Tomorrow’s what I’m waiting for

Its that time of the year again! When you hope you were a christian [if you're already one, you should still read this], when you wish you had a christian girlfriend, when you wish you stayed in Bandra, knew more about the Bible and not just skewed facts from Da Vinci Codes, always thought why didn't Hindus have hymns like Silent Night which somehow sound better than the ones we have, how you have always wanted that christian name was Arthur or Stella or Scarlett, or how much we like the anglicized names of the roads, Park Street, Connaught Place and Brabourne, when we think how did people buy virgin/Virgin birth or how cooler it is  to give out cake instead of laddoos, when we think of Christmas sms's but then don't really care but still send it because we have those unlimited schemes, how much we prefer the customs of candles instead of crackers but still feel the burn from the latter on the fingertips and how Christmas has and always will be special to us.

After studying in a particular Clifton School for three years and having sang hymns every morning, Hallelujah and Hark the Herald makes me pleasantly nostalgic. Silent Night just reminds me of Cartoon Network.

Remember this?

Silent Night, Smelly Night,

All is raw, All is rice...

*Smiles and high fives*

As always, Bill Watterson captures exactly what I think and imagine. Here is one for today, perfect, poignant and warm.

And keeping in tune with 2010 and Time Man of the Year, here is a video of Christmas, 2010-ishtyle!

I love Christmas. We all do. But, frankly, there is nothing in particular I like about it. Apart from the morning of I think 25th Dec, 2004 when I woke up to find a US Army soldiers and fighter jet figures beneath my pillow. For an entire day, I sincerely believed nothing wrong can happen in this world, as long as my parents are sleeping in the next room. That, Santa can gift you even if you don't have a chimney. Or, lets make that last statement figurative. I hope everyone has a chimney in their life!

Prudence is imperative

I don't need to elaborate on the news. Just the point I need to make before you. As much as we like reading about the world reacting to the arrest, the release of the documents and memos and the subsequent comments from leaders all over, I need to bring to your attention something very important. Pointed out by a dear friend from the States itself, this entire story could spell disaster for you.
A recent memo from US agencies clearly spell out this in layman terms :
The release of the documents does not change its status as classified. So, viewing, downloading or sharing the documents still counts as breaking the law.

So, you risk losing your job because of a silly distraction at work or home or wherever you find a free wi-fi connection!
Infact, this doesnt apply only to Wikileaks. The case is of one Juan Williams who was fired from NPR because he apparently felt nervous when around Muslims. Numerous companies are now pouring into the new recruits' Facebook and Myspace profiles to dig out dirt - Profanity, nudity, alcohol use and the likes.
Existing employees also stand losing their jobs over a silly hat with a pornstar stitched on top or even a status update criticizing work policies.

I picked up the following points to keep in mind all the time, from flockpost.com. I suggest you should memorize them :

1. Don’t add your bosses in your facebook network
2. Don’t add colleagues who is not so good with you
3. Don’t post anything good or bad about your job, company, boss or any colleague.
4. Don’t post pictures which are consider to be very private.
5. Don’t write about your past, if it was bad. We all have bad pasts.
6. Use facebook privacy settings always.
7. Don’t write anything, just anything.
8. If you are a student today, tomorrow you will be on job, facebook will prove your character and HRs love Facebook.
9. Avoid comments containing, nudity, abuse, controversies, religious remarks, insults or bashing with F**** languages.
10. Respect your company’s policies and save your job.

 Prudence really is imperative. You sure don't want to be headlining the news tomorrow morning, over a silly photo upload from tonight's slosh party you don't even remember tomorrow morning. Get a hold of yourself and don't discuss sensitive issues.

Playing hard to get

Harsh playfully pointed out a very important thing we all have to remember. After getting rejected in the first round of interviews in Microsoft as well as Goldman Sachs, I feel weird. A bit irritated and dejected to be frank. But philosophical at the same time. So, I will discuss this with you.

Big or small, famous or infamous, rich or poor, all companies look for what they do. Its pointless to think you have X talent, which will be your ticket to glory. It aint gonna work. No one cares what you have or know. They look for what they want.
So, the midnight call from TnP or the morning knock from some other batch-mate only makes your heart skip a beat and you start to shiver. You feel : Oh dear god! This is the moment! I am better than that PQR moron who beat me at long jump. And you get ready for the interview in almost 3 .5 minutes. No bath. Almost tooth-brushed.
TnP is the coldest place on earth. You want to pee every 10 minutes but you dare not get up and leave, or else Anshuman'll see you! Slowly, the company-wale come and make their way to the various rooms (MR-2 is the worst). Once inside, I dont know what they discuss but it always sounds pretty serious. You wonder what the MBA and Abacus magazines are doing in the corner. Why on earth would someone come here and read Competition Success inside the "Training and Placements" Cell?
Once you're in, you feel the HR guy could've looked better. Why does he get to wear jeans and Adidas shoes and I have to wear a vest and put on my dad's tie? He asks you "Tell me about yourself" and you recollect your prepared statement "I am an extremely determined creative enthusiast yada yada yada I am impressed by your company's profile ...gilachimocojojo... a hard working perfectionist like me" BAMMMM
You're out.

Next company comes and you learn squat. You still think you can make better of this HR guy coz he's bong. Well, hate to break it to you but he's a hotshot C++ "enthusiast" as you call it, and he ain't intersted in what you say. He wants you to code for determining the most suitable move for a knight on a chess board. Mind you - CODE. The last code you wrote was for union of a set in MATLAB!

And, that's how I got rejected. Twice in a row...Best of luck!

Missile Man of India v/s The Defused Bomb of Maharashtra

I rarely write about such stuff because it includes politics and I consider myself to be as dumb as Joey about it. But, here goes nothing.

---

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

Our favourite president.
Or is he our most famous president? I personally can't name more than 4 and I will never forget the name of two of them. APJ and Pratibha Patil. Lets say this post is devoted to the two of probably the most famous presidents of our time, for very different reasons.

Everbody loves APJAK. No one has a reason to hate him. He's super-intelligent, super-nice and talks about including youth in the movement for the nation's growth. Why wouldn't you love him? There are videos of his speech's standing ovation in the UN.
His 10 books sell like hot cakes. 6 people have written his biography. He's the first Asian to get the Hoover Medal, which has been awarded to the likes of Alfred Sloan Jr., Dwight Eisenhower as well a couple of other US Presidents.
But, really what all this brings to light is how many years it took the Government to include a scientist in office. And only 2 presidents have gotten the Bharat Ratna before him. Aren't presidents supposed to have it by default?
So, there is a wonderful sentiment in the air about our APJ. He always laughs. He always impresses. He got us into space and gave us the power to kick Pakistan's ass. But then, suddenly, just like a hot shower suddenly spewes cold water on you, his tenure gets over. Is he going to be there for the next 5 years?

Along comes Pratibha Patil, from godknowswhere, reeking of univocal support for Congress. The late Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had no chance whatsoever and she won with almost double the number of votes. So, did APJ not contest? Well, he was advised to do so by AIADMK, SP and TDP combined. He needed assurance to win, which he couldn't get. So, he never tried.
So, Pratibha Devisingh Patil becomes the 12th and the first woman to do so. She claims to have spoken to the spirit of a deceased leader in Mount Abu. But, that's ok. She apparently forgot speeches. But that's ok. She is embroiled in countless controversies regarding banks, sugar and purdah, dating back to 1975. But that's ok.
A self-confessed hippie and an associate of Bob Dylan (So writes Wiki) is now our President.

I am not against woman becoming Presidents. Lets get this fact straight first. Phew...

Now, what image comes into your mind when you hear Patil's name?
An old lady in a silk saree, slow to move. Slow to talk. Figure of enough prominence to represent us in front of 190 countries? I think not. Rather, I expect Her/His excellency The President Of India to look, talk and walk like the name sounds - The Supreme Commander. Honorary, heavy and capable of sweeping the meeting off its heels in one go with sheer intelligence and humility, with so much as a smile on the face. That was APJ for me. I failed to be ignited by Pratibha. I failed to feel proud when she delivers the message to the nation on 15th August. I failed to listen to that message anyway. :P

Personally, APJ being President again would have been a response to the popular demand and the assertion of the national sentiment and pluralism on the face of the UPA. Did UPA want Pratibha to be President or did it need her to be? We'll never know.
What we do know, for a FACT, is that the highest office has been devalued, robbed of its sincerity and austerity. Sha!

Home is closer than I thought

Homecoming is more sacred a feeling than any other. Its more moving, more picturesque, more "right" and more effective compared to anything you'd do in life.
The anticipation of the train station arriving and looking out the window to see your mom and dad waiting for you, smiling away to glory...
The hurried steps you take to get out of the train and jump to give them a hug...
The little fight with your brother to hold the heavy luggage...
The recollecting of the funny stories of the journey...
The feeling you get when you open the door of your room and you see all your stuff still placed just where you left it...
The smell of your home...the removing of shoes and socks to feel the tiles( i do this...i dont know about you. it relieves me)
The "Jaldi jaao...naha lo...fir khana kha lena...bhindi banayi hai..."...

The younger ones opening your bag to see if you brought something for them...
The joy of giving it if you actually did remember to buy it...
The messaging your girlfriend "I reached. luv u."...
And the list goes on...
on and on
till the time you have to eventually go back. No matter where you're going...its just not good enough to be called heaven. Because mom's not there...If mom came to Jharkhand, it wouldn't be as bad...really. apart from the food and the people, what else do I hate about jharkhand anyway?
Homecoming for me is 3 weeks and a couple of days and away...Still far, but I can already feel it. I can already picture the high-5s in the train on "We're goin' home baby!"...I can already see dad's cry for the newspaper...bhabhi's smile when she comes back from the clinic...the tired irritating voice of my brother when he returns at 11pm...and ofcourse mom's everything.








Mom's are always special huh? They are they are! In everything, they're there. You wanna go and buy her the whole world everytime you withdraw from the bank...

Why is Damien Rice playing when I am writing? Or is it the other way?

We only take No for an answer.

Many people have asked me how I got vrudijones as my email ID everywhere. Some of them probably were "sarcastically interested" ( I don't know a word for that). I always told them its from a villain in Superman. I had myself forgotten who Rudy Jones was!

That's him! ^

This one might be more familiar.

Also known as The Parasite, this 'supervillain' should be along with Hulk and Spiderman at the Tussauds!
Okay, the title is just something I remembered from the Yellow Submarine video. Yes, your Blueness! hehe.

I am a worried kid. I think I worry too much. Of issues within my scope and beyond too. Artic ice, tribals, dolphins & tigers, little kids dancing on TV all day long...but, also of my mom's slowing hands and feet, my friends back in college fighting the heat to give their exams again and of a chalazion in my left eye, for which my Bhabhi says I have to get a "minor" surgery.
Everybody is worried about saving the environment. So am I. I do my part! I read about it and water the plants in the balcony... and think I am helping in getting more O2 out there.
They are releasing The Cove in Japan. For those who are unaware of this, click. Taiji fishermen are probably worried no one will buy dolphin meat again. (phew)
ASI is worried it will never get the Kohinoor back.
MS Gill is worried Commonwealth's infrastructure won't be complete in time.
Anil is worried Mukesh won't give him cheaper gas coz they're bros.
Girls are worried monsoon will come late.
Guys are worried more players will get injured before the Fifa WC.So, we're all worried kids. And we won't always find  perfect viable solutions. That's for sure. We have probably never gotten a fresh piece of advice from anyone.
Chalo for the time being, yehi theek hai!