Friends are of two types – the Jewelry Type and the Clothes Type.

The Clothes Type friends lose color, fade away, grow small etc with time. While the Jewelry type friends remain inert…they don’t react…don’t age. They don’t lose color, fade…in short you don’t out grow them.

Fortunately, till now all of my friends whom I believe are part of my warm circle have been jewels. This weekend unexpectedly I met my friends in Mysore. It was a roller coaster, bike journey in the midnight and unexpected bike breakdown of the bike in the extreme interiors of the jungle Near Nanjangud.  Having homemade Chicken in the midnight along with military Scotch is an exotic and Royale any day.

When we meet friends the adult inside us becomes infant, thorough professional who sits inside a cubicle becomes wild.  Things we speak may sound logic less at times but are most enjoyed conversations. These Conversations may be food, career, apparels, gadgets, vehicles and most common thing “LOVE”. In a group of my friends who are committed and loyal to their loves I’m the odd one out. I always find it “Not my kinda thing”. Yet, we spoke about it for most part of the time we spent together.

I had read somewhere which goes like this

“Love is: finding her pimples adorable, her mistakes pardonable, her nagging tolerable, her bills affordable and her love immeasurable”.

Is love that blind?

Or is it just another topic like eternity and creation that humans will never grasp the concept cause of its depth.

I never liked the word as I had witnessed all the dramatic aftermaths it can bring in very early age,

Never believed it possible and doubted true thing exists,

Matter of fact, it pissed me off when I saw a couple holding hands (Not out of frustration or also not for not having my own),

Or a romantic movie with a happy ending,

Because the truth is “happy ending” and “love” doesn’t go hand in hand, because you rarely find love and happy endings, you either find one of the two but rarely both together.

I see people that fall in love as actors that get into character and come right out soon as something happens.

Not me……..Not now…..maybe. When I was younger and I didn’t understand the difference between love and infatuation, when I used to get lost in the fantasy of boy meets girl, they fall in love, Get married n blah blah blah….or when I thought there was someone for everyone and when you found that right person you’ll know …..Maybe just maybe I could have believed in love if It was that simple, but it aint because even if you searched and find that right person, chances are if the person isn’t taken, feelings won’t be mutual.

People spend most of their lives searching for love, some never find it, some pretend to, others just settle for the lesser things like comfort, security, stability, trust, money…Etc

Some do find love but are too scared to believe in it, cause of past experiences or what they  heard, some don’t search, it finds them, but since they never wanted it to start with, they don’t know what to do with it, so they discard it, some just think it won’t work, since they tried it a million times and failed, so it’s not worth searching for, so they settle for one of the lesser things, get lost in it and believe at a point that it’s love.

So forgive me if I don’t believe in love anymore, I’m simply tired of the never ending search for perfection, even when we know it isn’t possible to find

My heart has been broken so many times and mended so many times(as I have huge list of crushes Charlize theron, Scarlett Johnson, Megan Fox, Mila Kunis and few other girls), that another might leave a hole in me, a hole that could finish me.

Humans are known for their imperfection but I met one that was the closest thing to perfection for me.

One that made me doubt my belief

One whose smile made the sun looks brighter. One I couldn’t get out of my head, one whose picture was permanently at the back of my eyelids, One who I loved talking to even if the only way I could sometimes was thru an argument…this is a strange feeling, I don’t understand it

And my friends don’t seem to either.

Is this how all those couples that held hands felt, was this the same feeling those people in the movies felt…….or was I just getting into character…would my feelings change the minute someone said CUT or will this change the minute we have something ,are the feelings mutual or is this just me

It’s confusing when you don’t have the answers to these questions and it’s even more confusing when the other person doesn’t

Can I do this?

Could this be love?

This could either make or break me.

I guess I’ll never find out

If I don’t try……. NEVER ENDING STORY………

I have tried and self challenged many times to not to touch my phone next 5 hrs at least but i have failed again and again, i thought it’s a kind of addiction i’m struggling to come out of. I assume there are many people out there with similar disorder (at least i’ll call so).  I was searching for reasons behind this addiction. Later somewhere i read something called ‘FOMO’, it stands for fear of missing out.

Do you know FOMO? That’s not some fancy latte — it’s Fear Of Missing Out, and something that’s become a recognized thing by many social media users these days.

You’re probably familiar with the concept, if not the name. Here’s an example: It’s been a long workweek and you really just want to spend Friday night at home watching a movie. But then that old familiar urge hits, and you can’t resist grabbing your smartphone for a jolty fix of quick-burst information.Twitter posts of current affairs and  mentions from people you’ve known. On Facebook, to check someones DM, someones status update, someones comments on your status or someone else put up photos of a raging party.

Suddenly, your mellow evening feels entirely inadequate and you wonder what else you’re missing out on. You put the phone down, only to pick it up again and again because you can’t shake the feeling that you’re missing out on finding out just how much you’re missing out on. The vicious cycle continues.

But don’t get too down — you’re not alone with your FOMO. There are other people out there just like you, and they’ve gone public with their problem.

When i finalized this blog it was 3AM in the early morning(or 2 past midnight), Nothing surprising in my late nights as I’ve had much last few weeks.

Even in my extreme of my dreams I never thought Ill reach this point in my life, which off late which has become a laughing for me.  Flexible office timings (many days I opened my eyes in front of my cubicle). Late nights and early morning logins can worsens one’s life and along with routinely tempo tantrums can ruin further.  I was a guy who used to laugh at people when someone said Techies lose their personal life with increase in work intensity.  As a result, more usage of F words at workplaces, avoiding meeting people and I was trying to corner myself with all this shit. Suddenly realized I’m disturbing someone by raining texts and pinging on FB from last few days, which was going on even without my attention (I have promised myself I won’t do it from today).  I would like to ask her sorry for everything I did.

I stopped enjoying my work and life. There were certainly times when I enjoyed myself, but most of those times were when my computer talents were still developing. Once I stopped learning new things on the job, I would become fidgety and want to move on to something else. It started to reflect on my personal life.

Being techie is like double headed sword, you enjoy it as long as you are new to it after certain extent things get worst.  For e.g., Situations like this one were common for me or many techies of my generation. I’ve had eavesdropping strangers approach me with questions about their computer while I was eating in a restaurant. I’ve had oblivious coworkers step in front of me in a buffet line to tell me about their computer problems while I was serving myself food. I’ve had neighbors who spotted me from their window rush outside to coax me into working on their home computer while I was walking to the corner market. My knack for solving people’s computer problems had become so well-known among my neighborhood that these circumstances were near impossible to avoid.

Life was getting alienated; the fact that the computer guy never gets a moment’s peace can also practically force him to withdraw into solitude.  Struggling to sort out an unlikely offer that I got, a chance to move out of the shore. But I chose not to.

“That’s why the IT guy eats lunch alone with his door closed, or goes out to eat every day — not because he’s unfriendly, but because he needs to escape the incessant interruptions”- Myself.

Having read these reasons, you may believe that I’m complaining. It’s true that I was upset with many aspects of my life as the computer guy, but I’m past the point of complaining.

I took a good hard look at my existence and realized that things were not likely to change in the line of work I had chosen. Instead of just complaining, I took action and began making positive changes in my life.

Working in the computer industry isn’t for everybody. It wasn’t for me. I’ve compiled my reasons for putting it behind me and placed them here, so that anyone who is unsatisfied with their life working in computers might recognize it’s not for them either.

And yeah my friends nothing is bad at my end, a bottle of Bacardi will do (which I was planning to leave once for all). A small rehabilitation may do wonders.

All is Well 

Only for Android phone users who are like me are Sick of watching the battery icon seemingly go as fast as a stoplight from green to yellow to red? It could well be all the apps you have installed — even the ones you aren’t using.

Ironically, like they ask for cars “kitna deti hain??” these days people are asking battery kitna der tak chalta hain?

!

Of course UI, which consume much of the battery. but screen doesn’t eat everything on it’s own. 

There is a bug in Android OS, which doesn’t turn off processor usage, GPS and Camera after it’s usage, it seems to be the major blow to the battery. As we all know, Unlike Computers our Smart phones try to whenever possible to be in a “sleep” mode to save precious battery life but this “no sleep bug” or unlock thread bug seems to be spoiling the bug. 

Few may argue that Data usage does the damage to the battery life but they are only partly right. as i have noticed Google Map, native mail program, Android back up service(if you have 3rd party back up service too you are gone) and biggest comedy is Power Saver or Manager which is supposed to save battery usage over uses battery itself by being over active all the time. Most common one is  Pre installed Facebook App, which notorious to be very slow, consumes battery more.

Another reason  for the battery consumption is many users don’t even know when multiple apps or programs are running, thus draining their phones.

You can find out fairly easily. From the home screen on an Android phone (or tablet), click the menu button, then Settings. From the menu, tap Applications, then Manage Applications. And finally, tap the Running button at the top of the screen. You’ll see what’s running, and what you probably don’t need. You can kill an app by tapping on it and then selecting Force Stop.

But do it quick, before your battery dies!

I had my appraisals a few months back, for which I was able to maintain my cool. As a result, I didn`t put in my papers the same day. Surprising isn`t it, the books,newspapers or any expert never write on how to deal with good appraisals. But then, do good appraisals exist? Or are they like the UFOs?

“Vijay, I’m impressed with your work,You are a great resource and you should go far,” my boss initiated the dialogue. I was happy. Not all bosses know to break the ice with such simplicity. “That`s nice to hear sir.” “Thanks.

The sooner you go far, the better,”He said staring at the computer. Being an honest, chaste man has its drawbacks. When somebody is pulling you down, scolding you or making fun of your ability, you don`t realize. I didn`t realize and continued:

“So what is the hike I am getting?” “Hike? I don`t think you will need one….you have set yourself low standards and have consistently failed to achieve them.” “But why would I not need a hike?” Even as I persisted, I saw my boss rating me as ‘Excellent` against the ‘Perseverance` parameter.

He was trying to read my motives, future plans before trying to say something good.

“In your last appraisal I had rated you as ‘Doesn`t meet expectations`. Remember?” I wondered why he was bringing in the past. Wasn`t an associate`s career path all about the future? “Yes,” I snorted. “Since my last report, you have reached rock bottom. In the next two days you would start to dig.” “So what if I dig?”

I have always known my boss as somebody quick to the gun and this time too he didn`t disappoint. he said, “If you dig, you would soon reach oil…and think of how rich you could be.”

Honest(strange huh) and chaste men like me can only be pushed to a certain extent. There is a limit beyond which the i can take insults. I wanted to fight back. “But I worked hard the last one year,” I replied. “Yes you did…but only under constant supervision. To put it bluntly, you worked hard when cornered like a rat in a trap.”

If only I hadn`t lent my gun to Pravin Mahajan. Even as I was giving it to Pravin, I remember my mother had said: “Lend books…but never lend your gun…you might have to go to the prison to collect it.” But I said, Sir I’ve done my part and have exceeded expectations in higher tone. He smiled back and said dude, you’ve got a great whip.

He told few observations too,
1. I’d like to see you in formals at office(which likely to remain observation next time too).
2. Log in timing, need to maintain.
3. No round collared T’s(again it’ll continue though).

I’m on Facebook since September 2008, even in my wildest dreams i never thought that something called “Above, Beyond and within Facebook” exists. One day I read this name in some daily print media, out of curiosity started to dig around what exactly it does. And the outcome was a surprise and I was like holy crap, WTF?

Above, beyond and within Facebook is an investigating group limited to Facebook to spy around every one you wanna have control on(only if they have a Facebook account). One should give a standing ovation to the Guy who  cracked this opportunity to start business.

Lemme brief you how it works,(these names and instances are real ones just name in location ) courtesy : ouchmytoe
lets assume that a  girls parents visiting a private detective firm titled  ‘Above, beyond and within Facebook’ and having a conversation such as this:
“We are planning to have our girl married off to a boy from Bangalore.”
“Sure, Let me know how we can help you”.“The boy’s name is Prashant Saxena. And we want to find out if he is a good fit for our innocent daughter.”
“Hmm…do you know his Facebook ID?”
“Yes…our daughter has already started chatting with him.
His ID is: prashant.saxena.”“
And his email ID in Facebook?”
“His email ID is prashant.saxena@gmail.com”
“Thank you. Consider your job done. We will need at least 15 days. If we find him not good for your daughter, we will not just give you the proof of his past but also generate proof in the present.”
“How much will this investigation cost us?” The cost conscious lady of the house will speak up.
“Madam, just think about it for a while. How much will you be willing to give to ensure your daughter has a good married life?”
I won’t go into how much these detective agencies will charge the hapless parents, but they would make a killing for sure.
And once the parents exit the scene, one young trainee will be put on the job. He will immediately use one of his Girl IDs and send a friend request to Prashant.Saxena. Being already deprived of Friend Invites from girls, the poor Prashant will immediately accept it and fall into the trap.
Side Note: It would be great to find out what percent of the total friend invites sent out in Facebook every day are sent out by girls. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is only 1-2%. I am sure 98% of the Friend requests are sent out by the men.
I believe that If there is a girl out there, the men will find her out and send her the request.The young trainee will then go thro’ Prashant Saxena’s life history on Facebook and find out that he has changed his relationship status with different girls at least 3 times in the last four years. Based on the status updates and the comments, the young Trainee will also form a report on the kind of relationships Prashant Saxena has had with these three girls.With the report in hand, he will go to his reporting manager to discuss the future action plan.“Sir, Prashant Saxena has had three girl friends in the last four years. And they were all very intense relationships. Here is the report.”The trainee’s reporting manager will go thro’ the report and finally look up and say: “This is proof of the past. We also need to prove that he hasn’t changed. Start chatting with him and get some proof of his intentions.”

“Will do sir. Just so you are aware I will be using either Priya Dixit’s or Neha Gupta’s profile for this assignment.”
“Sure. As you wish. You my man! Or should I say girl?!”

After the go ahead from his reporting manager the trainee will get onto the task of exposing Prashant’s present intensions.

This is how his initial chat conversations with Prashant start:

Priya Dixit: Hi Prashant
Prashant Saxena: Hi Priya, sorry but do I know you?
Priya Dixit: Hmmm….does that matter?
Prashant Saxena: Obviously not. It doesn’t matter but it helps.(In such instances, a man is forced to take this stance. How many times in a lifetime does a man get a Hi from a girl anyway?)
Priya Dixit: You don’t know me. But I know you. I studied in the same college as you.Prashant Saxena: Is it? How come we never met?
Priya Dixit: I was scared to approach you. You were so popular.(Who doesn’t want to hear that he/she was popular in college)
Prashant Saxena: That I was. What did you study there?
Priya Dixit: I did BE Computer Science
Prashant Saxena: Wow. Where do you stay?(For a man the territory is important. If there are little chances of meeting in person he won’t waste his time)
Priya Dixit: I stay in Mangalore. And I know you stay in Bangalore….your FB profile says so.                                                                                                                                 Prashant Saxena: Yes, I stay in Bangalore. Smart girl.(A well-trained man knows that girls like to be called smart & beautiful)
Priya Dixit: Thanks. I was home alone and was getting bored so thought I might as well gather the courage to buzz you. Hope I am not disturbing you.
Prashant Saxena: No…no…not at all. In fact, I myself am bored.(The logs in Facebook servers are proof that a man has never been too busy for a girl)
Priya Dixit: Thanks. You are a nice person.                                                                Prashant Saxena: Thanks. Is that your real profile pic? You look pretty.
Priya Dixit: Yes of course. Why would I use somebody else’s pic?
Prashant Saxena: No just checking.
Priya Dixit: So…what else?
Prashant Saxena: What do you mean bored?
Priya Dixit: Ever since I have broken up with my boy friend three months back, life has become dull. No thrills.
Prashant Saxena: Ah! You have come to the right person.
Priya Dixit: What???!! What do you mean?(Real girls have to do this. After years of chatting a man starts suspecting if the girl comes easy)
Prashant Saxena: Was just saying that I know Bangalore region in and out. So you have come to the right person.
Priya Dixit: Better. I thought you were meant something else…you know what I mean.(During investigations, it is the job of the trainee to lure the man into the trap by giving enough hints)
Prashant Saxena: I know what you mean. But I generally go slow.
Priya Dixit: How slow?
Prashant Saxena: As slow as the girl wants.The chats continue for around ten days and in these ten days Prashant Saxena starts feeling that he has known the girl for ages. And when in this comfort zone he commits the blunder.After fifteen days, the Detective agency sends its report to the girl’s parents. This is how the report looks.

Same day Prashanth Saxena’s parents get a call from the girl’s parents that they aren’t interested in pursuing the relationship. Prashanth is informed the moment he is back from the office.

Bingo!!!!

Yesterday I tweeted(it’s nothing new though as i bug my followers daily) something which I thought was funny and my friend replied back saying seriously, are you sure?. I was like what what hell, I tweeted all right and went back to recheck my last tweet and did multiple times. i realised there is guilt involved in case if you commit even a minute mistake in your tweets or status updates.

We’ve all committed a social gaffe, such as saying something in the heat of the moment that we immediately wished we could take back. Now those gaffes, when shared on today’s social media platforms, can stick around to haunt you.

In fact, a recent poll, it is revealed that approximately 25 percent of people have tweeted or posted status on FB abt something they regret, and approximately the same number of people said they have posted something on a site that they never would have said to someone’s face.So while there are no official “rules” for using Twitter or any social networking site, we thought it might be helpful to review a few tips for projecting a more professional image, regardless of whether you use it for work or personal purposes. After all, you never know just who is watching:Have a goal. Decide what you want to get out of having an account before you set it up.

There’s a fine line between pushing the envelope and pushing the limits of good taste. Take your followers into consideration, but—above all—use common sense.Think before you tweet. This is definitely worth repeating. And when in doubt, wait. Give yourself a window for cooling off when you may be emotional.

Got any Twitter best practices? Or pet peeves? 

I myself used to troll around Amir’s Satyameva jayate just to prove my Humor’s greatness all these days since it was aired for the first time. I used to fight with friends on networking sites despite knowing I’m saying all shit. It was because of pure ego and basically I’m hallmark Indian, who is reluctant to embrace change fast(Incidentally one of my friend even pointed out this). After all still there is bit of good many inside me with emotions and unprogrammed. I my self thought about that function at times(Majority of time my mind flirts with these kinda stuff) and what Amir trying to say(let the matter of whether he is fit or unfit to host Satyameva Jayate be aside). How many fit people tried something like that?  Angelina Jolie is a UN goodwill ambassador today and have adopted kids from almost all races. wasn’t she a Seductive playgirl of Hollywood(just like Lindsay Lohan) a few yrs back??? People do change(of course with exceptions like me).

Every time the new Aamir Khan TV show comes on, it divides people on twitter into two bitter groups. Although, that is not saying much. People on twitter are usually waiting for an opportunity to chastise each other, with each trending topic being just a small, disposable cog in the wheel. Every issue is just another way to prove that you are right, and those people opposing you, those straw men and women with their stupid arguments, are nothing but the scum of the earth. On twitter as in real life, everything is defensible, even the ‘band’ Creed, which all sane people agree is worse than a hundred Hitlers. (For those not familiar with this unit of measurement, a hundred Hitlers are equal to one Akshay Kumar movie).

One group wants to mock everybody for their naiveté (I belong to this group) and the other one(like my friends, who happens to be fans of Aamir Khan) wants everybody to shut up, leave their cynicism for once, and give the man a chance to heal the world and make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race. On one hand there are people who think that this is another publicity hound doing things to make himself feel better while hogging the limelight; on the other we have people who think he is finally highlighting issues we refuse to talk about and that he should be applauded for doing this instead of hosting yet another Bollywood circle jerk.

One of the chief criticisms of the show is that the host takes a large amount of money to perform his duties. A lot of people seem to believe that a person with good intentions would do good things for free. However, anyone who has ever worked on even a small welfare project will tell you that volunteers who work for free are the most erratic.

Meanwhile, Aamir Khan has been turned into yet another savior we were waiting for. The old ‘at least he is doing something!’  symptom of overcompensation for ignoring our problems. And that something instead of being a placeholder becomes a substitute for doing anything. You don’t actually have to do things anymore; the mere fact that something is being done is good enough.

You can’t order “good leaders” on the internet. You have to make them(As my good friend said). We have to use the cynical a**holes who currently lord over us and get away with bloody murder (because they can!). We have to hold their feet to the fire. These people have no core and will go anywhere the blowing wind takes them. If we want better governance, if we want better law & order, if we want better management of our national resources, then we need to make our so called leaders do that. There are no free lunches. You don’t get things because you are entitled to them. You get them only if you fight for them.

Sorry Aamir at times i have found fault in you to prove myself a point in front of others.

God bless……!!!