convince them, confuse them (why am i reminded of Goks now? ;)

Ø Lead me not into temptation; I can find it myself

Ø There is nothing more horrifying than stupidity in action

Ø Never underestimate the power of human stupidity

Ø Work fascinates me. I could sit and watch it for hours

Ø Eat a live toad in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day

Ø A census taker is a man who goes from house to house increasing population

Ø Person describing a car accident: The pedestrian had no idea of which way to go, so i ran over him

Ø Don't bother to agree with me, i've already changed my mind

|| Weird ads ||

Auto Repair Service. Free pick-up and delivery. Try us once. You'll never go anywhere again

Classifieds:

Wanted. Man to take care of cow that does not smoke or drink

Three-year old teacher needed for pre-school. Experience preferred

At the cleaner’s:

We do not tear your clothes with machinery. We do it carefully by hand..

Used cars:

Why go elsewhere to be cheated? Come to us first!

T-shirt quote:

I'm not as dumb as you look

Sign in a store window:

Any faulty merchandise will be cheerfully replaced with merchandise of equal quality

In a tailor shop:

As you rip, so shall we sew..

On a bookstore going out of business in Chicago:

Words failed us!!

Tagged :-8

Tagged is a game where you are tagged by another person who gets a tag from.. well, you get the point, don’t you? So Parth, wanting to make sure that my blog doesn’t stay idle like myself, tagged me in his blog. I thank him for doing so and giving me a chance to share my favourite somethings.

Of course, every one has their own preferences / views on every topic, so I’ve followed Gan’s N idea and started with my 8 favourite ‘stuff’

|| 8 Favourite Books ||

I mostly go for sci-fi, fantasy & humor. No wonder you’ll be seeing the best of these genres in this list:

Harry Potter – The perfect novel, imho. It has everything – Humor, Action, Drama, Romance, whatnot. Any other book pales in comparison with this masterpiece. Tops my list by a huge margin

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – If HP is the best, then Hitchhiker’s the funniest book of all time. Every single line is meant to make you roll down onto the floor, sprouting gales of laughter. And it’s still classified as science fiction. It’s a pity they couldn’t translate it into a proper movie.

Isaac Asimov’s Foundation – The Epitome of all science fiction. Every single sci-fi series you see has taken something from Asimov’s work. The defining characteristic of this series is that there is no direct action, only dialogue. All that’s happening in that world is updated just through the interactions between characters. Add to that the intricate plot twists (In the novels, double-double crossing is mentioned like some lame excuse for story telling), and you have a series that elevated science fiction to its current level

Life and Times of Thunderbolt Kid – Another truly LMAO book. The author reminisces the truly wicked things he'd done while he was a kid (he did a lot more than banging cars and fixing them up, mind you..;) While I was reading this book, my parents doubted whether I had gone slightly mental. It was that funny

Right Ho, Jeeves – Just like Asimov, Wodehouse’s books really kick started the Comedy genre and made it a sell-worthy propostion. While I’m yet to read through his ocean of books, this was the one that tickled me the most. Bertie Wooster, you rock!

Sujatha’s Science Fiction stories – I don’t know how many have heard of this book, but this is the best example of sci-fi in Tamil. Supreme creativity and tongue-in-cheek humor elevate this book to a new level

Timeline – Parth and Vatsan know why this is here

Ultimate History of BMW – A Behemoth of a book, 1ft x 1.5ft big, tons of info and a collection of massive pictures all covering my favourite brand, BMW. I really couldn’t ask for more.

|| 7 Favourite Fictional Characters ||

Calvin :

“If something is so complicated that you can't explain it in 10 seconds, then it's probably not worth knowing anyway.”

Now that’s what I call attitude..

Bertie Wooster – From the Jeeves series

Pakkada from the movie ‘Pasanga’ – Now he may not be anywhere close to the level of other ethereal characters. But Pakkada, like Swami (Malgudi Days), brings an element of childish innocence and naughtiness into the character that you cannot help but adore.

Bellatrix Lestrange (HP – movie only) – Bella from the book didn’t impress me much, but the way Helena Bonham Carter carried out the role with so much passion and verve, pulled me over to the dark side. All that voice modulation and expressions, now that’s what I call acting!

Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie) – The thing is like about Poirot is that unlike Sherlock Holmes, he is not perfect. Of course, Poirot’s humor does shine through, but the way he pulls the rabbit out of the hat, that’s what blows me away.

Marvin (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) – The best example of soberness.

He takes ‘புலம்பல் ’ to a whole new level. Marvin is a robot with a computati

onal power 50,000 times that of the average human, but broods over the fact that couldn't put it to any good use(!). Check this out for a sample:

"Yes, sir," the receptionist snapped, "can I help you?"

"I doubt it," said Marvin.

"Well in that case, if you'll just excuse me..."

"No one can help me," intoned Marvin.

"Yes, sir, well ..."

"Not that anyone tried of course."

Best characterisation for any robot. Period..:D

Mr. Bean

|| 6 Favourite Films ||

Forrest Gump – An uncomplicated story about an uncomplicated man. And some complicated visual effects. I love the way they treat some genuinely gloomy themes like Forrest’s illness and Vietnam war, and make us laugh in spite them. Perhaps this is what they call a charming movie.

Harry Potter (except HBP) – Every single movie of the HP world is an example of what Hollywood can accomplish. Brilliant actors, spectacular CG, meticulous recreations, and proof that they don’t always screw up a good plot. Except when it comes to the latest movie. I just didn’t feel the rush I got when reading the second half. It simply doesn’t translate very well on the screen. A pity, really..

Happy Days – The exact opposite of HP, a fine example of how 40 lakhs is enough to do a great movie. Though there was hardly a story as such, the unforgettable characters and sweet screenplay simply wafted you through the movie. Add to that some great music, and you have my favourite film down south

Rang De Basanti

Lord of the Rings

Chak De India – Sports + Patriotism come together like never before

|| 5 Favourite Random things ||

My Laptop – You couldn’t spend 15 hours a day with your laptop and not love it. Mine is a Dell Inspiron 1520 with a behemoth of a graphics card – the Nvidia 8600M GT. Neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride..:-)

My Phone – The slim and sleek Sony Ericsson W350. Sound quality arguably as good as an iPod

Digicams – Funny, this one. I don’t even have a half-decent digicam, but I really love them for what they are. A fun, cheap (as in the cost of shooting, not buying) way of giving vent to our creativity. Problem is, I couldn’t satisfy myself with these point-and-shoot thingys. A 12x zoom 10 MP Olympus is more like it..:D

Books – The only properly ‘useful’ item in this list..;)

Top Gear – British TV show that is quite possibly the best car-related telly on the planet. Jeremy Clarkson & co. really scorch the sets with their impossible stunts and typical British humor. Its so popular that the tickets for live recording viewers have been booked for 21 years!! Now that’s what you call a ‘sell-out’ audience..

|| 4 Favourite words ||

Eksi – This is my favourite ‘chat’ word, rather.. Gan introduced me to this one.. You know what it means.. ‘Enna Koduma Sir Idhu’(!) It seems relevant to a lot more scenarios than you might think..;)

Travel – Not these crowded traveling in the city. A 1000 km train journey is more like it. Sitting down by the windowside, reading your favourite book, listening to that great number in your walkman, man that is bliss!

Sleep – You can’t call yourself lazy if you don’t love this word! If I don’t sleep over 9 hours a day, I feel that something is missing from me..:D

Cars – No need to explain this one. My passion, hobby, profession, everything..

|| 3 Favourite Celebrity Crushes ||

Evanna Lynch – The girl who plays Luna Lovegood in HP. Damn, she doesn’t appear for more than 2 minutes in Half Blood Prince. Wish she had played Hermione..;)

Katrina Kaif

Avril Lavigne - Why do you have to go and make things so complicated?

Best ever Counter Strike Movies

Its a funny game, Counter Strike. Started out not as a game, but as a modification to one of the best (but not-so-well-known) first person shooters, Half Life. It then took form as a proper retail game, CS 1.6. But when Valve wanted to make a follow-up, it took them 4 years and three developers to get 'Condition Zero' right. But what matters really now is that it is the most played online shooter in the world. We just can't get enough of Dust 2 and Inferno, can we? Anyway, here's a great movie tribute to our ever-beloved CS.. This movie is rated 'A', but blood is not the only reason, as you'll be finding out.. ;)

Man, i wish i could shoot like them someday..

Here's another good one:

Funny Video

Some of you might have heard my raving about Top Gear. Best thing ever to happen to TV, that kind of stuff. One of the key reasons for its success is its hosts, most of all, Jeremy Clarkson. The way he presents is simply wicked. Some of his 'sounds' make us think he might have swallowed a few hundred musical instruments for breakfast. As testimony to this fact, one guy has actually created a remixed track just by mixing his sounds and adding a simple BGM.. Really funny stuff this..

The 4-year old Car Manufacturer (Part 1)

My friends probably saw this coming. The first post on my blog is about.. cars, of course. Now, every kid worth his 3-year-old life would swear by cars and bikes as the utmost passion in life. The only difference is that mine stretched a few years beyond that – a couple decades, perhaps. Here are some interesting events (imho atleast) involving cars in my life:

I was a rather grumpy kid to start out with. Too fat (yes!) for my age, too slow move about, too late to even pick up speech. Till around 2 ½ years of age, the only word I spoke was ‘akka’. My parents were probably worried, since I was about to join school soon enough (imagine going to LKG and calling the boy next to you ‘akka’.. Surely not the best way to make friends..:P)

But then, something happened that would change my life forever. A car passed by. Yeah right, you’d think, I figured at that moment that I was a Transformer, uttered some cool words, did some mumbo jumbo and morphed into a 50-foot behemoth. While I’d have preferred that course of events, battling Megatron & Co didn’t turn out to be my true calling. A white Ambassador passed by on the road as Dad and I were standing by the side. That’s how much I remember of the incident. Dad filled in the rest once I grew up big enough to forget it. It seems I pointed it to him and asked “Adhu enna Pa?”. Three words good enough to throw all those ‘akkas’ out of memory and bring the whole Tamil vocabulary to my reference. He was shocked alright, but answered “Adhu oru car da kanna”. Pat came my reply “Appo, adhu enna Pa?”, pointing to another car parked down the street. 2 sentences spoken in 10 seconds, a personal record. The rest, as they, is history. Dad would repeat this story to any of our friends/relatives unlucky enough to ask more than two questions about me..;)

Soon enough, the car Bug (as VW fans would say) bit me. I bought every car bommai out on the market, be it Hot Wheels or with ithu pona wheels. And like any self-respecting kid, I banged them into each other till their manufacturing process was reversed to obtain their origins. When dad used to scold me for this, I picked up all the broken parts and created an entirely new car out of them, courtesy some rubber bands. Watching all this stuff, he used to mention half-jokingly, “If you keep doing these kind of things, you may end up being a car manufacturer”. Once again, yours inquisitive wouldn’t have unknown words spoken to him, so I pestered him to explain all about car manufacturing. He told me all about it in detail (as much as he can to a 4-year old, anyway). Those words would end up defining the rest of my life.

And that’s how I became the Youngest Wannabe Car Manufacturer of All Time (at least as far as I know). I didn’t know that it would take billions of dollars of investment. I didn’t know that it would take me several painstaking years of effort. I didn’t know that it might even turn out impossible. All I knew was that I loved cars more than anything else in the world, and creating the ‘dream car’ would be my life’s ambition.

To be continued.. Yeah, right.

Thanks for taking some time off to read my blog. If you felt this is yet another attempt at an 'interesting description of an uninteresting event', thank you for making it this far. However, if you think i've done a decent job with things but could have done better, do leave a comment..;)