My New Car!

I finally got myself a car! At last! I went, I saw and I bought....a car....all by myself!

Over the years, the cars that I have had .....2 were Company cars that I was driving and the last one that I had, was bought after I got my friend to see, check and comment on it.

This time I had nobody with me. Forced to do things all by myself ...something which tradionally has been a man's domain....it's been tough deciding.....which make/brand....model...features. Now that I have done it all by myself and commended by my male friends as "good choice", this purchase has been real sweet!

Internal Server Error

Sorry, something went wrong. This message popped up as I was googling....

A team of highly trained monkeys has been despatched to deal with this situation.

If you see them, show them this information.

iAm4TImeSREaLLyBoRedreAlLyNOjoKeeLsewHYwOuLDIbewRitTingsuchNoNsenSicalThinGShere.

Internet Censorship in Arab Land

Here in Arab Land, Censorship is at it's height. So many of the sites/pages have been blocked saying that it contains prohibited materials. One would think that the sites or pages one is trying to access contains nudity or is political which would hurt the sensibility of the local people but this is not so. It's real frustrating and nothing can be done as even the proxy pages are blocked!

I seriously fail to fathom on what basis the sites have been banned. To me it seems that the Censorship which should be taken seriously is nothing but a joke in this part of the world. See the below picture and you will know what I mean. Oops!

Nonsensical emails from my Boss (NFD) - 6

Your mailbox is full because you are stupid.

830MB

Your mailbox can no longer send messages as your emails are really boring. Please reduce your mailbox size. Delete all items because you don't need them, nobody is interested in them. Empty your mailbox and empty your Deleted Items folder and concentrate all of your attention on Facebook.

Poker Nights!

My evenings have been hectic.....these past few weeks! Received an invitation one fine day in the mail.....to come and play Poker. Since then I have been hooked to the game. Each game got me deeper and deeper into the game. No more hunger pangs I felt. Poker consumed my evenings and my weekends. I couldn't wait to get out of work and head to the Casino and to the next available Poker Table.

I had plenty of free drinks offered by total strangers and nuts & sushi too at the table. Some even bought me free entertainment....and I couldn't help but smile! I met guys who were not tight fisted.....and willing to lend chips to those who ran out! I even had some coming my way even though I never asked. Then there were these foul mouth men who rained obscenities but of couse all swear words were muffled immediately! I must say the security was good and they had some high tech gadgets in the casinos, overseeing all these!

I received plenty of Poker Buddy requests but only a few I have accepted. Its nice to see a nice familiar face at the table with whom you could chat on the side!

I called....I raised....I checked......and I folded!

I went all in....betted my way to success....won the pot with one pair of J's or K's and A kicker.....picked up a Straight.....a Flush.....It says, Getting the hand is luck... what you do with it is skill. Texas Hold 'Em is what I have been playing.........and I have been playing it online!

Craig's List?!

For want of doing anything better...a choice between watching the "Chipmunks" (DVD) and surfing the net after my daily dose of some news/views and stray mails...I chose the latter and here I am at.....craigslist

A great site for local classifieds, for jobs, housing, personals, community, services, events, etc. The discussion forums too are quite interesting....provided you choose the right topic! Yes, one would need to choose the correct topic but as we do not know what is right/appropriate for us (so it seems!), we have many of the topics including the Personals blocked....in the country where I live currently. Nevertheless it is still very interesting! And if you really, really had time to kill and needed a bit of ha-ha-hee-hee...there's the jokes section that you could go to!

Check it out for yourself!

Facebook - Friend Request

Recently I have been flooded with "Friend Request" on Facebook. (Oh! "flooded" sounds nice, I know.....but seriously less than 10 in a span of a month!) It would have been interesting if these were from people whom I know or from someone whom I knew ages back. Alas, this is not the case.

These requests are coming from guys who's sole interest I can see is to collect "friends".... from the fairer sex. The sprinkling of guys that I see on their profile, I can safely assume must be their friends or relatives. Their Profile boasts hundreds of friends! Is there a contest that I am not aware of? What could be the purpose of adding "friends"?

I do not mind making new friends provided we share an interest. After all "Friends are but strangers waiting to be met."......someone said. I also find it very impolite not acknowledging, hence I try to....after all you never know.........he could be a friend!

Below exchanges really took place.....on Facebook.

Request #1
Me - I do not seem to recall knowing you. Have we met before? Please let me know as my memory fails me!
Him - hi, i do remmber that y r the most pretty girl i was ever know

Uhhhhhh??? Give me a break!

Request #2
Me - I am positive that we have not met. Why do you want to add me to your list?!

This one never came back! Thank God!

Bytes that I don't understand

The long absence in posting was purely due to the fact that my line was disconnected because I ran up a bill of approx $ 877.000 in 3 days...about 18 hours usage I was told! I fail to understand how could the Bill be so much in this time and age when internet/mobile phone is dirt cheap all over the world! I am not even living in a remote area where net service is not available!

I asked for an explanation and I was told that they would register the complain and someone would get back to me! Well, the short of the long story is, nothing happened. No one got in touch with me and the deadline for the payment loomed large. So this morning, I went and paid in full. I am upset as I do not think that the amount is reasonable no matter how many bytes I sent or received! Yes! I am told that my limit was 1GB and the data exchanged was more, hence the high bill! This is simply ridiculous!

I asked that the line be canceled but I am told that I would need to pay for 3 months as that's the minimum. If I am paying, then might as well use it.....that's why here I am ranting about the ridiculous high internet price...and I can see the meter ticking... 45 MB already!

High Tech Times!

Even though living in an age of technology, there are certain things that I still expect to be done in an old fashion way...but I guess times are changing and people are too busy. It's a rat race.

There is no time to socialize...meet, go out and fall in love. It's the instant coffee which gets to you. The net has become the meeting ground. You chat & through the many bytes exchanged you decide that he or she is the one to tie the knot with. Then one fine day, just as quickly, you decide that the marriage was all wrong and you decide to call it off....the high tech way...

NRI divorces wife via video conferencing
24 Feb 2008, 1912 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: A couple whose love bloomed into marriage through an online courtship are now going for divorce through a similar route.

The NRI husband and his Indian wife will be deposing in the divorce case at a city court through video conferencing facility starting March 7.
more.....

Facebook Craze

Facebook.....is this a craze thats going to last?.....only time will tell. My networking till very recently has been limited to a couple of mails or IMing once in a while....again to a couple of friends. Once in a gathering...someone asked me whether I was in orkut..........to be frank...until then I hadn't even heard about this word orkut leave alone be in it! I went home and looked it up....where else but on the net! Everyone seems to be there....all leaving messages for everyone else to see....photographs...testimonials?....whatever...so juvenile I found....not for me.

Then came a message in my mailbox.......someone had added my name as 'friend' in Facebook. For a week or so I ignored it......didn't have the time nor was I so into the net thing....but then I accepted. I could now see her photographs that she's posted there...know what she's upto, etc. For a long time it's been limited to me seeing my friend's photos and seeing her & her friends poking, gifting, throwing punches, graffiti .....and whatever games they would be playing.

Then another girl that I knew added my name....an orkut person who now took to Facebook with such an enthusiasm.........adding friends I guess was like chalking up one's Totem Pole! Then another message saying someone, with an unfamiliar name had added my name as a 'friend'. I didn't know who it was but soon discovered it was a friend that I knew...who was using a pseudonym! To touch base again, this was wonderful! Then I discovered a couple of more friends from the past...from my College days...my junior. A colleague adds me in, 'friend'....which came as a surprise....for some reason. It now hit me that I could be so easily discovered....I feel a bit apprehensive. Just yesterday, another friend who lost touch for a while, added my name to his list! I'm now elated...at being discovered! Everyone seems to be on it.........everyone seems to be doing it.

Facebook.........true to its name, people are baring it all.... there are loads of applications which you can add and take various tests...compatibility, your likes & dislikes, your knowledge on particular topics, quizzes, etc...for all to see. You could send various kinds of wall posters, videos all in the name of fun? Write on the walls for all to see.

I frankly don't have the time to take all the tests that I am invited to nor participate in any other activities which is ongoing....throw a pie, poke, hug.... Personally, I still prefer sending one on one emails. Getting connected with friends with whom we lost touched is the only best thing that has happened for me through Facebook....other than that....I have very little to do here or think very little of it!....but, to be in Facebook is like being so "Cool"?!

Internet....a boon or a bane of our Lives?!

Internet is encroaching on our lives so much that ..........it's pretty scary when you actually think about it.

Growing up, our lives were filled with real friends, reading books, playing games with real friends in real time and loads of other activities...like stamp or coin collecting, etc.

Today, how many kids do we find indulging in such activities? For the majority, the only books they ever opened or will open are their school books........but talk about any PC, Laptop, TCP/IP network protocols, chats, downloads.......and they would be quite knowledgeable and up to date. Yes, they have loads of friends...quite a few of them would have more than 100!...but it would be all on the internet world. Open Facebook and you will know what I am talking. Barely do I see them writing anything of their own........its the various applications which they have got which is doing all the communication & they are quite proficient in the various computer games!

I too am spending quite a bit of my time on the internet world........reading, writing, making contacts/friends, searching......So, is Internet a boon or a bane of our lives? I guess an excess of anything is always bad. I am glad that at least my formative years were spared of this technology! Seriously, I mean it!

So Spoilt...we are

So spoilt of choice we are today, that there are times when I feel it was better those earlier days when you went to the market and bought whatever it is that you want to buy........without racking your brains so much.

Let's take our phones for instance. Earlier, we only had the land line. There were a couple of models/styles and we bought these as per our pocket. Once bought...installed...it remained with us for a lifetime. After the mobile phone came into existence...this is not the case.

We have so many brands vying for their piece of the pie in the market...not to mention the different models these brands churns out. We are inundated through media, the features of these models and having celebrities endorsing the product makes it more desirable to us. Since we carry our mobile phones with us everywhere........the model that we are carrying has become some sort of a status symbol. After all, every Tom, Dick & Harry or Jane, Ann & Betty all have a mobile phone these days. We have to keep up with the Jones or Jills or whoever that's got the latest handset.

I know what they say..."Thou shalt not be tempted"..........but I can't help NOT being tempted! This is just my 6th mobile phone that I have owned. Just yesterday, my Lil Bro spoke about a new phone which can hold 2 SIM cards.....says good for me as I do use 2 SIM cards.......... convenient it would be...........hmmmm......I need to check it out!