August 26, 2007

Thoughts

I have quite a few Thoughts born in the recent months waiting to be put down in words – like a bunch of small rats jostling for a place inside a small cage, waiting to get out. Tough for me that way, don’t you think? Form a queue, I tell them. I’ll give each of you an opportunity to present yourself. Let’s make this an organized affair, shall we? All right. ‘Without further ado’ and all such things…

Thought 1: I’m C’s Idea Of Change. As you might know, C has shifted his place, and he’s no longer doing what he was. Put bluntly, he’s started earning and is no longer a student. This has had some repercussions, and a shift in the kind of things C can do and can no longer do. For example, playing football and DC++ing are out, at least for the time being. While C used to watch a lot of movies; he’s now reading a lot. He’s enjoying buying all these books by himself. He finds a small joy in being able to do away with all those half–priced pirated copies that he used to (and was compelled to) buy! And he doesn’t listen to music anymore (I’m obviously not counting what comes on the music channels 24x7 as ‘music’). But C has no regrets. When he thinks he wants to listen to music, he will. He’s waiting for the right mood to come along and say hello to him.
C is now writing a lot of code, and somehow, he’s enjoying it. It’s not something you’d expect him to end up doing, especially after doing what he did for 5 years. But for the time being, he enjoys what he’s doing. I think that’s important – enjoying what you do.

Thought 2: I’m C’s Idea Of Geography. First thing first – I’ve had a complete loss of the sense of direction in the city. I try predicting the way every time C goes out somewhere, but the twists and turns each route undergoes leaves me flummoxed each time. If C had to go to other parts of the city using me as his guide, he would be lost in no time. I can guarantee you that. One small thing I’ve noticed is the lack of shared autos in this part of the city. The other part where I used to stay 2 years back depended solely on shared autos for commuting. I can’t put it in words, but I’ve also noticed a difference in the attitude of the places itself. Something like, the place here is sponsored by the new age IT and financial companies and the other by the old manufacturing companies.

Thought 3: I’m C’s First Impressions. The place where C is working has treated him well. It offers an enjoyable, friendly and helpful atmosphere where C feels pretty comfortable. But C is a bit scared looking at his flat-mates. They spend an excessive amount of time in the office and that’s not something C would like to end up doing. As of now, his project has treated him generously and he’s been fortunate not having to spend long hours at his office. C also enjoys explaining to people where he works and what he does. Usual queries include –
#So you work in a call center?
#Must be an IT company then?
#What does it make?
#What does it do?
#What do you do?
#What’s the name of the company again?
#‘Jet ess’?
#‘G ess’?
#Can you spell out the name?
#What do they stand for?
#Hah! You don’t even know what your company name stands for?
This is usually the time C calls it quits. Anyway, what he does is pretty confusing. He puts it something like this – ‘developing software for a consultancy firm for (mainly) pharmaceutical companies in the US’ (after doing 5 years of mechanical engineering). I have been digressing! Let me pain you no further and stop myself with this - as far as C’s place of work is concerned, I’m good!

Thought 4: I’m C’s Arbit Thoughts. There are quite a few things on my mind, but the reader will forgive my inability to organize them properly within this framework of time and webspace.
There is this concept of Serializer in asp.net. It, basically, is used to convert every kind of object into something binary – which we can use to transmit over the net. What a neat thing to do! Imagine something like that for our thoughts and memories. Say, 10 years hence, you want to relive the Now. You just switch use your Memory Serializer and extract your memories of this time from your Memory Database. How convenient!
Even the most seemingly innocent or outrageous of choices you make will make you feel good if you can justify it. For example, faced with 3 choices – 1 getting a pet dog, 2 getting a potted plant, 3 getting a pot and putting a plant in it yourself – how will you proceed? C was presented with these choices and he chose the 3rd one, without much thinking. But I think I can present a justification for what he did. The superiority of his choice over the first one is pretty obvious, given C’s limited time he can devote to such activities as tending and caring of pets. And the various difficulties that might arise leaving the entire flat in the hands of a movable object with a mind of his own. And who knows what sinister ideas he starts getting when put in such a situation. I mean, all of us get ideas sometimes, right? The other argument is a bit vague and the reader may even see it too contrived, but unfortunately, I don’t give a damn about what the reader might think. The reader will accept my humble apologies. The point is, if you just buy a potted plant and place it inside your flat, it is just that – a potted plant that you bought and placed inside your flat. While if you have your own plant, it is your plant that you have in a pot inside your flat. I hope you got my point, because I can’t explain any more.

Thanks guys for the help. It couldn’t have been possible without blah blah blah. Good day, everyone. Good day, everyone.