Discomgoogolation

        I recently read this article online, on a news website. That was when I got introduced to this term 'discomgoogolation'. I found it pretty amusing and hence decided to make a mention of it here.

        Apparently, this is a condition that you may suspect yourself to be suffering from if you feel stressed when you cant get online. The article says that 'discomgoogolation is a feeling of distress or anxiety when unable to gain immediate information access'; and that the condition could considerably increase brain activity and blood pressure level. In certain cases, the stress of being disconnected could be equated to that of running late for an important appointment, being about to sit an exam or even being sacked. In simple terms, one could refer to it as 'internet addiction'.

        This kind of web addiction has been attributed to the widespread use of broadband, and a culture of 'instant answers', where a host of information is just a mouse click away.

        Ummm.... am, I suffering from 'discomgoogolation'?

Cheers to Vede Lok

        'Vede Lok'. What a name!! I don't remember where it originated from. What I do remember is the great time we had together... meeting in the breaks, gazebo time, night walks, midnight badminton, weekend outings, dinners in the city, the birthday celebrations, the new years' dance, the mysterious wake-up calls on a Sunday morning, forwarding emails during class and of course studying together for the exams and projects.

        We came together at Mysore, where most of us commenced our first job. After training was over, we got split across the DC's (development centres) and ended up in different cities. Sad though it was, I must admit that it has given us the wonderful memories of the Hyderabad get-together. What is notable is that even as we have moved across continents today, we are still in touch on a day to day basis. Hats off to Mugdha for being so punctual in sending the group GM mails! What I mean is, I have friends from school, college, work etc; but I am not in touch with any of them on a daily basis. Cheers to JD for the vedelok community on orkut and the compiled video on you tube, to Madhura for the innumerable photos, to Nikhil for the efficient arrangements of all our trips, to Pranab for all the entertainment that his constant jokes provide, to Hitesh for his 'fundas' and arguments, to Mayur for the timely updates on all relevant matters,and to Arati for just being there with us. Lastly, and most importantly, cheers to Jyoti for bringing all of us together, in the first place.

        I should not forget to make a mention of the 'DQ' (Dhamki Queen) title I have been conferred upon. Thanks to Vede Lok, I am now the proud (!!??!!) holder of a unique title!

Memories from Mysore

        It began on the 18th of September 2005, a day before the first day of my first job. The first couple of months were allotted to training and we had to stay on campus. Although, by then I had already stayed at three different hostels for six years, this was the first time I had the chance to choose my room partner and it was decided that I would be sharing a room with Madhura, one of my closest friends. I remember the excitement of the beginning of this journey, which was further elevated by the grandeur of the campus.

        The extensive campus that could host around 4000 trainees at a time was an epitome of organisation and cleanliness. The strikingly clean roads, well maintained gardens, three star rooms with service and the world class sports and entertainment facilities are amongst the most commonly noticed elements, by all visitors to the campus. However, what I, as a short term resident appreciated most, was the security that the well lit streets and the guards positioned at every intersection provided. Till date, this is the only place where I have been able to walk the streets alone and unafraid at 3am in the night.

        Then there were those innumerable rules to be followed. I remember being fined for not wearing a helmet while riding behind a friend, within the campus. The best solution here was to walk or cycle to the gate and then get on the bike once outside. Another memory I have is of guards whistling at us for not walking on the footpath in an area that allowed only cycles and service vehicles. Now is that supposed to be what is called 'perfection personified' or something?

        It was in this environment that I made long lasting friendships. I think it is best to write a separate blog as a tribute to my friends rather than cramping something in here, considering that I am currently determined at keeping the length of my blogs small.

Bubbles!

         The winter break had just begun. It was pouring heavily. The low temperatures, together with the rain provided extremely favourable conditions for a morning sleep in. So we had a lazy morning and an early lunch. However, even past noon, it refused to clear up and we decided not to venture out into what was now almost resembling a storm.

         I was still putting things away after lunch, when my friends disappeared. Very shortly I could hear them call out to me from the veranda (which is covered). So I opened the door to step out and I was welcomed in the most unexpected manner. The three of them were blowing bubbles of soap at me! Yeah, you’ve got it right if that reminded you of the ‘soap bubbles’ game from your school days. What followed was two hours of playing with bubbles. One of the girls had her camera ready. We photographed bubbles of varying sizes and shapes, tried to blow twin bubbles and competed on blowing the largest bubble and keeping it in air for the longest time. All in all, we enjoyed ourselves.

          As I was thinking of it later that evening, I realised that exactly one week from that day I would be turning twenty five. Ever imagined playing with soap bubbles at 25! Well, someone has rightly said, “Growing old is unavoidable; but growing up is optional.“

Realization, A Reason Enough….

    It has been years since blogging gained popularity, and for some reason or the other; I have not yet tried my hand at it.

    Thinking back, I was really passionate about writing during my good old school days. I remember spending free time writing random essays, articles for the school magazine and maintaining detailed dairies of travel experiences. Later however, when I moved to hostel, my writing became limited to a few letters to friends and family back home; and finally by the time I was into engineering, I had forgotten all about it! There could be many reasons for this; perhaps it was the change in priorities, perhaps it was the moving out from a protected environment at home, perhaps it was the influence of my companions, perhaps I was just lazy or perhaps I was busy with other activities. (like studying! ;-) )

    This loss of touch, is majorly what has kept me away from blogging. Moreover, during the short span when I was working, before commencing my masters course, I had developed this wrong notion that blogs were written by people who had plenty of free time at hand. This is because, I came across a number of colleagues writing blogs during office hours. They were the unfortunate ones who were officially ‘on bench’ (in the I.T. industry, bench is a concept that applies to companies that recruit extra employees to increase the head count or as back up staff) and were looking for ways to kill time. However, more recently I have had the chance to read some good blogs and have come to the conclusion that blogs are written by people who are passionate about writing. I think, this realisation, in itself is a reason enough to start blogging. Better late than never!

    Thanks to all the my friends who write blogs, my desire to write seems to have resurfaced and I have found a new place to pen down my thoughts. What remains to be seen now, is how long my enthusiasm at this is going to last!