Maladies of a newly registered Puneite

I was feelin' like a writer today. And my Yahoo blog was looking hopelessly neglected. So I just put two and two together and wrote on Yahoo instead! Am I smart or what? As for my Blogger audience, I wouldn't dream of leaving them out of anything. So here's a copy. Hope you identify.

Pune

Don't have the pictures yet! Sob!

Ok so I promised that I would get some awesome pictures of my dear 'ol Azam Campus to back up my last post while here I am, three days later, reaping the ills of a procrastinating disposition. Two days went by because I couldn't get my camera to be charged. Today I finally managed shove in my camera and charger in my bag despite being hopelessly late for college. Thought I'd charge it in college and then go click, click, clicking after work. Sounded simple till I forgot the camera in the department before running off to my Scholar batch class. Thank God I have a good colleagues who cover up my callousness. I have already lost one of my digicams and can't possibly afford to lose another. I even forgot to pick it up from the department cupboard after my Head of Deparment had safely tucked it in. Darn. My apologies. I really should have gotten those pics by now.

Let me be verbose today...

I usually keep my posts short and crisp; not because I talk less but because I want people to actually READ my blog rather than just 'skim' through it. Hehe. I have heard tons and tons about the oh-so-short attention span of a web-surfer and how on the net being prolific does not translate into profit. But today I thought I would make an exception. Today, I want to talk. it isn't about any earth-shattering experience that has changed my all perspectives so much that it compels me to share it with the world in its absolute totality. (Phew!) Just a mood. A self indulgent desire to speak...
College re-opened (officially) today and it was wonderful. Wonderful to be back to my musty-dusty department; to breathe in the pristine monsoon air of Azam campus.; to feast my eyes on the vast open expanse in the form of the sports complex and wonderful to take in the luscious green trees. (Which by the way get even lusher in the rains). Oh, to speak of the misty cloudy skies. And the soft, silent zephyr. And then of course, old friends. Friends who have been there by me for years. And some friends who till a year ago were my teachers, and now my colleagues. What do I say...Allah has been kind.
The expansive Azam Campus, nestled cozily in the heart of Pune has become a part of me now. Five years as a student and a year as a lecturer has made it more than just an address for me. I fall in love with it every monsoon, because that's when it's at its brightest best. Not a single start of term since 2000 that I haven't felt so happy about being in it. It's like a tiny world in itself. You step out and the contrast hits you. Traffic, garbage and all that yuck. But once inside, it's a different stage.
You may argue it is not all 'heavenly' as I make it out to be. Of course I am biased. But what the heck. Sometimes you just get a feel of belonging to somethings. Even if you hate a lot of things about it.
I like it here. I like working here. I like to be contributing in some way in its progress. And there are nice people around too. People who have been a part of my growing up and people who I connect with. Plus, there won't be another job in the world where I can be so 'me'. Like in another set up, I would think a zillion times before I can picture myself scaling a wall as a lec. Not here. Here I can sit on the college 'kattas' with my pals, fool around in the canteens, race my friends to the exit, play about without a care and just be. Because I have been a student here, because I have my closest friends here, I can care minimally about what people will think.

Okay. Time to break the reverie. Ideally I should have ended this piece with a very dramatic close. But I wouldn't force that kinda thing. Perhaps posting some pictures of it would have been 'befitting'. Oh well, I said what I wanted to say. Maybe not as well as I meant to. But it's done. And thank God for that. I am blessed. Period.

Anonymous Comments Again!

Now tell me; Why can't people STAND UP for their comments? Anonymous comments (and their respective commenters) really pique me 'coz there's no way you can get back at them! Check out this comment on my previous post: "Does begging on your blog really fetch you things?" Grrrrrrrr. Well in my case, it fetches me comments!
If I only knew who wrote that! Well, to the 'commenter's' credit, I did laugh out loud when I first read it. But still...WHO WAS THIS? (With the audacious piece of devilry.)
At the risk of repeating myself, here's my humble request: Will the 'The Anonymous' please stand up and take responsibility? I solemnly promise I will not throw anything at you. Even if I wanted to. It's cyberspace remember?

I want a new cellphone!!!

Yeah. Sure want a new one! Sob. Sob. When I had gotten my Nokia 3100, it was a pretty neat thing to flaunt. But now I need more!
I would have set up my wishlist, of course, but the technologically challenged person that I am, I don't know how to do it! (WAIL!) Of course, while I am dreaming I could have well shot for the N-Series. But no. I am going to keep it simple 'coz I have a slick plan up my sleeve. (Wink! Wink!)
Ahhhhem!
I am ("sincerely"?) hoping that some good friend reads this and buys me this pink 3250. Awesome machine. Of course, keeping my sense of style in mind, he or she could also get me a Motorazr V3 in hot pink (this thing reeks of style, man!) or better still, the Motorazr V3x-more features even if it doesn't come...well you guessed it... in Pink. Hmmm...so err, WHERE are all the good samaritans, again???

My desk..definitely one of my tidier days...hehehe...the quintessential me! And ahhh! The books! Right now I am simultaneously reading Robin Sharma's 'The monk who sold his Ferrari', Daphne Du Maurier's 'The French Creek' and Robert Ludlum's 'Acopalypse now'. None of them particularly rivetting so I am going to take my own time..might just dump a couple of 'em midway if they don't start getting interesting soon!

Vague comments from Anonymous readers

Ok. So I open my inbox and see that my dear 'ol blog has gotten a comment. Now just ANY blogger will tell you that getting comments is the prime reason why we write blogs in the first place. So it was quite an anti-climax when all I saw was errr a very vague comment by an even vaguer person. Ahem. And the 'commenter' was smart. Signed 'Anonymous', this one really knew how to cover his (or her?) tracks. Grr.
The comment on my post 'Readathon' says (I quote) "ewrewtt". Hmmm..now is this some new lingo that I am not in the know of? (God, I am not that old yet to be obsolete!) If someone can offer some translation, please come forward in the noble mission of enlightening a fellow blogger. Or can the 'The Anonymous' please stand up and clarify?

Read-A-Thon

Ahem. So now that I have semi-vacations (still have to work thrice a week despite the hols-not that I mind it though), I thought I might as well invest some time in reading. I try in vain to keep up with the newspaper but it always ages faster than I expect it to! Well. I started reading a book on fundamentals on banking. Boring, I know. But I thought that by the end of it I would be a banking pro. Left the book midway even when it was getting interesting! It was just too long. Another interesting book? Essentials of English Language Teaching (a MUST-READ), alas, I left that midway too (why do I have such a short attention span???). I finally got to read Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, some famous short stories (Raold Dahl, Evelyn Waugh and the likes) from Present Laughter (ed. Malcolm Bradbury), a few from Muriel Spark's collection, I began reading 'Preparing for the 21st century' (Paul Kennedy-whatever I read of it was pretty impressive) and some sparkling essays from R. K. Narayan's 'Writerly Life'. Phew. Needless to say, I was able to FINISH only one book from this catalog!
They say that there is a sect of readers who read only to be able to flaunt about it later. Now that I am done with the flaunting, I leave the categorization to you. Ahem, ahem.