Wrong medal, wrong neck.

"Things have been strangely borne". Nothing more to say.

After so long, I finally got one good true tryst with quizzing. the one opportunity I had been waiting for a very long time and which was eluding me for so long. And even after I got it, it has left me with a sour mouth. Ah, life! It gives you exactly what you want, but in such a way that you wish that you were better off without having got the thing in the first place. Who can fathom the complexities of life?

The day of my last post (ie the 15th), I also was chosen by one of my teachers (my Maths teacher) also selected me for another inter-school quiz that was to be held today. But there was one problem. There were supposed to be 3 two-member teams sent from each school and our school was sending the Class 12 team, our team (me and another class 11 guy) and a third team from Class 9. [Being the masters of quizzing for two years, the class 12 team was given an exception to participate in the quiz {Class 12 boys do not go for any events in the second half of the year, as a rule} and to win it] And the prelims was supposed to be written but only the top 6 teams qualified to the on-stage event. BUT, only 1 team from each school could go to the on-stage. Which meant that us, being the B-Team, had NO chance of even hoping to get higher than the masters.

I was all set to grab this opportunity but had only 2 problems. Firstly, the class 12 team should not have been given the exception. After all, we should also have been given our chance. And secondly, the class 9 team could easily have been replaced by a stronger class 11 or 12 team. Anyways, I braced myself for the quiz as it came (prepared would be a wrong word to be used, as I did NOT prepare at all)

Yesterday, I was talking to AD (The best quizzer of our school, and one half of the class 12 team) and complaining on how on earth would we have a chance at all, with them still being there. And he said "You guys have to beat us to get there. Its a challenge. For there will be teams even better than us that you will have to beat. There you cant do anything. Moreover, if you beat us, then we would be the happiest."

*Sigh*

Another chance for quizzing wasted. Come on! Its like an amateur vs professional. Who do you expect to win?

So today while we were going to the school where the quiz was to be held, I came to know that our school had been the winners for 5 consecutive years and had even gone to the national levels last year. Meaning, we HAD to perform respectably well.

At this note, the quiz started. There were 30 questions, which turned out to be very very easy. (At least for the standard of our school). We got most of them correct and then waited for the quiz-master to announce the answers.

When the answers were finally said, it turned out that we had got 24 correct and the class 12 team had got 25 correct!!! (And the class 9 team had got 18 correct) So near and yet so far. And all the while before the teams were announced, I had been hoping that they somehow make a spelling error or something that they get equal to us, and then we get past them. (If two teams were on equal points, then the team who gets the first incorrect answer loses out. And their incorrect answer came before ours.)

We had our lunch and then the results were announced. As expected, the school standing first was ours. With 24 points.

*Silence*

What!!!

Nobody could believe what was going on. Because if the points were 24, then we had managed to beat them.

Then the quiz-master announced that both the teams from our school had come first, and that the team qualifying had managed to do so on virtue of the tiebreak system in the 17th question.

And that team was ours.

(The points for the 6th team was 17, which meant that even our class 9 team would have qualified, had they also been allowed.)

So we go on to stage, with my mouth wide open. Literally. (Even the quiz-master noted the fact [several times, AAMOF] that the junior team had come up after beating the senior team, and that we were very shocked to be there.) With a huge responsibility on our shoulders. That of 5 years. We HAD TO win it now. HAD TO.

The quiz started off ok. We were joint leaders till 3rd round after which one of the other teams took the lead. We almost cut off the leam at several places, but before the last buzzer round, we were still 10 points behind them. In the buzzer round, we made 2 errors, losing 20 points and then lost all hopes of winning when one of the other schools answered one question with 2 more questions to go. We answer the penultimate question to come up to 3rd place at 40 points (the second placed team was at 50 points while the winners had already won it at 70 points. The next team at 4th place was at 30.)

But we were still having our final question to decide the 2nd and 3rd place.


[Writings in italics are my thoughts, as they were going on at the time.]



Get this answer correct and we will force ourselves to a tie-breaker for the 2nd place. 
Get it wrong and we force ourselves to a tiebreaker for the 3rd place. 
The team at 2nd place gets it right and they walk away with 2nd place, leaving us 3rd. 
They get it wrong and we have a tiebreak for 2nd place. 
The 4th placed team gets it right and force us to a tiebreak for 3rd place.
In all other possibilities, we come 3rd, while the 2nd team stays 2nd.

Therefore, we HAVE TO get it right. Simple. Save some face while its still there. At least 2nd place

The quiz-master starts saying the question. My hand on the table

"In the NATO terminology for letters...."

Wait a second. I know this terminology. Yes!!

My hand moves to the buzzer, with my finger poised to hit it anytime.

"if A stands for Alpha,..."

The question will make sense only if he asks for India (one of the few that I knew) ,which will be I. Just hope he does not ask for a Q or something. Please let it be something I know.

"what stands for...."

Please be I. Please be I. Please be I......

"I?"

I hit the buzzer immediately.

"Yes?" said the quiz-master.

I grab the mic and shout out "India!!!" and keep it back with a sense of triumph.

"Absolutely correct answer!!"

Which meant that we were going into the tie-breaker for the second place.

Next came the tie-breaker question.

"Cartoons? Everyone here likes them? Okay. In the Scooby Doo series..."

I know cartoons. I know Scooby Doo. I should get it

"... what breed of dog is Scooby Doo?"

Shit. I dont have a clue. Alastair? Dalmatian? Shit. I know this one. Have heard it so many times. Eeeesh!!!!

"Anyone?" 

*silence*

"I shall count to three, after which, I shall be asking a new question. Three...."

Please think of something. Something

"Two....."

"Is it Great Dane? I am not sure, but.", my partner says.


Maybe. But dont take the risk. Dont.

"Are you sure?" I ask back. (We had lost 10 points for delaying in answering a previous question, although we knew the answer)

"I think so. Hit it."

"One......"

"Hit it man. Hit it.", he said.


I think so it is Great Dane. But dont take a chance. Should I hit it? Yes? No?

"Hit it."

I hit the buzzer.

"And zero. The time is up. Sorry but you would not be allowed to answer. The buzzer was just too late."

My partner asks "But can we just try?"

"Okay, but you would not get any points for that"

"Great Dane"

"Great Dane is absolutely correct."

*a hush from the audience*

Shit.

"But you should have hit the buzzer earlier. I'm sorry but you would not get any points for that."

"Its ok. We will get the next question." I console my partner.

"We move on to the next question. Who was the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India?"

Yes!! I know it. Had the very same question in a literary quiz in school a few days earlier. Yes!!!!

"Moraji Desai", I shout out to my partner within milliseconds. (I'm sure it was shouting.)

He hits the buzzer.

I pick up the mic and hastily say "Moraji Desai" very  loudly and jubiliantly.

*Immediate applause from AD. And a very loud applause at that.*

*Quiz-master says nothing*


Could we be wrong? No. But AD has clapped. And he can never be wrong. Yes!! We have got it.

"You were late in saying Great Dane but you were lucky with the next question. It IS Moraji Desai."

*Applause from everyone else now*

"I told you na, we would get the last question of the quiz again." (My partner had been previously saying that we always got the last question of the quiz. Every time. Record maintained again.)

So that was it for the quiz. We finally stood at a respectable 2nd, after a remarkable recovery. And it turned out later that AD knew almost all the answers. Very simple questions (for him, not for us) that we could not answer.

Even later, we cross-checked the answers to find out that we had beaten them squarely and not by some mistake, as they had missed out one more of their wrong answers.

So we went with the silver medal back to the school. The record for 5 years was broken, but next year, we are SURELY going to win this. Not just this, but also every other quiz that comes our way. Because after coming second, my thirst to be the best has been increased manifolds now.

I now feel happy that I beat AD, but bad, that we could not manage to be 1st. If we were 1st, it would be great and would justify our place. But 2nd is just respectable. And had they been there, they would have surely won, and possibly even gone to the national level. Again.

The biggest irony in the place will be AD's statement "If you beat us, then we would be the happiest." Because even though they were happy, we weren't. We should have at least held their respect by coming first. And thus again, this was a perfect epitome of how we got what we wanted, but in a way that we did not expect. Or like. It was also the perfect example of how words said not-so-seriously turned out to be absolutely true in weird ways. (This has happened to me more then once before. Once, I went to a drawing competition [And my drawing is similar to that of Picasso. Only it does not look weird intentionally.] where I saw the drawing of the best drawer [Maybe drawer isn't that good a term to be used! Maybe painter would be more appropriate] and said "You will come at least second." And afterwards, he actually came second. And first prize? Me!!!)

And so, at the end of the day, i leave satisfied and happy, but at the same time, with a sour mouth.


Wrong medal. Wrong neck

Me and murphy- part 2

A day in the life of Soni

This story is NOT a work of fiction. I only wish it were. Or maybe not. Today has been a spectacular day. More like one in a septillion. But then again, such days have become part and parcel of my life. Only these surprises keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger.

Hope you got the intent. So what all happened today? Lets find out

The day was a promising one for me as I had to go to school, give a Unit Test (on Physics) of 30 marks, attend 3 more periods of classes and then go to represent my school in a Science Quiz that was to be held after that somewhere in the city. So, it seemed that everything was fine. But wasn’t going to be...

Just two days ago, there was the Children’s day celebrations in our school and as it happens on children’s day, the school park (usually belonging only to the junior school) was open and many senior boys were also hanging and toying around with the swings etc. Naturally, I and my friends also went to the park to play and we played a bit. After some time, I took the critical decision to sit on the dreaded “Swing”. As it turned out, I had tried to fly (letting myself go of the swing and then let the inertia of motion of me and the swing still keep us together until I landed back at the swing). However, little did I know that the FAA had grounded all flights then. I went forward and the swing came crashing into my back as I hurt it terribly. Even now, I still have a lot of pain in my back.

It was in such a physical condition that I was studying yesterday night in my room (or rather my grandmother’s room [which was empty] as my own room was too dirty to be fit for studying) in the night, preparing for my Unit Test. That, my dear friend, is a distinction in itself, as I have been studying hardly any Physics these days as I seem to have lost my interest for the subject (part of the blame lies on the syllabus and the greater part on Physics teacher we got [No further comments on this one]) somewhat too. (Not that I study a lot of the other subjects but ...) So necessity became the mother of ... voila... Rote learning. (I hate rote learning like anything but was forced to try it out for the sake of the common good. Of my marks, that is.)

Back to the room. So there I was, trying to get one of the three chapters in the syllabus into my head for the very first time, when I made the error or grossly underestimating. Or rather overestimating. Or both. Overestimating my own capabilities and underestimating the syllabus, that is. I had thought that it was possible for me to do the syllabus in 2 hours maximum doing it completely well (since the chapters were supposed to be easy and the other guys told me that it should not be much [Note that I had previously completed parts of my ICSE syllabus in 10 minutes what others would take a couple of hours for. Then again, I did not have a lot of choice at 5 am on the morning of the examination. Necessity is the mother of invention. Yet again. So I was confident to easily complete it. But I had underestimated my role as a perfectionist, which almost cost me. Again.]) But two hours into studying and I had done only 1 chapter when I fell asleep at 2 am in the night. So totally me!

So I woke up again at 7 am and got ready superfast (as I was late to leave already) and got another 10-15 minutes of studying for myself so I could finish off the second chapter. Two down, one more to go. Knowing that the test will be held in the 1^st period in any case (thanks to me), I had to keep those precious minutes of study for the time in the auto rickshaw we had before we got to school. Which was precisely 15 minutes, give or take a 5 minutes (That is after subtracting the time lost in miscellany and the fact that we are moving while studying. Or trying to study. [Not to forget the fact that I have a problem with studying while in a moving vehicle. I get severe headaches when I try to do so. But had to study anyways then.])

So I studied and studied, but with one slight problem. One of the boys in the auto (in our school, but a junior to me) wished to have the songs on the auto on, which I promptly refused. But again, he was sitting behind in the auto, while I was sitting in front and I could not study well if I was still sitting in front. So I made a quick deal with the guy to exchange the seats in return that he could listen to the songs. A good bargain, according to me. So I just got into my book while he started playing the songs. Which was a torture to me. How can they expect anyone to listen to Enrique? If it was rock, then it would have been different but Enrique? Come on. Soliloquys are a torture in every parallel universe.

Thankfully, I did the third chapter in time to try to get almost everything into my head and go through it over and over again to just hope that I would remember them when I will need them. Now was show time. So I just submitted my cell phone at the office (Had brought it as I was to go to the Quiz) and braced myself for the Unit Test. When I saw the paper, I was literally Shell-shocked.

I knew the answers. Every single one of them. Except a single 3-mark answer that I made up anyways, but yes. I knew it. (Such an achievement was really mentionable especially for Physics, in my case) So I had a great test and then went out of the exam hall saying “Eureka! I did it”

That was it for the Test. Now was time for the Quiz.

Now this quiz was a science quiz for classes 9-12 for which 2 teams of our school were supposed to go. Of them, one of them was from Class 12 while the other team was ours, from class 11. We had overall a very balanced and great team which covered all types of aptitudes and topics and we were hoping to get some very fine results with our great team. We had even prepared quite a bit for this quiz with every member (including me, which is very rare) doing his bit to rock this quiz. In the end, we were all set and revved up for the quiz on the day.

Only there was ONE small problem.

Today, midway through the 4^th period, one of the members of the class 12 team called me outside the class to meet him. When I went outside he just said three words “Quiz is cancelled”. And when I returned back, my English teacher was teaching the following line from Macbeth “Things have been happening in weird ways” One in a septillion moment!

So WTF happened? I seriously don’t have the slightest clue. Of course, if you are looking for the lame excuse life gave me to cover up yet another trick up its sleeve, here it is- The quiz was only for 9-10 and the paper given to the schools mistakenly said that it was for 9-12. And they called up our Principal in the morning to inform that the quiz was only for 9-10 and so our school decided not to send any team to the quiz (Not that they had any choice at that moment)

As a neat epilogue to the entire matter, I called up the guys in charge of the entire quiz and asked whether the quiz was actually for 9-10 and well, just find out things. It was there that i found out that there WERE teams from 11-12 that participated in the quiz and that they also will be selected. Only their marks “will be taken care of”.

There is just one Hindi proverb that would have fitted perfectly into this situation – “Dhobi ka kutaa, na ghar ka naa ghat ka” (Roughly translates to “Washerman’s  dog; neither of the house nor of the washing ghats” [A more accurate translation, would however be “Neither here nor there” or “On the fence” ])

So this recent “event” completes the second trinity of such happenings with me and quizzing for this year. (In other words, I got very weird things happenings all over quizzes this year.) The following are a list of them –

The quiz club week for our school was held before my first terminal examinations in July-August. In it, there were three events, of which I was a part of all three-

•   First was the inter club quiz. I was a part of the team, but had to later withdraw my name because I had to go to IIT-KGP that very day of the event.
•   Next was an open quiz where again, I was participating. Here, the questions were too tough and we could not do well at all. So I learnt from my mistake and prepared very well for the third quiz (and other subsequent quizzes)
•   Finally was the inter class quiz, in which we had a very strong team and had been preparing quite well. However, by yet another coup de grace, the quiz was postponed till after the first terminal examinations for some inexplicable reasons.

Then, in the second term (ie after the first terminal examinations), opportunities again soared as I got a chance to be there in (yet again) three quizzes.

•   The first was an inter-school quiz of 2 member teams. My partner and I had prepared for the quiz very well and hoped to do good. But (there is always a big fat but [no pun intended]), instead of a normal quiz, it turned out to be a “Nature” Quiz, fully based on EVS (Environmental Sciences). Gonecased.
•   The next was the inter class quiz (postponed from the above). Again, we were string and had prepared well. For a change, we even had a great quiz. BUT, again, we failed to win any certificate because of a major stroke of bad luck and bad placement(more on that later)
•   The third was this science quiz where, ... well you know what happened.

To anyone who does not find such happenings intriguing, please contact me. I would really want to know who in the world can have such an eventful life as to not appreciate the weirdness of the situations.

And btw, I can say with absolute conviction that this is yet another golden example of MURPHY’S LAW. In action.

Now the question of how we lost the inter class quiz. As I said, we had a strong team, which not only was good, but was also well prepared. During the quiz, we knew a lot of answers, we synced with each other perfectly well, gave some brilliant answers and made some superb connections. The only thing was that out of the 4 infinite bounds (or is it bounce?) rounds of quizzing, 3 were clockwise and our closest competitor was the class just before us. Which meant that they answered some questions of which we “knew” the answers. So we asked the quizmaster and he had the last round anticlockwise. But this last round turned out to be so hard that we could not cope well enough. (There was one question where we again knew the answers and nobody before us answered. When it just came to the class before us, they made a random guess at the correct answer, thus robbing us of our points) In the meantime, another of the competitors made a late comeback to win the 1^st place, while the other competitors made an even later comeback (as in last question) to win the 2^nd place.

The final result – Winners 100. Runners up 90. Us 85. And we lost at least 50-60 points to this placement. (Please note that I am NOT blaming anybody or giving a reason for us not winning. All I am trying to say that the things have happened in weird ways and this was yet another example)

So back to the day today. (Yup. The day is not over until it is over) So we attended the last 4 classes, even though we had taken the “Early departure” from the school for going to the quiz. In the 6th period, ma’am again came to me to ask if I was interested in participating in yet another quiz to be held soon. As usual, I said yes. *fingers crossed* [When life takes away 3 opportunities, it gives back 1]

And after school, there was a meeting for all the boys who had given their names for science exhibition and as usual, we had also given our names along with a project that was just a formality. We knew that we were going to be selected and since the other projects were not that good enough at all, we easily were going to win. Only there was one problem. Our project was too good to be taken for the exhibition, as the younger boys were most certainly not going to be able to understand heads or tails out of it. So, instead of participating in the exhibition, we will be part of a science seminar, where we will be giving a lecture of sorts (with a powerpoint presentation) to the senior boys of the school! That sounds simply great! :D Am really looking forward to it. *Fingers doubly crossed, redoubled as if to recreate another klein bottle* (Tried to make something out of a line from Macbeth Act 1 Scene 2) Lets just hope that we pull it off well enough. [I mend my previous words. When life takes away 3 opportunities, it gives back 3.1415 opportunities.]

That was it for the “one in a septillion“ day. Lets just see what the future holds for me. Till then , ciao.

Cheers. \m/

Regards,

The Original Soni

15^th of November, 2011.

__________________________________________________________

* My story has been labelled as 15th, but is posted on the 17th for the simple reason that I did not get internet access during this time due to a malfunctioning modem that was fixed only today.

# I may or may not have written this post had AP not forced me into thinking that it was "something worth writing". So thank you AP.

^ If anyone can actually make the appropriate Fermi Calculations, then please tell me "What are the chances of all these happening?"

$ On the very same day, RP was also having a one of a kind days where everything was going to his favour. He came to school late and the teacher standing at the line gave him a chocolate (last day was Children's day here.) He also had two tests on the day, one being an internal assessment for all the sections and the other just a class test. While he had prepared only one chapter for the internals, he did not prepare for the class test at all. And the internals were held during the very period the class test was going to be held! Whats more, the questions were only from the chapter he had studied!! And then, he had a Physics file to submit (which he did not do), which was postponed to the end of the day, giving him enough time to finish it.

Now that's something. Isn't it? [Had AP been reading this right now, he would have said "Yes. Yes it is" Some people are just so obsessed with Phineas and Ferb]

Something, something and something else

I think... (Universal gasps from everywhere [No guys, this time I'm seriously {more gasps} thinking {More gasps again.} Aw, leave it.]) (And no, I'm not going to say "and therefore I exist" [although it would have been a great thing to say.] Also, I prefer its Latin version "Cogito ergo sum")

Where was I? Oh, right. Thinking. So as I said, I think I finally found a role model. (Note that i make a special distinction between idol and role model. An idol will be someone like whom I would want to be [or better], regardless of whatever my decisions in life are, or the other minor characteristics of that person.The only thing that matters about the person is his/her achievement. On the other hand, a role model will be someone whose path would be the most likely path I am going to [or at least wanting to] take , when similar conditions arise in life. [AAMOF# the most likely reason one chooses a certain person as a role model because that person is very much alike to them.] Actually, its more or less the same thing, but I prefer treating them as two distinct and different things, so that I can have separate lists of both)

So my role model, or more accurately, the one person whom I most(or almost) identify with (at least for now. I am very fickle-minded, AAMOF) is......

*drumrolls*

HE is just like (a+bi)

*drumrolls*

You probably know him. Rather very well.

*drumrolls*

He's dead now. *sigh* Or rather, he was never living.

*drumrolls*

He is 113 years old and has a long white beard

*drumrolls*

No, he is not Santa Claus OR Rabindranath Tagore

*drumrolls*

a+bi means imaginary. And complex.

*drumrolls*

Finally, his name is Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian but you might know him better by his last name.....

*drumrolls*

*Flourish*

*more drumrolls*

which is.....




Dumbledore. ;)

(Unified gasps from everyone)

Yup. thats right. :) My role model is Professor Albus Dumbledore. Weird as it may sound, it is true. He is old, intelligent, has a weird sense of humour, says random quotes at any point of time, is tall (unlike Yoda), is knowledgeable, is powerful, is vulnerable in his own way, defeated the second worst Dark Lord Grimmenwald, was the only man feared by Lord Voldermont [You-know-who. {No, you-know-who is the name used for him, and not a term saying that you should be knowing him. Which, however, doesn't mean that you cannot not know him}], knew the value as well as the price of knowledge (or rather knowing) and most importantly, HE IS Albus Dumbledore. Period. Believe me, the last reason was the most powerful one. Even more powerful than an Avada Kedavra.

Right now, the one thing I am seeing in Dumbledore is his knowledge. He has a vast knowledge, and yet he does not desire it. He is the one person I have known who truly knows the meaning of the sentence "Ignorance is bliss." And that statement isn't one that is very much so felt by all. I feel it, and know what it is. I had even summed it up in two neat sentences -

"I tried to predict the road in order to cushion myself from its bumps. But then, i had lost the joy of travelling"

When you know things, things are not the same anymore. And that's why sometimes you need to just tell a person to have faith in you, and not try to help him understand the situation. Because though people like Dumbledore and Yoda (and me :) ) can help anyone immensely by making the road clear for everyone, only they themselves know what all confusion is going on in their heads- The P & Cs, the P & FLs and the various Ps.

More so, I found him full of wisdom (Mark my words, wisdom and knowledge are never the same things. Taking them the same is a cardinal sin, right next to dividing by zero.) and very very strong (emotionally and mentally that is. The person in the entire series who has suffered the most and the longest is him, for physical pain for a few seconds or minutes or hours or days or even weeks is far less than the mental agony of a lifetime.). He does not fear death and has submitted himself to fate. But sadly, he is completely helpless when it comes to change the mistakes he has previously done, for its them that he regrets the most but is unable to do anything about the past.

I could easily go on and on, but I also realize that there has to be a point where one must stop speaking and allow his own words to be realized by others (And I am way past that point ;) ) So here I stop my useless rambling.....

Or maybe not ;) Here are the few things that may or may not be happening in the current and the parallel universes (based on whether or not Schrodinger is observing me in my present, past or future.)-

* A long week is up for me (no rhyme intended). First up is a quiz, then after that is another quiz, and finally, another (Surprise! Surprise!) another quiz that I have to prepare about. And all of them will be in the matter of the next few days (more accurately, within the next 9 days, 9 hours and 21 minutes [or 11 days, 10 hours and 21 minutes, based on whether or not we qualify for the finals of the last quiz]) Which leaves a lot of preparing for me to do. Wow. Didn't really think that I would be in the quizzing circuit so rapidly. (Never imagined preparing for 3 quizzes, all at once.) Whatever it is, I am a quizzard now. :D (Now just need to replace the "QU" with a "W") Will be posting about the quizzes (that is, IF I win or do something good there.)

* The long wait is almost over. I had been waiting so long for Rockstar to release and now its almost time. Only 5 more days till Friday!!! I'm so excited!!! :D \m/ Will be awesome \m/

* I just recently came to terms with the speed of the human mind. It's really amazing. (Had something similar about 5 years back but both the times, the speed of the brain was undeniable.) Here is what happened in the span of just a few seconds. (Literally!)

I was in one of the front rows at the tuitions when there was a strange sound from the back benches. Sir asked them what it was and they said "Sound" (wishing to say that the benches they were sitting on made a sound) Sir misheard them as "Saap"(means "snake" in Hindi) and asked if there was a snake in the bench. Everyone, including me, turned immediately and after 1 second or so later, i realised that my mind had gone through a whole string of thought processes in the past 0.5 seconds while I had instinctively turned before it realised that they were actually saying "Sound". The thoughts were as follows-

"Saap! (Became overjoyed at that moment) Wow! A snake in the tuitions! Is it a rattlesnake (Immediately an image of a black King Cobra in the benches come into my mind) Where did it come from? Is it black? Is thats how a snake sounds? (Become worried) I hope that they (referring to Sir and the manager there) do not do anything to the snake (not even throwing it out somewhere) I must get to the snake before they do (A slight worry of the snake biting me)" [I really did not think at that time what exactly was I going to do when I got to the snake]

Interesting, isn't it? Whats far more interesting is the fact that all these thought processes occurred just within a time span of 0.5 seconds. (I'm 100% sure it was not more than half-a-second, for I had immediately turned on hearing the word "Saap") Thats how fast the human brain works. Awesome, isn't it? And you still call your brain dull?

* TBBT is coming to Star World from the 17th of November. (Somehow, mainly due to my cable operator, I did not get the channel where it was originally aired and so never got to see it, although I heard a lot about it.) Can't wait to see it, especially Sheldon, who, from all accounts I have heard, is the ULTIMATE GEEK. Am patiently waiting for my tryst with him :)

* Have been thinking a lot about the word "Nemesis" (Although I dont really know its meaning as of yet.) Hope to have one someday when I would love to have the fight of my life. (Figuratively, not literally. You do not expect a 40 kg kid to want to fight. Not one who gets his hand fractured when another boy falls on him.) So I would definitely want to get all the success I want in life and let fate takes it turn and allow me to graciously take my leave after the fight of my life. If my life is good enough to me, i would even have the rare priviledge to train my own nemesis. How wonderful can that be! Till then, I'll be waiting for him or her...... (One of the reasons I took Dumbledore as a role model. He knew Harry was probably better than him, and therefore decided to train Harry, rather than fighting You-know-who himself. One of the hardest and most noble things that could ever be achieved by a great person - "He accepts his defeat and the fact that someone actually is greater than him") So till then, I'll be waiting..... (All we gotta do is run. [Oh wait. thats another song for another context. Please ignore the previous line] )

* I may or may not be continuing with blogging with my fullest efforts since I suddenly came to find out that I also have some strange creature called "Studies". So, inorder to focus on my studies for a while, I may not be posting as frequently or long as previously, not until I put the rest of my life into order.

Till then,
Tckr.
Eeeennnnnjjjjjooooyyyyeee!!!!!!!
Cheers,
The Original Soni.
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# As a matter of fact

Help required. Urgently.

That's right. I'm asking for help here. Anyone with a way to help, please please do so.

So here it the thing.

I was approached by a phisher a few days ago, who posed as a dealer of some herbs. Now he has also given a UK phone number (which I am not sure works. Did not try it. Don't wish to spend my money on a useless international call) and I want to teach him a lesson that he will never forget. It is here, that I want your help, for ideas and ways to track him down and... well... at least do something to him. Please, if anyone has any way of allowing me to know his location, IP address or has any other idea to help teach him a lesson, please do tell me of the same (It seems I am too tired to Google it out). For I am sure, all of us here HATE these people(the spammers and the phishers) more than you hate the politicians of your country.

Thank you, :)
Yours,
The Original Soni

Les nouveaux événements et les rêves

Heyyo everyone,

This recent unscheduled update is just "in fond memory" of several recent happenings with me, which I just happened to recall just now (or more accurate 31.41 seconds ago ;) # ) So..... Here they are (in no particular order [or in 28 % random, 19 % unsorted, 34 % unidentified and 26 % unnamed order for the genius folk]) -

[The aforementioned things are truly fictitious and any resemblance whatsoever to any event, dead or living, is purely co-incidental (or a plot by my enemies to defame me).]

"Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of speculation and interest throughout recorded history. The scientific study of dreams is called oneirology. Scientists believe that everyone dreams, but people tend to forget them when they naturally pass out of sleep in the traditional sleep cycle. A person who is awakened during REM sleep is much more likely to remember the dream.

Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep—when brain activity is high. REM sleep is revealed by continuous movements of the eyes. At times, dreams may occur during other stages of sleep. However, these dreams tend to be much less vivid or memorable. Dreams can last for a few seconds, or as long as twenty minutes.

Dreams are a connection to the human subconscious. They can range from normal and ordinary to overly surreal and bizarre. Dreams can often at times make a creative thought occur to the person or give a sense of inspiration. Dream imagery is often absurd and unrealistic, and the events in dreams are generally outside the control of the dreamer, with the exception of lucid dreaming. Dreamers are usually not self-aware in their dreams; thus the dreams may seem very real to them while asleep. Dreams can vary from frightening, exciting, magical, melancholic to adventurous."

As you may have noticed, this above quote is from Wikipedia (The free encyclopedia [And no, this is NOT an advertisement for Wikipedia. Just making sure I have the full name, just in case I am sued for making fun of their name by using partial names]) and if your IQ is anywhere above 30 and below 180, you may also have realized that I would be going to talk something about dreams.(People with IQ above 180 are excluded because people with high IQ tend to think in complicated ways and thus may also have found a dozen other reasons for me to give the quote. Any argument to the contrary is highly appreciated and welcome. In the Spam section.)

Back to the topic, I recently have been having a tad bit too many dreams (Or if Wikipedia is to be believed, my dreams are breaking during REM more frequently) recently these days and thus I thought of sharing them. (I just now found out that "everyone" has dreams, and not only those who move while sleeping, as I previously believed. [The previous argument can be redefined now as "Mainly those who move while sleeping remember their dreams"]) I personally, have been having very bizarre, weird and highly complicated dreams and a few of them are shared here -
* The most common feature I found in my dreams was that even with weird things happening, my mind always tries to connect them in some way or the other, even though the connection may be totally absurd in real life.
* Shouting in your dream can actually wake you up in real life!!! (Happened to me once)
* Things that are around you usually creep into your dreams. For example, I was once talking to Ugesh Sarkar in my dream when he suddenly starts talking business stuff. Turned out that Dad was seeing some business channel on TV just near me then. :P
* It is possible for you to realise that you are dreaming. While still in your dreams. (Has happened half-a-dozen times to me)
* It is also possible to break your dreams whenever you want. Even though you are dreaming.
* Our worst fears and biggest wishes are the most common dreams that we have. For example, my sisters have thrown me from buildings for years now. (And that is not a wish ;) )
* We can even recall real-life memories in dreams, if we try to.
* And finally, our thought process during our dreams can become very very complicated too.

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Now for the other things......


* Havent made any progress on the book I was about to start yesternight. Lets see when I read it now..... (I try to get as much time I can while reading so that I can complete the book in one shot. [In another interesting counter-example, I found out that the books that influenced me the most were the ones I read slowest. Wow!] So 3:14 in the morning ;) is not a good time to start the book, though 8 pm is. For any book. Except "Lord of the rings" {where 3 pm would be a lot more appropriate. If you wanted to finish the book by the morning.}.)

* Have been thinking of learning French and lockpicking (But not French lockpicking :P ) for quite a time now. Did make some progress in both and thought that I was actually near to accomplishing both these goals, but have lost the momentum again. As usual. Need to get back to them....

* Found out that my typing speed is currently 45 WPM. Nice :D But need to improve on it to prove a point to two of my friends... *Furious typing in the distance*

* Meanwhile, my friends from Kota are back again for their Diwali holidays..... Which means more action is about to come up on that front ;) Be prepared (No pun intended) Hoping for a lot more fun here. (Would be a great new way to kickstart my dull life these days) .....
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# The wink is for those who can understand why the wink is there at all. ;) You know it if you know it. ;) (Just reminds me how much I like talking in double meanings, code-words and puzzles. If you happen to just re-read my previous updates, you might be surprised to see the number of seemingly normal [or nonsense] looking sentences that have another meaning with them. That is, if  [A big if involved here ;) There can hardly be 1.608 people on this planet {Another mysterious wink ;) }who understand all my words. Excluding myself. {Wait. Even I am unable to understand all my words, sometimes. :D }] you manage to crack them. In case anyone does crack any such sentence, do leave a comment)

INTP et al #

:D "Khush toh bahut ho rahe hoge......"

As usual, since the past 4 days, my life has been up to many tricks and things of the sort on me. Lets just go through a "Brief History of Time" [no pun intended] till now.

Just the night I wrote this blog, there turned out to be another happening. Something so unexpected and great that I could hardly believe my eyes. Find out what it was here. :) After you have answered all the 72 questions and come back with your results, click here to see who you are. ;)

When I saw my results, I was utterly "shell-shocked". (Now I owe one of my friends HA [who told me about this] a big one. Thanks dude :D ) Among other things, the test result was a scientific confirmation of three things, which had been conjectured by many to be true-
Firstly, I am an antique piece. (Almost everyone I have ever met believes this to be true)
Secondly, I am mad. (This is said to be believed true by those who havent even met me too. Was supposed to be Euclid's sixth axiom but scrapped during the final publishing as this one was known to be universal.)
And finally, I am a genius. ;) (Now this one is slightly arguable, but Yup. This is true too :D )

A real hats-off to the two men who, for the first time since Merlin (Merlin is a legendary wizard from the Harry Potter whose name is used by wizards in a manner the word "Mary" is used by Muggles around the world. In the current context, Merlin also refers to something very very old.) [or for the Muggle readers, "since I was an Irish rat"] that somebody has understood me so comprehensively, completely and consistently. What makes it even more wonderful is the fact that I have never met these men. (As far as I can remember. No, I dont have Eidetic memory, but I still consider my memory to be very sharp. But then again, I may have been Obliviated.) And yet, all my life has been just compressed into four letters - "INTP". (Ah. Now I realize the worthlessness of explaining myself for hours to the close ones near me, when I could have said four letters and that would have been "be all and end all". Data encapsulation at its best.)

Meanwhile, my schools started after the Puja Holidays(There is a festival called Durga Puja [and another called Dusshehra which falls on the same day] {and another 9-day festival called Navratri, which again falls just around the same time} here which is quite huge, in a manner similar to what Americans might consider Easter. One that continues for 10 days. The very same period also happens to co-incide (*sigh* Yet again.) with half-yearly examinations in the country. Which means we get an extended period of 20-30 days right after our exams as Puja holidays.) for a week and then ended before the Diwali holidays, which will continue for 9 days now. (Diwali is unarguably the biggest festival of India and we have loads of fireworks in it, in short.) Its like we are continuously shifting from holidays to school and back and forth. (Wait a second. That IS the case here.) So no wonder I was still in the holiday mood (By holiday mood I mean sleeping at 5 [am not pm] and waking at 12-2 [pm]. But since this luxury of waking at 12 was not allowed on school days, I made up for it during Physics classes at school ;) {Once I even woke up during Physics class all of a sudden and asked a question to sir!! Before going to sleep again} ) this past week and hated going to school. But this was not a place where we got any choice. :| Anyways, I am glad that it is over. For now.

Meanwhile, holidays again have begun they way they should have, bringing something new to me right from the beginning. For now, I have just finished "The lost symbol" by Dan Brown yesterday [another record for me. Finished it in a night. At least most of it. I think I had done around 100-200 pages the previous night and then finished it from 8-5 {pm and am respectively ;) }. The last time it was "Angels and Demons", another one-night-stand.] The book is good, but definitely not a Dan Brown classic. I would prefer "Da Vinci Code" or "Angels and Demons" over it. The book seemed to be quite predictable and also had more than a few loose ends. But still, its final message was a blow from the blue for me, as I never expected Dan Brown to do a Paulo Coelho. Even more startingly, I had been discussing and backing the very same stand against another friend in a chat conversation recently (which, amazingly, lasted only 271 minutes {Beginning 5 am ;)}) Was good timepass btw. Hope to be starting (and ending) another book today. Only 531 pages (Any guesses on which book it is? Or will I complete it tonight? We'll find out.)

Meanwhile, i finally performed the last rites of my previous cell phone handset after an accident (namely keeping it in my pocket and allowing it to be washed in the washing machine) proved fatal for its battery and ofc, its other components too, thus silencing it forever. Or at least until someone invents a time machine. Or hands me one. [Wait a second. I've already done that. Got to work on it "NOW"] Which means that I have lost all my contacts (Very bad that I don't have eidetic memory :( ) and am trying my best to retrieve them all from all sources. And it also meant that I was phone-less for a week or so (very painful days, I must admit) before I finally got a handset.....

Meanwhile, Dad bought a BB and everyone was literally shocked at that. (My mouth would still had been open [even though it happened yesterday] had there not been so many mosquitoes around the house) What a surprise it was. But, on the bright side, I got to take his E63 until I take my own cell. (For which I am patiently and eagerly waiting and saving, FYI. So it seems the E63 will be with me for a while now. [BTW any suggestions for the new handset? Please do suggest some. Although I do have some models in mind, a few suggestions wont hurt.  Leave a comment after this post ;)])

The books for today-
* "Ways to live forever" by Sally Nichols (An amazing and quite an emotional read. A great book to pick.)
* "Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown (A complete classic. The master of all thrillers.)
* "Karl, aaj aur Kal" by Cyrus Broacha (A total laughathon. An awesome read for people of all ages.)

The songs for today-
* "Viva la vida" by Coldplay (Another of my all time favorites. Heard it only a millenia of times.)
* "Wheels" by Foo Fighters (Completely awesome)
* "Kun faya ku" from Rockstar (a softer choice in Hindi, but awesome anyways)
* Fade to black (transcribed for Piano) by Norman Vesprini. (The best piano or synth I have ever heard. Totally amazing)
* Dexter (TV series) theme song. (Totally sinister looking and freakingly catchy)
* "21 guns" by Green day. (The second of Green Day's best songs.)
* "Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams (No comments)

The movies for today (decided to add another column for the movies too :) ) -
* "Dasvidaniya" (An awesome choice for Hindi movies. A soft choice again.)
* "Inception" (A complete mind-boggling journey that takes the mind on a whirl-wind)
* "Behind Enemy lines - Colombia" (Another "food for the mind" kind of movie. Action cum thriller. Deadly!)

In the other news, my blog has now recieved exactly 199 views from 8 countries spread across 4 continents. :D Cheers!!!

Thats it for today, I guess. Do stayed glued for the next update, which, I assure you, will be soon.

Take care,
The Original Soni
22nd October 2011, 9:18 pm (IST)
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# Note that et al is a term meaning "and others"

Return of the Soni

Friends, readers, well.... readers; Lend me your ears. (Or maybe not such a good idea at that.Nobody prefers donating their ears.) I have come here to talk rubbish, and not to say anything useful. (I never bothered to find out about the lines after that, although have been quiting these lines so very often :P) [Just in case you did not get the reference, the above lines were the (slightly changed to meet the purpose of the occasion) opening lines of Mark Antony's speech in "Julius Ceaser" (the play by William Shakespeare) Act 3 Scene 2 "Friends, Romans, countrymen... "]

Finally I am back. Finally and completely. Got the time to finally start writing my post for the blog again after so many days :) Feels so nice (Not that I did not have time before, but dared not write anything because there were so many things to type. So many things have had happened these days. But then finally decided that I will start typing anyways, and see where that goes.) In the words of Shinchan Nuhara, "Welcome back" (In the background, his mother says "Welcome back nai, I'm back bolte hai Shinchan" [Translates to "Its I'm back and not welcome back"])

So. (Now that I look back now [no pun intended] , I seem to be repeating so many phrases in each and every sentence that I use. And "So" seems to be an evergreen all-time favorite. And I dont even know its intended usage, except the fact that we use it when we have nothing to say, and need to start a conversation on any topic.)

Here are some snippets of my life that happened in the past few days -

*My six year old nephew made a facebook account!!! And if you believe me, he is already addicted. (I'm sure of that.) Now he has his own fb, gmail and yahoo email ids. And his own laptop as well as a playstation. Wow!!!! It seems that the next generation has already overrun us obsolete folks. Whats more, he was asking me to open a facebook account (Now this is something you dont listen to everyday. Would have been a thing to be ashamed about had I not already had a facebook account, which was lying de-activated.) Plus, he is already reading "Khushwant Singh". Gosh!!! Some people are growing too fast, it seems.

* I had read an online book recently (although the book is still unfinished). "Harry Potter and the Methods of rationality". This book explores the possibility of what would have happened if Harry was a geek. :D Was an amazing book to read, according to me. Although the book became slightly boring in the latter half. But seriously, Loved the book. A real must read for all geeks. Especially for the Harry Potter fan geeks.

*  This is a speech by a scientist called Steven Johnson on TED. (No need for me to go into the details of TED or the scientist, I think) It talks about how ideas actually come up. He says that ideas, intead of being a "Eureka moment", develop for days, and maybe even years, before they finally come out. I totally agree with him on this very-well-rounded up lecture. (Its really a shame to call something of this magnitude a lecture. The word lecture is best suited only for the boring ones.) Do read it.

* I have been reading quite many new books and listening to new songs, and will be suggesting the same to you :) Hope that my suggestions are good for you. :)

Books suggested for today -
"The story of my experiments with truth" by Mahatma Gandhi - An amazing autobiography of an equally amazing man. To be pondered over deeply, especially for the "seekers of the truth"
"Alchemist" by Paulho Coelho - A totally amazing book that allows the reader to find himself. Has great insights, which are to be thought over deeply, and not just read to get the full essence of the book.
"Harry Potter and the method of rationality" by Less wrong (ebook) -  A complete KnockOut of a book, especially for geeks and Harry Potter fans (if you are both, this book is made for you). Contains enough scientific terms for one to keep on googling for hours.

Songs suggested for today -
"If everyone cared" by Nickelback - A great rock song with amazing lyrics and a very catchy tune.
"Wake me up when september ends" by Green Day - The best song I have ever heard. Amazing lyrics and very passionate singing as well as a great theme. Gives me goosebumps everytime I hear it. Another rock song.
"Zombie" by The Cranberries (female version) - The second best song I have ever heard. The singer really put her heart and soul in the song. Could feel the effect every time I heard it. Gives goosebumps every time I hear it.
"Trouble" by Coldplay - I simply love this band. Really great tunes, really amazing songs and still amazing lyrics. This one is a touchy one from the band.
"Love story" by Taylor Swift - Great catchy tune and great voiceover.
 (Hindi songs)
"Sadda Haq" from Rockstar - Amazing song with an equally great theme
"Teri meri yeh kahani" from Bodyguard - A softer song but is still great, especially with great voices.

* Meanwhile I have been waiting very eagerly for the movie Rockstar to release on 11/11/11. \m/ From the trailers and the songs, it will be a rocking movie about a rockstar revolutionary from soemwhere in Jammu and Kashmir. :) Am waiting for the movie to release. (Such a thing does not happen to me very often.)

Just in case you were wondering about the update to the previous chapters, it will be coming out soon. Although the probability of something of the sort actually happening, at least in the next few weeks, seems infinitesimal, which is the posh way of saying "next to zero". And the way my life goes, my life is sure to be crammed with hundreds of things so that I can never actually  do the updating. (That is, "unless" I have a time machine. Or as JK Rowling calls it, a "Time turner." But I would not be telling about my time machine in public. Therefore contact me at the.original.soni@gmail.com for a trial of the time machine#)

For your information, I went to an awesome science camp, attended many lectures and had great time. Then I prepared very hard for a science fair, but sadly failed to qualify for it. :( Then went on my school trip to Rajasthan, which turned out to be the best tour of my life. :) Yet. :) Had a lot of fun with my brothers, also learnt a lot of things (as it was an "educational trip". [Those who went in the tour would get the sarcasm intended ;) ]) and most of all, found a new myself during the tour. :) Hope to make good of my life.

And last, but definitely not not the least, my exams are over. And we have got our marks. And well about the marks..... "Aage dekhenge kya hota hai ek chote se beak ke baad" (We will see what happens after a short commercial break) ;) All I can say is "Next time se NO EARTHQUAKES BEFORE CHEMISTRY EXAMINATION"(Yup, there was an earthquake on the day before our Chemistry exam, but it was very very far away and we did not even feel the effects. But still, this was enough to divert my attention and stay glued to the news channel all night)

Thats it, I guess for tonight. Good Night, Shubh ratri, Shabbhakher and do take good care of yourself.

Cheers,
The Original Soni
18th October 2011
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