The City Beacon(s) at 11:21 PM

Sometimes a city becomes a living organism. It develops a personality of its own. Myths develop about the city. People start relating it to their life, Hell it even becomes their life. They think they can't live anywhere else but there. People leave/change their jobs just so that they can stay in the same city. We Indians have a special attachment to places that we stay in, and this is more true then ever when we talk about ...where else but 'BOMBAY'.

What can I have to say about the 'Maximum City' that hasn't already been said so. Better still, Who am I to talk about this city when I have never even stayed there. Maybe to the millions of residents of the city and my readers from the different parts of the world, I can dare to give a third party unbiased outside opinion about the city.

Bombay is one of the few cities in India that is known the world over. Its our very own Big Apple, The City of Dreams, The (Indian) City that never Sleeps. The names given to this city by the people who love and hate is probably as wide spread as the different people who live there.

People come from all over to chase their dreams, to make money, to live the good life. Some are pushed/forced to stay there even if they don't want to. Its these diverse group of people that give Bombay the character that it needs. Don't get me wrong, the buildings, the buses, the local trains,the roads, the over bridges represent the body parts of this living city. But for me its the people who are the soul and the life of this place. Imagine just for a second, any train station in Bombay, the picture you would have in your mind is one of huge rush. Trains coming in, going out every few minutes. Great 'hulla-baloo'. Now again imagine the same scenario, the same trains coming in and going out. The same announcements blaring out to you about the 9:23 fast local to Dadar. But this time imagine that you are the only one on that platform. Heck ! The only one for many kilometers around. No one but you.

Now depending upon your inner feelings, you can either love this emptiness (Like I do) or hate it.

In this city no matter where you go, you are never alone. There would be tens of others people grinding along with you trying to rush to some place. Every one seems to be in a constant race with each other. As , If they fail to catch this last local, their life would come to an end. But than again, their lives do come to an end due to these very locals. People fall off them, People jump in front of them. Or sometimes, Even Blown out of them.

I don't know this city. I have always visited it as an outsider as a guest. I have been there when I was a kid. It was a wonderful place to me. Looking at the ocean, staring up at the seemingly endless buildings. Looking at all the people just scrambling for a place to keep their foot. As a kid I had visited the famous land marks such as the Gateway of India, The Taj hotel, Marine Drive, Juhu Beach, Chaupati beach, trying to be pretending to be posh while secretly hoping to catch a glimpse of some film star while I am on the streets.

But then again I had the chance to visit these same places again some time ago. After 26/11 does the city have any hints that it has changed ? In this case I am not sure that my feelings should be of joy or sadness. But the people seem to be the same. No change at all. The faces have changed. The clothes would have changed in all these years. The cars have become more expensive, the houses a little more ostentatious. But the soul of the city remains the same.

On the other hand, the body of the city still carries the scars of the brutal attacks it faced and lived on to another day to tell the tales to a wanderer like me.

I was horrified to hear the tails from one of my closest friends about how their family was the different spots of attacks moments before they took place. Makes you wonder, what if the timing (The attacks/Or my friends) would have been a little different. I would lose someone who is very dear to me. And they on the other hand, might have lost everything (TouchWood).

So as I sat in front of the Gateway of India 13 years after I first laid my eyes on it. I failed to appreciate its beauty, its grandeur. All I could think of, all I could see were the gaping holes in the Majestic Taj , all I could think of was about the people who lost their lives in that building. I don't feel I am someone who can comment on the sorrow of the people who lost their loved ones in these attacks. But I am damn sure glad that I could once again sit in front the Gate to India with my dear friend, contemplating about my future.

Makes you wonder, even after we all know that the next attack is eminent, we all know that it can strike anytime, anywhere, anyone, what is it that drives us to stay on. I don't know, But I sure as hell would like to find this out someday on my own. I would like to fall in love with this city. Maybe call it my own.

Until that day I would be wandering in and out of it. Wondering, If this city is a 'Beacon' to us all. Or a city that 'Beacons' us to come and discover its wonders.

THIS IS COSMIC BLASTING OFF !!!!!!!!

Am I a Professional Writer ? at 2:53 AM

Its been almost 5 months since I last wrote something here.

That doesnt mean that I have not been doing any writing at all.

You would be happy to know that I write on a regular basis and get paid for it. People who publish my writings get paid even more then me.

Wait a minute, Did I quit my job in the past 5 months and become a full time writer ? Have some of my books been published, so that I am making money for myself and others ?

Well, as tempting as that sounds to the amateur writer in me, sadly thats not true.

I am still doing what I did last. Then why am I suddenly talking as if I am in contention for winning the next Pulitzer Prize ?

One fine day, couple of months ago when I was in my office at my desk, banging at the keys of a computer, staring at a screen much like this one. An idea suddenly crept up in mind.

" How would I define a Professional Writer in Layman's Terms ? "

Out of habit I hit windows+r (Yes, this linux lover uses windows at work) , typed 'notepad' and started jotting the points that would qualify someone to be called a professional writer.

Now I was doing this without the help of "Google Maata" (as i always say: jisko sab kuch aata) I started writing whatever came to my mind.

Few of the points where:

1) Someone who gets paid for writing.
2) Someone whose only job in the day is writing.
3) Someone who writes stuff that other people read.
4) Someone who writes stuff that other people/companies publish.
5) Someone whose writing these aforementioned people/companies make money on.

Now when I compared this above list to what I have been doing for the past 2 years, I realized I fulfill each and everyone of the above criterion.

Lemme elaborate:

1) Someone who gets paid for writing.

I get my salary because I write code the whole day

2) Someone whose only job in the day is writing.

Yes, either I am writing code or writing documents to elaborate what code I have written and why I have written it.

3) Someone who writes stuff that other people read.

I am a Web Developer. So whatever code I write people read them on websites.

4) Someone who writes stuff that other people/companies publish.

My company publishes my code on their servers.

5) Someone whose writing these aforementioned people/companies make money on.

My company gets paid for the code that I write for the clients.

Now according to some of my rough calculations, based on the last project that I completed. If I calculate the money made and the lines of code that I wrote.

I come up with quite a cool figure of 100 $/Line of Code.

That means if I write one line, someone - somewhere makes a cool 100 $.

Thats not too shabby for a writer who no one knows , wont you say ?

So going by my prevalent price of writing. This post would fetch : 6800 $

Think about that :)

THIS IS COSMIC BLASTING OFF !!!!!!!!

Como I encontrou Seu Mãe at 10:46 PM

I have been thinking of writing something for a long time now. But have no idea what I am going to write about. Or if I do have something to write about.
Let’s see what all normal crap do I usually write about?

1) Movies

2) Computers

3) My Company

4) My College Life

5) About some weird theories I have

6) Some more crap about some more weird theories that I have

7) About a trip I took (combined with some more crap theories)

So over all if we generalize I write about a lot of crap theories. Which I don’t expect anyone to read at all. But if Google Analytics is to be believed people from all over the world come to read.

(That’s right I know you are reading this.. I know which operating system you are using, which browser, which country you are in, who is your internet provider, how long did you spend reading on each page and a whole lot of other crap about you. So much for privacy)

Oh and a special thanks goes out to those regular readers from Brazil and Japan Obrigado and Arigatou gozaimasu.
I don’t know who you guys (I hope gals) are. But this ones for you.

I have been watching a Sitcom lately called ‘How I met you Mother’. Its about a guy called Ted who in the year 2030 is telling his kids the story about ………… what else.. get a hint!!!!
It has a bunch of guys/gals living in New York and are friends. (Great Original Idea right??)
So any ways.. If I want to categorize the characters in the series .I would have to say:

1) The lame hero looking for his dream girl (Ted)

2) The single hot chick, who the hero likes but she is not into relationships (Robin)

3) A lovey dovey couple who have been together for the past 9 years (Marshal and Lily)

4) And the DUDE (Barney)… who is a womanizer and trying to change the afore mentioned hero in point (1)

Now you might say - “So where’s the original Idea in that? Another Sitcom milking the human emotions” and I would have to agree 100% percent with you. There’s nothing original in the story line, the punch lines are predictable. The sets of the scenes are old and lame.
But I don’t know …… somewhere these bunch of Cliché misfits hit a chord with me.

1) I know I have a lot of Ted in me, As the readers might have noticed (if they had been careful in reading my past posts) that I have been in … lets say for arguments sake in ‘N’ number of serious relationships (where N is a natural number). Some of those N number of relationships. Lets for arguments sake say number ‘M’ have ended badly. By either me hurting the other involved party or me being getting hurt.
So by simple mathematics we conclude that (N-M) relationships ended on a positive note.
Now lets for arguments sake say that ‘L’ (time) is the total duration of my life after I turned 13. And ‘R’ is the average time that I am in a relationship. So again by simple mathematics we conclude that (N*R) is the amount of time in my life that I have been in a relationship.

Now I can safely say that I have been much happier in the (N*R) then I have been in my (L-(N*R)).

Point in all that above mathematical Crap: I am somewhat like Ted.

2) During the above mentioned time (N*R) I have been more or less like the couple mentioned in point (3) of the List of characters. (And I am not gonna disclose any more details on that)

3) Now that’s brings us to the last character who I sometime wish I could be like. Point no- (4).
In the time (L-(N*R)) I have wished that I could be more like Barney Stintson. Creator of the Bro code. The one guy who has been Ted’s wingman and always tries to get Ted out of the (N*R) time and into the (L-(N*R)).

Does all this rambling have a point is case. Errr… No I don’t think so.
To all the Ted’s of the world. Good Luck Dude.
To all the Marshal and Lily’s .. Grow up kids… Life’s not that easy.
To all the Barney’s …. WHAT UP BRO !!

And to my millions and millions of fans in Brazil and Japan Tchau and Konnicihwa
THIS IS COSMIC BLASTING OFF !!!!!!!!

People come into your life for .... at 2:43 PM

Disclaimer: This is not my writing, One of my friends had mailed this to me. I am posting this here, since it touched me deeply.

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then,something happens, the relationship comes to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes you are forced to make some hard decisions. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.!

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.