Ego and IDs have a connection

When you cross over to the other side of 25, you need somethings more than others!

1. Your old friends.
2. Your family.
3. Your own space.
4. Your own bank balance.
5. An assurance.. that you are still young.

Number 5 in particular carries more value for the feminine beings is what I have always witnessed and been told. As for me - not to flatter myself - I may have crossed over that half way mark, my face doesn't give it out at all! I've never cared for this anyway. Until, recently.

Some countries you see want to protect their young from swaying in the wrong direction and thus these weird stigmas like Drinking Age - 21 or Smoking Age - 19! Like it's gonna stop anyone! People, everywhere find a way.

Anyway, last night flatmate and I went to pick up some whiskey. Standing in line to bill the bottle, the cashier kept looking at me - weirdly too! When my turn came, he took the bottle, and with a very serious face said "Do you have any form of ID?" I was half-expecting this, so pulled out my ID and the expression was priceless!
It went from sheer seriousness to that small boy smile when he's realized he messed up but in a nice way! :P He billed the bottle, I smiled, and left with an inflated ego without a single drop of that whiskey in me.

Song for thought...

The controversy over the National Song rages on, and it makes me wonder:

If Sare Jahan Se Achcha was our National Song instead of Vande Mataram, would it have made things different. The first was written by a Muslim, and the second by a Bengali (read Hindu!)!

Hmmm... still wondering....

Shoot At Sight!

And your options for 2009 are:

Uddhav Thakeray
Raj Thakeray
So called "Muslim Leaders"

Take your pick! All forms of torture are welcome and encouraged.

PS: Anyone wiping off all the above shall be blessed with a place in heaven for their divine service to India! :P Whatever your incentive - Just do it!

Diwali Lakshya

Another year away from home. Sigh! Not like I've been home for Diwali all the four years that I was in Hyd, but atleast I was only an STD away :) Anyhow, it's gonna be a quiet Diwali, and a less eventful one than last year :P
While planning what to do for Diwali, I found that my flatmate is non-Lakshya-ed! Can you beat that? It's not done, and I told her so. And thus tonight she gets her first doze of Lakshya and I get my .... nth I guess :)
Happy Diwali Everyone!

For once

Life's not a movie, but for once... I wish it was!

I dream, and I see it,
And yet... I wake up with nothing at all;
No matter where I go, it is with me,
And yet ... everywhere I am, it's no where at all!

Glad I never got that call letter!

It's only been a few times when I've felt like it's all over for me. And that was one such time.
The respect and the craze for the uniform is in my blood, and will never thin out. But that was a phase when I wanted to be part of it all. At any cost!
I tried twice but the SSB call letter never showed up. I moved on,and am glad I did coz I later realized that I was better off out in the corporate world than in the Army. I'd have gotten to do nothing substantial (by my standards) in the Army, while I could slog and prove myself outside of that olive boundary.
Women in the military in some of the other nations of the world play a very significant role during peace and war time as well. And this is indeed inspiring (See this)
Today as I read this article, I somehow am happy I never hung around or tried another time.
There are viewpoints that support this piece of news, but it's like saying we won't give them a chance to prove their worth any longer than the "bait period" of 14 years or for that matter in a more challenging environment. A strange mentality for a nation that's attempting to move forward!

Baffled - you or me?

It's when you are far away, that you think of certain things more. And the questions that often troubled my hyper-active mind, are now haunting me more. What does culture, tradition, and, legacy mean to us? Are we willing to embrace a problem at home and figure it out, or just gonna sit and talk about it? Or would we choose to lead a better life elsewhere? I don't know the answers - as usual.
Fellow Indians are surprised when I say I want to go back after am done here. Is that abnormal? Not their reaction, but my response! I see the surprise in most of their eyes and do encounter some raised eyebrows. I don't mean to question their reactions - it's free will after all. But, I do intend to question (with a huge question mark), their intention to try and make me see things otherwise - even if that doesn't last long after I've spoken :P
A PR in foreign shores could mean a lot of things for a lot of us - a better life, a better society, a better promise for tomorrow - but has anyone considered what it means to me? Nothing. Like I mentioned to a friend - somethings you don't want, coz you don't need them.
Am sure they muse to themselves - wait a year and we'll see what you have to say then. I guess they have a point coz most of them came here with a clear picture in their head. But do they forget, I have mine perfectly clear too?