Tagged again!

This is my second tag ever! This one is a little more difficult than the last one since it is a bit more free-form. Am I very silly to be excited by tags? Who cares? Here goes!!!

Rules of this Tag:

1. Name the person who tagged you.
2. 8 things about you.
3. Tag 6 people.

Name of the Person : Ms.N
Her pictures speak volumes, but her words aren't too far behind!

8 things about me
1) I am a die-hard web addict. Nothing too techie, just that I like being online all the time, on my various messengers, reading Wikipedia articles and recipes if there is nothing more pressing to take up the time. Because of this, I had to go out and buy one of the "Natural Keyboards" yesterday and now I am typing on that. It really helps! Those with any symptoms of RSI, go out and get one ASAP!!!

2) I don't like it when it gets all cloudy and grey and stays that way for days. I am more of a bright, sunshine-y kind of person.

3) I love to dance! I like to learn new kinds of dance and I am really happy when I find friends who share my interest. I am lucky to have a few of those!

4) Before reality bit me, I wanted to be an astronomer. The astronomer idea was actually a compromise from the astronaut, because when I reached the age of 9 or so, I realised that being an astronaut takes a lot of physical fitness, which was not something I was very good at (still am not, of course).

5) I am an atheist but I love visiting ancient temples. The older the better. I like ruins of all kinds, of course, but temples are usually better preserved that any other sort, and are more numerous in our country anyway. Of course I don't like going to temples that are more recently built. If it isn't at least 200 years old, it's not worth seeing, IMO.

6) I am not very fond of watching movies. They are the last candidate on my things to do on weekends, because I can't get over the idea that I will be wasting 4 hours of my weekend on a movie when I could be doing something more productive (like napping).

7) I love getting haircuts. A new and different haircut can change the way you look and can boost up sagging spirits! No wonder my hair never grows beyond shoulder length.

8) I am "dromophobic", which as far as I could find is what it means to be afraid of crossing roads.

Now to tag 6(!) people (do I even know 6 bloggers???)

Aparna, Spiral Architect, KoPoS, Anshuman, Mithun, Ritesh

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Proud Participant

I am a proud participant in the NaNoWriMo. Target is to write 50,000 words by Nov 30th. Wish me luck, everyone!!! And all you wannabe novelists like me! Click on the image to go sign up!!!

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Cartesian Bloggers

It's a strange co-incidence that two of the blogs that I frequent a lot (both written by Bong women) have a tagline related to DesCartes' famous quote. As does mine

Aparna says "I think, so I am" but does not go on to explain it anymore. M, on the other hand does not have the quote, or any paraphrase of it, as the blog title, but instead quotes it in her profile and gives a bit of explanation of how it applies to her. I have, of course, stolen the phrase, twisted it to suit my needs and, of course, retained the original Latin of it. When I thought it up, and then looked to google for the correct translation of what I had in my mind, I thought I was being awfully clever and original. But there are a bunch of sites listing this phrase and what it means.

DesCartes' is a quote is worthy of a "सप्रसंग व्याख्या"(think back to Sanskrit classes of yore). Though I don't think mine deserves a "व्याख्या" per se, I could at least give an "अनुवाद" and a bit of "टिप्पणी". The title of my blog can be translated to "I laugh, therefore I am". What it means to me is that in this world full of negatives, looking on the bright side is essential for me to survive. It means being an optimist and it means being able to laugh at myself. If it weren't for laughter, the terrible weight of the world around us would make it impossible to exist.

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Enough thought???

When I tell any of my friends about my decision to be childfree*, they always say "I hope you have given the matter enough thought", or something to that effect. To me, this is quite incomprehensible.

I have been married for more than four years now and have a lot of time to think about it. We have talked it over between ourselves and have come to a decision. That is more than I can say for a lot of couples who have had kids. I have acquaintances where having the baby was almost a unilateral decision on part of the wife!

When a couple has a baby before their first wedding anniversary, does anyone ask them if they had given the matter enough thought? Rarely, if ever. At the most, they may be asked if it was a good idea to have a baby so soon after getting married. But once the deed is done, there is no going back, it is an irreversible act. You are bringing a human being into this world and will be responsible for raising it to adulthood. The decision will change your lives completely and will change the way you relate to each other and to everyone around you. It will have enormous repurcussions on your career(s) and one of you may have to quit working. But does anyone ever ask parents-to-be or new parent whether they have "given it enough thought"? Nope!

But when a couple wants to maintain status quo, to be as they are without bringing another factor into their relationship, to keep living their lives as they have been, then all the questions come up. Even though the decision to be childfree need not be necessarily irrriversible. With the advances in medical science, older women are having children too, and there is always the option of adoption if you are not hung up on "flesh and blood". But everyone assumes that the decision has been made on the spur of the moment, because the couple is too busy enjoying themselves to have kids right now, because they are too wrapped up in themselves and their careers and they haven't thought about having a baby at all. I personally feel that couples who make a choice to be childfree actually give the matter much more thought and deliberation than most couples who have children.

*I use the word "childfree" to indicate a concious and voluntary decision to not procreate, as opposed to "childless".

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Migrated to Beta!

I have finally migrated my beloved template to beta after a lot of tweaking to make it look similar to the old blog!

Hacks used:

• Recent coments from Hoctro.
• Peekaboo posts by Hackosphere.
  

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So lonely without you

I never liked watching TV. Even today, if my SO is out of town, I don't switch on the TV for the entire duration of his absence! I often think back to Sunday evenings in the days of Doordarshan, when all my friends would be at home, watching the weekly movie, and I would be out in the playground all by my lonesome, having no one to talk to (of course, coz my parents were also watching the movie). I don't think I ever hated television more than in those lonely three hours every week.

A similar feeling comes over me during the "festival" days. Most of the time, in this season, I stay in Hyderabad or at the most go to Pune for an extended weekend. But most of my friends and cousins in the city disappear for two weeks or so, to their hometowns, to be with family and friends. While having a friend go on vacation for a couple of weeks at any time of the year is a bit hard on me, having all of them go away together at once is really awful. Moreso because during these two weeks or so, they will not even be accessible on any of the IMs! I recently wrote a post about the fun things to do during the festive season. But now that the "extended weekend" is over, I am depressed because my friends and cousins are still not back, and I don't have anyone to share my holiday experiences with, and no new blog posts to read. And the feelings I used to have for the TV are now getting transferred to the "festive season". I suppose I'll just have to gorge on chocolate for a couple of days to get back to my usual cheery self.

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