My life is a waste

Coz:

1. I waste lots of time on the internet.
2. I have decided what not to do after IIT, but haven't yet decided what I should do.
3. I have plenty of people to tell me my life isn't a waste, but none so truthful to tell me that it really is.
4. I like blogging.
5. I like organising my points carefully even though I know only a handful of people who I force to read my blog are going to read this.
6. I still haven't finished this post, which shows that I am truly a waste.
7. 2 months back I hated beer; a month back I loved it and now I hate it again - fickle minded.
8. I loved the song 'What I've done' by LP so much that I cried the first time I heard it - what a waste!
9. To skip my turn of cooking, I suggest my roomies that we go out for dinner.
10. I came here for a 'research project' and now I am uninterested in researching.
11. This post still hasn't ended.
12. I think I have discredited myself enough - any more and you will think that I am a masochist. :P

Good bye!

What should I do after IIT? - 3

This is step 3 in a job search. Step 1 was visualising the accomplishment and step 2 was narrowing down. Step 3 is staying focused.

Around this time of the year, most of your friends get placed already, and many face rejection. It helps to stay focused at this time and not let yourself be carried away by what they may have got. You should always remind yourself of what your strategy is and what your goals are. Don't be distracted.

Step 3 for me is easy too; all of my friends who are into the placement game now are back in India - can't distract me :)

Good food

June 22 - a day I shall remember as the day I ate good food. The day started out on a wrongish note though, if I mention good food here, as I had to cook myself Maggi noodles, coz we were out of cereals and other food fit to be called breakfast. Then I had a sub at noon, which is good alright. Then evening meant a time for some good pasta and beer.

What's so good about that you may ask... you see, today I realised what makes food good. As Suresh rightly pointed out, good food is that which has a subtle taste and that is good for your health. The sub - however tasteless it may seem, does have a subtle taste, waiting to be discovered. The pasta - you have to eat it slowly and enjoy it at leisure to realise it's great taste. What's more - I also realised today that even beer has a taste - it isn't like what I always felt it is - isn't just something to unwind one. It has a taste of it's own too.

Good food. When was the last time you ate it? Was a long time for me before today.

Maths

This is for any of you high school kids reading this, if any.

There was a time when I used to be quite good at Maths. If I remember correctly, I did make it to some level in the Mathematics Olympiad, national mostly, when I was in school. But then I slowly started losing interest in maths. I felt it was too abstract - the number theory part and all, and felt I should be more practical in my orientation. And so I became what I am today.

Not that I am sad now. I am very much happy with who I am. Just one thing though - I feel I could have been this even if I hadn't given up my interest in maths. Now on the look out for a job, I feel that might have helped me more.

So just one advise for my juniors, in case any of them are reading this - never give up on your interests; you never know when they may help you.

What should I do after IIT? - 2

My last post in this series talked of step 1 - visualising the accomplishment. Now let's move on to step 2.

Step 2 in a job hunt is narrowing down your options. You can't row happily in more than one boats at the same time. Sooner or later you have to leave the comfort of plenty of open options and start narrowing down. This is where proper planning and envisaging the near future become important. Your judgement is what counts. At the same time, you should also be cautious and be careful so as to not go all out at this stage. A wrongly left out option shall only lead to disappointment in the end.

So this is step 2 in short. Step 2 for me was a bit easier I feel than step 1. As of now, I have cut down on my options by 1. I shall not take the GRE.

~Ta tas.

Social security

In USofA:

USA has the concept of social security. So be it old age or handicap, you never have to worry about making ends meet.

In India:

If you are disabled, some people will feel for you and praise greatly even any menial tasks that you may do. It is as if you are respected for your disability. But you can't approach anyone for social security; you have to earn your own livelihood. Or you may choose to be dependent on your family, much to the discomfort of both of you, but shrug away the thought of it being a discomfort; you both prefer to call it love instead.

Why doesn't India have the social security thing? If we do go for such a system, parents needn't depend on children for security in old age, disabled persons can live a much better life on their own, and I see India to be in a much better shape than what it is today. When will we start?

EDIT: Just came to know from my cousin, Krishnanand Dada, that the SS fund is slowly going bankrupt because more people are taking out money than those putting in. He says that it might so happen that there would be no more SS system in another 30 years. Maybe India has too many dependents for the system to be implemented as it is here. We need a differently planned out system to be implemented in India.

Yeh jo Des hai tera

Here. Never before I appreciated this song as much as I do these days. Maybe it's just now that I can relate myself to this song in a better way than before.

Ye jo des hai tera, swades hai tera, tujhe hai pukaara…
Ye woh bandhan hai jo kabhi toot nahin sakta

Mitti ki jo khushboo, tu kaise bhoolaayega
Tu chaahe beh jaaye, tu laut ke aayega
Nayi nayi raahon mein, dabi dabi aahon mein
Khoye khoye dilse tere, koyi ye kahega
Ye jo des hai tera, swades hai tera, tujhe hai pukaara
Ye woh bandhan hai jo kabhi toot nahin sakta

Tujhse zindagi, hai ye keh rahi
Sab toh paa liya, ab hai kya kami
Yun toh saare sukh hai barse
Par door tu hai apne gharse
Aa laut chal tu ab diwaane
Jahaan koyi toh tujhe apna maane
Awaaz de tujhe bulaaye, wahi des
Ye jo des hai tera, swades hai tera, tujhe hai pukaara
Ye woh bandhan hai jo kabhi toot nahin sakta

Ye pal hai wahi, jis mein hai chhupi
Puri ek sadi, saari zindagi
Tu na poochh raaste mein kaahe
Aaye hain is tarha do raahein
Tu hi toh hai raah jo sujhaaye
Tu hi toh hai ab jo ye bataaye
Chaahe toh kis disha mein jaaye wahi des
Ye jo des hai tera, swades hai tera, tujhe hai pukaara
Ye woh bandhan hai jo kabhi toot nahin sakta

Read this again and again and I realise every word is true... a truly well written song!