Current affairs!!! *

It's been so long since I last blogged.

Quite a lot has been happening. And quite a lot has not been happening!

A new year has dawned. And maybe this is the year I finally give one of my best friends a long-awaited treat. The treat which was supposed to have been given when I started working is still pending. I have quit my job, and moved on, promising more treats along the way :) My friend says he has lost hope in this matter. I offered to cook for him, but he told me he had a wish of staying alive. What faith he has in my culinary skills!

One thing I need to mention is the feedback and encouragement I received from a scientist. It was enlightening. I wanted to put off writing something I had in mind, as I felt that my characters were getting too one-dimensional. And as that person pointed out, when scientists write fiction, they tend to focus on ideas rather than on the people. True, in my case at least.  So, for now, fiction has to wait!

And we also managed a midnight birthday party for a friend. It was fun. And the lessons I learnt include :

- if there is a deadline for applying somewhere, finish it before the party. 1:30 A.M. on the morning following the deadline isn't the best time to think of a good SOP. Nor is it a good time to mail your guide asking for references.

- we are now "good actors", according to our friend, who went along with the drama we'd enacted.

- 11 p.m. is a good time to have ginger chai :)

- 2:30 a.m. isn't the best time to have a chat with your friend, especially if she has an early morning appointment to keep.

- and finally, it sometimes makes sense not to hit the snooze button on the alarm clock.

Talking of recent events, I just realized however much we grow up, we still can and do behave childishly. And  sometimes, it isn't the best way out of a situation. When I think about it, I find that there is as much diversity in the people in the department, as in their backgrounds. There's a fountain of knowledge, two of them in fact. Though I know they hate being called that. :) Then, there are people who pop in once in a while, claiming all kinds of rights and privileges. People who disappear when there's work to be done. And people who do all the work. People who know their stuff, and people who don't. Even crazy me somehow fits in in the department. It's sometimes fun, watching the clash of the titans!!!

Wonder what's been happening to me of late, though. I congratulated a friend on his new bike, only to be told he's had it for a very long time. I then told him it'd been either too dark or too bright when I'd seen his bike earlier, and I finally noticed it as the lighting was just right. (Wonder why he was laughing at that !) I asked another friend when he'd changed his bike, and he told me he's had the same bike for 7 long years!!!

And finally, I came to know my worth - my friend (call her A) asked me to accompany her and help her in some work. Another friend (call him B, in Wodehouse style!!) asked her to pay him for taking away his T.A. ( I din't know until then that that was who I was!!!), and very seriously she brought out her purse and handed him a few coins. I thought she was handing over the change for something else, until friend B told her that she could now take me with her. I lamented the fact that I seemed to be worth so little. At once, friend B returned the change to A. I protested that I thought I had been worth at least a few coins, and was told "You are priceless". Priceless, indeed? Why do I still smell a rat? Why were they both laughing? Something fishy! Wonder what the mystery was... (And another mystery now arises - do I smell a rat? or a fish???) (This is a pathetic joke!)

I thought I'd use this blog only for ranting, but looks like I've changed my mind.

And looks like I found a reader for my blog! Am I flattered! :)

K, Thank you!

And G, "Don't give up". There's hope yet. Of getting your treat. And surviving my cooking. :)

To some people : Grow up!!! (This applies to me too!)

R, S : Thanks for letting me know my true worth (or lack of it!)

T, it was fun and we had a great time planning how to get you out of your warm bed at night, and make you come all the way!

M : get the earphones. ASAP! That's an order!

MB : thank you for the feedback and the time you spared for me.

Guess that's enough for the time being. So, signing off for now.

* - :) too much on my mind, what with the forthcoming exam on current affairs. Maybe this post (or at least its title) will remind me that I have an exam for which I must study. A little at least!

P.S. - this post seems to live up to the blog's description - rambling and more rambling!