stuck in heathrow

yeay what the hell do I do now. there are about 5 people left in halls. tomorrow there will be 2. great. both airports are "covered" in snow. all flights, also for tomorrow are cancelled, yeay christmas in london yippie...
my flight got cancelled today. I have another one for thursday. lets hope this ************ ************ ****** thing gets me home. I avent been home since coming here too, and I was actually looking foreward to it, but no Im stuck here now.
:(

old habits in new areas

tatort:
hot chocolate,
nutella,
baking?
extra 3 ->
fräulein smillas gespür für schnee

the fatigue from a dance session
the smell of fresh vanillekipfl
listening to the radio
studying at night when everyone's asleep
the ticket is approaching

dont worry if this makes no sense to you

first patients-and Im a complete disaster

today we had to interview our first patients- no not the normal going through a list and asking all the list of questions yu have to ask, but doing the touchy feely stuff.
its so weird. Its so weird asking a patient that has pains in x about how they feel about it, about how it affects their life-isnt it obvious? does it really come across better if you dont plumply state: How does it affect your life?
and the interviews here are so different to german interviews. in germany its bump, bump bump finished. here its all the touchy feely parts as well. in germany its almost always (at least in hospital) purely medical- from what i have seen, here its the family the touchy feely etc. I know it makes you feel better as a patient, but as a patient you dont go in having a normal conversation (or is it just me being all awkward about it).
the first interview felt really good. just the person thought it was aweful and not touchy feely enough. the second interview was completely bad, and the guy thought it was good, the last interview was fine, I didnt smile enough. I dont know if I just got bad feedback becuase I had patents that were honest, or if I just genuinely suck at talking to people.
I have the feeling I am never going to be confident about myself talking to patients- or jsut generally infront of people, even though I want to I think I am actually not really talented.

brown vs. white

this deserves be a quite long blog entry, but due to time constraints (1:30 am) it cannot be.
Perhaps it is due to my german upbringing and the constant consciousness of recent national history that I am rather sensitive on this topic. but if I have no understanding for one issue it is racism.
Why does it matter what skin colour you have? why does it matter whether you speak tamil, arabian or cantonese as a first language? IT SHOULDNT. but unfortunately I find it still does. People clump together in national or cultural cliques. It "feels like family". Any non brown, non chinese non whatever are not welcome because you cannot have a say in the language, food, religion, or...? Its all something you can learn about. Further, its something you should spend your time learning about, because it makes your life more interresting, and will make you more interresting.
I actually am not invited to events of friends because I am not indian, or at least asian. I was asked several times if i really wanted to perform in a show by the indian society. How can you even come up with such issues? I'ts quite outrageous. And this is happening in one of the most international metropolitan areas of the world.
If everyone draws up the fences, no wonder you get treated differently, if your heritage is that of a minority.

nostalgia

I hang around all sunday, not getting things done I want and need to get done, nor really doing anything fun, nor purposefully relaxing. Im just hanging about up to nothing. It is a half state. I am not awake and active. I am not asleep. I want to be active. I want to do something fun. But I end up doing nothing at all. So that is in itself a very good prerequisite for an aweful day. then you just need a stolen nutella jar that was still half full and given to you by your boyfriend, and the realisation that with my school grades I can pretty much forget ever getting a scolarship, to set your mood to an unstoppable crashcourse downwards.
so now I am at the bottom. nad then I start to remember the good bits, not here, as here is never really happy, but from the near past; my last year or so in stuttgart.
I did realise, and I hope I did acknowledge and enjoy the feeling "glücklich" enough. This is the feeling I had walking to the train station in the morning, roaming through an empty ISS after everybody else had left. roaming around anywhere basically. I was pretty much bottom heap of the high school social ladder, but I found my way out. I had friends which I now realise how much I am missing them, and the regular coffee chats we shared. So Im going to spare you the rest of this "I am so miserable" rant, It will jsut continue like thi for 3 hours, and terribly bore you and be terribly embarrassing for me if I ever read what I wrote here.
I think what I am experiencing is a severe underoccupation. I need to find some other hobby or involvement. really bad and really quickly, as I think this will probably ease my lazyness and get me to do work. but what to do??
I am already dancing and taking spanish. I need something sort of political. AI? medsin? I dont know where Ill end up.

london life, theo and uni

If I were asked to describe my life here in london, I wouldnt know how to, or where to start.

I am more independant I guess. what I was doing before, I do now, just without the complication of a bit of parent anger. I have the freedom to go out when I want to. cme back when I think is reasonable, eat what I want to, and if I dot have anyhing, well then its my fault. I have to do washing- Ive done that before as well, just that now I plan it into my day, and dont have two unmissable (in the sense of not to miss) parents telling me when to do what.

my average day basically is thus comprised of studying (trying to study, its not really working-yet), eating, facebooking (instead of studying), and lots and lots of sleeping. and occasionally seeing more of london.

so who is this theo in the title? I was invited for feeding to ealing last thursday, thats in the west of london, where david and ruth kelly live. I got a really yummy and seemingly easy veggie cheese dish, as well as great yummy goodie apple crumble, but by that time I was so stuffed I had to leave half there. theo is the little one. Mr. k's baby boy, the former "tadpole". a very very cute baby, with huge blue eyes that likes oogling new people (ie. meee).

It is very weird in some way, as it has almost been 4 years since we were sitting in that class at the far left corner of the building, simultaneously shooting our hands up in the air, and here I am now, living in london (who would have thought of that?!) and getting dinner invites.

friday I got to look at cells in mitosis under the microscope. why dont they have practicals like that at school? its not that hard. all you need is a decent microscope a few cells in culture (so from a cold blooded animal preferably, as they divide at room temperature), buffer, alcohol, distilled water and dye. voila you can watch cells at different phases of the cell cycle- interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase. my favourite practical till now- nice and clear what to do and soooo cool.

yesterday was a charity event at our uni, in combination with the london wide charity week. the name was smokey not smudgy, and meant that lots of hair stylists, make up artists, henna artists etc etc. people prittifying girls came to give services for cheap. I had my once in a millenium haircut, and got henna done, the first time professionally. so that meant I was an invalid for the rest of the day. but now my right back of the hand and my left handpalm are covered in dark brown swirls, dots and flowers. hihi henna is so cool!

maybe that gives a glimpse of what I am up to.

ps. The poem is lovely, Pragathi. thank you

the sky was filled, with stars adorn

after your post, julia, i regret not having posted last night. this little post just for you was ready, but i never got to posting it, cos some lovely and difficult physics problems kept me up all night. i have been telling about your b-day for the past week to all my classmates (the one with ears!), but last night a series of events culminated in a very catastrophic end. anyway a day later yet, i wish you a bright and cheerful belated birthday and wish that your best years are yet to come.

long ago, when i used to be less able at writing poems, i would scrounge the net for random lines and then put them together. this is one of those poems saved and passed on from comp to comp because i think it puts it all very nicely.

Disclaimer: some modification from the original has been done cos my 13 year old self didnt know much about life.

/to my dearest amie...

Happy birthday, you’re not getting old,
Stay in the game, it’s not time to fold.
Wrinkles and grey hair, are just a new look ;)
Countless experiences, you should write in a book.

A little reminder to show that I care,
but too far for the cake to share.
memories of good times reappear,
Has it already been another beautiful year?

wishing you a happy 19th year ahead
charming rainbows of violet to red..
On this day, when you were born,
The sky was filled, with stars adorn.

love,
pragathi
from the land of far far away!

first ridiculous news of london: or the frustrating inability to celebrate a decent birthday

I have now been at my new london "home" for almost a month and I have to have another ridiculous birthday to remind myself of the fact I do actually want to keep up scribbling in here.

so what is so horrible? is it sleeping half the day? noone being around to share it with you because everyone is studying? (apart from yourself of course) or the alck of cake? of famliy? of presents or of the habitual friends I have sporadically seen the last few years? perhaps it is jsuzt the realisation that birthdays are not special days anymore. It seems as though few people really care, epecially not the people posting on your facebook wall, you have never, or perhaps once or twice talked to in your life. but every year I am hoping and sort of expecting my birthday to be speical not only to me and my parents, but aslo to my friends around me. but half never notice I even have a birthday and then are all surprized when I tell them in may (when they ask) it was my birthday in november. adn the other half are not in my near vicinity.

so what have I done today? I have slept long. treated myself with chocolate breakfast and lazed around bored the rest of the time. ok. david did cook me lunch, and I did get a bday card from my roommate grace and from amanda. and jsut now two little cakes from eva (thank you so much by the way) but the tristsesse still prevails. i dont know why. I think I am just not made for bcelebrating my birthday. and for getting ooold.

Stuttgart 21-stuttgart is going down

Yes this had to come at some point. I do not know if you have heard about the restructuring of the Stuttgart train station, but it is the cause of massive demonstrations. like nothing id ever expected from swabian masses. and now one thing is clear: a huge number of political parties have made themselves hugely unpopular. Aparently the situation escalated earlier today. Its getting ridiculous. And concerning. Take a look as long as the link works!

http://www.tagesschau.de/inland/stuttgartproteste100.html

The letters of petition against the half destroyed train station. so much money and so much more for a questionable project.

My last day here. As already Katy Perry said: "Ill never be the same-if we ever meet again", and Stuttgart wont be the same either. And thus the train moves on. the second half finally leaves Stuttgart, then next stopping point, first Bonn then London.

friends are people that believe in you even if youve given up all hope

A couple of days ago I received the following, and its so sweet i have to publish it, instead of having it rotting in my inbox to be forgotten soon:

"Sus viajes son interesantes, y definitivamente en la Universidad vas a estar muy bien y pronto serás la mejor doctora, de eso estoy seguro, difinitivamente el cambio que tienes que hacer es mucho pero te vas a adaptar facilmente, tu energia me lo dice."

summer's end

the countdown to uni, that means work, commitment, getting up early, studying and all that stress is on. 4 more days at home, and Im down with a cold. super, yippie yeay. -.-

but looking back. I have not wasted a second of my off time. Ive been to berlin, and the netherlands, costa rica, paris, bonn and zürich. what a nice travel list. I have met many people, I have learned spanish (which I hope to intensify at uni; they offer language courses, even though my mum wants me to take mandarin). I have my driver's liscence. I went snorkelling, surfing, and swinging through trees. and I have, I hope, the self confidence that I know I can get things done by myself.

but most of all I have gotten IB shit out of my system, starting with my general mental state, to (hopefully not too much) my brain. I have had plenty of time off, and whilst wanting more and more of it, I actually think I am quite ready for new brain food.

aaaaaaah london im coming!!!!

ps.

Jürgen and Me in Paris :) for the sake of having the photo somewhere I wont misplace it ;)

...y los momentos hay que vivirlos hay que vivirlos...

one week to go. one week left till uni. One week left till new life, new friends, new place. new everything. Im worried, Im scared. Costa rica seems so far away-as does india. the two places I now would like to be.

but I have one more week to go. Instead of blogging about Stuttgart 21, the unbelievable sums of money and the complete trashing of one of the few last good buildings in this place to be replaced by some underground ugly with a lot more overground ugly, I am ranting about uni. Instead of wallowing in the sounds of the accordeon player in Zürich, who played organ and orchestra pieces on one instrument, or Xavier Naidoo whom I was lucky enough to experience live, with no more than a microphone and a friend with a guitar in front of maybe 70 people, I am going on about how I will miss everything and everyone- or even better, not blogging at all.

And again this blog entry is accompanied by a song: yo no sé mañana by Luis Enrique. Right, salsa. It means as much as "I dont know tomorrow" and is one of those curious songs, that taken out the sexual subtext connotation goes for pretty much everything in life: on the one hand a perfect description of what I am anticipating in London: I have got no clue whatsoever. On the otherhand a life philosophy I try being a scolar of: whatever happens, happens. So instead of worrying, just do it and enjoy doing it, cuz everything will work out differently to what was expected and everything will work out well in its own way, even if it sucks at the first throught.

but thats what I am doing right now. I am worrying about the unknown ghost. I am scared of nothing and everything, of hating uni or my roommate, of being homesick, of loosing my boyfriend, even though deep inside I know I should stop worrying cuz Ill be way to busy to hate it, and london is so big im bound to find people I like. and Jürgen just rocks so much im sure it will work out even if a 400km distance is existant for an unknown amount of time.

...and the moments, you have to live them, you have to live them...

so what am I fussing about?

The island of the men and milking cows

The last two weeks in CR I spent doing voluntary work. First on the isla tortuga, a very touristy place, at least between 0900 and 1700 when the tourists are there and then in el silcencio, an eco friendly cooperative, where I saw and learned lots about the countryside of costa rica.

Ill put up some pictures:

The Island...a dream

The people I worked with. a total of around 11 people were on the Island. 2 volunteers, a cook, a woman working in the giftshop and a lot of guys. all people from nicaragua and good workers. the only problem: I was hit on 24/7. I'll write up the "names" so I wont forget them: I had cone names in german for talking behing their bck in german with Julia so they wouldnt notice:

left to right: der vati; Noel, der böse; der neue (just came on our last day); Ernesto, der kleine süße; Leister (the only one without a nickname) this guy hit on me sooo much; der Doktor. missing is "der fette" who hit on the other julia.

The last two days I woke up at 4:30 to go cow milking. work started at 5 am, just after the sun rose. fresh milk does taste really good though, and the experience was worth it...the experience of watching pigs being slaughtered is rather questionable though...

Tico encounters

Randall is a spanish teacher at the school I was at in San José. He tought two swiss friends of mine. Hence I knew how he looked like and who he was. The last night at school for Muriel and Nina, we, the group of girls, went to Castro's, a disco, as every thursday night. Randall, Giovanni (another teacher) and Kevin, a guy from near Frankfurt were there as well. we met them, talked, had a drink together, danced.

During the next week I would spend half my breaks chatting to Randall. the practical aspect was that he was tico-I had to speak spanish and thus improve it. The other aspect was that he is simply an interresting, and really nice guy. Friday afternoon at 3pm I then decided I would go to montezuma with him and the Chaosfuhre Kevin for the weekend. An amazing weekend, with alcohol and smoking (not for me though), big waves of the pacific, hermit crabs, a beautiful sunset and thunderstorm watching on the beach.

Randall and Kevin

In the busstation I parted to Paquera, Randall to San José and Kevin stayed in Montezuma another day. I received a telephone card with his number. His snake necklace as I am studying medicine and the snake was the greek symbol for it, and the promise that Id either stay at his place the last day, or that wed go have breakfast together my last morning.

The phone card saved so much trouble, the snake necklace is one of the best cures against feeling bad, and the phone number was used to organise my last day. a 3 hour maze through his barrio: vargas araya followed by cooking spaghetti and later pancakes (the german version hehe), talking, playing around on musical instruments, talking more, teaching each other our respective mothertounges and late at night the cartoon "spirited away". a wonderful way to end my 6 week endeavour to Costa Rica.

Randall has all the potential to become a really close friend. He is really interresting, amazingly nice, and cool in his own way, and in ways you would never expect. I really miss hanging out with him, and often form spanish phrases in my head of how I could explain my german life in costa rican terms. But I am quite sure I will return someday not allto far away in the future, I still need to visit nicaragua after all. We parted with the words "hasta luego"...see you later.

vacation tales: the pink city

been there and back for a long time, but just found some time off to update about my vacation. here's the first bit about my trip. the pink city, JAIPUR and the highlights of the 'typical' touristy places.

The old city and the forts have a charm of their own. After having seen European architecture on my previous holidays, it was quite refreshing to see Rajput architecture. My limited knowledge of the history of the region was rather frustrating but the info-boards in appropriate places ensured that I wasn’t just staring at 16th century works of genius.

The architecture of the City Palace offers a distinct flavour, an essence truly refreshing.

There were some rather curious artefacts on display in the palace like gangajalis or silver urns; Largest silver objects in the world. 5-ft urns used by a Maharaja to carry the holy water of Ganga all the way to England.

The musuems within the palace house some exquisite robes, muslins, lehengas and the like worn by the royal family. Julia, I think it would have been a real treasure-house of inspiration for you. The richness of the fabrics is mind-blowing; even if I couldn’t touch them I could feel it. There is also a display of weapons that enthused my sister and an art gallery that has much to offer, but makes little sense if one has no idea about the history of the place.

The extensive Amber fort exemplifies the lives of the Rajputs – militant, fearless, self-indulgent. The hilltop fort seems to grow out of the rugged mounds around it. Constructed by Sawai Man Singh (it’s pretty much the only king’s name I remember cos there were two of these), it is a perfect blend of Hindu and Muslim architecture, a style that is prevalent in this part of the country.

A lot of guides scrounge around trying to eke out a living by feeding some standard shit to oblivious tourists. I have learned tht it is almost totally useless relying upon a guide for info.

The famous Jantar Mantar is a very interesting place. There are several constructions built in 1700s by Jai Sinmgh (after whom the city is named) that quite accurately make celestial measurements. I was flabbergasted by the accuracy of the sundial (kinda) clock. It was 14:37 when I took the pic (IST)

So at first I thought there was an error (cos the pic obv shows 10 past two), but then I realsed that IST is according to the latitude through Varanasi which lies east of Jaipur. So this sundial actually shows the time in Jaipur exactly. It would be a fascinating place if I could have actually understood more. I’m really bitter about the lack of proper guides for these places.

Hawa Mahal (Palace of Wind) is another supposed architectural wonder that stands in the swarming city centre with an ambience hardly that of a historic marvel. As I stood on the topmost level of the Palace, a very mild gust of wind blew, and I have to confess, I really did wonder what all the fuss was about?

At the end of the day, I really felt that I’d had an overdose of pink sandstone architecture, so my advice is to take it slow!!! And don’t overdo it.

P.S. There were a lot more edifices I had seen, but to my untrained eye there was little difference and the initial fascination wore off. But I still maintain, it was ethnic, earthy and enthralling!!!

P.P.S. Apart from the old city, Jaipur is not pink anywhere else. The houses and streets are very-well planned and the other parts of the city don’t suggest the Rajput history at all.

arenal volcano and cahuita

on my second weekend trip i made it to la fortuna, and later today monteverde with 4 other friends I met here. The bus drive here is the worst I have had in a long long time. long windy streetlets, no real velocity and a constant start and stop in an overcrowded bus. ew.
but here we are in the very touristy village of la fortuna, which i believe has a population of 100% of tourguides and hotels. the reason is that it is abt 17km from the active and really nice arenal volcano, and has a heap of amazing hot springs.so yesterday afternoon and evening thats what we did. we went to the hot springs baldi, though not the cheapest, definately some very nice hot springf with water of all temperatures and a couple of jacouzzi like things. while soaking in the hot tub, we watched the arenal volcano or the nicely kept exotic (for me at least exotic) garden. the volcano puffed smoke a couple
of times, accompanied by a deep grumbling. aparently there was some red as well at night, but I didnt see that sadly. We looked at the wrong side of the mountain.
So today we are being transfered to monteverde by a so called "jeep boat jeep" tour, where well do zip lining through the jungle (not very ecologically friendly, nor friendly to your purse) before returning home to my host family in San Jose on sunday evening. Monteverde is not much better than la fortuna, but actually a lot worse. a little village like any other in the middle oc costa rican nowhere that has sold out all its village charm jsut like the souvenir shops sell out the cheesy keychains or the restauraunt owners the food at an outrageous overprice. Whilst la fortuna has a volcano, which I must admit is pretty cool, monteverde has some green mountains and a load of tours through them. great. not that you cant do that anywhere else in CR. I have the impression Im not really hiding my opinion of monteverde...

but lets have a look at last weekend: the Carribean.
I went to cahuita. a beautiful little city full of the creol like culture of the carribean. that means, full of Mekatelyu (the creol english of the province limon), dark skinned people of african descent, coconut in the food, and marihuana in the air. I chilled on the beach, the playa blanca in the free national park, and the playa negra on the otehr side of the town, had yummy fruit juice and pipa, young coconut. and I had an ad hoc surf lesson. I cant do it but its very fun. apart from a horrid sunburn of the girl who went with me, some imperial in Coco's bar, the only bar in the pueblo.

greetings from hot humid to hot humid!

impressions of CR

I wrote this 2 weeks ago but couldn’t get it up due to the horrible internet connection here.

I must say I am liking this place more and more. despite daily rain, horrible horrible horrible traffic, different infastructure and different food, its great.

to the weather. it is warm, but rarely sunny, if it is, then only in the morning. I was amazed the first time I saw blue sky. this leads to frequent (daily) rain in the evenings or afternoon, sometimes accompanied by an occasional thunderstorm. I like the weather though, it is neither too warm nor too cold (for me).

the traffic...well the roads are ok i guess, with occasional holes on them. the sidewalks are separated to the place where the cars go by a dug out for the excess water. not yummy. and there are very few traffic signs...starting out there are just about no street signs, but signs signalling velocity, right to go first and direction are also usually lacking. plus as a pedestrian you are always the ideot. if you cannot take care of yourself, the cars wont do it for you. entonces you run. riding in the bus and looking out the window, I got hearattack after heartattack due to the closedriving up and ither very slose bypasses, which i swear should have ended in humoungous crashes, but luckily didnt. Im happy not to drive here.

Food? I have never had more rice with beans and chicken than here. its really yummy, like not spicy or anything but still, beans with rice, rice with beans. morning (gallo pinto), lunch (casado) and evening. despite that, there are great foods such as platanos (banana to be cooked) , tropical fruits, etc.

friendship

I have been meaning to post ever since I got back from my holiday, but there were rude interruptions whose tirades I shall provide later. It's friendship day, and this post is a small tríbute to friendship.

I always went to the same school since grade 1 till I went to Stuttgart. We did not have a floating population, so I stayed with more or less the same friends. Very rarely did a friend drift away, and when that happened our connection was lost.

I could say that I’m truly surprised, but utterly joyful that Julia’s and my friendship has lasted this while. It is strained, of course, due to the distance. No previlege of picking the phone and ranting off, or meeting on weekends for a cup of coffee. But, we have our own little things to look forward to. A stray mail, a phone call where we cram details of what life’s been like since the last time we chit-chattered, little bits in the blog, random memories of her that cross my mind as days go by.

I’l cherish this relationship forever and thankyou so much buddy for being there.. :)
This song by The White Stripes has always been a personal favourite. HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY!!!

We're gonna be friends

Fall is here
Hear the yell
Back to school
Ring the bell
Brand new shoes
Walking blues
Climb the fence
Books and pens
I can tell that we are gonna be friends
I can tell that we are gonna be friends

Walk with meSuzy-lee
Through the park and by the tree
We will rest upon the ground
and look at all the bugs we found
Safely walk to school without a sound
Safely walk to school without a sound

Here we are
No one else
We walked to school all by ourselves
Theres dirt on our uniforms
From chasing all the ants and worms
We clean up and now its time to learn
We clean up and now its time to learn

Numbers, letters
Learn to spell
Rhymes and books and show and tell
Playtime we will throw the ball
Back to class
Through the hall
Teacher marks our height against the wall
Teacher marks our height against the wall

We don't notice any time passed
We don't notice anything
We sit side by side in every class
Teacher thinks that i sound funny
But she likes the way you sing

Tonight i'll dream
While i'm in bed
When silly thoughts go through my head
'Bout the bugs and alphabet
When i wake tomorrow i'll bet
That you and I will walk together again
I can tell that we are gonna be friends
Yes, I can tell that we are gonna be friends

Brings back sweet memories!!!

P.S. See the butterfly shirt :]

the other side of the world

whoooooohoooooo Im in costa rica, in the capital san Jose, or more preciselz in the universitz town san pedro right next to san jose (flowing into san jose more like it).
and zes, the kezboard is english, hence the mix up of y and z.
I ma living in a reallz nice host family, with all girls and a nice roommate drew, an american girl a lot older than me. This means I can practice as much spanish as want to. and even though mz grammar sucks and mz vocabulary is lacking the most day to day expressions, I plapper on trying to sort of communicate, evben if it onlz is a remark about how I like the food oer the weather, or trying to tell about my day with my lakcing knowledge of any form of the past tense whatsoever.

I hope to go to the beach on the weekend. I met some girls from switzerland and germany with whom I could possibly travel. lets see, t would be great if that would work out: a bit of rainforest, a lot of beach, a bit of roaming through the streets of some, probably over touristy townlet made for pulling money out of willing tourists. grrrrr usually I hate touristy places, but I have the feeling that most people here arent really up for a hike through the corcovado, the big rainforest preserve in the south.

So I have classes in like 20 minutes. My teacher seems to be ok. the classmates, 3, are sorta nice. I like the american girl, not too much the two other germans who really dont seem to understand a lot. but I think I should chill. Itll all be fine. Ill have a great time. Ill meet lots of nice people.

more little storylets when there is more to tell. :)

me too -!!

As Julia travels to Costa Rica, I too savour a vacation well-deserved..
I’m going to Jaipur, the Pink City, the jewel in the desert, the capital of a state famous for its cuisine and pallu wrapped ladies and multi-hued turbans.

The main motive is to see my DADdy, but I’m going to make the best of my short vacation and see lots of new things. The sun will beat down ferociously, but the sun-cream is ready. Some new smells to entice me and new sights to enthrall me and new experiences to enrich me. My brain is coping up with the sudden idea of vacation, but I am READY.

Silhoutted against the pale pink sky, at dusk, I WILL wave and say “HOORAH” .

PICS to obviously come for the benefit of my counterpart who’s smitten with this country :)

the big unknown

Friday morning im flying to costa rica. I have no idea what to expect. I only know I will miss Jürgen a lot, I will have language and communication problems, and ... many mosquitos. I'm sort of scared

wish me luck!

goosebumps

thats the feeling Im getting everytime I listen to the famous ouverture dedicated to my namesake Julia/et. Of course I have seen the ballet before, it belongs to the classic ones, like the swan lake, that even non ballet frequenters happen to see. but I bumped into it again two weeks ago in Berlin. my cousin took me out (ad hoc) to perhaps the most amazing classical concert I was ever at. the season ending summerconcert, outside on a huge stage in the middle of the forrest, of the berlin philharmonic orchestra. theme: night of love.

The concert is arranged almost like a picnic. people bring food and drink. photo cameras, candles and sparkling candles (Wunderkerze). the atmosphere is summery, fun, casual and quite contrastive to the usual dry throught one gives to concerts. amazing setting for amazing music.

Most of all my favourite Tschaikowsky (spelling is german) piece, the 20 minute long ouverture preempting the condensed love tragedy of Romeo and his Juliet, was played right at the end, finishing a glorious programme of highlights such as dvorak, mussorsky etc. but topping them all.

I like classical music, especially for piano and usually the stuff for orchestra, and sometimes opera- but only live and with the acting. But this ouverture hit me like a steamboat. I was sitting there amazed, and am sitting there amazed right now while listening as I write. my heart and all of my inside feels like flying and jumping around, especially when the entire orchestra spirals up and up, crescendoing into the main theme.

so much better than most of the popular junk revolving around 5 notes and a repetitive pattern of 4 bars.

whoa what happened?

I got my IB grades. the good thing is I met my offer. the bad news is... whoah theyre bad! I was working at a level of 1,0 (german grades) the entire past two years, and now Im walking away with a 1,7?! whoa thats weird. I mean on the one side its weird, that EXACTLY Imperial is working. and nothing else, like something leading me there. On the other hand, I simply cannot believe the exams went so bad. Like I NEVER got those grades before. Oh well. Im in uni, and thats all that counts, and I can stick my personal pride elsewhere because, well I just gotta live with it.

Its in the middle of the night...again. I am in the near vicinity of berlin, in a small village, at my cousins place. and suddenly half my family is there. at least all my female cousins from my fathers side plus t´he kids of the two oldest.
so I spent my day, debating whether to clean noses and not go outside to play when its time to leave to go to the 10 minute away lake to swim. five little 2-6 year olds. four boys and a girl, three of them my godchildren, are heaps of work but heaps of fun. I was completely finished with the day and the world at 9 when we had finally gotten everybody in bed and to sleep. and now its again 5 hours later I spent chatting and eating and having tea and prosecco and a very nice evening with all the grown ups.
I just got a shower and now am realising I cant really piece a blog entry together but I tried.
need sleep.
the kids wake up at 5. and guess whos tomorrows babysitter... but I am enjoying it. it is very cute, and I always am happy that I have the mummy to turn to, who can handle everything once I got my overdose.
good night( or shall I say good moring...almost)

the blues they send to meet me won't defeat me..

I was in deep thought (well, deep FOR ME, wic is quite shallow actually) a few days back. I had been asked by a friend as to what was it that I really wanted to do in life? Which profession, what career and how do I envision myself when I am 30.
Well, I thought about it a lot. These are some of the things I have consistently wanted to do in my life.

-Travel widely and greatly
-Freelance writing – a travelogue???
-Make loads of money (mney can buy everything, including a little bit of happiness )
-Be content with the profession I choose - never would I make compromises just because I had to maintain the job I have got. There are loads of ways of making money
-Take my family on a world tour
-Save peoples lives/inspire a soul to achieve something in life – well, basically make a positive difference to somebody’s life
-BE HAPPY!!

Does any one single profession make this seem possible? I think some would tell that I am an aimless, peripatetic soul. But its just I have never thought about this, nor has any brilliant idea accompanied with a strong flash ever appeared to me. I am currently letting my life take its course, and like a meandering river I move forward. I don’t think I know enough about my own dreams to make a careless, reckless, impulsive final decision now.

IIT or not I have decided that curently my aim in life is going to be the last one, BE HAPPY!
Live life, have fun, don’t be afraid and be a little naughty at times.. starting from today … --specially pointing out to the naughty part :]

P.S. 1. Advice well taken, osmy in Germany..
P.S. 2.
noticed the trend in the posts
osmosis germany - a little philosophical
osmosis germny - dance/travel
osmosis india - rant/very occasional creative byte.

I am officially tired of ranting. No more for a while. MIss me!-!

salsa and bachata

even though I was feeling crap all of yesterday, I decided I did want to meet up with chris- a friend I know from dancing. He had helped me loads to prepare for my history exams, is great to talk to, and as I know of now, to dance with. so theproposition to go salsa dancing had hung around the air for a while now, and after a coffee, and me not wanting to go home quit yet, we decided to have a look at the 7 grad (7°C, but actually more like 70°) which has salsa dance evenings, with an initial introductory course. we came late, had missed the salsa and now had come halfway into a simple bachata choreo. after few steps (the speed of teaching is really quick, but porpably cuz they do the same things a few weeks after another) the girls rotated around the room. I got todance with old, young, nice, less nice, people looking exactly like the inter midlife crisis dance freak from shall we dance, some of them really could move well, others less so.

Bachata is a very sensual, sexy dance, slower than salsa. like all latin dances, hip movements are a must, but this dance is so close that it is a bit intimidating dancing it with a complete stranger that could be your father. I had never danced bachata before. but I got quite a few compliments, so I think i didnt do that badly. what I love about it, is that it is not as standardised as the competitive latin dances. it is not as edgy, no necessity of straight legs, no complicated technique (forgive my ingnorance if this is not the case). but you dance what you feel like. you move to the music and have fun.

at the beginning of the free dancing part of the evening, chris and I were rather intimidated when we saw the other people dance. like always, if you dont know how to dance the dance, it looks immensly complex at first, whereas in reallity it is really simple. but, knowing the basic step we tried and did our best. by the end of the evening I had remembered some of the figures we had used as a warm up and at the beginning of last year's choreo. and in the end just dancing was really good. I think I am addicted.

im out of it

Im out of school. I am slowly realising that I never have to see some of those people again. I never have to schlepp myself there to feel like a complete nerd because I get all jumpy if I dont study (or at least do something more than eat) in breaks. I never have to feel a complete loner, just because I want to do things nobody else wants to and then go do them by myself, before I give in and abandon the plan. I will no longer have to compromise with my class and pretend I had good friends, as in reality i didnt. well, not quite, I did get along well with some people, but now when the choice falls to whom I want to dedicate precious free time to, my finger moves my cellphone calling list more to the people I got to know outside of school.

The only person I saw outside of school till now- you wont believe it- is faye. because shes one of the few people where plans actually end up working out, without a lot of bickering and haggling and last minute cancelling and all that mess. I have been seeing, apart from my boyfriend, my cousins, friends from dancing and volleyball.

Now that the pressure to fit in has gone, I no longer wish to-I havent for quite a while. I have been in many ways different to the people in my class. I find it sad I didnt share more with many people, than just a teacher and a classroom, but this is a two way process. I can do as much as I want to if people cannot see behind the facade. I believe myself to be interresting, nice and fun - er...well in my own way. And maybe thats the one thing such a class has tought me. I dont need to fit in. I dont need to be best friends with everyone, nor do I have to be popular. What counts is that I have to be myself and believe in what I do and what I stand for.

maybe I dont believe in what I just wrote there myself - it is rather a bold thing to say, more like a goal fit for a lifetime, but I do hope I sell out a little less of myself than I did a few years ago. but this issue is now a thing of iss past. maybe I will feel just the same wherever I end up, but hey, the friends that can endure me in my most crazy ranting and studing times, that still call me after a "yeah next time I can go for a coffee is in 3 weeks", those are the friends that will stick, and those that really care. and if they are not from Iss so be it. cuz quality not quantity is what really counts.

Untitled..

Un dèsir, il vole
avec les ailes de velours
l'arôme de nuage
c'est un parcours venteux.


Disclaimer: Poem written by female with very limited french knowledge but suddenly had the uncontrollable urge to do so. Any resemblance to french language is certainly intended. Any corrections to the above literary piece is welcome (unless you know less french that the aforementioned distinguished young lady).

------------

Ah well done!- I fear Im not much better, but I shall try. I hope I get it somewhat in the direction of what the distinguished lady intended. please all those better french speakers, excuse our ignorance

a few words of well meant but probably out of place advice

and once again I am amazed, no, outraged at the absurdety of the indian educational system...or shall I say the masses of indian people out there. I am quite sure I wouldnt have stood a chance.

I very much admire, and certainly support your choice to hammer another year for what is known as the worlds worst and most challenging entrance exam.

On the other hand, please do not get your spirits down, and forget everything else because of your overwhelming and unstoppable ambition. And this does not only go for you, pragathi, but for everybody out there. you have one life to live, and spending it at IIT is definately a goal to sacrifice a year for, but sacrificing a life, an honour and personal dignity for it, thats too high a price. Please do not let your striving for gold eat you as a person - do not forget that your life, and what you should live for is never a single track train. enjoy the very few moments you have for yourself, and seek to develop those interrests that make you unique; perhaps not for uni, but if everything, for me.

dont let the gits get you down

Cosmic intervention paramount

It takes a dedicated amount of trouble on the divine’s part to screw up my life this bad. Today crack of dawn I discover that I was one mark away from the coveted CML in JEE. Now im left bereft of the little honour I deserved and within waving distance of people smarter than me. Of course it had to be my good fortune that the EML is abolished this year, effectively depriving me of any little respect that was left in my academically-challenged life.

After having read Julia's sunshiny blogs, i feel a bit out of place to be back on to my ranting. But here we go again.

For any and all unaware of the JEE system,
There’s a rank list of 9000 odd smarty asses, called CML (Counselling Merit list or something on those lines, the acronym sounds smarter) which grants you some thing to show off to your less privileged friends and a counselling, a possibility of an IIT seat - the possibility ranging from anywhere btw 0 and 100.

In the previous years, there was the most awaited EML (Extended Merit list) for those students who are smart but just not smart enough, to save grace and as ive recently heard, to avail a discount in coaching institutes for the drop year.

The cutoff is 190 this year and Im waitin in the swamp with 189.

With my wonderful state rank in one of the other exams, I have been told that it is in my best interests not to waste the rank and to secure admission at a best local engg college.

Ive been told several times and by several people that IIT is not the end of the world. That I must grab a good seat in Surathkal or in BITs, Pilani, both among the top 10 engg institutes in India. Honestly, my chances at these colleges, though not as bleak , are still not too promising. Really, for my intellectual competency, getting into a college on the 4th list just stinks..

Then theres always the MBA argument.

I still maintain that even though Kapil Sibal is doing his best to increase the number of IITs and sink the IITs' unsinkable reputation (thereby blemishing the elusiveness and charm of getting into these institutes), the IITs will always be the best in this country.

I’d rather not settle for the second best. Of course, life could throw its long-unwashed stinking socks at my face again, but I’l at least be better equipped to duck.

On the bright side of things there are only 10000 people in this country currently smarter than me. Doesn’t sound too bad at all.

The decision of dropping a year has become a fitting climax to my extraordinary failure. Of all the laughable scenarios in my life, the near miss of CML takes the cake ;) This preposterous turn of events has led my transgressed soul back on to the path it was ordained to take

IIT

Good Riddance

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
-Greenday

I am on first name terms with my teachers. I have seen Mr. Garvey drunk, and others very close to it. I experienced one evening with my grade-the whole lot, regardless of clique or friendship group.
"es ist ein immenses Gefühl" (die Physiker)
Prom and Graduation have been unforgettable and unbelievably wonderfull two nights.

I am free now. floating. life seems to hang on, to stand still, while the hour of doom, 14:30 on the 6th of july, is ticking closer and closer. Quentin will leave on wednesday. The relevation shocked me, and I am glad to have been able to see him again before that. I realised/I am realising that my classmates and also my path are separating. Like the party yesterday evening got thinner and thinner, the strands of the rope will burst and erode away. Everybody now takes a new path, just like a new part of my life has/ will be started.

I would like to thank everybody that has made my time at ISS special.
I would like to thank everybody that will accompany me, and be a friendly oberver of my life in the future.

I have graduated

Goodbye ISS

It is such a strange feeling. I am standing there with the last report card of ...ever (43/45 :D). The blue, newly carpeted hall of our colourful school reminds me of endless passages between classes, morning running, the occational hiding from teachers and, more often, tracking them down.

Thats all over now. How interresting...how cool.

I felt an inner restlessness. Something like an urge to get out. This is no surprise to me, I must say. What bound me most to ISS is now gone. Foremostly, the studying; but also some of the people and teachers I have been priviledged to get to know.

My time at ISS has officially elapsed. A bittersweet realisation that has not quite stuck into my head yet. Now also my books are back. I heaved 2 suitcases and a handbag full of them to the school this morning. I have my last reportcard, best wishes from many teachers; so now its time for a sum up. my top 5s at ISS are to follow:

Top 5 things I will miss

1) Biology with Mr. Garvey

2) MUN

3) Hunting down teachers

4) The cheapest latte macciato of Stuttgart

5) Having the best chemistry teacher that moves mountains to enable you to work if your up for it.

Top 5 things I won't miss

1) Writing litterature essays

2) Being bored to death in class

3) Most people (sorry but its the truth)

4) Writing IAs

5) Its been a while, but MYP

Top 5 most influential people (to my life) I got to know at ISS

1) Pragathi

2) Mr. Kelly

3) Mr. Garvey

4) Marloes (well, not directly at ISS)

5) The "gang" of grade 3 (Chris, Niv, me)

Top 5 activities/experiences/fieldtrips

1) MUN

2) Habitat

3) Ardêche

4) Rome

5) Space camp

Sweet and good times!

I’m feeling good. Echoing Michael Bublè’s words, i really do feel good. Its like suddenly all those thick wads of information I've been stuffing into my little brain have been cleaned out and the attic is empty waiting for new and better thoughts to come in.

My last exam for this academic year is over (not yet dwelling too much on my decision of repeating my exams to get a result with cherry on top in contrast to this years dismal performance).

So after the exam, i went shopping; the thing I haven’t done for a long long time. The best was this comfy snug brown tee that I got, that was apparently designed in Heidelberg and brought back fresh and wonderful memories of my stay in Germany.

Then I had some yummy velvety black forest cake at Sweet Chariot (which would qualify as my favourite dessert place). Well it had three layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and a hint of cherries between each layer. The chocolate shavings on top with the cherry gleaming and beckoning affably, completed this gastronomic magnum opus. The consumption of this, of course, was comparable to heaven. There was a slightish alcoholic tinge to it, but I may have been imagining that. My sister meanwhile devoured coffee and walnut cake which didn’t look half as appetizing (my biased opinion – she believed it was THE BEST).

After dessert I became aware that I was starving, having skipped lunch as the exam was during lunch time. So I had some other snacks as well. All through, I have to admit, I was feeling so joyous and infected with strange happiness, I wished it would last forever. It’s funny how a few months of pure slogging can make a simple thing like an evening out at a cafe seem so marvellous. Cheerio!

sunburns, bikes and freedom

Last tueday was my last exam.

It is such a relief knoing that the hell of the past two years is over. on the other hand you sit there thinking: so this was it?!

all this accumulated knowledge in your brain there on recall for 2 weeks. and what other use does it have. and the more important question: so what do I do now?

the weather has been absolute crap pretty much all through exams (thank goodness. I would have hated sitting inside with sun + 25°C min. ) but this weekend it has cleared up. I am out and about enjoying the new sunnny sid of things x2.

saturday I went to heidelberg to visit Jürgen. we took our bikes to go to a small lake nearby. via the Hockenheim ring. the place where fast cars race 1 a year. I even rode on parts of the old parcour.

The lake was beautiful (see picture). Quiet, and not overcrouded like stuttgart downtown with sun. and I did get a huge tanline on my back. more like a redline, where the not quite lobster, but perhaps strawberry red met camembert white.

Today I went biking with my mum. past the tv tower, past the school (waved to mr. Garvey), to möhringen, then along a little river, past plieningen, ruit, and home.

straberry red has intensfied. but I take it as the colour of freedom.

D-Day Eve musings..!

It’s nearly 2 pm as I write this. tomorrow by this time I will be starting the second IIT-JEE paper.

So what’s so daunting about IIT-JEE? Why the hype and so much hoopla. well, somewhere btw 400,000 and 500,000 write this exam fighting for the 5000 prestigious engineering seats that the IITs(Indian Institute of Technology(s)) have to offer. It’s not that any of the IITs are in the top 50 institutions in the world, but they are the most sought after in India. The entrance exam is, perhaps, one of the toughest in the world not only for the kind of questions asked but more so because only a very small percentage of aspirants actually get to realise their dreams.

The joint entrance exam (JEE) is a test of memory, skill, application, effective time management as well as endurance, stamina and determination to slog for two years, giving up on tempting distractions. The latter perhaps more important than the rest.

So, tomorrow’s the D-Day. The day when thousands of lively, bright students, who have beavered away in their burrows for the last two years, will throng to their centres to write the 6-hour paper for one last time (hopefully, ---- - one reattempt is possible).

My mind is strangely calm. The surface is still, hardly a wind. ‘Ruhe’ befor the ‘Sturm’, one might say. I hope not, though; I don’t want a gale tomorrow, it would blow everything in my mind away. Let the serenity remain. As the minute ticks by, memories flood my mind. These two years have been memorable – the hustle bustle, the tantrums, the hard work, the sacrifices, the flashes of laughter, the tears and the changes that have taken place to my attitude and my perception of things. I could have done a lot more, but theres always room for improvement. I do not regret that I chose this path, if at the end of it, I can bring happiness to those who have supported me along the way and to those who have expectations from me. I do not know yet, but I hope tomorrow I can accomplish what I set out to do.

I don’t why getting through this entrance exam is such a big deal for me. it would lead me to do engineering, which is not my career option anyway. Preparing for it involved sacrifices that were very hard to make. I think maybe what I really want is for my family, esp. my mother be proud of me; to see her eyes shining with pride when I make it through the toughest entrance exam. I want to have her believe in me and my goals and have confidence that I can deal with the big bad world alone. Of course, I may never reach the perfection she posseses or her grace of handling situations, but I will learn and I will do it in my own crude way. I have a very protective and caring mother, but like many other parents, I guess she too lives in a time warp where children never grow up. Getting through the JEE would require me to study the next four years in the hostel, where hopeflly I will learn to stand on my own feet. I’d hate to cower behind my mom all life and suddenly one day discover that I no longer have her to protect and guide me.

I walk in tomorrow to give the best I can, doing what I set out to do without concern about the results. I’m sure there are others out there too awaiting tomorrow and wondering what it will bring for them. Wishing all the best to all my other 499,999 fellow nerds… ;-)

hungry क्या ?

for urban privileged Indians these two words define the ‘cool’ pizza outlet and for the rest of the country it is nothing but a poignant reminder of a famished existence.

the two words – ‘Hungry Kya’ (Hungry in English and Kya in Hindi) would roughly translate to Are (You) Hungry. to me and the vast majority of the people I interact with, it would mean - lift up the phone, dial one of those repeating integer numbers, choose between extra cheese and extra spicy and wait edgily for the next half hour for the steaming pizzas (with free garlic bread that was on offer). But for the greater part of this country, it is the inspiration behind the everyday routine of drudgery for a less gratifying and less calorific meal.

a rather peculiar verity is that the bill from the pizza place is probably more than the total earnings of a BPL (Below Poverty line) family for a week. numbers are not important here; is the comparison between one pizza and several bowls of runny broth even justified?

I know enough people who indulge in this opulence over the weekends (or may be more often), but refuse to part with a coin at the traffic signal to one of the cripples or old women with beseeching eyes. of course.., i understand that we must help only those who help themselves and that we must not make people charity-dependant and the like…
Still, it just repels me that the richer fools have no qualms about donating their earnings to high-end pizza parlours (PP) whose edibles do nothing more than remove the weight off your purse and add it on your bulk. no offence to the PPs; they just happen to be the targets of my rage at the moment. this indictment holds good for any of the other eateries, which charge not for what they serve but for their trade name. (In my opinion, it’s plain pilfering.)
But it’s their business, and they too must survive, monstrously abetted in this grotesque mission by the more prosperous Indians.

nowhere in the world are the contrast and the divide between the rich and the poor as evident as it is in India. this country is made of a billion people, all largely alike, but contrasted by the bleak austerity of their hunger. The children of the same nation, the same blood flows through their veins, with the same fortitude and the same passion; but the hoi polloi wake up each morning weaker, spirits broken by hunger and callously stripped of a birthright.

we live in a world that is neither fair nor strives to be so. For most of us (I admit this holds good for me too), we are too absorbed in living our lives, that the subsistence of the destitute is hardly a matter of concern. Perhaps, I ought to give this matter a little more thought before I enter the pizza parlour the next time.

The Roach War

I know that it’s four days before D-Day (read IIT-JEE), but as usual I’m enthused to do something different. So I flipped through the pages of my sis’ school magazine. And voila, I read a very interesting fact (one that might need to be verified by Julia’s bio teacher), but nevertheless, here it is:

In the event of a nuclear disaster, the beast most likely to survive the horrific radiation would be …..(hear the drumbeats and the trumpets playing) THE COCKROACH.


http://www.twilightguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/roaches.jpg

For those of you who know less about this variety, I will share my new-found knowledge with you. According to the Webster’s Universal College Dictionary, roaches are any of numerous orthopterous insects of the family Blattidae, characterised by a flattened body (ugh..) , rapid movements and usually nocturnal habits.

For the past few days, my life has been interspersed with sightings of copious members of this species. Top 5 reasons for this:

5. It’s hot and humid and perfect climate for mating/thriving for these brutes.

4. I stay up till late night amassing knowledge from Halliday n Resnick, Morrison and Boyd and Messrs Thomas and Finney’s extensive book on calculus. So on my journeys to the kitchen to hydrate myself, I am more likely to step on one of the brutes at night than during the day.

3. They like the refuge of my room, due to the cosmic collection of the aforementioned books.

2. They like the refuge of my room due to traces of my ‘comfort’ food (aka chocolate, chocolate milk, coffee, cappuccino, espresso, latte – anything with cocoa or caffeine or both) on the floor. (My Mom‘s hypothesis, which was most likely the explanation till I discovered the next reason)

1. Due to the impending plausible nuclear war due to the energy/ego crisis, the roaches are breeding faster so that they have a good chance of taking over the world (with the mozzies – cos they need air coverage as well).

So duh! now I know why the roaches (and mozzies) have burgeoned the universe. Beware fellow Homo Sapiens for our untroubled and powerful days on this planet may well be terminated by THE BRUTE……!!!!!
So keep your bug-sprays handy and get ready for the War with The RoachWorld.

Sonnet #541

A tear here, a pearl glistens and a shadow falls across my heart
For it bled the night before, the night when we were apart.
I needed you; I wanted you to hold me close in your arms
But life got in the way and distanced our hearts.
Dreary visions haunt my dreams and numb my mind
For the days I have to spend alone, without you by my side.
Starting with a little desire, we soared through the heavens
Too swiftly maybe, for now I’ve tumbled into the abyss.

Yet, I dream again, of rainbows and sunshine and a fine ‘morrow,
But not squander my today with musings or illusions.
Now, I shall move on in life with reminiscences of yesterday
And of those fleeting moments of joy we stole and still cherish.
Against Fate, against Time, we shall embrace as one
For that twine between our spirits can never perish.


with love,
pragathi

the end, the beginning..

it’s over, ...finally. my all too important exams have ended
a feeling of joy and relief washed over me as i walked out of school today. but i just could not register the fact that it was less than two years ago that i had stood in front of the same institution attending the inauguration to mark the start of 11th. i think my thoughts were shared by the others as well, looking at the way all eyes gazed at the open school gates. the glee on our faces after the culmination of the exams was palpable. after all we were brave warriors who had walked through the murky valley of gloom and despair. with our indomitable spirit, we had overcome all odds and endured the harrowing days. ;)
ok, it wasn’t that bad. the papers were easy, easier than the previous years and my answers weren’t that bad. so life moves on now...
its summer and its hot and clammy in this part of the universe. but today we were endowed with a spell of rain and this has ensured that the temperature has fallen down to bearable levels; actually it has been a rather pleasant weather-not too hot and not too cold...no more, no less (like Henry, the penguin says in my sis’s cartoon). inspired by the precipitation we have received, I present my creative byte.

tasting the rain…

the raindrops green and blue,
fall on the roof, drop by drop.
they’re happy, they’re merry
they leap and hop
and skip and jump
till they are taken deep
Into the muddy brown mound.

soon sunshine dances on my face
as the new day calls to me,
a new hour, a new second…
and to making it last??
no, no! I want a new day everyday,
coz it’s boring if the sun only rose and set
and the merry clouds gave no rain.

my wings stretch far
and the wind sweeps through
i glide, I turn, I fly very far
through the vast expanse
of joyful sky, of that I’m sure.

little drops again envelope me
little drops of joy n hope.
the raindrops are still green and blue
with that fragrance, that freshness
it’s a new beginning to new joys.

Dorian grey, the last IAs and the mountain of motivation

yes I too should be doing work. lots of it. but at least i found a fitting quote in my O. Wilde research for the top of the blog- at least in this stage of our life.

an odd tale

so y exactly did i suddenly decide to squat down in front of the computer in between my all-so-important, life-deciding-destiny-changing exams and blog? ..
my complex mind is too hard to decipher so let me chuck the idea of trying to fathom my eccentric behaviour. (oh by the way, this is the indian counterpart)

so wat's going on in my lyf? a little this and a little that. not much too exciting or depressing (unless u count staying awake the whole night cramming chemical formulae into my all-so saturated brain as either of the two).

i am doing this cos my rebellious streak is telling me to jeopardise my math preparation and babble my way through the blog. there's some aura about exams that it's right at that time that you are inspired to do several other things, none of which includes sitting still at a desk and struggling your way through books that come in various hues and sizes. so right now i'm afflicted with this pathological nightmare where my brain has been taken over by litle leprachauns (Mr. Gravy's theory).

but pressure from external sources including that from that irritating little tiny voice in my head called conscience is ripping me away from by beloved blog(notwithstanding that i hvn't blogged for more than a yr). so i bid adieu until next time. ciao!!! keep thy frown upside down :)

procrastination and tatort

I havent blogged in... 3 months??? wow thats way too much. and way too much has happened to gulp it down in one huge blog bite sized gulp. in december I had huge stress finishin my Extended essay in chemistry. I had to miss school to go to the lab. Im just so happy its over.
then I went to istambul. for mun. it was one of the best muns ive been to. no the conference wasnt that great, but the people and the city and the completely different culture made it very special.
then I had "break" in which we, yet again had more trainign than real break, finished off by the first tournamen (we won it) and mock exams the next day.
january was over with mocks. and all the sudden we had our orals (last week) and now its already february break.

time flies much quicker than I want it to.

so why am i blogging all the sudden ? firstly because of chris, a good friend of mine who actually reads my ranting sometimes, who reminded me yesterday that I should blog more. and because im procrastinating my 4 lab reports i have to write until next week. Ill keep tis short and should go on doing chem.

lately I am a huge fan of a german actor called Jan Josef Liefers. Its going to be a small phase of glory, but his movies are soo funny! his most famous ones (at least inner country wise) are in a german criminal series called "tatort" the oldest criminal series of te country. It is built similar to CSI; ther are different towns. but instead of having each season a town, they alternate on a weekly basis. so theres one in berlin, leipzig, stuttgart, bodensee, köln, and most immportantly, Münster. and they are so much better than csi ... by the way.
so mr. liefers is playing a rather snobbish, elitarian pathologist. "the professor". he loves cars, listening to classical music at a very loud volume and has an opinion of everything. this character is contrasted by the superintendant "thiel", not only the last name of Jürgens flatmate, but also the complete oppsite in everything of proffessor boerne. and lastly boernes helper, Alberich, a short little woman (litterally short) that has the liscence of making as much fun of her boss than he of her.

"Alberich: "Jetzt kommen Sie mal wieder runter, Chef!"
(Get down /chill", proffessor)
Boerne: "Wohin? Auf Ihr Niveau etwa?"
(where? perhaps to your level?)
Bulle (lacht): "Der war gut."
(laughing - that was a good one)
Boerne: "Fanden Sie gut?"
(you thought that was good)
Bulle: "Der war komisch."
(that was funny)
Boerne: "Ah ja, was fanden Sie denn komisch?"
(right, what did you find funny?)
Bulle: "Na das mit dem Niveau und dem Runterkommen."
(well that with the getting down and the level)
Boerne: "Wollen Sie über meine Mitarbeiterin lustig machen?"
(do you want to make fun of my coworker?)
Bulle: "Nein, aber Sie haben doch gerade selber einen ..."
(no, but you yourself...)
Boerne: "Wenn sich hier einer lustig macht, dann bin ich das. Stimmt's, Alberich?"
(if anyone makes any fun of someone, then thats me. right alberich?)
Alberich: "Klar, Chef." (Klatschen sich ab) "Und umgekehrt."
(sure boss...and the other way around)
Boerne: "Genau." "
(exactly)