let's make potter president!

let's make potter president...or maybe even god!!!

pottermania seems to have reached the peak of its frenzy these days. however, i've noticed something that now strikes me as alarming instead of funny: a few people think of potter as something other than what he really is - a fictional character in a children's storybook.

i guess there are always people who idolize fictional characters (especially when it comes to kids and kids' literature), and there are always people who delve deeply into their favourite works of fiction (lord of the rings et al). nothing new about that. but when people stop thinking of a fictional character as such, and talk about him like a real person, i get alarmed.

couple of days ago a local newspaper published an article about "what people say harry potter would do if he came to bombay". another similar contest was held yesterday. people really thought a lot about their answers. someone won the contest.

i smell something wrong here. people are mixing rowling's fictional magical world with our reality. and these people are not kids, but adults, albeit young ones - students, people working in call centers, whatever. they are voting citizens of india, who feel that it's somehow potter's job to clean the city, remove potholes, eliminate terrorism, demolish slums (and many more things i'm feeling too lazy to type).

wake up everyone! harry potter is a figment of rowling's imagination! he isn't gonna fix our problems. hell, he doesn't even exist!!! stop praying to him, because he isn't god!!! get a life, you retards!!!

my inability to smile in a photo

today i was searching for a good photo to put into my railway i-card (it expired about a year ago). after looking through almost 10 passport sized photos i came to the conclusion that i just can't smile for the camera. the only photos that i found of myself smiling were when i was high or...hmmm...high :P (and they weren't passport sized photos either...so whatever). and that's really funny because i'm always smiling in real life. i can't even wipe that stupid grin off my face when i'm looking at myself in the mirror. oh wait. i *do* look funny in the mirror (mental note: must start exercising someday)

forget it. i'm gonna frown in my railway i-card. it's how i'm gonna look when the tc pulls me aside anyway :D

the drying up of ceative juices

recently, i've been invited to co-author a blog. i readily agreed, thinking it wouldn't be that big a deal. apparently it was a big deal. i've suddenly drawn a blank when it comes to stuff to write about in my own, as well as the co-authored blog.

so now i'm wondering, what could possibly be the cause of this? is it because my imagination doesn't work when i want it to do, or does the responsibility of co-authoring a blog put some kind of subconscious pressure on me? i wonder.

anyway, i'm gonna tackle this problem somehow. be prepared for a case of bloghorrea. as it is, i'm at home all day, and pretty much bored. how bad could senseless writing possibly be? i think we'll find out soon. :D

my first job

after 6 months at symantec, it's almost time for me to leave. i thought i'd never actually feel any parting pangs for a job, but well...i guess i thought wrong.

i guess my first job was something really special. i've had friends complain about their office, the work, the management, the computers, firewalls that block half the sites, everything. somehow i never really had anything to complain about. and the work was first class, awesome, challenging stuff, but minus all the pressure that usually goes with something as cutting edge.

so there it is. i'm saying goodbye to the almost-perfect job. from here, it looks like the next job will be perfect, but i guess the grass is always greener on the other side.

i'm gonna miss this place. farewell fellows and fellas!!! thanks for an awesome 6 months spent at work with you!!!

you can quote me on this

"it's better to 'not be' than to be a 'wannabe'"

-Kris, 5th July, 2007

intelligent gambling

gambling is something i always treat with a bit of care...i'm not against gambling in principle, but at face value, losing money for the sake of winning more at questionable odds is something that doesn't quite fit my list of entertaining or profitable things to do :D

i made an exception today. i gambled a bit. i'm still not sure if i won or not. or if it was even counted as gambling.

it was like this: vsnl (i'm a lifetime customer of their ISP service, except that i don't use dialup anymore :P) sent me a mail offering to check my iq. out of curiosity i clicked the link. turns out there was some prize money involved for the highest scorer of the week. 999 bucks. even better. i clicked next. turns out i have to pay 99 bucks to take the test. damn!

so i can win 900 bucks or lose 99 bucks. it all depends on how intelligent (or dumb) everyone else who takes the test is. i'm betting on my intelligence to win money. thankfully for me, i have quite a competitive iq score (shall be modest. shall not elaborate.) so i decided to place my bet. my bet gets called on friday.

suddenly realization gave me a friendly whack to the back of my head. i've been gambling on my intelligence all my life. sometimes for money, sometimes to pass my exams, sometimes to get away scot free from mischef or laziness (in this case, sometimes = all the time :D).

everything in life, however trivial, involves a potential loss, a potential gain, and a probability for attaining the gain.

"life is a gamble"
-Kris

friend deleting spree

i deleted four friends from my orkut friend list today.

i just hope no one notices :D