• My best friend’s birthday came and went.
• IPL 2 started and finished.
• Barack Obama completed 100 days in office.
• The Lok Sabha Elections made huge news.
• The BSE Sensex got back on track.
• There were no movies in the multiplexes.
• And the ICC T20 World Cup started.

Where was I when all that was happening?

I was shut up in my room, buried in books and trying to study. Or rather trying to mug up. I WAS HAVING EXAMS!!

I wasn’t tweeting. My facebook statuses were few, far between and boring. And blogging was out of the question. I was secretly happy (sic) about the producers’ strike, coz there were no movies to distract me. During IPL I was rooting for Delhi Daredevils. So I didn’t watch the other matches. I did vote, though! It was the first time that I was allowed to do so, because the last time I was six days too young. And no, they didn’t ink my middle finger.

As about the exams — some of them went very well while the others didn’t, but that was exactly I was expecting. I’m happy. Perhaps that’s what matters.

Did I have something else to do while I was hooked up with textbooks? Well yes… I made my PC into a downloading machine! I downloaded lots of stuff, some of it NSFW, so that I have a free run during holidays. And that’s what I’m doing these days — having a free run! 

And I started teaching! Oh yes… I am teaching an eighth standard guy about writing skills — you know… letters, postcards, reports and all that. And I am teaching his elder brother JAVA. Its fun, really! Having someone to command! 

Now that the exams are over, I am doing what I really like. Sitting at home. Reading books. Learning to play the piano (yes!). And designing a new template for this blog.

My nephew Aarav turned one recently. He has grown to be a very cuddly baby! He has learned to wish sat-sri-akaal and does it everytime Akshay Kumar comes on TV in his Singh is Kinng avtar! He has learned to squat flies and kick the football. He even played holi this time! Just look at the picture…

Yes! My worst days are over! The infamous exam season of Delhi University has gone! I can be myself once again, and do things I like doing. I can kick those books goodbye for the time being. 

Earth Hour 2009 is a unique way to show one’s responsibility towards the planet Earth. Get rid of Global Warming — Switch off the lights on 28^th March at 8:30 PM (your local time) for one hour. Watch it make the difference!

More than 50 million people in 370 cities around the world took part in Earth Hour 2008. The lights went out at Sydney’s Opera House, Rome’s Coliseum, the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge. Even the Google homepage went dark for the day. Many major corporations took part including HP, Coca-Cola, and Morgan Stanley.To get a better sense of the magnitude and inspiring nature the event, please take a moment to watch WWF’s video about Earth Hour 2009 at www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjWD8pbK5t8.

Participating in Earth Hour is easy, fun and absolutely free. For more information and to sign up for the event, visit www.earthhour.in where you’ll find fun tips for what you and your family and friends can do when the lights go out.

I’m excited about Earth Hour and hope you are too. Don’t forget-March 28^th at 8:30 pm, switch off!

Second post of the day? I mean, what is happening to me? I posted just one post in February, and two on March the 16^th!

Anyway. I took the personality test on MyPersonality.info, and got categorized as an INFJ. Lets see what an INFJ is:

INFJs, making up an estimated 1% of all people, are the most rare type (males even more so). They are introspective, caring, sensitive, gentle and complex people that strive for peace and derive satisfaction from helping others. INFJs are highly intuitive, empathetic and dedicated listeners. These traits tend to act as a “tell me what’s wrong” sign on their forehead, hence the nicknames Confidant, Counselor or Empath. INFJs are intensely private and deeply committed to their beliefs. (source)

I am the rarest of all!

The second test, known as the Multiple Intelligences Test, categorizes you in one or more of the eight categories of intelligences. Mine? Intrapersonal and Linguistic.

Today has been a feel good day for me. First being a top inviter, and then being an INFJ — Confidant, Visionary! Why don’t you take the test too? Maybe you can post the results here!

WordPress The Slave is very angry with Rajat The Master. Because Rajat The Master is seldom publishing any content on a blog which WordPress The Slave runs. Moreover, Rajat The Master has plenty of drafts saved in his blog database. When WordPress The Slave gave Rajat The Master an ultimatum, Rajat The Master had to relent. He has now agreed to publish a post.

Phew! That was horrible. Now let me start right away, otherwise WordPress will decide to self destruct! 

Today, I write about 25 Random Things about Me. I’ve seen a lot of people doing it, so I decided to give it a try myself. And mind you, this is a tested technique for self inspection. I got to know a lot about myself when I did this. So, here we go:

1. Myself? Eccentric! I might come across the most eccentric of the lot. You cannot really predict me, because I don’t let people know fully about me. Perhaps this post is a step in the right direction (or perhaps not!).

2. I crack horrible PJs, so horrible that people literally run away from me when I’m doing that. I can skew control to make it kaun troll and cunt roll. I can insert bolo tara-rara inside taare zameen par. The rest cannot be written here. Its a family blog.

3. I’m a complete foodie. Give me food at midnight, I’ll have it. Make me eat eight paranthas, I’ll have them. Tell me to eat samosas after I finish up my tiffin, I’ll do that. Tell me to eat karela for a fortnight, I’ll not complain. I can eat ghiya, tori and tinda too. And I can even finish up half a kg of gajar and still have an appetite for Masala Dosa. You get the point! 

4. Call me an OCD — Obsessive Compulsive Downloader. Ever since I got this MTNL Triband in late December, I have downloaded about 50GB of data, and that too at 256Kbps. I have a lot of patience when it comes to downloading. Movies, Music, Software — You name it, I have it!

5. I feel guilty for absurd reasons. Even the smallest lie can send gushes of guilt into me. And that makes me a bad liar! When I was going through a rough patch, the very first advice that I got was to keep calm, and stop feeling guilty. Seriously, feeling guilty is like having a dementor around — all your good feelings get sucked out!

6. I’m searching for that special someone. I’ve had *real* crushes on *only* two girls in the nineteen years of my existence. In the first case, I was dumb enough to let go of the opportunity. In the second, she was dumb enough!

The fact remains that I am still single, and ready to mingle. Couple it with #7 below, and you’ll know why! However, if you are a female, and find yourself in the same situation as mine, contact me! We’ll live happily ever after! 

7. I’m a perfectionist, though not to an extent that I require my towels to hang at an angle of 75 degrees with the horizontal! However, I do like to keep my Physics file as neat as possible — which is a herculean task in itself! My handwriting is bad, and I cannot draw a straight line even by using a ruler. You can imagine my plight! Similarly, I don’t admit any song in my music library until I have tagged it properly. And I have a fetish for round figures. When I open my eyes at 5:52 in the morning, I wait till 6:00 before I get out of the bed. In my wallet, you’ll always find Rs. 500, not Rs. 517 (in the morning, when I leave for college, that is!)

8. I like to write programs, and I’m paranoid about how they look on screen. At this point of time, I’ve learned to write only the console applications in C++. So I’m a great fan of gotoxy() and system(“cls”) and iomanip.h and things like that. If you know C++, you get the point.

9. I’m intelligent, but lazy. I love my sleep. Period. No matter how easy the day has been, I feel tired at 10PM. I just have to hit the bed at that time. Also, I feel lazy when I have to do something substantial. Like reading such a big post. Like sitting down and doing something for an hour. Its not that I cannot do work. Its just that I’ve come to despise it. And that does make it frustrating at times.

10. I like to keep fond memories. And I love to remember them on a lazy afternoon (yeah… you read #9, isn’t it? ). The first time I went to school? The first time I made tea? The moment when I was the happiest? My first crush? My group of friends and the situations in which we used to find themselves in? Bunking classes in school just for fun? Oh I remember them all!

11. I love my school. There are people who tell me that I haven’t really passed out of school – that I’m still wandering in the corridors of Mira Model. Because I know that its the school that has really made me what I am (of course, with more than generous helping from my mother!). Its because of it, that I’m able to think clearly – that I have come to value friendships – that I have understood the notion of togetherness – that … well, the list goes on! While in school I discovered that I had a passion for writing. Somebody in school suggested that I should start a blog. I heard my calling for computers while still in school – as early as in the sixth standard!

12. I don’t really like new people. I feel shy in going up and talking to them. Somebody has to come to me and start a conversation. But when the ice gets broken, hell breaks loose! Remember #2? 

13. I want you to be a conformist, and agree with things I say. I think there is an unwritten rule somewhere, which my friends have come to understand. They have realized that I’m too stubborn for their efforts! And part of it also connects with the #12 above. I feel shy in trying out something new. But when change is inevitable, I fight and fight – until everybody conforms!

14. I can’t stand bootlickers. It makes me disconnect with someone who does that. I know I’m not very unique in this regard, isn’t it? And yes, I’ve written about it before.

15. I’m dreadfully punctual. Tell me to come at 5 ‘o’ clock, and I’ll be there at 4:50. Everyday, I’m the first person in my batch to reach the college (and many a times, the first student to enter the college too!). In an age when its fashionable to be late, I tread the opposite path – with no mis-happenings whatsoever! No seriously, I like to be on time, even when being a little late is acceptable.

16. I can’t pose for the camera, so don’t ask me to do that! I have hundreds of pictures that I’ve clicked on my phone, and I can be seen in just a handful of them. My flagship picture, which I use in my social networking accounts, is a cutout from a group photograph. When I gather enough courage to actually pose, my eyes start to flicker, and I lose focus. I can’t bear the fact that somebody from behind the lens is looking at me! 

17. I don’t dance, and I don’t play. I usually say that its been nineteen years since I’ve danced, or I’ve played a sport. These singing, dancing and playing is just not for me. I can live without them happily, much to the plight of some of my friends.

18. I like to collect pens. At one point of time, I had about 250 pens in various shapes and sizes. I wanted to keep them forever, but mom made me throw away the useless ones, which nearly constituted the entire collection! I have a special affinity for Bittoo’s Fountain Pens – I still have some of them.

19. I like to read a lot, especially these days. I go to college early in the morning, in a bus – time in which is spent reading. These days I’m reading Dr. Harivanshrai Bachchan’s Kya Bhuloon Kya Yaad Karoon. In 2009, I’ve read Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace, Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Mr. Quinn, Carolyn Hart’s Death in Lover’s Lane, and tried to read Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers. 

20. Internet amazes me. So it does to many of you. I don’t think I need to say anything here! Not only the internet, but the technology that goes into making it is amazing. When I say that I want to learn PHP, CSS, Javascript, AJAX…. You get the idea.

21. I’m a morning person. Point to #9, and this becomes logical. When I go to bed early, it must be evident that I get up early. And that makes me a morning person. I know that most of you happily remain awake through the night. This makes me different from you, isn’t it? 

22. I like to go on my own way, and I don’t care if somebody treads with me or not. When I have to go, I go. When I have to do something, I do it. I don’t (and can’t) wait for others.

23. TV? Naah.. PC? Yeah! Make me sit half an hour in front of TV, I’ll start cursing you. Make me sit whole day in front of my PC, and thou shalt be my best friend. TV is full of bullshit.

24. You can call me honest, though not dreadfully so! I don’t lie just like that. Make me see a reason, and I shall do it. Don’t make me see a reason, and I won’t do it! Its as simple as that!

25. I love to walk. Alone. I’ve had experience of walking more than a dozen kilometers in one go – with nobody with my side. Its not that I’m so unpopular – just because I crave for some loneliness. (Its a bloody little thing to crave, I know – but that’s how it is!)

Well, if you actually read through the post, thank you! I know it is expected, because I don’t write such long posts everytime. How did you like it? Very much? Or did it bore you to death with all that blabbering? Do let me know.

Ques: How does it feel when you are back at blogging after a month?

Ans: It feels great!

Ques: How does it feel when you are writing the first post of the year, 21 days after it started?

Ans: It doesn’t feel so great!

Ques: Do you mind telling us what you were doing in the meantime?

Ans: No. Because it not at all feels great!

***

Ah well… That was the explaination of my being away. Not that it is enough, though! However, the agenda of this post is something different, and it relates to the Happy New Year Syndrome. [Ah… by the way, since this is my first post of 2009, A Very Happy New Year to you. (Though it is quite late, and ironic too, if you will read through this post.)] Notice the way I have closed the brackets. I study programming, you know!

Coming back to the Happy New Year Syndrome. Well, it turns out that I was born six days after the year 1990 had started. People usually don’t get over their New Year Hangover by then, and I become the victim — year after year.

And so it happens. My relatives call me up on 6^th of January, wish me Happy New Year, and conviniently forget to wish me Happy Birthday!! 

Earlier, it used to be like — OK, they had forgotten my birthday, and I would get lots of belated happy birthdays and sorries. Not anymore. Because this has become another trick to pull my leg. They remember that its my birthday. Call me up on that day. I pick up the phone with a certain expectation, and carefully rehearse the thank you’s in my head. But the wish never comes, leaving me certainly frustrated! And then I get another call in the night, when they finally wish me. Too much for pulling one’s leg, isn’t it? Good that my friends haven’t got this habit!

Lastly, though on a side note — I want to fuck DU.

Surprised? You ought to! Well, the thing is that these DU people have spoilt my birthday. They invariably start the exams just days after my birthday. I mean, I just get one day in the entire year when I get all those 86400 seconds dedicated to me. And when I have to dedicate a large portion of those studying, it ought to feel bad! 

Fuck you, DU!