Its Raining

aaaaahhh!!! yippppeeeee!!!

Its raining!!!!! sitting in the room, facing the window, and the cool spray is like a heavenly experience, 3-4 days of baking in the sun, excessive humidity and its a relief storm!!! and its pouring at the moment!!!!!

its just very goody goody at the moment!! :)

must get myself a thought meter!!

Rock On!!

ROCKED!! oh yess sirr ree!!! we surely were rocked!!!
Managed to reach the cinema hall in the nick of time, sat down after a bit of confusion and the "concert" began!!

Rock on!! is not a movie, its a concert!! especially the first half and the closing bit!! its awesome, its brilliant and has a charged up feel to it! You can see the relation with dil chahta hai, the story begins with almost the same setting, four friends and two clashing egos (ego would be a harsh word though). So Rock On!! to me was DCH + Jhankaar beats, in a very different and original style. The jhankaar beats touch is at the end as the going band member joins up with the rest of the band and together they put up one rocking and winning performance! it was pure "Magik"!

The performances are good, Farhan Akhtar didn't seem out of place on screen, and the best part were the songs, from "Socha hai" to "Sindbad the sailor" to "pichle saat dinon" we were shouting and woooiing on every song!! Not to forget the ballad "Tum ho to"... its stuck in my head! Kudos to Shankar Ehsaan Loy!!!

All in all, a great watch... must must see! We had a lot of fun for sure!!! Rock On ROX!! \_/

Email to Mr. Michael Dell

From: Ankur Gupta
Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2008 5:24 AM
To: Dell, Michael; michael.dell@dell.com; michaeldell@dell.com;
micheal@dell.com; dell@dell.com; Dell, Michael; Michael;
micdell@dell.com; mikedell@dell.com; mike@dell.com

Subject: is this the "Award Winning" customer support?

Mr Dell,
I don't know your email address, its just my wild guess that it might be
one of those that am sending on the list.

I ordered an XPS notebook on 7th july, which was delivered to me on the
14th of july (in INDIA). The salesperson had promised me of a
complimentary optical mouse, an accessory kit of some sort and an
upgradation on insurance of which i don't know the details. However, he
was clever enough to not add these in the quotation and had me convinced
verbally. I feel cheated by Dell as the freebies did influence my
decision ultimately in going against a Sony VAIO notebook. I reported
the matter to the Wrong,missing and damaged department but they said i
should contact the salesperson who took my order, to whom I've been
sending emails constantly, without any replies. Finally, my complaint
was recorded(Care Case No:1136570) and an enquiry was done, but the
enquiry solely depended on the sales person's word..to which he bluntly
refused, does the customer's word count for nothing???!!
Surely I'll be thinking more than twice if i were ever to recommend or
order anything from dell again. I did not expect this from an "award
winning" customer support as u say!!

i do not now expect any reply, or help or guidance of any sort! just
wanted my grievance to be heard by someone, and surely I'll be copying
and pasting all the above in as many forums as i possibly can!

Regards,
Ankur Gupta

that's what i had written, completely irritated with the dell guys... check out the send to list.. i made up all possible combinations that Michael Dell could have as his email id, and it clicked! Here's the reply i got.. i think the people at dell's office diverted the mail to their India office..because i got the reply from an Indian executive.

Dear Mr. Gupta,
Thank you for writing to Dell.

At the outset we at Customer Care would like to thank you for your
patience, and extremely apologetic for the inconvenience caused.

This is with reference to your below mail regarding the insurance and
accessory kit. I would like to confirm that the one year complete cover
(accidental damages) insurance is already included in the quote and the
accessories kit includes the ear buds, remote control and built-in
webcam.

Please feel free to contact me for any clarifications.

Thanks & Regards,
Maria Deepa
Manager
Customer Care
Dell India Pvt Ltd

this really pisses me off and I'm gonna write another mail back!! am not letting them go!!! even if i have to send a 100 emails!!!!! Mr. Michael Dell, beware of an email bomb!

P.S. just for the record, i have absolutely no qualms about my lappy!! totally and completely satisfied with it!! and also with the customer support for the product! just beware of being taken for a ride with the freebies they mention, and have them put whatever they mention in writing!

SSllllluuuuuuuurrrppppp

I've had 3 ice candies in the last 24 hours!! Want something refreshing, cooling, and more importantly.. cheap? well, ice cndies are the way to go. Moreover, its the best stress buster there is, apart from chocolate ofcourse.. next time when your brain is all full, and tensions are high, just get yourself an ice candy and strat licking on it, you'll forget everything just sucking on it and concentrating on making it stay put and not letting it melt! And they are brightly coloured.. reds n orange n yellows.... plus nice nice flavours, newest addition i've heard of is jal jeera...

So i've tried Amul, Kwality Walls and Mother dairy.. Taking into account the ice density, the melting temperature (longer it holds), the ease of slurping, the size, the shape, the colour (brighter the better) and of course the flavour too (doesnt matter a lot though, all are the same)... i rate them as follows.


First comes Mother dairy's Orange flavoured lolly!! it held longer, the ice waas dense and didnt melt very fast! Second is Kwality Walls, it was brighter..tastier.. and the ice was slurpier [;)]... Last among those that i have tried comes Amul,.. but its an ice candy after all!! so no complaints!! plus its just 5 bucks!!! damn, i want another one now!!!
Here's some cool info before signing off...

The first recorded ice pop was created in 1905 by 11-year-old Frank Epperson in San Francisco, who left a glass of soda water powder and water outside in his back porch with a wooden mixing stick in it. That night the temperature dropped below freezing, and when Epperson returned to the drink the next morning, he found that the soda water had frozen inside the glass, and that by running it under hot water, he was able to remove (and eat) the frozen soda water chunk using the stick as a handle.

The ice-lollipop was introduced to the public for the first time at an Oakland ball for firemen in 1922. In 1923, Epperson applied for a patent for "frozen ice on a stick" called the Epsicle ice pop, which he renamed the Popsicle, allegedly at the instigation of his children. This brand is now one of the most famous in the United States.

Bhook lagi hai khaana do!!

So its been food on my mind for quite a while now.. the tiffin that we get at night is totally ram bharose... it might be good, it might be bad... it might be something u like that is cooked disastrously or it might be something u don't like cooked very well! All in all... you eat what you get and you like it when you are hungry!!
So here goes something to get your taste buds watering, check out your region and see the speciality! Add up something if you want!!

WiFi Hotspot

Finally!! Broadband! our room is finally a WiFi hotspot!!

The day was terrible, got a Punjab Roadways bus to delhi, after 5 hours of bumps n grinds..we get off at ISBT, walk a long way to McD's... the luggage was killing us!! next time around, i'm travelling light! some feeding done at McD's n we're off again with no idea of where to catch a Faridabad bound bus.. We walk all over inside ISBT, just to get to know that busses for faridabad will be available from across the road.. thank god there was a foot over bridge and god bless sheila dixit for installing escalators on them! so across the road, and we are standing like dumbheads, theres a bus for faridabad 50 mtrs away from us and we dont realise it.. finally we get to board a blueline to badarpur border. Dont even ask about the next 1 and a half hour.. it was terrible, it was exhausting, my luggage bag gave way and i had to carry it in both arms, we walked from badhkal flyover to our place, that must be a good 1 km, and with all the luggage thats saying something!! Thank god for the honda city guy who gave us a lift over the badhkal flyover, or surely we wouldnt have made it!
Completely exhausted and we enter our totally messed up room, dump the luggage and flat on our beds.. then its another hour of bathing, cleaning up n tidying everything in the room (mind you, we did a very good job.. the room looks so clean n fabulous now)... we lie down to rest, just 15 mins and theres an airtel guy on the door!!! We welcome him in and treat him like a demi god!! Finally after all those troubles and calls to the customer care centres!! half an hour of setting up everything and we are good to go!!!!!

This is my very first post through my new airtel wifi connection!! the speed is superb, 256 kbps really means 256 kbps! happy happy!! lappy n broadband, finally a reunioin!!!! after all the troubles throughout the day, the airtel guy put everything right and its a happy ending to the day!!

Life's a "Contract"

life's fucked up!!! everyone's fake!! everyone says they're "frnds", no one is!!! life is a "contract"!!!

next time u think abt others, next time u think abt making others feel comfortable wid ur personal life...next time u go out of the way to do things for others.... well theres no bigger asshole than u, n u wont be left to make it another next time!

its just u n the world, life is a war, there are no allies... everyone's just waiting for u to bend down so that they can kick ur ass over n over again! Baz luhrmann doesnt know a thing about todays world... he says.."remember compliments u receive, frget the insults".... well, wat all are the compliments n wat are the insults?? is everythin comin from a "frnd" a compliment??

hmmm... going back to delhi tomoro, harry, gaurav n aki are the only ppl i am longing to meet....as fr the rest, everyones a fake..... its 12 in the night, gotta wake up at 5 n catch a bus at 6! i really hope the bus crashes, the "contract" ends!! signing off before i break the keyboard with my harsh key strokes!! gnite everyone! fuck u all! i don give a damn wat u feel or think about me!

Living out, Two weeks in faridabad

Two weeks in Faridabad! Two weeks of a true bachelor life, two weeks of household chores (usually done with a lot of cribbing)... TWO WEEKS OF FREEDOM!

So, finally i shift base to a rented room in faridabad.. along with harry, my roomie. Both frustrated with living with grandparents, both yearning for bachelorhood, both wanting freedom in the true sense and both wanting a 24 X 7 net connection.. umm... the last thing is the first of the problems we've faced in the town.. the airtel services are at par with BSNL's... 2 weeks on and we're still waiting to be able to go online at our room!

First day in and we settle down, not having any idea of what we'd be requiring or wanting for the days to come. First morning and we realise there's no mirror in the house (not even a glossy reflecting surface), and harry has to tie his turban. So being in the tech age that we are, we innovate. What better use to put the 2mp webcam to than using it as a real time mirror!

After a fortnight, we've kinda settled down. We've fallen into a routine and have a list made out of all the required things..Namely, a mirror, an electric kettle or cooker(to get warm water to gorge on those MTR's ready to eat meals), an almirah (to dump our stuff into and get rid of all the mess scattered everywhere). There's a customary visit to the local departmental store everyday for the stuff required, initially the list consisted of brooms and mops and dish washing liquids and scrubs and detergents and stuff..
Talking of detergents!! Damn, washing clothes is one hell of a job!! i followed the instructions as it is on the back of the pack and ended up all messy and it took me more than an hour to get a few clothes washed (it was the first time in my life that i washed clothes). Plus washing clothes is one problem, there's another tension of letting them dry, the weather hasn't been the best to dry clothes you know!!

Ok, so now we have an unofficial algo to shop at the deptt store, the first stop is the biscuits counter. then we're off browsing stuff... looking at the corner with all those cold drinks and squashes and iced teas longingly.. we manage to extract ourselves from that corner without putting anything in the cart! Then its the milk products, with cheese and breads for breakfast, we're still trying out different cereals and will finally decide on one. Stuff here and stuff there and that's our shopping for the day!

yea, we've finally stuck to a mess guy for delivering dinner to our place. The dominos people now know our house very well, two weeks and two deliveries.. we're still trying our luck to get a free pizza!

Living out on your own has a lot of pros, but only if you can handle the daily chores and routines well!! we're still in beta phase and testing out! will get into a groove very soon!

Animals Rebel

Happy Independence Day

15th August, just another national holiday for some.. A day to be proud and revel and bring out the patriotism for others.. This independence day, lets not shy away from saying out loud and wishing others a "happy independence day", or merely laughing when someone wishes u in turn.. lets stand up tall and wish everyone... and salute proudly to the fluttering tri colour!! here's something to remember by for the day...

THE HISTORY OF THE INDIAN FLAG.


The flag that was first hoisted on August 7, 1906,
at the Parsee Bagan Square in Calcutta.



Called the 'Saptarishi Flag', this was hoisted in Stuttgart
at the International Socialist Congress held on August 22, 1907.



Associated with the names of Dr. Annie Besant and
Lokmanya Tilak, this flag was hoisted at
the Congress session in Calcutta during the
'Home Rule Movement'.



In the year 1921, a young man from Andhra presented
this flag to Gandhiji for approval. It was only after
Gandhiji's suggestion that the white strip and
the charkha were added.



This flag was suggested during the All India Congress
Committee session in 1931. However, the Committee's
suggestion was not approved.



On August 6, 1931, the Indian National Congress
formally adopted this flag, which was first hoisted
on August 31.



Our National Flag, which was born on July 22, 1947,
with Nehruji's words, "Now I present to you not only the Resolution,
but the Flag itself". This flag was first hoisted at the Council House
on August 15, 1947.

Riders On the Storm!! part 3

Hanging by a wire.. that's what it was, while coming from Chandigarh to Delhi... 4 o'clock early morning.. all prepared for the 257 km bike ride.. all geared up, petrol tank filled, tires checked, air pressure optimum..all the routine oil n lubrication tests.. and I'm off.. hardly 5 km away.. n whamm... i hear a noise below, i press down on the break peddle.. and i fiddle with the gear lever to lower down a few gears.. only problem is, i cant feel the gear peddle under my foot.. finally i stop and see whats wrong, and what i see is the gear lever dangling down from the bike! The bike still in top gear, smack in the center of the road.. i start the bike and manage to get it going in 5th gear and reach the edge of the road. Further inspection reveals that one of the two main bolts which kept the gear system clamped to the chassis had given way... now what do i do, at around 4:20 in the morning... its not even dawn yet! forget about a mechanic or something. and to make matters worst, i have to reach college to get my registration done. OK, so i finally extract a wire of sorts from somewhere and put it in place of the bolt, twisting it several times and securing the gear peddle to the chassis. its a temporary setup and it might give way any moment.

Tentatively i get started again, by this time its 5:05 and its almost day, after a few kms i get the hang of the new gingerly secured gear system and confidently ride on towards my destination, not even stopping on any of the petrol pumps on the way to get the thing fixed.




The weather was perfect!! Overcast and no rain.. the road was smooth, the highway was as usual sparse.. overtaking cars, trucks n others.. headphones blaring.. i was enjoying the moment.. reaching speeds of about 110-120 kmph, on an average the pointer hovered between the 90-100kmph mark.. stopping once on the way, a 15 min break and off again!!
if u take out the stoppage n make shift repair time it took me 4:15 mins!! and it was exhilarating!! exciting, enduring, adventurous and satisfying!!