A half-decent book that is introduced as a collection of wizarding fables (with notes by a Harry Potter character), it soon loses its charm. When JKR buries the voices of the fables’ protagonists under the accompanying notes, the reader starts questioning the book’s length and wonders who the target audience is (definitely not *THIS* Muggle).

That week in ‘05 was the best time I have had, ever. We soon drifted apart, but I never forgot. Last year, when we met again, I was with her. I realized how badly I missed being with you. And you told me to go to hell. But I am glad I persisted! Thanks, darling.
(more…)

Ten days ago, Lekhni tagged me and urged me to essentially recycle 5 of my old posts. Normally I don’t do tags. I mean, unless there is potential for me to play the fool and essentially evoke a few laughs even if the joke’s on me. With this tag, however, the laugh potential seems to be rather marginal, but then I remembered something else.

I realized that I was closing in upon a milestone. By the time this post is online, it will be 5 years since I started blabbering. My first post was posted on Blogger on the 10th of February, 2003. And barring a few months early on and around 100 days in late ‘04 and early ‘05, I have been posting rather regularly.

Looking at Lekhni’s tag, I realized that she had given me a good chance to take a retrospective look and to reminisce upon these five years gone by. But the problem with my blog is that, as my erstwhile tagline (( I have an ever-changing tagline now, courtesy Twitter?)) goes, it is the record of an egoist’s road trip through life with cricket, music, books, cars and movies for company.

Which means that this blog is about me and me alone. So, as the days go by, it becomes increasingly difficult to remember the odd posts that one has “written” relating to some of the keywords of this tag. Also, the difficulty is compounded by the fact that I took an oath, with myself as witness, that I wouldn’t post anything personal here. So the odd heartbreak has almost never found an outlet here, even if some friends (both online and IRL) have heard me obsess over it.

I have come to a conclusion that wherever I think I won’t be able to fit within the confines of the tag, I will bend the boundaries to my whims and fancies. Hey, this is MY blog and I do what I think is right. Also, my ego prevents me from sticking to the “1 post per keyword” rule of this tag. I will hence go ahead and regurgitate multiple links wherever possible. But let me just make the basic rules clearer to everyone. (more…)

He was researching Ella and her devastating impact on his blogroll when he noticed the link to her blog. He knew that her last post was months ago. Smirking, he moved to delete it when he noticed the calendar. He paused and with a sardonic smile, he let her link live to see another day.

T’was his first night.

Awaiting sleep, he lay there silently.

Then he smiled.

“All the vettis ¹ will rub their hands in glee after reading that first line”,  he thought.

He sat up, comfortably propped on the headboard of his new Ikea queen bed and started his fourth 55-worder.

Chuckling, he typed,

T’was his first night.

[1] Vettis – Roughly translated from Tamil as “people with nothing to do” aka the jobless.

Another of those 55 word shorties..

Sitting two seats away in the departure lounge, he felt threatened as she told him, a complete stranger, all about her trip.

He had concluded that a married desi woman would never hit on strangers.

My second 55 word shorty. And this one hits pretty close.

“Overqualified”!!

“Experienced candidates only”!!

“No H1s! Citizens & Green Cards only”!!

Such lines soon seemed passe.

Since he was sometimes faking, not even “Lacks communication skills” shocked him.

But “Eager & enthusiastic” ??

This time, he was speechless. Now, he had heard it all!

And at 27, the search for the elusive first paycheck continued….

Sauntering into Tim’s room, 14-year-old Ron saw the words “- An art form” on the partially hidden TV-screen. Soon, he was throwing up the sandwich that he had gobbled earlier.
Years and 2000 films later, looking at his hirsute pot-belly, the blond writhing under him with the camera whirring, he realized that pornography WAS art!

Written as part of the 55-word story tag from Dhammo. Megha “considered it sweet revenge” when she passed it on to Dhammo. But I am not someone prone to vengeance and so I am leaving it up to anyone who wants to attempt it. But I do hope that people like Dumbs, Shwe and Hathirpithi will try. Mebbe the likes of Vindy and Praveen might even do a humorous tale. But I am tagging no one!