Seychelles- a place to be
Combined Study - Circumscribed
Stupid exams. How glad am I that they are finally over. Them with their freakish and twisted equations and the ever woeful numericals shit. Gosh
Ask me about my preparation leading up to the exams and you’ll surely go nuts if i told you how I went about with it. There wasn’t a thing in the world that I didn’t do during my so called prep-leave. From outdoor hangouts to those awesome night stays, scurrying in the super stores to get the requisite masala’s and ask not what for my mother, to the ever hectic repairing of washing machine and the generator, the not so awesome and overly sweaty stand-wait in the queues for the payment of bills and blah blah… the stupendous list goes on.
However being as callous as i have always been, i still found time to write down what my friends describe as a waste of time (ans talent), articles. But what really summarizes the boring prep-leave, apart from the late night movie watching which i did so enthusiastically, were the group studies or as my father would refer to them; ‘group TAFRI’ :p
The most bizarre of facts is the notion that i have a rather varied group of group of friends. Yes you did read it right. Group of group of friends. There’s one which includes all the usual herd of nerds. Then there’s one which includes the not so witty one’s. yet they’ll get good enough marks . Another involves those who would just not study, at any cost and be CHILLAX in whatever situation they are embroiled in. And finally, my favourite one , where every individual is as brilliant as the other, as lazy and yet as helpful. And it is with this group that i spend most of my time with. Each member is as stupid as the other, sitting down to study only when the exams are at their heads, and that too at Ali’s (the nerd amongst us all) constant bickering and dire predictions of failures and supplies.
We are 8 in number. 5 in the civil dept, 2 in mechanical and one in IM. yet we all study together. It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together, does it? :p
Group studies are way helpful. Even if one is as dumb as a nascent child, he would still learn loads just by hearing, observing and noting everything properly during a combined study session. Though the most important thing to note over here is; if ever such a schedule is arranged, then its components must include atleast 2 individuals who are dead serious about their studies and would grind their asses out during the exams, with sincere zeal and enthusiasm, no matter what.
A group of more than 5 cannot study together (unless all of them are study freaks). A calm is needed. An environment which must stimulate the absorbing cells in an individual. Cells, which are assigned the multiple tasks of taking in a truckload of knowledge hurled at them, swallowing them and then making sure that this plethora of mixed up information gets digested and sorted out before the examinations arrive for real. A five hour session, if given apt attention and focus, is enough to make something out of nothing.
For me it was simple. Wake up early. Dress up. Have a decent breakfast and then saddle off to to a nerd’s house. Have a nice and quiet study session over there and then gallop off to another one’s house, where already a select group of fire crackers is waiting for your arrival. Share the knit you have just swallowed and let them eschew it hurriedly. Break. Pause. Off to some cafe for a quick lunch but as ever, it always turned into a 2 hour sitting, a sitting which involved discussions on varied topics. Each teacher was bullied and cursed for not having taught us systematically (all the while ignoring the glaring reality; it was us not them, who bunked the classes). Others would join in and would add to the surface finish. Ah… a moment of surreal laughter in days of gloom and despair.
A short nap would follow and by the time i would wake up, maghrib had descended. *SPLASH*… a handful of water would make me come to my senses. Panic would fill in. Voices would scream ‘you’ve just wasted an entire day’ but curse my heart. For I would always find excuses and reasons to sooth my mind with the most redundant of clichés like ’ hey we still have some days left. easy boy.’
Off to my home. and wham … told off mercilessly by my father for being out all the day and having nothing to do better.. a point to ponder i think, aint it? and as the night falls who else descends but my fav group..BOY.. life … seems as if the COMBINED STUDY was the sole word which defined the prep-leave..
Bottom-line: a friend once said
More than 2 hours of combined study will turn out to be “chatter-study”.
More than 2 and a half hours of studying alone will prove to be - hell.
But sadly, both are essential.
Hence : Never invite friends to your house for group study especially when you are a chatterbox, instead go to your friends house. :D
P.S: To, the friend, who asked me to lay this article down… I’m pretty sure this is nothing like what you asked me to write about, is it? :p
easier said than done
You’ve tried your best, you’ve got your message across and there’s nothing more you can do. But be nice, however disappointed you feel. You may have built things up in your head, but it’s not your fault that your friend didn’t see things the way you wanted them to see it. Make it a point to keep in touch, but don’t trail along like you’ve got no one else or nothing better to do. And stop whining about the great love that never was.
Scrap it down as an experience. Make sure your life doesn’t revolve around this friend, however hard it might seem. This would only make things harder for you as well for your friend. Have fun with other people and try finding someone who fancies you just as much as you fancy them.
The Champions League Affair
Plans were made, scrapped, re-arranged and then yet again derailed. But after much hiatus, we did settle down to watch one heck of an incredible football match. and boy, did it made me go all bouncy and swagging…. the euphoria was embroiling.
A handful of friends had gathered at another one’s place to watch the UEFA Champions League Final, which involved all of our’s favorite team, CHELSEA F.C. The match was a Topsy curvy affair of some breath taking goal keeping and a horrendous penalty spot miss. A particular one of us individuals, renamed CHELSEA for his deep love of the club, kept us all on the tenterhooks with his snide remarks on both the commentators and anyone else who dared to say anything against his BLUE IS THE COLOR. Taha-the-host was as generous as ever, ready with the usual supply of munchful chips and pop-corns. Not so far behind were the ever refreshing cold-drinks and things-we-need-not-say.
Some of us went completely numb when the opposition struck a seemingly decisive blow near the end of the match… silence and gloom hung precariously. Faces showed aghast emotions and a turmoil-ed heart. Others were not to helpful either ,for they sarcastically chipped in with the ever rubbed in ‘ahan… care to make a bet?’…. but soon they were all silenced for not only did BLUE IS THE COLOR pulled one back, they went all the way and won the title… *in you face…LOSERS*
The equalizing goal made us go so much raucous that Taha’s father had to step in and make a point or two about moral ethics. i guess we did go way out of line. wasn’t it 2’o clock in the morning? :p anyways… shirts were taken off and the celebrations were utterly hilarious. for it involved a relieved bunch of people who had put all their hopes in the team which usually does not play the most attractive of football. others simply do not cared for they were like ’ who gives a shit to it anyways? it isn’t as if Pakistan has won a cricket world cup’… haha… well somethings, some emotions and some passions just cant simply be stated and understood and i guess this victory was just one of those blissful moments…
the next day saw us go all out and have a bunchful of puuris at dilpasand. the appetizing course was devoured with remarks on the jubilant happenings of the last night… i wonder if the discussion will ever die down
khair… congratulations CHELSEA F.C on winning the most prestigious of footballing event for the first time and making us all proud…
HURRAY…. KUDOS to the BLUES… :D
LMAO…. awesome !!
Letting Go
Letting go of a person you’ve once loved so deeply, a person whom our happiness depended upon can be the hardest thing to accomplish. Some break ups are worth looking back on and figuring out, but I was once told by a dear friend, that some breaks ups are like broken glass, you can hurt yourself trying to fix them. But we love so much, so deeply, it’s sometimes it’s hard for us to admit or to even realize that it’s time to let go, that it’s just not meant to be.
It’s a universal experience, a feeling that knows no gender, no power, and no age. It takes you from one moment in your life and makes you realize a whole bunch of feelings and emotions you thought you’d never experience or comprehend. Breaking up, heartbreaks, misunderstanding and disagreements, love is what it is.
It’s strange, how love holds on to a part of you even when you’ve let go. Certain memories, certain moments cling on to your life subconsciously, no matter how much you wish they’d be forgotten. Why does that happen to us? Just because we remember how certain people made us feel does not mean we still love them, but maybe it’s just that we loved the memories we had with them. There’s a moment that you can easily resurrect from every relationship, the moment you gave up on it. The moment you surrendered to giving up and admitting that it’s not meant to be. Some of us ignore that feeling. It could be weakness, or it could be too much love. Or some people just stay in that relationship, in denial, hoping it will get better, that those things will change, when they never do.
Broken homes are painful to leave behind, you can never really forget about your lover whom you’ve been with for years and years, but you can try to look back and remember why things ended the way they did. Trying to understand what went wrong will help you in avoiding making those same mistakes again, and it might even help you realize something you never had before.
When it comes to a break up, no one really knows how to heal the pain, no friends, no family, not even yourself. I guess the best healer is time; time gently simplifies the complex experience of letting go and moving on. And later on, when you want to let go bad enough, an inner strength is brought out to the surface of your actions and your will to change and you do.
Creating More Time for Yourself
Here are a few tips for how you can set aside more time to be by yourself:
Work Offline. Unplug the cables when you work to prevent the temptation to constantly stay connected. The time you save from wasteful internet usage means more time to spend having real conversations after work.
Close the Door. Have a closed-door policy when you work. Hanging up the Do Not Disturb sign will ensure that other procrastinators don’t have the chance to interrupt your flow.
Morning Ritual. Wake up early and squeeze in an extra hour to think before work. This process can also give you time to focus yourself before the day.
Park the Car. If your house is busy, park your car somewhere quiet after work. This can guarantee you some alone time to think, read or plan out your goals.
Set Aside Interaction Time. It’s better to toggle between meditative solitude and complete social engagement than to be constantly half-engaged, half-detached. Set aside time to completely focus on family or friends.
Read. Adopt the reading habit and use books as a way to enjoy your own solitude.
Start a Hobby. Work on a creative activity in your spare time. With increasingly busy lives, hobbies are starting to disappear. But a creative pastime can allow you to explore all those creative ideas you can’t pursue at work.
Run. Running by yourself can be a great way to focus yourself. Whether you listen to music or follow the beat of your own footsteps, running gives you quality alone time.
Turn Off the Tube. Television can be a substitute social life. The characters and situations can seem compelling enough that you start to see them as friends, instead of moving pictures on a screen. Turning off the television when you are alone means you’ll be driven for better quality social interactions and more reflective solitude.
Meditate. Spend a few minutes just focusing on your breathing. Shift all your awareness into your breathing, the muscles in your body or the various sensations around you.Meditation can help you appreciate silence.
Chores. Focus yourself when doing chores. Cooking, cleaning, washing or errands can become activities that center you throughout the day.
Five Minute Thought Breaks. The next time you feel the urge to check your e-mail, spend five minutes just thinking instead. Focus on your current surroundings or the work you plan to do next.
Stop the Music. I love listening to music. But silence can be better for focusing your thoughts. Turning off the iPod or radio for a few minutes during your commute can give you a chance to think.
Weekly Reviews. A big part of GTD is the weekly review. Weekly reviews are a chance to check over your goals and projects, reorganizing your approach for next week. They are also a chance to get quality solitude time in your day.
Redesign Your Life. Alone time can be your chance to redesign the elements of your life. When you’re constantly connected and trying to interact, you don’t have time to evaluate those connections.
Once Per Day Online Communication. I only check online communication once each day. That means only one stop on my inbox, Facebook and feed reader. This rule not only allows me to enjoy more quiet time during my work, but it forces me to actually meet people when I’m feeling social.
If you want to combat loneliness in your own life, become a master of solitude. If you aren’t fully comfortable being by yourself, you’ll never be able to truly connect with other people. I prefer to abandon the idea of introverts and extroverts and instead focus on the person who can be completely engaged with people and also completely peaceful in solitude.
SARCASM… the ability to insult idiots without them realizing it
Sarcasm is an obscure form of humor that needs an acquired taste to appreciate. If you are a fan of Chandler Bing from the popular series, ‘Friends’, you know what I am trying to say. That guy just keeps coming up with sarcastic lines all the time. Sarcasm is disguised humor and mockery which can even pass as a straight statement if not understood carefully. If you are someone like ‘Joey’ (from the same series ‘Friends’), you will have a tough time detecting it. That’s the beauty of sarcasm. It takes the concept of ‘double meaning’ to a whole new level. Dr. Gregory House from House MD, is another character that keeps dishing out great sarcasm.
not to forget our BAZINGA….dr. sheldon cooper…!!
Here is a sarcastic literary pearl by Oscar Wilde:
“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.”
or as Barney Stinson from “how i met your mother’ puts it:
I’m KFC, you don’t mess with the Colonel’s original recipe!
Eternal Sunshine Of a spotless mind….
a friend of mine recently got into a friendship with a certain someone… talk is good, meetings never and a phone call- god forbid:p we all tease him for the most stupid reasons available and pinch him with the most absurdist of oxymoron’s…for the guy wont accept that he is into that certain someone… khair… funny thing is … that SOMEONE had a birthday today and my dear friend had asked me a couple of days ago, to remind me of the moment.
it so happens that i had my ELECTRONICS final paper today too…(more of a joke really)… but callous as i am towards my studies…i shuttered down my transistors and full wave rectified brain and reminded my friend of THE BIRTHDAY.
ME: boi, the moment is here. Make it or break it.
HIM: are you stupid… I’d rather eat slugs than call her.
ME: *after some profound thinking on the fore mentioned relation*…saddle up bro… Forget about the past… that SHE may have dumped you… but you’ve got to move on and scoop at least THIS one up
HIM: Na… She’d take this as a weird action from my side. (Hangs up)
10 minutes go by.
HIM: just texted her… she asks me how I knew it was her birthday.
ME: duh… Facebook
HIM: told her… but she being a smart ass.
ME: y did you not call her.
HIM: cause i just do not have the requisite compassion yet to blurt out…
makes me go pondering…here am I… who too… never had called a certain friend of his before… but did so on her birthday… result… she aint talking and discussing things with me the way she used to.
Thing is, sometimes the life is much more than certain individuals. Yes, you do care for them but at some points or other you start getting that awkward feeling (although you had known it all along) where you know that no matter how hard you try… he/she will BE JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU…and that point, horrendously, makes us realize, how stupid were we in the first place, even to have imagined such a splendid and cherished future. The feeling is horrible… an endless pit of an abysmally dark abyss…. but for the sake of an individual, it is better that he feels this pain at least once… so that then he starts to appreciate the fact that he’s better than all those who he fantasizes about. Better than them in a truckload of ways. I, for one, have realized that. Though I’m finding it rather hard to let go of my feelings, keeping them is futile; for I know that the other party just aint interested at all. So what’s the take boy… let it go… and reach out for all that is waiting for you out there to be grabbed and be explored about….
HAPPY EVOLVING….!!
definitely worth lending an ear to….. :D
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