Sometimes you feel so low
The tide of your own approval ebbs away
Confidence is in its furrow
All decisions taken so far turn gray

Wish you had the power to change everything around you
Can’t excuse you for what’s gone the other way
Against you are held a blame array
Refuse to sympathize with you

Off beam is your smile
Lost is your energy
Motivation is unreal
Love is illusory

You turn down the smallest support
Race against time
Wait for today to wane
Don’t want tomorrow to start

Crave for longer nights
Pine for dawn less days
Yearn for peaceful dreams
Hope to rewind time

And then …..
Think about the person who cares the most about you
It will draw the most beautiful smile on your face

Its not the person you love ..
But it’s for the person who loves you the most
It’s for the one..

who thinks you are wonderful
who has the undying confidence in you
who has unrelenting faith in you
who needs you to smile for sustenance

Get up ….
Turn around….
Leave behind the past….
Look forward to a fresh tomorrow….
I promise it will be greener and serener….

Remember those days when everyday - getting to school was an ordeal of the highest order with sweltering heat, overcrowded buses that plied at 75 degrees from the road, the road side Romeos that waited to shove you around, and a big load behind your back in the form of books. Then it was cycling times. It was a good 4 mile ride each way. By the time I reached school, I would be dripping wet with sweat, the shirt and the pinafore sticking to my body, the 15 minute assembly through the humid morning – the kneel down or the sit-ups that ensued whenever I forgot something in my uniform attire.. it was still memorable days..

A gang of activity-challenged students (like me) would huddle together and plan how we could escape from the PT period. We liked to sit and gossip about everything under the sun but refused to move the bums around. We were early teenagers and there was so many curious questions that were best answered by the peer group and PT period were precious time to catch up on it. Now I wonder what all those chit-chat no-nonsense tales were all about. – class 7 through 10.

There was a girl in my class who received a love letter that looked like it was written in blood. Rumors filled the room. There were unanswered questions about if the Ghost really existed; and someone would spring a spicy story of how she witnessed one last night in the bathroom, about life after death and once again you will find someone with a tale of her long-gone grand pa appearing every Diwali to the village that no one ever heard of. For some strange reason, whatever your friends say would be believed and whatever your parents said would be mocked at!!!! May be, it was just the hormones.. – class 9

One of our classmates left home when she was 10 disappointed with her scores in quarterly exam. Luckily, she had only gone to her grand ma’s place in some remote location in Madras. And already there were tales about how ghost must have picked her and how she would be in Heaven enjoying in utopian comforts. It was the time when we had Fools Paradise in English Non-Detail. – class 5

You would be showered with praise and honor on your birthday. I am not sure if its because your friends want to share some of the limelight or is it because she wanted an extra piece of candy! I can’t recollect any instance when anyone was ever involved in any conflict on her birthday. I still wonder if this was just the girls’ school or was it with the boys too. – class 4 through 9

There was this practice of minding-people. Do you recollect the term? One of you is selected to ‘mind’ the class. Now this guy was like a super power. He could go around bullying you and get away with it. If the class-leader (who often ‘minds’) was a nicer guy, the class would collapse into many factions each party pretending to extend support to the class-leader and be in his good books - typical politics that’s today played on the bigger arena. The class was always in gangs. You have to belong to one or the other, else you belong nowhere and no one might help you with notes if you go on leave!!!! - class 4 through 8

Exams and tests were more important than they were in your engineering/medical College. An extra mark here and there was more valuable than anything else. Beg, borrow or steal your extra one mark so that you are one up than your buddy. Class 6 through 9

What you bring for lunch determines how sought after you are! Finishing the lunch during the break and munching on ‘chaat’ for lunch was fashionable.– class 4 through 6

Who brings your lunch makes a statement about character. If you bring it yourself, you are not as lucky as your blessed friends. If your father brings it, your mom does not care about you and if your mom brought, you are the luckiest soul! – class 1 through 3


In spite of all those ill-attitudes, weird behavior, hormonal imbalance, childish pranks we were all innocent children at heart and we were friends. Each one of us has gone in search of different aspirations and desires in different directions and we are probably spread all over the globe and I have lost touch with almost every one of them. But someday I hope we would just run into each other, vaguely recognize and beam a smile at that instant reliving those childhood times.

Thanks to Google, recording May 22 as the birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Boyzone- Words - Originally Eagles

There was time in my life when this song will ring in my ears all day long. I loved it the first time I heard it. I have always been very fond of lyrics in general and the one line –

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

It really did take my heart away. I am not a big fan of English songs, but those few ones that I am exposed to will remain my favorites all my life.

Here goes, the lovely lyrics


smile an ever lasting smile
a smile can bring you near to me
don't ever let me find you gone
'cause that would bring a tear to me
this world has lost its glory
let's start a brand new story
now my love
you think that I don't even mean
a single word I say

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

talk in ever lasting words
and dedicate them all to me
and I will give you all my life
i'm here if you should call to me
you think that I don't even mean
a single word I say

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

da da da da da da da
da da da da da da da da da da
da da da da da da da
da da da da da da da da da da

this world has lost its glory
let's start a brand new story
now my love
you think that I don't even mean
a single word I say

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

it's only words
and words are all I have
to take your heart away

Once I hear the song, there is a familiar peace settling in my soul, a memorable serenity articulating to me psyche. I don’t know if it’s the tune that it is set to or is it the appealing lyrics that catches my mood by its sleeve and lifts it up from fathomless bottoms. One of the very few songs that I can count on to make me feel better.

Campaigns for the recently concluded assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, was in short an expose of frail people and their unfortunate dilemma in exercising their electoral power.

Sun TV with its amazing reach into the tiniest part of the state had rule and reason to program the minds of people via so-called electoral promotion. It was disheartening to see the election manifest marked with freebies and giveaways. Well, its just not Sun TV, I am sure Jaya TV had its own share – just that Jaya TV is not telecasted in the US. Both the parties that have been ruling Tamil Nadu alternately for ages were competing in the name of election campaign to exhaust the resources of the state. Both the parties contest for giving rice at less than Rs.2 per Kg. Come’ on guys, grow up! How long can you sustain at that rate? Worse is yet to come.. Color TV for every household.. uhmm.. I can’t take it. Are we in a communist nation? From tax payers’ hard earned money, politicians leverage their position for votes! Very saddening.. Worst is yet to come.. Two acres of land for every voter….. Guess the parties are planning on annexing a bit of Sri Lanka and a bit more of Andhra Pradesh to keep up their promise! :) What’s more disappointing is the fact that there are masses of people out there that are actually waiting for the color TV and the acres of land to knock at their doorstep. :(

However the only consoling factor of this election is that neither of these two parties conquered a sweeping victory. For the first time in the history of Tamil Nadu, there is a coalition Government formed.

Kudos to the Lok Patrikan party that actually made it into the political arena unlike stopping with belaboring like you and me! (Well, me definitely)

Dayanidhi Maran rightly said at the end of the election results, “Hero of this election was the manifesto .. and people actually believed it!!!!”

May be the pun wasn’t intended, but it makes better sense!!

These are times....

Your breath has a certain whimper
Your own arms feel powerless
Your wrist writhes in pain
Your feet fail to hold you up
You are aware of your bones thro the flesh
You feel weak on your knees
When your muscles give away
When your fingers turn feeble
When your palms plain weigh more
When the shank slip slow

Then you know it is Sunday evening blues:-)

Smile at anyone who passes by
You might hit on a date ;-)

Laugh with your loved one
Make your (both or more) day

Sob with an alien in town
She might comfort but she would not care

Cry on your own
So that there is no one to discern

I have..
I need to..
I can..
I will ..

Walk past obstacles
Smile back at them

Lead the life of my choice
Climb the ladder of my will

Steal the courage of Helen Keller
Armed with prowess and character

It’s only me who has to mould my years
For its all I have my end

My God will help me in my endeavor
If all my wants were a wee bit just and fair

As always, I love to rewind my mind to years gone by and relive those times, especially during the post lunch session at work. Soon, with revivalist memories, I will jump back into life with renewed enthusiasm :-) This time around, my wandering mind went back to the days of DD-Metro ....

When DD-Metro was introduced, I think it was the first second channel available for the residents of 1990's Madras. It was a major sensation that between 8 and 9 in the evenings, everyone sat glued to the TV that featured a serial or some kind of 30 minute shows. This was the advent of Mega Serials - Remember Junoon? I remember this character (I forgot the name though) that was pregnant for 15 months in the serial!!!! Mega serial was a novelty, a new pick and an opportunity being explored. The next door neighbors had something beyond the third door daughter-in-law to discuss and gossip now. Their common ground of discussion was raised - another platform of familiar sharing and argument.

We in class VI-A were a bunch of Junoon followers who would avidly discuss the happenings over Geography teacher’s boring lecture. More than the serial, it was the language that caught and kept the attention. “Kudukaren Ungalukku Naa” – this form of misplaced verbs & nouns in the dubbed Hindi Junoons made it all the more enjoyable. This almost became a genre of Tamil that was followed with commitment :-)

And then the style of Metro Priya - She was the one who started compeering a Tamil TV show with more sport and added informality. The way she would make actions with her clubbed hands that looked like a handgun and shooting her youth and verve amongst the audience, she had the college going crowd fan following her. She was the first one to do this kind of compeering. Kudos!

The public either loved her or hated her, No in betweens. There was a section of the public that was scandalized by the audacity of the 16 year old girl. And then there were the rest who thought it was the next generation youth and its cheek. The last I heard, she had to stop the show because of road side romeos troubling her near her residence. No one is exempt from eve teasing and the ensuing destiny to discontinue career and interests.

Those times were followed with 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm SUN TV.. Remember? There was so much ado about it.. And then there was full time satellite channels and now there is more and more of them more than your TV could hold – and then you bought the TV with the S Band :)
Evolution? hmm!

Love-Hate

A form of Ambigram designed by a French man, Rachel Plefger

Impressive!

definitely blogworthy ;-)

Recently, in one of those post-lunch nap friendly sessions I was overwhelmed with the number of 'foo's and 'bar's in the Java book I was reading. Interestingly, I am sure you recall that 'foo's and 'bar's are omnipresent in every Comp Sci Programming book, right from BASIC days of class XI.

Dusting the pages of history, I was engaged in finding out the reason.. See that is the productive me ....

Pronounced as FUBAR, it stands for 'Fucked Up Beyond All Repair' or 'Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition' .. Whatever it may be, this acronym dates back to WorldWarII or earlier times. I am amazed how the F word framed itself in the American 'History' so long ago;-)

Wow, what a wonderful word for learning from CompSci books. No wonder kids of today learn CompSci in class-I

Some more jargon fun here.

Is this blogworthy ?;-)

Issue 1
Should we continue to write Stored Procedures or should we switch to Java?
Recently there has been quite a discussion and disagreement on this topic.
Should data management (or mismanagement ;-) ) must be as close to the data
Or
How much data processing should be done in the database and how much should be performed in the Java App logic code ?
Will you rely on a particular product or go the platform independence way of the world?
But what is your code need not be portable.
Doesn’t putting a lot of business logic into stored procedures break OO design?

Issue 2
Read clause 8 from the Microsoft Exchange Server doc

Copied here for convenience.

8. NOTE ON JAVA SUPPORT. THE SOFTWARE PRODUCT MAY CONTAIN SUPPORT FOR PROGRAMS WRITTEN IN JAVA. JAVA TECHNOLOGY IS NOT FAULT TOLERANT AND IS NOT DESIGNED, MANUFACTURED, OR INTENDED FOR USE OR RESALE AS ON-LINE CONTROL EQUIPMENT IN HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTS REQUIRING FAIL-SAFE PERFORMANCE, SUCH AS IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL, DIRECT LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES, OR WEAPONS SYSTEMS, IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF JAVA TECHNOLOGY COULD LEAD DIRECTLY TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE.

Is that a marketing gimmick or does Microsoft mean that SUN killed a bit of Microsoft or are you going to stop using Java!?

Issue 3
With Sun and Google supporting each other on every front including Gosling talking about extending support for Ajax, will Yahoo and Microsoft join hands?

Issue 4
Are you impressed with a Geek trying to develop an Ajax framework using the concept of event queue, just to go gaga seeing separation of event handling from the actual page? Are you thinking he is a fool or are you considering the scalability, cost and efficiency of this queue pattern model?


Now why did I have to do this? Anyways, thanks to www.google.com
Disclaimer:
None of these opinions are my own!

When things don't go your way, it was not meant to be! - ALL THAT HAPPENS IS FOR GOOD

Scene:
A man rushes out of work, on the way home he realizes that he gotto go to the supermarket to pick something for his wife. Takes a quick U turn, eyes a parking spot at the end of the lane, makes just late in time. Someone squeezes right under his nose and grabs the spot. Already frsutrated with life.. Waits for an extra 20 seconds.. another parking spot becomes available. This time, makes into the spot just in time!

Gets off the car and delighted to find the meter had 30 minutes left in it. Free parking on someone else’s dime, love it.

Moral:
If one thing does not work out, we are often better off for it.

Spring has finally arrived!

For people from Madras, like me, where the only three seasons known are hot summer, hotter summer, hottest summer, spring in the US is a welcome phenomenon. It’s a time when long walks are rejuvenating, evenings are refreshing and the breeze repairs the rusty soul. The fully bloomed flowers bedecked on either side of the roads, the town looks like a model garden. Every big campus looks young green and the everyday pathways turn in to arboretum. The variety of flowers, the array of aroma ranging from mild woody to luscious lavender to stinging citrus take you off to Utopia. Suddenly, everything in this world is perfect, everyone is just faultless and your life is ideal.

The smell that’s fresh is lovelier than the best perfumes from Rochas. The green hues from the fresh plants are serene and your boggled mind soothes down. The Yellow flowers remind of you childhood friendships, the unperturbed walks with your 2nd standard classmate and the power of lasting time. The greens are reminiscent of a new born baby, fresh and pure – mind and soul; it denotes balance, harmony and stability. Green is calm, yet time flies by faster – spring passes by sooner! Violets peek in a little bit blessing its calm, solidarity and peace. Energy and spirituality are kindled – it is an ancient color of intellectuality and life force. Purples purge the pungency out of you. Shades of red are plenty and so are the senses attributed to it. From passion in love to passion in violence, from seemingly opposite ends of the horizon, red is a stimulus. What is stimulates, is in the state of your mind. In the East, it connotes a young bride and a happy wedding in the offing while in certain parts of South Africa, red stands for mourning. As said, it is what you think it is.

Rainbow peeps in now and then; spring brings in all colors of rainbow too! Welcome Spring!

As spring smiles at you, get off your jackets, get some sun shine and beam back at it. Take 20 minutes of your time and indulge in the pleasures spring can offer. See your life changed before summer begins!

The story of AprilOracle :-)

10 days from today we will be celebrating the 4th aniversary of AprilOracle.

14 of us started at a Glorified Software Company called Oracle and for 12 of us it was the first job, fresh out of college. ALL of us were single, smart and smiling.. , well a few were committed, yet officially single. We gelled well and AprilOracle was formed.

Gradually we moved.. we grew ;-)

Now among us, we have
-one father of two kids
-two more fathers
-two more expecting parents !!

wow way to go. oops! way to gRoW!!

Tonnes of good news at once.. Smiles Galore.
Congrats to the accomplished ones!!

10 years ago..

1. I was in class X
2. I started liking Math because I liked the guy who taught Math (Now I am married and don't want to call it a crush ;-) )
3. Getting a centum in Math was the top most thing on my head and I did!
4. I saw another 15 year old classmate wear a half-saree and I was scandalized!!!!
5. I vowed I would never wear one in my life
6. I was MOST-TOMBOYISH and liked only baggie pants!
7. I started to realize that I was probably too old to carry choclates, wear colour dress and announce it was my birthday, but I refused to admit !


5 years ago
1. It was 2001 and 9/11 happened. I thought my life was ruined when I was disallowed from MS in the US. Now I am allowed and my life is still ruined!!
3. I started using Sun Screen and visiting (stopped with visiting ;)) Gym
4. Silently wept during KK yet maintained my robust image and made fun of weepers around!
5. I tried Bike for the first time and loved it
6. Acads, Placement Season, Mock interviews, GD sessions, weekend meeting with classmates on the pretext of Placement preparation - FUN TIME
7. Would wait for a friend's birthday and her gifts from the 'special someone'- Tease Time !


Today is not worth mentioning !
1. Orkut is my Oxygen supply
2. Blog is life and messenger is life's purpose
3. Gmail is my life support system, when the rest fail!
4. Work nondescript
5. School beside the question
6. Manual car driving and license - A big deal
7. Movies - A must see

so in short, today is better than ever ;-)

Power your lappie

My blog is read primarily by people from IT background. So I am not sure how relevant this post is going to be. However I have to admit, I have an IT background and have been using laptops for almost a decade now and yet some of these is news.

To improve your battery performance on notebooks,

- Perform three full charge and full discharge cycle three times before your lappie is ready for the road
- Perform this full charge full discharge cycle once in three months
- Turn off any scheduled activity like 'search' and 'virus check' when the notebook is running on battery and you want it to last longer before you can charge next
- Choose the right power option - "Portable/Laptop" or "Max Battery"
- Add more RAM. A laptop with a 512 MB RAM lasts longer off-power than one with 256 MB RAM
- Don't run CDs and DVDs unless you have to. Copying an image and using it from your hard disk is cheaper on power
- Turn off unnecesary hardware like Wi-FI adapters and bluetooth radio if you can

Enjoi a longer time on the road with your lappie!

Another Vetti Work - What is my perfect Major !

You scored as Mathematics/Statistics. Related majors that match your highest scored category: Accounting, Actuarial Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Information Systems (CIS), Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Finance, Management Information Systems (MIS), Mathematics, Operations Management, Physics, Risk Management, Statistics.




Consider all majors in your OTHER high scoring categories. The right major for you will be something 1) you love and enjoy and 2) are really great at it. Consider adding a minor or double majoring. Please post your results in your myspace/blog/journal

Mathematics/Statistics		94%
Psychology/Sociology		88%
English/Journalism/Comm		88%
Education/Counseling		81%
History/Anthropology		81%
Accounting/Finance/Econ		75%
Biology/Chemistry/Geology		69%
Physics/Engineering		69%
Religion/Theology		69%
Nursing/AthleticTraining		63%
HR/BusinessManagement		50%
French/German/Spanish		50%
PoliticalScience/Philosophy		44%
Visual&PerformingArts		38%

WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
created with QuizFarm.com

A .doc on Apple !!!!

BBSpot says that ....








I don't have to be convinced. A good time pass for jobless souls.


Try it! - the OS
Try it! - the file extension

Move half-way around the Globe!

Its been quite a while since I last blogged..
During this period, I jotted quite a few unfinished posts - that are waiting in the drafts folder and some in my office email drafs folder that I noted down when I had nothing else better to do at work:)

Life has moved a great deal in this period of my blogging absense, it has brought me half-way around the globe to the East Coast of the USA. (thats how big the globe is to USA;)).. living closeby to my sister-in-law's place - an experience of being with 'family' .. actually getting to play with 2 year old more often that I have ever .. Trying stick shift for the first time in the US of A .. Blaming the stick shift for my misadventures of driving .. Second driving license in 20 days .. habitual non-incidence of me on vetti sites like orkut and Blog .. Missing Kolangal .. the coming of Malargal .. missing the weekly cinemas .. missing the constant drizzle of the North West .. eternal sunshine .. hmm my milieu has indeed changed .. No more green walkways, no more strolls alongside the woods .. No MtHood in my line of vision .. no more Wincos .. no more Safeways .. no more laid back plush lives ;).. I like it here though !

I actually set up the house, set up a home from trash basket, laundry basket, shower curtain, Moisturizer to microwave, rice cooker and floor lamps. It was my first.. I cherish the experience, relish the episode of change irrespective of whatever ensues. Thanks to the elements that made this happen!