So Long, And Thanks For All the Fish

This is something which I had read in the fourth book of Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Series. I was pondering over something when it just came back to me. And I love the title of the book :)

“He said airily, "I want you to tell me a story.''

She looked out over the kale and pondered.

"All right,'' she said, "it's only a short one. And not funny like yours, but ... Anyway.''

She looked down. Arthur could feel that it was one of those sorts of moments. The air seemed to stand still around them, waiting. Arthur wished that the air would go away and mind its own business.

"When I was a kid,'' she said. "These sort of stories always start like this, don't they, 'When I was a kid ...'Anyway. This is the bit where the girl suddenly says, 'When I was a kid' and starts to unburden herself. We have got to that bit. When I was a kid I had this picture hanging over the foot of my bed ... What do you think of it so far?"

"I like it. I think it's moving well. You're getting the bedroom interest in nice and early. We could probably do with some development with the picture."

"It was one of those pictures that children are supposed to like,'' she said, "but don't. Full of endearing little animals doing endearing things, you know?"

"I know. I was plagued with them too. Rabbits in waistcoats."

"Exactly. These rabbits were in fact on a raft, as were assorted rats and owls. There may even have been a reindeer."

"On the raft."

"On the raft. And a boy was sitting on the raft."

"Among the rabbits in waistcoats and the owls and the reindeer."

"Precisely there. A boy of the cheery gypsy ragamuffin variety."

"Ugh."

"The picture worried me, I must say. There was an otter swimming in front of the raft, and I used to lie awake at night worrying about this otter having to pull the raft, with all these wretched animals on it who shouldn't even be on a raft, and the otter had such a thin tail to pull it with I thought it must hurt pulling it all the time. Worried me. Not badly, but just vaguely, all the time.

"Then one day --- and remember I'd been looking at this picture every night for years --- I suddenly noticed that the raft had a sail. Never seen it before. The otter was fine, he was just swimming along.''

She shrugged.

"Good story?'' she said.

"Ends weakly,'' said Arthur, "leaves the audience crying 'Yes, but what of it?' Fine up till there, but needs a final sting before the credits."

Fenchurch laughed and hugged her legs.

"It was just such a sudden revelation, years of almost unnoticed worry just dropping away, like taking off heavy weights, like black and white becoming colour, like a dry stick suddenly being watered. The sudden shift of perspective that says 'Put away your worries, the world is a good and perfect place. It is in fact very easy.'”

Adams is one of the wittiest writers I’ve have ever come across. So far. His entire style of writing is fresh, quirky, crazy, and sometimes so profound you have to stop and think. You can expect absolutely anything to happen in the series, which makes them such a different read. His simple analogy teaches us one of the simple things in life that we so very often keep forgetting.

It’s about focusing on the sail of the raft, and not on the otter’s tail :)

Get it? :)

The lunatic is in my head.

Whenever someone asks me “What’s your favourite food?” and I go “Pizzzaaa!” with a stupid grin on my face, they stare back at me blankly. “Pizza? Really?” with a raised eyebrow. So what, I’m too ordinary for you? Well, I’m terribly sorry. Maybe you already have a ready answer in your head. You’ve already decided that this particular French dish would be your go-to response when being asked about your favourite food, but for me pizzas work just fine. (Also, vegetarians do not have a wide variety of choice :/)

The sight, the aroma of cheese-filled gooey crunchy-on-the sides pizzas make me go weak in the knees. Serious! I can have it anytime and anywhere. Such a beautiful creation by mankind! :’)

Anyhoo, guess what? Tomorrow is my last day of college! As in, the proper, classes-filled day! I still have to give exams for another month. Kill me? :\

And how do I feel? Hmmm, how do I feel? I’m REALLY trying to figure it out since yesterday. And till now, I feel nothing. Nada! Is that normal? :O I mean, my first two years were pretty sick. I had a lot of senior-friends and everyone seemed to be so good back then. We went out, laughed, had crazy times, you know, the usual. But at some point, even getting out of bed to go to college used to be the hardest challenge. There have been days when I have wept. By fifth semester, I just wanted to run away. Sigh, I guess I’ve had my ups and downs. I guess you’re so excited about college that the ‘reality’ doesn’t really settle in until much later. What I can’t believe is.. THREE years have passed since I moved out of school?! Three?! Whaaa? How did that happen?!

I guess I should just appreciate these last days of exam-giving at home. Because very soon, I won’t get to sleep in the comfort of home, and have the luxury of being woken up by mom (and mostly not getting up), and get fresh, clean, nice-smelling, ironed clothes to wear, and creep out of my room scavenging for food like a nocturnal rodent at ungodly hours (and mostly always making cheese Maggi) and then watching a funny sitcom into the wee hours of the night, and then witnessing the beautiful morning light permeating through my curtains and mull over deep, philosophical thoughts about humanity, relationships, the universe and the meaning of life.

What will NOT change, is, I’m assuming, my entire trying-to-sleep process every night. Where I toss and turn, and then change positions, and turn the pillow, and hop to the other side of the bed, then go to the loo, have water, look at myself in the mirror, make faces, smile alluringly, do a few dance moves, get back into bed, check mail, check phone, try to sleep again, change into a more comfortable pair of shorts, turn the pillow over again, take the sheet, remove the sheet, take the sheet again and stick one leg out.. mull over and over and over over silly things and get worried about unforeseen future mishaps and think about past incidents, and then mull over the fact that it’s late and there is so much work to do and I will not get proper sleep and will end up going to college looking like a wet chicken. Then finally, somehow, anyhow, by god’s divine intervention, my eyes will close and I’ll fall into a slumber so intoxicating, so sweet, so delicious, so strong, that the entire world and the universe with all its billions of stars and galaxies will cease to exist for me, and I will wake up, late, ALWAYS late, cussing and cursing myself and stubbing my pinky toe against the foot of the bed.

That, I’m pretty sure, is a lifelong thing now. My mom told me as a baby I used to chuckle and chortle and kick my legs all night, and wail and sleep during the day. And to DATE, it has not changed. That’s how I am. I’m meant to rest throughout the day, and then PARRTAYYY at night! :P

A new semi-friend told me that I am a “bunch of nerves” and that I remind him of Rapunzel from Tangled. When I asked him why, he said that because EVERY time I meet him online, I’m in a completely different mood. He said I might be a schizophrenic. I don’t know, if I’d have a mental condition, I’d rather go for borderline maniacally depressed and bipolar with suicidal tendencies. The world will be so much more dramatic then :D I even told him that I imagine myself in extremely dramatic situations, and sometimes sitting by myself on a cliff, overlooking green valleys and rivers, with the breeze blowing my hair around my face. Of course, looking at the rate with which my hair is falling, I might be bald, for all you know, but I hope the rivers and hills will salvage the effect I want to create.

Okay, I’m nuts. I warned you! I am capable of giving myself headaches. I don’t know if this is the Tina Fey effect, (Thank you Karishma! I loved the book!) but I’ve been feeling pretty funny lately. I’ve been having funny monologues with myself, and chuckling to myself. Is THAT normal? :O

I asked Chee to write ten positives and negatives about me and this is what he wrote. He couldn't be more right. His assessment is spot on. Some of it here:

Brilliant conversationalist. Makes friends so easily. Such an excitable person. Bubbly and squeaky and spreads warmth and happiness.	Overly sensitive. Gets major upset over little things.
Able to express feelings perfectly, to the point and honestly.	Extremely lazy – to the point of bunking college and exams.
Extremely honest and trusting and deserving of trust	Big procrastinator
You make people feel special and comfortable and at home.	Extreme mood swings. Unstable. Mercurial.
You don’t like to do things half-heartedly. You want to give your best attempt to all your responsibilities.	Sometimes acts without thinking

See? He's awesome! :D

Okay I have a Major project submission due in a matter of hours and I should either get back at it, or try to sleep. The topic is pretty interesting. "Neuromarketing: A Paradigm Shift in Advertising"; but I only wish I had worked more on it. I could have done a lot of things with it.

Sigh, long day ahead. Bah, I'm sure I'll survive! :) Or not. Okay no, I will!

Cheers ma' hommies!

Stillness.

There is something about the night time,

When the breeze doesn’t blow and the moon doesn’t shine.

When the stars don’t smile down at you,

A feeling of being in sync with nature.

The ebony sky stares back at me, resting

Its eyes closed, and its arms enveloping me.

I am at peace. I am stagnant.

Constant. Maybe too constant.

Abysmally satisfied.

Dreadfully calm.

Desperately content.

My heart is fickle.

My mind is cold.

My eyelids are heavy.

My heart longs.

For something that perhaps doesn't even exist.

Breathing, existing, waiting, listening.

Waiting for something to touch me again.

Waiting for something to strum the chords of my dull heart once more.

Waiting, without any emotion engulfing me whatsoever.
Waiting with a hope,
That time will dissolve it. 
Dissolve it and change it, into something beautiful.

The blankness, the stillness

It’s so serene, almost perfect.

The music wafts through the stillness and surrounds me,

I want to feel alive again.

Blow once again,

Take me away.

Carry me on your wings,

Rain down on me.

Drench my soul.

Take my hand and I will follow,

With my life following behind me.

I want to live now.

I want to be in love again.

Gotta love them TV shows!

I ordered another book on Flipkart! :O Gaaaaaaahh, someone needs to close this website down! (Okay, NO! I don’t mean it. It’s the best site ever. Period.) But I’ve ordered so many books in the last few months when I already have so many books lying around that I have to read.. and SO, SO many more which I haven’t even bought! :/ Life is just too short to do all the reading and watching that you have to do. (Yeah right, says me, who falls asleep after 20 pages and never bothers to watch the movies lying eagerly, waiting and hoping for me to watch them) What’s wrong with me?! I’ve become too complacent and laid-back man :/

I used to be a fervent reader. I remember going to my school librarian and requesting her to let me issue more books than what we were allowed to. But they were mostly the new-age popular fantasy or mystery stuff. Now when I want to read all the classics and the other good things, I’ve become… this. Is it because I have other, more convenient things to do? Or maybe because I have lesser time to spare? (Who am I kidding?)

I’m watching Seinfeld these days. I had heard loads about it, but it just doesn’t do it for me. I mean, there are some very good punches and good jokes and everything, but it just doesn’t have what Friends has. Do you know what I mean? When you watch Friends, you instantly fall in love with each and every character and their traits and idiosyncrasies and you can’t help but want more and more of it. But in Seinfeld, it takes time. And then the episodes follow the same pattern, till it becomes to look a little forced and unrealistic. Okay, before all the pro-Seinfeld people jump down my throat, it’s just my opinion. Okay? Relax. I don’t know, maybe I’m too biased towards Friends because I grew up watching it and I’m too attached to it.

I’ve watched Friends twice completely and otherwise I watch it whenever it’s on. You just can’t beat it. Ross’ nerd-ness, Monica’s almost OCD-like fussy attitude, Chandler’s sarcasm, Pheobe’s extreme, utter craziness, Joey’s stupidity and Rachel’s spoilt brat cuteness. It forms the perfect pot pourri, you know? :)

I'm not even going to quote my best dialogues. There are just too, far too many.

Another TV show that comes close to this is The Big Bang Theory. I cannot tell you what Sheldon does to me. He is the most damaged, twisted, disturbed, insensitive, awesome guy I’ve ever come across in any TV show. And generally I’m not a very generous laugher, but I laugh when Shelley’s at his Bazinga best or when he complains about piddling little things about his existence. Oh, how he cracks me up! He deserved the two Emmy awards that he has won. How can anybody not love the guy? He makes life less hard to deal with! I love the makers of these shows. 

The third show on my list would have to be Scrubs. I’m so much like Elliot Reid. Crazy, neurotic, brash, skinny, not in the wee bit graceful, and sometimes I simply don’t think before speaking. And I love Dr. Cox’s sarcasm. He beats Chandler right, left and centre. His dialogues are the most honestly insulting and funny. And sometimes I go into these JD like fantasies, where I imagine entire situations way into the future; with the whole chaos theory playing its part. And of course there Dr. Jan Itor. I love him because he’s Chee’s favoutite too :)

On a completely different note, I’m in love with this song "Half Asleep" by the School of Seven Bells. Go watch it and read the description. It’s beautiful. It's got this ethereal feel to it. And once you listen to it twice, it’s going to fix a permanent position in your mind for the next few days :)

And check out the lyrics:

"What begins as an unguarded train of thoughts,
Slowly can become an addiction to the slumber of disconnection.
The resonance of memory that no longer has a shape,
But keeps you numb through the hours, till gone is another day."


So poetic, right? :) I can relate to them so well!

I have to go do some serious Case study reading for an external International Business Management group discussion in college tomorrow. Yeah, I know it’s midnight, and I haven’t started reading yet. But seriously, don’t you know me already? 

:)

Have a good day! 

Futility

This completely resonates with how I've been feeling lately. The futility of life :/

"I see an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables – slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history; without a purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives."

-Tyler Durden (Fight Club)