MONDAY, MARCH 17 2003:

Its been a long year since the last time I put up a post on the site. A lot of things have happened, some really great, and some really bad. I guess this is life's way of showing me it what its all about.

Oh yeah, about the University exams I was worried about last time, well, they went off just fine... in fact, better than expected. That's the best thing about no expectations... more often than not, you're pleasantly surprised.

As for my theory about the pattern last year, well... as I've heard it being put before... "BALLS to it!!"

I've gained the company of a lot of people over the last year... lost the company of those back home... some more than others.

I often wish I could get the best of both worlds... but if wishes were horses, mine must seem like giant stallions :)

P.S. I'm finally gonna be legal age. To booze in the U.S., get married in India, and probably to drive in some country. And if I manage to screw up while doing any of this, the cops are gonna prosecute me as an adult. Some things are just not fair! :)

P.P.S. 21 is so much older than 20! :(

MONDAY, MARCH 18 2002:

I'm turning 20 today! Damn! Now I'm as old as the rest of 'em!
And my final University exams are starting day-after. Damn again!
And life isn't......... lets just leave it at that!

My last birthday was good... and this year, it doesn't even feel different. I'm beginning to see a pattern here... Two years back, my birthday sucked! Last year was good... This year's not gonna be so nice as well... You get the drift?
So now I'm looking forward to next year... when hopefully things will be better.

Its funny how much life can change in a year! How much...

I know, you're wondering...

Well, so am I...

Lets just.

P.S. Come to think of it... 20 is OLD. I'll be writing my age with a 2 for 10 freakin' years. One year is long enough... 10 seems like a lifetime. Come to think of it, if I live till 60, I'll have to live my life twice over again. Boy, thats gonna be long!

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2 2002:

I'm just one day away from the CET (Common Entrance Test), and I just finished a Test paper. I've been busy working on my college Web Designing project, and I was at it for 10 straight days, day and night, and I mean that... literally. Its amazing how long you can work on something if it challenges you enough, and keeps your interest alive.

The reason why I decided to put up this message on my site, is because today's date has this very peculiar format - its the first of the three dates this month that is just made up of two different digits - in today's case - 0 and 2. Today's date also has this visually aesthetic look of 02-02-02 which I realise has probably been occurring since last year and will go on to do so for another 10 years. But then again, today's the first of the three dates this month which are formed only with 2 digits. The next two occurrences will be on the 20th and 22nd of this month.

In the 20th century, there were 4 years - 1911, 1919, 1991 and 1999, that had such dates.
In the 21st century, there are 4 years - 2000, 2002, 2020 and 2022, that have such dates.
In the 22nd century, there will be 4 years - 2111, 2112, 2121 and 2122, that have such dates.

Out of these, there are 6 such years that can occur in an average person's lifetime - from 1991 to 1999 to 2000 to 2002 to 2020 to 2022. And as of right now, 6 such years seems quite a lot in a span of 32 years.

Just in case, you haven't realised by now, this is how my mind works. One second I'm planning to solve my daily dates in FreeCell, and the next, here I am, writing this, for the odd visitor that I imagine visits my site every time I put something up, but who probably exists only in my imagination. As true as it is, its a lot easier to express yourself if you believe someone's around to see you do it. That's one of the big factors that keeps me going. To be completely honest though, I keep updating this site more for myself than for anyone else. I want to be able to look back after years, and read what I wrote, and reminisce about the good old days.

The biggest reason for writing this today, is, as I said, today's date. I wanted to create my own special memory of today, and this is my way of doing it.

Asta la vista!

P.S. First of the three dates this month        02-02-2002

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12 2001:

IT'S FINALLY OVER! This Sunday, finally, the CAT crossed our paths... and for a lot of people, it was a black one. A black one that will keep crossing our paths till some of us find a different path, or till some of us decide, to cross its path instead. But that's in the future. And whatever happens, I'll keep you informed. By the way, I saw 'Monsoon Wedding' and 'Shrek' in the last 3 days, both of them are beautiful in their own way.

'Monsoon Wedding' brings together the hype and hoopla that comes with traditional Indian marriages with the funny complexities of human life and boldly (and I emphasize boldly) weaves all this into today's modern-day Indian society (with its dark secrets) to produce a masterpiece that has to be seen to be enjoyed. The movie has moments which you can absolutely relate to because it reminds you of something or the other that you have experienced sometime in your life, either with your parents, or your family, or just with people. Its got this typical timepass everyday humour - something you don't really find too often in movies. Its about companionship, infatuation, acceptance, finding love in the most unexpected of places, how love changes people and lives. But the movie is, most importantly, about people and their feelings, and standing up for what is right. But most of all, the movie's about weddings... and India's obsession with them.

'Shrek' on the other hand is this beautifully created masterpiece, with its moments of humour that makes you grin from cheek to cheek. Its about friendship and fairy tales, and how some fairy tales might not be perfect in every sense of the term, but still have this soul in them, a universal message to convey, something to say. 'Shrek' is very visually pleasing and seems too real at times, what with the lengths to which the creators of the movie have gone to give it that definitive look.

Catch both these movies when you can. The common thing in both these movies is humour. Humour that keeps the world going around. Humour that makes this world an easier place to live in.

P.S. This time... no P.S.s!

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 2001:

After months of dreading my exams and hoping for the best... I'm finally done with all of 'em. Except the BIG one! That's the CAT (Common Admissions Test) coming up on the 9th of December 2001. And as far as competitive exams go, this one's right up there with the toughest! And almost everyone I know is hit by CAT fever! I know all of us are waiting for the 9th of December to pass us by! Then only shall life come back to normal as we used to know it!

Have decided not to let anything come between me and giving my best for the exam. But as always, I know this incorrigible guy who's never let me do that! :)

And oh yeah, by the way, if you wanna help me out in my quest to crack the CAT, you can send me stuff pertaining to formulae in mathematics, geometry, graphs, charts, pie diagrams, literature, sociology, politics, religion, reading comprehension, world views, awareness of the world, english grammar and usage, english words with meanings and origin, daily business news, breakthroughs and discoveries in any field, or something else you think I might've missed out. PHEW! And to think, you thought your life was tough, eh? :)

P.S. Irfan's gone to GOA, that lucky bum-in-the-sun! :) And Sups is away up north on a college study trip (They just call it study... its more like party). Can't wait for them to come back so that I can go to Not Just Jazz By The Bay and sing my heart out! :)

SUNDAY, MARCH 18 2001:

I'm 19! The last year of my teens. And I'm not too glad about it! I've always had a blast telling all my friends (they're all a few months older to me) how I'm still 18 and they're 19. Its a pity I can't do that anymore. On the brighter side of things, they're gonna be 20 soon enough, and I'll still be 19. Which still sounds younger than them. But there's nothing like the charm of saying "I'm 18!" Trust me, its been the best year of my life, and it'll take some experiences to beat the ones I've had in the last year.

As I was telling a close friend, I wanted to do stuff when I was 18, that I'd look back on decades from now, and still remember. Its tough figuring out what you should do which you'll remember for a lifetime, when you're only 4 days away from turning 19. Even then, all said and done, the experiences I've had this last year, shall always be reminisced among the best of my life. Memories which no one else has any business to ask about. :)

More about today, the day so far has been memorable nonetheless, but there's nothing really that can take away the charm of getting phone calls from the people who love you. It brings things into perspective, and makes you realise which people actually care enough to remember.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8 2001:

Life right now couldn't be better. I've been meeting up frequently with people I really care about since last Sunday (4th of February) and the whole week has this amazing feel to it. On top of that, college doesn't have lectures too often right now and we're in the middle of our college special days. Also feels good to get away from the humdrum of daily city life for a change and spend quality time and reflect on the best things in life.

On the other hand, I've been at my smartassy best, coming up with smart-alec comments which surprise me as well. But I guess thats just got to do with how awesome my days have been. I've always believed I've come into my element just about at the beginning of this academic year. I've known the master of irritation for about three and a half years now, and thats helped me bring out the jerk in me. All things said and done, I'm not half as big a jerk I try to make other people believe I am, which is just about the way I prefer things to be. The way I look at things, its better to surprise people for the better than for the worse, right?

P.S. I just love life right now, and I guess thats just about anything anyone could ask for! :)

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17 2001:

The New Year's finally set in upon us, and we've passed resolution time. I always make resolutions, and as usual, follow all of them... for the first day. This year its been no different. But there are some resolutions I plan to stick to, and which I hope won't be too tough to follow. The last couple of months have seen some HUGE important changes in my life that makes it as good as it can get. New Year's eve was the best ever and I couldn't have asked for anything more.

I think I've finally graduated on to becoming a bit more serious about stuff like learning, and thats one thing I don't want to lose. As you know, better late than never, right? Although right now, the only learning I'm enjoying is the stuff I practice for the CAT. And I know there are a gazillion people out there who don't understand that.

P.S. For those of you who didn't know, I went to Salem for a week in December on this Rotaract trip called ROTASIA. And for those of you who didn't know, lemme tell you it ROCKED! BIG TIME! And I was there! Lucky me! In more ways than one! Trust me on that! :)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10 2000:

The site was supposed to be up and working by now... and I never intended to spend such a long time still working on my website! Anyway, its been about 4-5 days since I've finished working for my biggest project in Rotaract. To be precise, the last four days till the project got over have been the busiest four days of my life and its been exhilirating to see the project come off without a hitch. I've worked with such amazing people, from my club and all the other clubs who hosted the project, people who've lent support and who've always been there to help out, people who've made me realise how lucky I've been to have met them when I have. Thanks for making such a big difference in my life and for making 2nd Career Fair the second turning point in my Rotaract career.

Anyway, I'm going off to Nashik again for a weekend, and I'm really gonna be thoroughly bored out there, so I thought I'd give all my friends what they've been waiting for, or atleast what I think (and hope) they've been waiting for! I still haven't put up the entire site, but in the Smartassy section, I've put up all the veggie stuff, and I bet you won't even have gone through half of it till I've come back!

P.S. I'm gonna be really busy with Rotaract after I come back, but I really hope I can come back from time to time and keep giving you what I've been promising you :)

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 2000:

I'm back! Actually not quite back! I'm back to leave a message to the thousand-odd people who've visited this new avatar of my site. And oh yeah, its been 15 months since I first put up my original site although this one's been online for only about 6 months. I know I was supposed to update my site and get it up and working by middle of May, but Rotaract really kicked in around that time... the end of the year and all that! And this year's even busier... coz I'm a Director on the Board. lol :) Its really crazy and hectic but trust me... its worth it! In fact, its worth every effort you put into it... but you'll only understand what I'm sayin' if you've BEEN THERE... DONE THAT.

But I promise I'm gonna dedicate a ton of hours to the Dreamweaver Gods... but just hold on... for some more time. I can only start workin' on the site once my exams are over... yup, that's right! I'm right in the middle of 'em. I've got about 6 days to go before I can REALLY get into working on my site. I know I'm taking a ton of time doin' this site but this site's my baby... and its been six months since I conceived it. Which gives me another three months to go. lol :) Naah... seriously... it won't take that long. I won't let it.

Oh yeah, this time I won't say how long it will take... all I'm gonna say is the same thing that XDude said some days ago...