The ages of man!

The cares of childhood are but few
as affectionate love does form a veil
we see life through a gilded view
and are allowed to falter never fail

The guidance lasts through adolescence
where the learning takes another route
we rebel against all experience
and every rule we dare to flout

And as the carefree youth does wane
do thoughts take on a serious light
when the path before you seems too plain
do you realise pleasure might carry plight

And these lessons learnt for many a year
come full circle in your stead
for does infancy turn another deaf ear
and common sense stays taught not bred.

The call of the wild

This is a moment of inspiration during this awesomely unforgettable trip to Lost Maples park in the hill country of texas - ala the impressionists

Was walking down lost maple wood
the trees did part and there she stood
An elfin presence the woodsy sprite
beyond all reason,at the edge of sight

On she beckoned with nary a look
her voice the touch of the burbling brook
on she called into those inviting woods
into her embrace ran the path i took

The trail was drawn for me to walk
the call of the wild was stronger still
was my enchantment all just talk
or was my answer backed by will?

Natures fashion is a beautiful thing
on tallest tress that change attire:
from greens and browns of early spring
to orange in fall - the shades of fire

From dawns first light to dusken set
all day long the hues do change
what you once see you may not get
for there is no limit to her range

The brook that lazes on along her course
has cut through mountains in her wake
immovable object and unstoppable force
locked in battle that will eons take

A finches call is a pleasing sound
but it shakes me out of my reverie
i realize then the silence around
what in daily life one cannot see

do we really stop to stand and stare
all the beauty that she does wear
can we shirk? oh, do we dare?
to walk on in without a care!

The man behind the mask

Disguises - the elaborate personas constructed with the sole purpose of masking true purpose or identity. What fascination do we have about what might have been, what could be and what is in our imaginations that we try to take refuge in it the minute we feel that we are unable to face a situation armed simply with what we are.
It is the well known adage of the ostritch sticking its head in the sand in the face of coming danger ... yet.. that doesnt stop us from trying:
"...... it might.. i mean .. who is to say.. maybe this is the lucky charm.. the other 16 times that failed so royally that they blew up in my face were just a learning experience.. but now...."
Well.. i dont need to write any further, and none of you needs to be the storyteller to figure out the likely outcome.
Still - its always worth a shot. Heyyy.. hold on a minute- I think I digressed. Lets make escapism and its different manifestations tomm's discussion. Coming back to the topic of disguises - they can be as mundanely enticing as masquerade balls (not the "eyes wide shut" variety mind you) as routinely harmless as the proxy that gets you attendence at class, as false as the sober weldressed front man who represents organized crime or as deceptive as identity theft. Hmm.. wonder about the recurring crime theme in todays talk... and no.. all those shows of COPS late night yesterday had NOTHING to do with it!!
Are all disguises as obvious as the clown in the suit at a kids bday party???
is every mask hiding something insidious - take all those face masks that are some of the most treasured artefacts of historical civilizations (mayan and incan death masks, african war masks) - or are they a form of art... the japanese kabuko shows and the kathakali performers back home.
Whatever else they might or might not be, the diguise and its art is like one of those grails - the ideal of being to take in everyone for some reason entices our senses, and piques our interest, because we all want to someday prove that we are so much better than our peers that we could easily take them in. ahhh... ego trips!

The pursuit of politics

The election season in the US in 2008 is pretty electric - the one distinct difference i have actually considered between the parliamentary form of governement and a presidential one is the impact the personality of a single individual has on the governance of the country, the tone set in policy and the identity of the nation for a period of history.
Dont get me wrong - distinctively iconoclastic individuals do steer nations irrespective of the type of legislative and beaurocratic setup by sheer dint of personality - but above and beyond that the choice of a captain is far more critical when the course to be steered traverses uncharted waters. Do we really want a man of the masses - taking into account how many flaws and fallacies we individually have, or do we hold these individuals to a higher standard when we really think about it?
It is after all professional excellence - it is the same concept that allows couch potatoes to critisize atheletes for not performing. You are supposed to get good at what you do for a living, if you aspire to greatness - irrespective of the field.
Yet, there is something more than just that - we all think with our heads, but usually choose from the heart. Let me elaborate - I propose that the human population has reached a stage on this planet, where there are many individuals who can do the job exceedingly well - so once the grains are separated from the chaff and the herd is culled to the few excellent specimens we desire, the remaining choice becomes academic. So, i feel that we only pick on issues to a particular level and beyond that , the unknown called "the gut" takes over. Which is why the fates of politicians often hang on that indecipherable unknown political pundits call charisma and appeal. And that is how some people get away with promising "everyone everything" and having them all believe they have got the best deal.

wait a second - how many used car salesmen have run for president again???

Distractions vs. Deliberations

A lot of "hardcore research" and alternate procrastination based off phd comics brought me around to deabting another reason why I search for more outlets.
The basic question being whether or not it is possible to actually have "single minded devotion".
I argue that it is pretty much out of the question - and I shall buttress my claims using the single phrase "mad scientist" :P
What I am trying to drive at is the fact that there needs to be a foil to every lunge - a shadow to show us the glory of light. Can we really appreciate the heights of joy without feeling the pangs of sorrow?
Similarly, every task is easier done not shared but forgotten. It is similar to the drink of gatorade after an exhausting football game, the sinking into the couch to watch the idiot box or that complete feeling of release in the hot bath tub at the end of a long day. So, the greater the stress the greater the distraction needed to forget it and hence allow us to tackle it better.
So, it is forever the game of poker, where each hand in turn needs to beat the other for a fun game - and the game would be life... if you missed it in all my metaphors!

of Motivation and tragedies

The secrets to motivating oneself to actually get stuff done is the one that shall truly evade you till it hits... it isnt even a grail worth searching for - truly - however antithetical that sounds, because the ends is literally the means in this case.
After a bunch of such (see up) obfuscating BS i have often passed off as venting on this blog, I suddenly wake up and realize that such egoistic catharsis is probably what keeps people from reading my voicings....
very similar indeed to why i refuse to accept tragedies (horror, thriller, drama - real life) whatevr cover they are sold under. As most people who have had the unfortunate opportunity of actually hearing first hand my choicest opinions already probably know, i am totally opposed to spending any of my money and even more importantly my spare time watching/reading something that is most likely gonna dampen my spirits. I fail to appreciate the so called human aspect of suffering if I dont see no redemption of faith by the end - i dont see why i should drudge through poise and spirit only to see it crushed and then "appreciate" the creator' artistic vision!!!
PEOPLE ... WAKE UP - the only reason we seek solace in the movies and the books is because there is enough "....." going on in real life that you want to get your mind off of. You dont go to see more of the same.. and feel happy atleast its not you... I probably am only delighted that it ends in a couple of hours and i can go back to my own personal stuff.
So.... gimme THE ROCK in a TUTU anyday.... (Govinda in yellow suit over a purple shirt ala the MASK came a close second)

Silence...

They say silence is golden, but i would call that highly overvalued.... words are pearls and silence is not a good setting for them. Silence is a pregnant pause between meaningful discourse but a pause in the continuum of life. The meaning of silence takes different forms with age... in childhood, it is a moody tantrum when screaming achieves nothing, it is the sharp glare that accompanies the reprimand. In youth, it is the boredom that drives you to break rules, the holding back of sweet nothings... In maturity, it is the peaceful solitude of rest, an oasis in an otherwise tumultous responsibility. It is what we seek when the only ones we feel close to are our inner thoughts, it is what we enforce as the strictest punishment of our social justice!
Thus it vacillates between being sought after and sought release from ....
....
just like the tales of all our lives summarized. Existing in the in betweens :)

Systemic needs....

Human nature seems far too volatile to actually be bound by something as simple as rules, yet doesnt everyone have their own internal knowledge of what is right and what is wrong without ever having to be told anything... i agree that the lines blur, but even in the smallest instances, there is an inherent personal acceptance of what seems right and what wrong - dont misunderstand me.. i talk not of necessity, but of that vague global "correctness".
If core values and what i believe in human psychology (which i pretty much nonchalantly slept through in school) is referred to as the "id" did not tell us all pretty much the same thing, there is no way human societies would ever have agreed to a common set of applicable practices and laws that in their essence if not verbage are the same.
Yet, i guess the fact remains it is not in the rules themselves but in their interpretation that the true charm of existence resides.. and these as everything else are open to interpretation based on circumstance.

Management

The "in thing" to do these days, at least in the circles i seem to frequent... or with greater honesty the only circles i have.. is to do an MBA. Which brought me around to thinking that if everyone around wants to become a manager, what exactly it is that is running everything.. and if it is the only thing actually working, who needs the management more.. what seems to be working or those who seem to be shirking the actual nitty gritty in pursuit of what seems to be greater efficiency. I think the argument i was trying to make was lost somewhere in the circularity of my logic.... but if any of that actually makes sense to you, i am of the firm belief that you should be working, coz in my opinion, that was pure management speak - no message but a lot of words.
Wonder what that paragraph actually classifies me as.... on second thoughts.. dont answer that. :)

All the more sweeter....

... till it gets diabetic!!

I remember reading once as a kid that neem leaves tasted bitter because they were a 100% sugar. Which gets me to thinking along familiar lines.... is too much of a good thing really bad? Is the delicious dripping chocolate cake really "Devil's Food"?
hmmmm..... why must there be a serious consideration of pros and cons for any one of life's many indulgences?
Why do we want everything knowing fully well that we defenitly cannot manage?

I get the feeling I am asking way tooo many open ended questions and providing no views of my own, so before I offend the "Blog Gods" any further, I opine that we want everything because it is there for the taking. Satisfaction with a situation is a stagnant station. There would be no forward progress if we all liked our lots.. competetion and demand are the oil that make the cogs of mankinds progress run. The failures are those that bite off a lot more than they can chew, and the successes are those who exhibit controlled gluttony.

The way my metaphors seem to be going indicate that I defn need a chocolate fix myself.

Later,
Jet

Love is in the air!

Cant you smell it???
Its all the holiday cheer and the mistletoe on every bough. The carols are only on the speakers in stores at the point, but it is only a matter of day before they are out in the streets.
There is something about this season that brings out the warmth and affection in people than even the colors of spring. I guess you are searching for that companionship to drive the cold away .. that rings true at SO many different levels.
So to you'll no deep thoughts... it's the time to make merry and sing joyous songs!
Wish you'll
SEASONS GREETINGS!


-
"Time changes everything!"

A time for everything

There is something rebellious about college life... there is that spirit which even in the most timid encourages one to defy... in their own small ways.
My room mate in the college dorm was used to hitting the sack by 10 at night... i think it took about 2 and a half years and he was pulling all nighters... and we were playing computer LAN games at 4 in the morning and going for bike rides after around the time we were said to graduate. (I take his case simply because I dont want to state my own... Aaah! the convinience of writing the blog)
All the people who do "stuff" in college whatever that might be tend to turn magically into social "fits" whatever that defenition is. How does this miraculous transformation happen. what gos on in a college students mind?
Stay tuned for this discussion, courtesy of yours truly who still seems intent on not doing any research work and remaining a grad student so that he can honestly report on the college student mindset!

Tides of Time

There is none of Einstein's metaphysics going on, but then in the classic "post quals slump" one does tend to ruminate on the meaning of everything...
in other words....
dont feel like doin nothin', and still keep gettin' bored.
wat to do? deeper questions like the meaning of life are simply not worth pondering.
but then everyone has to get back to research some day..
lets hope that day is in a galaxy far , far away still ?

<>

Times a changin

The inconsistency of how time seems to flow is often credited to have inspired Einsteins grand theory of relativity...i dont know how credible that is, but i do know this...time seems to drag when we are already burdened and seems to flow when we are having fun...
so,
is Time but a state of the mind?
is it something that we lose track of when we are otherwise occupied by what we consider "nice" and consider it only when we have nothing to truly relieve us of our boredom/frustration?
does time only become important when all else we do is less important in our view than the "neutral" time?

Not a care in the world

isn't the whole world but a rat race, day in and day out, arent you just another cog in the wheel?
no..no..no...dont get me wrong...these are not the leading lyrics to another raving rap song.
its some of those random thoughts your mind tries to rage about the minute your alarm clock goes off on the side table near your bed.
You dont remember setting it carefully the previous night, you dont remember the important appointments you will miss, all you want is somebody to shut that dam*#!%^ thing off so that you can go off to sleep again.
you pull the covers up around your head, you try stuffing your head under the pillow, you do turn the snooze alarm off a couple of times, until you ultimately give in to the futility of rebelling against the passing of time
you come to your senses, you turn of that irritating alarm clock, hear some cheery fellow on the radio greet you (he probably recorded that last night for all you know) and go on to face the world yet another day...

ohh! how you wish you could stay on in bed without a care in the world.

what a shame you have to
jet, set, gotta go!

teja 

Raving Craving Daylight Saving

a weird title huh?
actually that is a sequence that occured today morning in precisely that order.
Being an unusually sound sleeper neccessitates a human alarm clock, but when your roommate decides to wake you one hour late for an important appointment, you start raging at him as though he is responsible for your slumber. Then, you realise that all the "new, electronic, automated" clocks in the house show a different time from the "old, manually adjusted" ones.
hmmmm.... somethings going on...Halloween suddenly seems to be warping time..
then, a few discreet phone calls reveal that there exists something called "daylight Saving" ....
what a novel yet thoroughly bewildering thought... man ultimately CONTROLS ...even dares to CHANGE time... will wonders never cease around here?
then when the concept seeps in, you start craving this day light saving thingy every day of winter...an hour more of deep,sweet, sleep

Weekend Mayhem

The weekend of Haloween and I am stuck trying to send in mail in rebate forms.... the faces of corporate america are showing up in my day to day life in a way i did not expect to see.
The commercialization of festivities is striking and the rest of the world is trying hard to follow...and why not? one way to loosen a customer's purse strings is as good as another.
As far as mail in rebates are concerned, I have no clue what they are or why they got instituted...what i do know is that they help the US postal service in the email generation and are extremely irritating to fill out. Also, when they say discount, the fine print means DO a LOT of WORK to get MONEY BACK from us and pay the WHOLE thing up Front

Life as U know it

blogging is a catchy trend simply because if you know that you can write whatever you want for whatever it is worth and somebody might actually read it, you tend to write what comes to the top of your mind first. Such thoughts apart from being truthful and honest are usually blatanly illogical and to most readers exceedingly funny... in the end you end up noticing that most of the time, the first thing that surfaces in your head is pure RUBBISH...
So the ltimate advise is that on a test never put down the first thing that comes to your mind....
why oh! why? are u still reading this...