Apparently, two of my latest blog posts got deleted for no valid reason that I can comprehend. Those posts were intact, when I’d logged in early in the morning, to switch off downloads. When I visited the blog at around 11:30 AM today, just before I left for college,  I was dumbfound – two of my latest  posts,  the latest – ‘ഞാന്‍ ആരാ’ one  and the previous ‘iM dA NeRD’ had vanished into thin air. I did everything possible, downloaded my Blog’s database and queried it like a madman using all SQL commands I knew – to no avail. Lost an hour of valid last-minute-prep time to the lost posts. Not a good decision from a future-’manager’, but yeah, the blog comes first anyday! \m/

CC Credits: vramak

After I got back home after today’s exam, I did a bit of research myself. I knew for a fact that WordPress doesn’t delete posts on its own. Then how could the posts  go? Quite likely to be a server-side issue. I must send a support-ticked to my friendly-neighbourhood WebHost (which has been working awesome for me, apart from a few minor glitches like this ).

The incident caught me unawares and bang, I’m in one of those ‘desperate’ moods today. I’ve tonnes to mug, and I’m looking up a few slides at the moment – but this mood-swing (complicated by delicate ‘matters of the heart) has terribly killed my interest to learn.

Now, that has left me thinking. How would a seemingly simple, mundane external event leave me depressed? More than ‘how’, the question could be rephrased into ‘why’. Can’t I ignore the whole damn thing and be happy again? Is happiness an easy choice to make? Theoretically, yes. But at times, it’s way more than a choice. Happiness is a state of mind which has a lot to do with external stimuli, I sadly realized. And stimuli weren’t exactly in my favour. So I had to do something intellectually stimulating so as to rejuvenate my mind. No, I can’t do a song again – two songs a month is way above my quota and, not all the reviews are positive! I can’t post on a dedicated topic for want of time and patience.

So, ta dah, here I am doing another arbit-post. \m/

If you ask me, arbit posts are a lot more fun than a carefully thought-about post. The thought process itself requires significant time and mental effort, not to mention finger-crunching at 75 WPM – but arbit posts are exercises in mental-outpour. I just open my mind to my fingers – which do the typing. So, rest assured, this is a straight from the heart post! Besides, the satisfaction of seeing the vagaries of your mind printed out in nice typeface, in grammatical perfection (not always! ) is satiating to a great extent.

As regards to ‘matters of the heart’, well, I’m in a dilemma. I have to take a decision, an immediate decision on a very delicate issue, a relationship. Yes sir, being a ‘young adult’, I’ve all rights to engage myself in feminine company – which I’ve actually not had for a while now, sadly.   Somehow, the stars don’t seem to be right for me, it seems. I deliberately suppressed my feelings for the fairer sex, after a very embarrassing debacle, and lived as if they didn’t exist – I refused outright to get closer to girls, but I did keep existing female friends and sisters. Maybe its high time I found a person who completes me, I guess. Hopefully, I’ll get the girl of my dreams, soon enough. (Girl, if you’re reading this… lol, you know what to do! )

He gives his harness bells a shake,
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep,
Of easy wind and downy flake.

Ah, time out. Nightout Phase 1 begins!

See, I told you, blogging is the best way to recharge your mind. Wish me luck for tomorrow’s exams. Until then I’ve miles to go, before I sleep! Adios!

‘Kowdiar Lights’ is a two part series. As the name inexorably suggests, the series is about some  stuff that happened over the past week during my visits to this very posh part of Trivandrum City called Kowdiar. For dummies, Kowdiar is home to  countless chicks, some of the richest people in the state, super-awesome roads (by Trivandrum standards, that is!) and of course, one of the worst Cafe Coffee Day‘s in India!

The gold plated needles of my Bosch watch glistened under the evening ‘Lights of Kowdiar’ (which have a special aura thanks to the ‘international’ feel of the place – Golf Links residents will know better!). 3:50 PM, it read. I was twenty five minutes early to my ‘appointment’ with Aravind – Ol’ buddy and one of the most brilliant, talented and humble guys I’ve ever known! I’ve been his fan for a while, and when he invited me for a ‘treat’ at CCD that day, the last thing I could do was to resist. I thought I’d be late as always for the treat, but like bolt from blue, my post-noon Computer Networks lab session was canceled. Ergo, I was free (and jobless) by 2 PM! Despite stringent attempts to kill time by choosing a birthday gift for a friend and browsing through random magazines at the public library, I couldn’t do much to solve my joblessness quagmire. Thus, for the first time in years, I reached somewhere on time ahead of time. Half an hour ahead.

Within no time, the jobless monster resumed attack in full swing. I criss-crossed the wide avenue in front of CCD countless times, faked calls, fired texts and what not! Tough luck, the usually packed CCD was near-empty and there wasn’t a single good looking girl inside! Besides, I was out of cash, ergo, I couldn’t go in alone. To cut a long story short, I was harried, haggard and ultimately pissed-off like the proverbial ‘water-water-everywhere-not-a-drop-to-drink’ guy, when I got this call.

Nature’s call.

It all started as a ‘pressure variation’. Going by the good ol’ Boyle’s Law, I decided that Volume would be inversely proportional to pressure, and ‘devolumation’ (now, don’t look that up – it’s just another random word!)  could wait, for the volume will decrease with pressure. Not for long. In a couple of minutes’ time, the pressure mounted to unmentionable proportions, leaving me at wits’ end! Along came clarity of thought and a stingy teaspoon of truth – Boyle’s law was applicable only for gases!! I had no other option, but to let go of all the pressure through a very healthy outlet!

CCD had a loo, but getting in would mean sacrilege, considering my precarious finances, for I would have to stay there once I got inside! Naturally, I followed my instincts and did what any human being would resort to – I ran in search of clearance, right into the nearby lane – Belhaven Gardens. The surreptitious signboard beguiled me into assuming that lane to be poor man’s colony – an impression suitably flushed out (if you will pardon the pun) by a swanky BMW SUV parked near an equally surreptitious house! There were people everywhere, the houses were posh and tall with large boulevards – each sporting a minimum of two overpriced sedans! I’d be  kicked in the arse  straight by PC408 at Museum Police Station if I’d pee here! My mind was blank, and I ran. Or rather, I walked at a brisk pace. Running was out of question, a wrong step would lead only to involuntary release of all my body toxins, and that was the last thing I wanted!

Somehow, escaping pregnant glances of passers-by, I slipped into a sublane. Perfect place, I first thought. Relieved, I’d barely opened my zip, when I saw this mini lorry parked at the other end of the lane. The driver opened the front door and jumped out to  smoke a joint. He was walking towards me. Cursing lack of privacy, I resumed my pursuit further through this sublane, ending up in Devaswam Board Junction. Much to my relief, I noticed a tiny bride-type road at one corner of the junction. That road was the one few people would give a second thought about. With all might my self control would permit, I ran towards the decrypt lane!!

All hopes of peeing there was dashed by a makeshift teashop swarmed by a motley crowd, at the mouth of the lane. I hadn’t seen them before, they weren’t there!! How in the world could they apparate into that area at the very opportune moment?!

Without losing faith, I clutched my bag and casually walked inside the lane. There might be a way out! (<– Pun)  Sweat was oozing from all parts of my body – not just because of the tiresome sprints from Kowdiar to Devaswam Board. My mind was blank and eyebrows contorted in painful scorn, as my body shivered with each step. This was the ultimate test of self control. I thought I’d just let go then and there. An inner voice was the only guiding light, now! I walked for about a hundred metres and reached a tiny bridge, surrounded by some undergrowth. There were houses flanking my right side and the left side was a solid stone wall.

Finally!

I heaved a sigh and unzipped my fly. I took my mobile from my shirt pocket and held it in the right hand, mouthing a a voiceless conversation just to avoid an embarrassing situation, if any passer-by were to poke his nose into my privacy! As I was about to relieve myself, a crumpled old figure walked towards me through the other end of the bridge. I froze. She, presumably, couldn’t see that I was about to pee, thanks to a melange of foliage right in front of me!  Gradually an casually, I turned ninety degrees, phone carefully clutched to the ear and pretended a phone call. I didn’t give another glance to the old lady. As I saw walk by me and get ahead with the corner of my eye, I didn’t waste another moment!

I swerved faster than Schumi’s Ferrari and peed into the foliage like a madman!!

That was *THE* BEST peeing experience I’ve ever had – an enjoyable process that took almost thirty seconds to complete and made me lighter by a kilogram or so! I closed my eyes in deep relief and zipped my fly, only to hear a muffled voice and open up!

It was a fseven year old kid, peeping at me through the iron grilled windows of his house – the kid was laughing his arse off, he apparently had been witness to the entire incident!

I smiled an embarrased smile to this ‘PeePal’ and ran back to Cafe Coffee Day!

The woods were lonely, dark and deep, and I had people to meet!