Devil's workshop Ψ

I wish i could...

2009-12-29T09:57:00.001-05:00

I wish i could ...

I wish i could see you smile
how the love in your heart sparkles in your eyes and lips

I wish i could tell you
how lame is this no-touch smiley hug
looting me of your tender 'touch'

I wish i could tell you ...
How sick i am of this virtual long distance kiss
I wish i could kiss and tell...
how the warmth of your lips actually feel

I wish i could see your curl
reminding me of a baby with nothing to worry
I wish i could see that peaceful face
and for a moment feel I'm in a trouble-free world

I wish i could say 'i love you'
just not to your ears....but to YOU.
and with you by my side

I wish i could say 'i love you'
looking in your eyes..
seeing you smile ...
smiling and hugging...
hugging and kissing...
kissing and curling...
and say 'i love you'
wishing that we would never part...

I just simply wish.

A quickie. No, not that you pervert minds.

2009-04-09T16:31:00.012-04:00

Hmmmmmmmmm....I'm back....but not with a bang.

Where was I?Ahh...right, snow. Snow is long gone and now its almost spring officially. Somehow, I don't seem to understand the American season system. How can they exactly pin point the first day of some season in the calendar? Yeah i agree with all the sun, equator and bullshit. But, how?? is still the question.

Well, Springs' in. That reminds me of something. The highly famous H1-B drama and this year the news is out that the H1-B Cap is not full yet and USCIS is accepting petetions for both master's and general category. 'There is no lottery'!! Pheew! What a releif. If you are lucky enough to stick with an employer and get an H1-B petetion filed, you are sure to get an H1. Wait, there is stil a catch in it. A H1 for sure, IF you get through all the query bullshit. So, good luck on that folks.(including me :)

What else?? Yeah, after a couple of gruelling months, the Department of Motor vehicles and National Threat advisory board has finally decided that i'm not a saboteur of the American integrity and issued me a license(again :P) and let me register my car. Ofcourse, i had to go through a lot of ordeal, say, change my name on SSN, pay more insurance and garage my car for almost a month. Now, i'm officially Pandu Ranga(first name). Howwzat?

And all you license holders, never get caught talking on the 'hand held mobile phone' while driving in NJ. Yes, the law enforcement officer can ticket you and an amount higher than you can get while caught speeding!! Thats right. It happened to me.

I earned $10. Yes, in a casino. Probably my first win in luck based games. Not that i've won a lot in skill based ones. :P . Yeah, it was during the Bachelors' party for Vishu in Atlantic city. Let's wish Vishu (my mentor, friend, philosopher and guide..to be read as bol-bachan-dene-wala, bakwaas-ideas-denewala and Vtech-aane ka- idea- denewala.) a happy and married life as he is getting married. (finally!!!) . Seriously, Vishu..you rock dude.

And yes, I have been pretty busy these days with all these things that i didn't get time to update. Don't beleive that, do you? You guessed right. I got lazy and didn't feel like writing.
Now,i've done it and back to work i go.
You all have a great weekend

Comments?Thoughts?Questions?

My experiments with snow.

2009-02-04T10:55:00.011-05:00

I didn't find any other title that would be apt for this. So bear with it. It's not a copy, it's just an inspiration. In my defense, i'd quote most of the music/film directors who would blatantly rip off some hollywood/arabic/german movies and present them as their own.

Well, to kick start from where I left, I was washed ashore after i was for a couple of months lost in the 'OPT extension storm'. As i was waiting on the lonely island for some rescue boat to appear and give me the news, I wondered and wished that something exciting would happen to tell you all about it. Then it happened. It snowed. Not that it wouldn't snow anywhere else, but it snowed here and i had the perfect mood to experiment with my Nikon D40 SLR in snow. I was hoping to do this since long time, but never really had the mood to do so. This time, it was perfect. I had the snow, I had the camera and I HAD THE MOOD. Perrrrrrrrrfect.

I set out in the snow and yeah it was snowing pretty heavily. Oh k, c'mon now people in far far north states of US need not shrug it off. I know you people are blessed with a lot of snow. And any people in Canada need not contest at all. I had a snow cover of 4 inches on my car. Now tell me if it was some snow. Of course, it was a pain to clear the snow off the car. All I could see was snow. Trees, bushes, houses, roads and even cars were totally white as if a canvas was ready for someone to paint.I started off from the balcony and then moved on to the parking lots finally on to streets. I was experimenting various shutter speeds and ISO settings and am pretty much satisfied with some of the shots. Most of the trees were without leaves and it was pretty artistic to see the curvy brown branches covered with snow. It was like a black forest cake with icing and chocolate on the top. :) You can find all the snaps in this picasa link here
Everything was fine, but I couldn't shoot 'falling 'snow. I always wanted to shoot snow while it was falling. I tweaked the camera controls, looked through google, but all in vain. Any of you know how do you shoot the snow flakes while in motion, please do tell me.
By the time I had some satisfying shots, my hands went numb. I had the snow gear minus the gloves. After a while, i couldn't feel my hands. My clicking finger wouldn't bend anymore. It was then when i had to give up and prepare some hot tea for myself. Also, did I forget to mention that i was almost run over by a car while i was totally engrossed in shooting the snow and i never did notice that i tread on to the road?
At the end, I was glad that i could put to use my camera after a long time, but the real pain started when i had to clean the car and go out to eat. The brakes wouldn't hold on the slippery road. I had to drive slowly that I would reach my destination safely. Ah! the next pain is parking. Snow parking regulations come into play. I finally found one and could eat.
One thing i've learned out of my experiments with snow is other than the fact that you can click some shots and play in it, there is nothing good about the snow. Yeah, bitter truth.

Comments?Thoughts?Questions?

One not so important date.

2009-01-16T17:08:00.002-05:00

13th January 2008. Tuesday.

What is so peculiar about that date? You must be trying to recollect if something happened on this day. Yeah, this also coincides with the 'sankranthi' festival. But that's not what i'm talking about. It's just any other date for you people out there. For me, this was the date that has been haunting me since months. Giving me sleepless nights. Nope, nothing cataclysmic was supposed to happen to world that would put the very existense of our mankind at peril.

That date was simply the last date of my OPT. And yeah, for all those out there wondering by now... Yes, it IS a big issue. Fortunately the 'considerate' United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which decides the fate of all poor souls like me who wish to live their dreams, has given us an 17 month extension of OPT. Great!!! But wait a minute..there is a catch in it. The firm has to be e-verified. Now say whats this?? This means firm which registers for this program would be monitored by the Department of Homeland Security for any illegal immigrants. So, if you can get hold of a firm which is ready to offer you employment and which is also e-verified, then you can apply for your extension. Thats not the end of the story. From then on, your approval rests in the hands of the intellectual who might not even have a hint of what my masters is in, what kind of a job i do and how are they even related.

This reminds me of the time we used to joke about our bacherlor's exams correction. If the evaluator was in good mood, even if you didn't write a single sentence with the least possible logic, you could score a top mark. I still wonder how i secured a pass mark in ' Finite Element Method'. That question paper was still a mystery to our professor himself. That day the watcher has given us full power to consult anyone of our friends within the classroom to scribble an answer in the answer sheet. No use. None of us had a clue what to write. Magic!! Everyone passed that exam. Thanks to our paper evaluators. I am certain now that they were in good mood that day.

Okay, now I've done my part. Waiting for the USCIS to do their part. The day that has given me nightmares too passed me very smoothly. I don't feel that it was all that terrible. Afterall, it was just any other day. One of the many days on which I could come across some trouble. Just one more difficulty. There will be many more days with a new difficulty for selected for that day. Until that day comes, I'm good.
As they say, You can only prepare for the future, you cannot predict it.

Comments? Thoughts? Questions?

సర్వం....శున్యం.

2008-12-31T21:28:00.002-05:00

స్నేహాన్ని నాకు పంచావు
ప్రేమని రుచి చూపించావు
కల్లోలం నాలో రేపావు
కడకు ఏ దరికి చేర్చేవో ?

నాలోని నాకు తెలుసు...

నా గమ్యం నువ్వు
నా గమనం నువ్వు
నిన్ను చేరాలని చేసే ఈ ప్రయత్నానికి దిక్సూచివి నువ్వు
నా బహుమతి నువ్వు

నా బలం నువ్వు
నా బలహీనత నువ్వు
నా లో సగం నువ్వు
కానీ నా సర్వం నువ్వు ..
ఈ జీవిని బ్రతికించే ఊపిరి నువ్వు.

ధైర్యం చేసి, ప్రియా అని పిలుద్దాం అంటే..
మనసు నన్ను ఆపింది
కళ్ళెం నాకు వేసింది

మనసులోని మాట చెబితే
నువ్వు నాకు దూరమైతే?
తలువలెను ఆ ఊసు....

కానీ...

ప్రేమని నేననుకొన్నాను...
చెలిమి అని నీవన్నావు..
సర్వం నీవనుకొన్నాను..
సూన్యం నాకు చూపావు..

ఇక
బ్రతుకను ఒక నిముషం
సాగాదింక ఈ గమనం

ఎందుకిక నాకు ఈ ప్రపంచం?

Life is all we make of it...

2008-12-11T01:40:00.003-05:00

This is a poem written by one my very good friends, Mahita. Liked it a lot and asked her if i can put it up on my blog b'coz this is somewhat similar to my thought process.
Life comes at you fast and it only comes at you the way want to take it. Its something like a formless amoeba. You can attribute what ever you wish for. You want joy? Wish for it. You want success. Wish for it. Don't doubt. Just hope. Even in the darkest corner, hope lets you see. Here it goes.

Life is all we make of it...

Life is all we make of it
Struggle for some, Luxury for some
Smile for some, Tears for some
Success for some, Failure for some

Some sing it like a song
humming it all along
Some get deaf by the cries and howls
that tear apart our hearts and souls

Some learn to conquer it
with hatred and poison
Some learn to win it over & over
with hard work and passion

Some learn to rise
only when they have perfected their fall
Some prefer to watch others fall
while they climb on their broken backs to stand tall

What we make of our life
is all in the choices that we make
for we are only a drop in this vast ocean...called life

Comments? Thoughts? Questions?

Hoax - slayed!

2008-09-25T21:05:00.000-04:00

The hottest status message of people on their IM window or buzzing mail to be circulated among us -
'UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)

Announces INDIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM as the BEST National Anthem in the World.

Please forward this to all the Indians.

PROUD TO BE INDIAN!...'

which is nothing but a internet rumour. I agree any national would feel that his/her national anthem is the best in the world. But a flash news claiming that UNESCO has officially declared this?? Isn't this a bit a too far? These internet spammers have tried to cash on our national spirit. Think once...an organization of such stature..why would it discriminate among its member countries and spark off a potential strife? After all its mission is to promote the feeling of unity amongst the makind and forge universal agreements on emerging ethical issues.
I've seen this 2 weeks ago. As soon as i saw it, tried 'googling' it. No use. There was no news what so ever on this issue, even on the official site of so claimed UNESCO. I was wondering at the pace internet rumours and mail forwards circulate amongst us. And that too this rumour was nudging the Indian spirit in everyone. People couldn't resist but share the news/rumour without even verifying the fact. Result - mails spamming everyone's inbox. More information on hoax here
Of course, spam mails are not new to us. Remember, the ghost photo at Sunderbans, Karnataka, or a mail claiming that some crack head multi-billionaire is sharing his wealth and you could be a part of this if you forward the email or say ' Pass on the divine message from great lord. Do not break the circle, for you will suffer seven years of bad luck. Pass this on and you will win crores.'
What crap. Are people such loopy to beleive in all this? I was frustrated at this kind of messages at one moment. I literally had to block my friends who usually send this kind of stuff. It could get on my nerves at times. C'mon friends lets show some responsibilty in forwarding mails to our friends. Do not play with peoples beliefs and sentiments.
Share. But do not spam. Even Unknowingly.

Comments? Thoughts?Questions?

And after many many years......

2008-09-24T20:38:00.003-04:00

And after many many many years.....the 'brat' returns to the workshop amidst seriously hectic work schedule, stressful chores and some fruitful trips. I was planning on to update my blog since ages. I know ..i know...there is not much of a history to this blog that i can say ages. I've realized one thing, it is not easy to run a blog as it is to start one. Though i knew this from the very beginning, i assumed i'd never fall for that. Overconfidence, I guess. Actually, it is not tough to write but it is tough to get the initiative and pen it down or rather should i say key it in? To add fuel to the fire, along came a few weekend trips, some long workdays and a looooong awaited India trip, my blog took the backseat. Once i came back it seemed that my boss was having his revenge on me for the two weeks he let me off. I was made to work for 12 hrs a day straight for a week. For a moment i felt like i understood what my friends in IT companies complain all the time. Poor souls.. sometimes have to work on weekends too. I'm glad that there is no weekend work policy here in US.
For those of you guys who do not know, i was in India for two weeks in the last week of August.
India trip definitely filled new energy in me in spite of exhaustive two weeks i spent over there. There wasn't a moment i leisurely sat down and thought ' ahaaa...this is the moment!'. I was at the beach, my favorite place, only to meet up with some friend and only used it as a get together point to go elsewhere. So moral of the story....I definitely need more holidays.
India trip was a success in its own sense. After you spend time with your family and friends,attend a close buddy's marriage, a cousin's flash engagement, drive a bike which you are passionate about, and most of all get a positive break in some high priority issue that you have been pushing aside, can't you call that a successful trip?
On looking back at the trip, I'm glad that i met some old friends after years, sorry that i still could not meet some, thankful that there was some'one' to run along with me, angry that it had to be over in such a short time and extremely frustrated at my painstaking journey. it would take up a whole new post to give details about the memorable travel experiences. I think i should feel good that at least the trip was worth the screwed up-travel.
A special thanks to my bro for having let me drive his priced possession, 'Royal Enfield Thunderbird' which he bought it all the way from B'lore to Vizag just for my driving pleasure. It was awesome experience to drive a bike that powerful. A ride on that beast simply pumps that positive energy in you showing as a gleam in your eyes and contentment on your face. You simply have to ride it to 'feel' it.
Well...that's it. My only point in today's posting was to let people know that I'm still in the rat race.I'm back. I hope that i can keep this tempo up and keep my readers updated. There are still lot of experiences to share. Watch out for them.
Now i can have a peaceful sleep. Good night everyone.

P.s: No, I will not have maggi three times a day.

Comments? Thoughts? Questions?

Ungodly hours

2008-06-30T02:01:00.013-04:00

Agent Name: Vissu a.k.a Devil a.k.a idle brat a.k.a newbie blogger
Time: 2:00 A.M Sunday night.
Status :Caught on the crossroads of ' I'm not sleepy' and ' OMG, It's Monday tomorrow...I need to get up early again!!!'

Not that I'm not used to these graveyard shifts, but off lately haven't seen the clock hands in this position. Trust me, the last thing you would want your employer to remember about you is that you are a drowsy dullard. And I definitely can't afford that within my first six months, at least. I've been in this situation when my exam invigilator had to wake me up during my engineering first year exam. FYI, it was Engineering Drawing. Now, you tell me, what would you have done when you had to appear for and exam at 9 in the morning after your sisters wedding at 3 in the night? A typical Indian marriage,toil for a week before and after, brother of the bride- the last person to receive but first to render services would be phrases i would pick to defend myself. Well, luckily for me , that was the last exam and had a great time with the marriage crowd later. But couldn't avoid the lecturer giving me sly looks now and then during my four years.

35 blog views in a single day. I'm not much of this numbers man but,I would definitely consider that as a above average performance on my behalf. There were compliments, comments and suggestions flowing in from all directions asking me to do this..don't do that, try this and stuff. I'm really glad that I've got some friends to give me honest feedback. Many said that what i wrote was too good for a first timer and were expecting more like this. Now, this really increases my responsibility in the form of expectations which i am starting to enjoy. Ideas about what to write in my next article have been swarming in my mind all the time. I don't know if you can use the term 'adrenaline rush' for this, but if you can, I'd like to use it. All through the weekend i was rattling my brain for the next article, what to write? I was literally framing my sentences in my mind, erasing them, replacing them. Literally i was running a MS Word editor in my mind. I'm also glad that people could see a different 'me'. This blogger 'me' was always shadowed by the lazy 'me'. It's payback time and revenge, my friends, is a bitch. In McDonald's way 'I'm Loving It!!!'
I was thinking why didn't I take up writing earlier? I feel like i have a lot to write. Hopefully this josh continues all through my blogging episode.

Agent Name: Didn't change.
Time: 2:47 A.M Sunday night.
Status: Caught on the crossroads of ' I'm not sleepy' and ' OMG, It's Monday tomorrow...I need to get up early again!!!', with and addition of ' Shit...It's 3 already, I better sleep.'

Comments? Thoughts? Questions?

P.S: Thanks to all who have had the courage of reading through my blog and post your comments.

Who?...What?...and Why?

2008-06-27T11:50:00.000-04:00

Who?
Me. As simple as it can get. ME. Not you. But ME.

What?
Blog. (read : a medley of my arbit musings). For all those who are familiar with the Harry Potter terminology, this is a sort of my 'pensieve'.A small window to my triumph, ecstasies, glum, mood swings, observations, experiences and what not. Wholly said...a bit of this..a bit of that.

Why?
Unfortunately, this small question cannot be answered as simple as that. Or can I? May be now is the time to mention that my blog's url is idlebrat and title is devil's workshop. You might have got an idea by putting the pieces together. Yes, you are thinking on the right lines. I'm just having some free time after my mundane chores and thought this blogging would help overcome the boredom. When your fourth grade teacher was talking about an idle brat's mind would be devils' workshop, this blog is exactly what she was talking about.

Not convinced? Well here's a more logical explanation of Why?
Ever heard of 'quarter life crisis'?. You know you are in it when you are done achieving a Master's degree working for some xyz company in the so called 'abroad' staying all alone, having nothing to plan but the week ahead's grocery list. Its been sometime since I've been diagnosed with QLC. Not to worry. Not a serious problem. This QLC is prevalent in the men and women of age 20+ and below 30.The only cure that research could identify for this is 'just don't have any free time'. I have prescribed myself the medication of hosting a blog and exterminating the 'plague' out of my system.

On the bright side, I can see my urge to show the world how i feel about things. How i see things. How i like to do things. How i hate some movies. A sincere attempt to bring MYSELF out. Don't be alarmed that this guy is damaged beyond repair. I am very much sane and I think logical. (Is what i feel)

It's been sometime since I wished to write a blog. But to get over my inherent inertia and get lazy ME to work? It takes some effort. Not to mention sandy’s influence to start up something like this. I guess he himself does not know this. Coz I’ve never talked to him about this. But, how could I let go off the untold ‘competitive’ bond between us. In school we always used to compete for our ranks and always ended up with adjacent ranks. If I win the race one time, It was him the next time. This time he has taken the lead in the blog episode. Here you go my friend, the race is on.

There, I've answered my questions correctly. Hope all you chaps have a great weekend even after reading this.

Comments? Questions? Thoughts?