What Next???!?!

The future right now is an uncertain as the climax of an art film! I say this because of the way these ‘arty’ films end! While watching ‘The Namesake’ I was like ‘why is everyone getting up? Why are the lights coming on? Hold on, is the movie over? How?’ Anyway, getting back, in another 9 months I should complete my engineering. It is the ‘then what?’ that keeps worrying me. The most obvious thing would be to go to the States and do my masters. Considering my profile, I should manage a decent university. But then, computers are something that have never interested me (having just learnt where to insert a pen drive). And besides staying and studying in a foreign country, ‘out of your comfort zone’ so as to put it, though exciting, will certainly not be anywhere as easy as doing my bachelors was. Then, there is the additional burden of ‘recovering’ the money that has been spent on you (this being the least important reason). Another path I could take is putting in everything I have and studying for the MBA entrance exams. If I don’t succeed in my first attempt, I could always take a break after my degree and study for it next year. The third alternative is taking up a job, which isn’t even worth considering (unless the Sultan on Brunei offers to make me his right hand or something of that sort)

The one incident which tilts it in favour of me doing my masters happened two years back, when I was in China. I was shopping at one of these souvenir shops and asked the price of a piece I really liked. 400 was the figured punched into the calculator by the Mandarin speaking sales lady. Mentally, I was like ‘Ok, that’s about two and a half grand, quite expensive, I’m not buying it’. Then an American next to me, who too seemed very impressed by that souvenir, took the calculator and divided by 8. “50 dollars, that’s a steal, eh?” he said to the woman next to him.

That’s why I think I will do my masters in the US. Because the next time I am in a foreign country and the sales person thrusts a calculator in my face, I want to divide......and not multiply!

Blink, wink, blush! Repeat!

Till a few years back I absolutely abhorred the so called 'girly' girls. I used to hate the way they would get people (read guys) to do their work for them by faking their charm. The perfunctory smiles, the honey laden voice, the way they look at you, then blush, then look down feigning feminine awe (sometimes, they'd throw in a few tears, just for good measure) and a few minutes later you have done for her something you would have probably only done for your best bud. Absolutely hated it, every bit of it. Especially when I could see right through them while others were gullible enough to fall for it. Time and again, time and again. But now I have learnt to appreciate it. It is an art, no doubt. To some it may come naturally, others may need to work on it a bit. But the results are worth the practice and effort put it, believe me. Jumping the long line at the ticket counter by asking the guy in front to buy your ticket, getting a few extra marks in your term test, having your assignments and diagrams done for you, getting quality company while going on your long shopping sprees, and I could just go on and on. The reason I have now stopped hating you'll is that I have now realized that the guy really doesn't feel used. He just laps up the extra bit of attention he is getting. So neither party is complaining at the end of it! Who am I to hold a prejudice then? So I now urge all you egoistic, ungirly girls, who share the point of view that I once used to, who still just can't stand these manipulators, to be a bit more pragmatic. Put on the eyeliner, lavish the lip gloss, wear those girly tops with matching accessories and be your fake best. Cause it is really no big deal to be a little manipulative, just in order to ensure some..uh...'smooth sailing'. It is quite simple and with my magic formula, I can assure you guaranteed results. So the next time you want a let off or a discount or anything else of that sort, remember the golden rule: blink, wink, blush! Repeat!

The Special One (albeit self proclaimed)

'I was 9 or 10 years old and my father was sacked on Christmas Day. He was a manager, the results had not been good, he lost a game on December 22 or 23. On Christmas Day, the telephone rang and he was sacked in the middle of our lunch. So I know all about the ups and downs of football, I know that one day I will be sacked.'

One of the many reasons, I have plenty of admiration for Jose Mourinho is because he always believed in prophesying. The day he arrived in Chelsea he proclaimed himself the 'Special One'. He proclaimed that he would win the Premier League and defend it. He did all that. He also proclaimed that he would be sacked. This was the one time I wanted Jose to get it wrong. But unfortunately when you have a series of public arguments with the guy who pays you your wages, there is going to be only one winner and Jose learnt it the hard way. But what i really felt bad about was the reason he was sacked. Unentertaining football!! A team which has Lampard, Drogba, Cole, Essien and Robben can hardly be termed dull. By playing the wingers so wide, Chelsea moved forward like a wave. So what if Jose believed in the basic principle of football that to win a game you need to score one goal more than the opponent. So what if after being 2-0 up at halftime, Jose would ask his mid fielders to just defend. So what if Chelsea weren't as fluid as the Gunners. So what if you flipped the channel even though the 90 minutes weren't over. So what if he sometimes stuck his foot in the mouth. So what if second half got a bit boring. Who cares about entertainment in those last 20 odd minutes when you have here a manager who with his quotes and arrogance and charisma could keep you entertained throughout the week and not just during the game. In my book, Jose Mourinho will always be the most entertaining manager (so what if it was off the field!)

Bye, Bye Kashmir

Happened to read Vir Sanghvi’s article on Kashmir in this Sunday’s Hindustan Times (ya, I get HT too!). He wrote about things which I have always felt strongly about and which make perfect sense to me. Kashmiri’s have always behaved like they are doing us a favour, by staying with India. Any sign of peace in the valley is temporary and even a minor spark turns into a wildfire and they start demanding secession. Kashmir is the only state for which an exception is made and has special provisions in the Constitution. In addition, aid given to Kashmir is 10 times more than that given to Bihar, which is by far, larger and poorer than Kashmir. Besides Kashmir gets it as grants, while for Bihar it is in the form of a loan. In spite of all this, they still don't appreciate us. Why should India then hang on to Kashmir? If you want snow and natural beauty, then you have Himachal Pradesh or go to the real place, Switzerland. Girls are beautiful right across India and not just in Kashmir :P Letting go of Kashmir could probably encourage other states to follow suit, but I don't think that's the case now. Punjabi's see sense and Khalistan is long forgotten. Even the north eastern states are happy being with India. So let the people of Kashmir vote and decide. If they want to side with Paksitan, hell, Azad Kashmir will get a little more land. If they want a separate state, better! Without India they would last for about 5 minutes. And if they decide to stay with India, then better be grateful and loyal to us. Cause right now Kashmir is like a tumor. And science has taught me, that if a tumor is harmful and doesn't heal naturally, you have got to surgically remove it!

Horton teaches us a lesson

I have watched very few movies, the primary reasons being that I hate watching them alone or at home. However, a very strong recommendation and ‘Horton hears a who’ became an exception. I watched it on my comp (I hate that!) and watched it alone (hate that even more!!). But I took such a liking to the movie that I have watched it thrice (and still counting!). So coming back to this post and its title. In the movie, Horton, the elephant, keeps saying that ‘a person is a person, no matter how small’. And it is this particular statement which I agree with. That’s why the High Court ruling against Nikita and Harsh Mehta is a shot in the arm for the many anti abortionists across India. I believe that the child should be given a chance. No one has the right to go against nature and kill a child. History has shown us that children with far more serious defects have survived and survived well. Had abortion been legalized and medical science as advanced, the world would not have seen the likes of Beethoven and Hitler. Not that we could not have done without these two, but from the top of my head I can’t think of any better examples. If abortion is indeed legalized and considering the pace at which science is advancing, we would have innumerous abortions in the bid to create the ‘perfect child’. Black skin, abort. Little finger missing, abort. Crooked nose, abort. It just wouldn’t end. I would like to end by saying that only God and murderers have a say on someone’s right to live. We can't play God, so lets not turn into murderers!

P.S. Having said all this I am still not sure what I would have done had I been in Harsh Mehta’s shoes. It is easy to talk the talk, I am really not sure if I would have been able to walk the walk.

This and that

~ My friend recently got a really sleek Nokia 'many-in-one' Phone or something of that sort . I am really surprised at the number of features that the phone has. Apparently Nokia promises that it has everything in it, except for a Juice Maker and a Washing Machine.



~ Just read on rediff that Sanjay Nirupam was one of the two contestants to get nominated to be booted out of Big Boss. Doesn't surprise me, because that is really not the place for him and I dont think television audiences will take any particular liking to him either. Not that I really care but I just wish that we could vote out our own politicians like that.



~ My dad has got a posting to Toronto, Canada for the next three years. He should complete all formalities and leave by the end of next month I guess. Reactions at home:


Sister: Awwwww daddy I will miss you baddllllyyyyy!
Mom: Don't just survive on Maggi and fried eggs there!
Me: Only 3 years!



~I dont normally watch television, but I did happen to catch a reality show called ‘Splitsvilla’ on MTV . I never knew Indian Girls could abuse so very well in Hindi. I never knew Indian Girls could be so mean and manipuative over a stupid game show over two even more stupid guys. I never knew that Indian girls could be dumber than those blondes. I never knew my faith in the strength and elegance and whatever of the women of India of today would dive lower than my grades (in Marathi).

Empty sea!!!

To those of you whom I havent already bragged in person, I put a lot of thought to the things I do, especially when selecting names [En(d)less Stamina is my fantasy EPL team name, the reason..hmm..next year]
Emptysea is actually a homonym for the letters MTC, which stand for my two cents, which essentially is what this blog is all about (just incase you dont know what my two cents is, then please google! ignorant people) So that is why I have named my blog 'empty sea' (ok stop groaning :P)

Why am I blogging?

I used to blog during my junior college days, but then blogging became a craze and every second person started blogging. The herd mentality is something that I hate and so in order to not be counted as one of 'them' I stopped blogging and consequently deleted my blog (which was at xanga btw) Besides maintaining a blog is one helluva effort and after the initial novelty wears off most blogs become cyber junk (i really dont know if such a word exists, but I hope you are getting the picture). Oh and another thing I just love parenthesis (you will find a lot of them if you keep visiting my blog). More about me later. Back to why I have started blogging (all over again). These days I have a lot of spare time at home and I always have been a person who has an opinion on just about everything. So blogging fits the bill perfectly. I really don't know how long this will last, because I am really bad at maintaining things, but I aim to update this atleast once a week. Things which are in my head and I don't mind people reading about will end up here. I am really not good at writing and my thoughts are quite incoherent and never logically arranged (and ya i do make a lot of typos too) so please bear with me. But till then, happy reading!