Window 2005

My workplace is situated at the 4th floor (of 5 floors above ground level) in a fairly large complex at the center of the city of Hyderabad. One of the good things about working on a higher floor, I thought on my first day, would be the view of the city. Being an IT related company, my centre is completely air-conditioned, windows are tinted and screened. That doesn't leave much for you to view.

Ok, what about outside the office. The hallway, the stairs...does that have anything to offer? Like any shopping mall (which essentially is what the ground floor is!), all the shops and other businesses are built along the main wall, with the entrances and hence the hallways from inside the mall. So, all windows are inside one business or the other, again, carefully tinted and closed for air-conditioning!

There is a window by the stairs at each floor, but then there is always somebody standing there, pondering over a smoke, or worse, sitting right under it and talking to his/her (girl/boy)friend. So, that doesn't do any good about the view either. It almost looks like the whole mall probably convened a secret meeting before my joining date and said "Ok, guys! This is it! He is coming tomorrow. Now, I want all the windows in this building hunted down, tinted and screened! You've got one day to complete this mission! MOVE!". I almost lost all hopes of a good ariel view.

After nearly half a day's work, I wanted to ease myself (you know, the one which you spend longer time of the *two*). I walked towards my goal thinking hard over my work. I opened the door and was blinded by brightness. For a moment, I thought somebody will say "Hello! Neo!". Where did so much light come from? A Window! Positioned high enough to protect privacy and low enough to provide a good view without much effort while doing you-know-what! Perfect! With a fly-over, airport nearby there is enough to keep you from being bored. Flights taking-off and landing. Large hoardings by the fly-over and the numerous motorists on the. Being in the 4th floor, air keeps gushing in like the devotees at Tirumala. This is place offers such a big relief for a stressed mind (apart from its actual purpose, of course). I must admit, I have visited the place even when I didn't have to, just to enjoy the vista and fresh air. I wonder if I am the only one here, who feels that way.

...strangers are pop-ins

Yesterday, as I would do on any weekend, I was roaming the crowded streets of Hyderabad with my friend in his bike and we hit a red light. From our past experience we knew that its break time for our loyal motorcycle and let it sleep. Lost in thought, I merrily started whistling a favourite sound track from Kill Bill (you know, the piece that Daryl Hannah whistles when she goes as a nurse to kill Uma Thurman). When my senses came back to the real world, I found myself looking past a girl next to me. She gave hard glare at me and started raising her scooter's throttle periodically like a racer waiting for the "go" signal. I thought "Great! Now I am a loafer!" I foolishly smiled and raised my hand as a sign of apology. She hastily looked away feeling more insecure, most probably thinking "Crap! Now he is trying to talk to me! *&$@^>?*! Do they pull them aside and teach them to do this or something?". And she was off like a horse at the signal and turned right. I don't know if she was actually headed right or if that was an impulsive decision.

That made me think about all the strangers I meet every day. It struck me then, that strangers are like pop-ins. They come in different colors and tastes and melt out quickly from your mind. And the taste of these pop-ins are not only in them, but also in your tongue! And this tongue of yours is made of millions of taste buds like, your personality, state of mind, age, sex, status, what you are doing, what you are wearing, where you are going and many other things.

- To a baby, a stranger is probably a green coloured alien with transmitters in his head (recall that puzzling look in their face before they start wailing?),
- To an unemployed, he is a potential job opportunity,
- To a guy carrying heavy cash, he is a probable pick-pocket (remember the crowded bus or the guy standing behind you in the ATM?),
- To a girl's father (or a girl herself), he is a potential loafer,
- To someone who has realised that he/she is badly dressed, he is all eyes,
- To a single-and-looking, he is a potential date,- To someone like Forest Gump, a stranger is a great pass time, (remember Tom Hanks in that bus stop?),
- To a blogger, he is a faceless audience.
At some point of time, I have been all the taste buds and all the pop-ins (sadly, the single-and-looking is an exception). As the famous phrase goes, "...life is a box of chocolates.". Well, strangers are just a little bit different, aren't they?

Seven

So, thats what tagging is about. I had to visit a few others Maayaa had (and had not) tagged before I got an idea. So, its a question of seven. Why seven? Well, I guess why not? Anyway, here it is!

Seven

things I want to do.

1. Travel to Maldives. Its a wonderful place and will be off the map in about 10 years!
2. Learn human psychology and apply it.
3. Teach part-time at school and/or college.
4. Think proactively.
5. Watch all well-made movies
   
6. Learn and experience varied culture.
7. Learn Telugu and Urdu
   

things I can do.

1. Hold off anger
2. Get up early!
   
3. Respect someone's view, even if I don't buy it.
4. Make friends of diverse people.
5. Jog non-stop for 45 minutes, and work-out for an hour.
6. Listen out others (as I found out, many can't), especially in an arguement.
   
7. easily doze of while reading!
   

things I can't do.

1. Bargain
2. understand money matters (Business, profits, stock markets..)
3. Eat meat or smoke tobacco
4. flirt with girls
   
5. return a "Hi" with a "Hi" (I always say "Hello")
   
6. detect an ulterior motive
7. stop checking out girls (C'mon, don't hate me! I'm a guy! Atleast, I am honest!)
   

things I would like in the opposite sex

1. Simplicity
2. Sensibile spirituality
3. Good decent dressing sense
4. Out going personality
5. Sense of humour (atleast, a sense to appreciate a good joke!)
6. Unbiased attitude
7. Good looks (my favourite is girl-next-door's like Vidya Balan)
   

celebrities I like and why.

1. Vidya Balan (looks)
   
2. Tom Hanks(Acting)
3. Jack Nicholson (do)
   
4. Kamal Hassan (versatality)
5. Amir Khan(do)
6. Rani Mukarjee(acting)
   
7. Sania Mirza (performance)

Spam comment filters

Its not even ten minutes, since I became active and I already know what the blog needs in the future. Spam comment filters! Look at the first comment on my previous blog today. Its about some food allergy and why am I so damn sure that it was auto generated. Is there anybody in any corner of the world working on the spam comment filters?

Rising from the ashes

Whew.... a long time absence. Not that I have run out of ideas. But I had been travelling....half way around the globe. I wish that was a travel for pure fun. But I relocated to take up a new job. So, if my location still says that I am in Oregon, its a lie. Now I am in Hyderabad - in a new place, and in a new role, new experience and renewed excitement. Now I feel like the English Cricket team...I feel like I am rising from the ashes!