When was the last time you had to hound a frog all around your room? I’ve been doing so for every day in the past week. It all began on a fine Monday evening, with a cool breeze and light rain – just the sort of weather in which you’d like to snuggle up and take a nap every few hours – but not when you have neighbours like mine at the college hostel. For reasons unknown, my roommate and the chap next door to us started a pillow fight. Nothing wrong in a pillow fight once in a while, perfect to release pent up energy. Unfortunately, things didn’t stop there. One thing let to another, and soon people were jumping in and out of my windows (we live on the ground floor). And then, the grand finale. Water fight! The guys made a whole lot of mess on the floor outside the rooms, splashing everyone in sight with water from the bathroom. Luckily, I was curled up with my P.G Wodehouse (Jeeves Omnibus No. 4 to be precise, consisting of Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, Jeeves in the Offing, and Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves) inside my room, away from the battle zone. It would have been helpful if Jeeves had been present…
What has this got to with frogs? Well, everyone knows that there are snakes and frogs and other forms of animal life around the hostel grounds. They normally stick to the outside, but I guess the rains must have made the frogs come inside (but don’t frogs thrive in water? They’re amphibians, aren’t they?). My room was the only dry room on the ground floor, and I presume that’s what the frog wanted. It was a tiny frog, nothing to be afraid of, unless you puke the moment you see something slimy leaping from place to place like the Agents in the Matrix Reloaded. It took 5 guys and nearly and hour to get the frog out of the room on the first day. None of us wanted to kill the poor thing, so we were having problems getting it out. Since then, the frog has been visiting us every day, even though we’ve barricaded all windows.
The bugs seem to be getting bigger. I spotted a HUGE black beetle while in the shower. I wish I had taken up biology – I can’t differentiate between the harmless and harmful bugs. Maybe I could take photographs and post them here so that one of you could identify the creatures.
FLASH NEWS – We are going to have our internal assessment exams this week, one of the exams being on a SUNDAY (Blasted buggers), it’s out of the question for me to come home from there to post on the blog (for a detailed explanation as to why this is not possible, read this post.). Good news is that the week after that, I’ll have five days to myself.
Other than P.G Wodehouse, I’ve also been reading Salman Rushdie’s “The Ground Beneath Her Feet”. It’s quite an entertaining novel, throwing rock music in a new light.
Another advantage of being a hosteller is that Mr. Physics professor has a soft spot for us fellows. He doesn’t mind us coming late after lunch since we have to go to all the way to the hostel’s mess to eat.
Engineering drawing – horrid. I stayed awake till 3.00 A.M to complete some work the professor had given us. And breakfast is served only from 7.30 to 8.00 A.M. College begins at 9.00 A.M. Imagine my condition. Just imagine. It’s not that hard, and it won’t take a while either. Fills you with the utmost pity doesn’t it? I thought as much.
Chemistry is something we have to learn by ourselves. The professor’s not too good. Ask him a doubt, he’ll say he would refer and tell you later. Ask him later, and you get a response “You have to cope up with subject yourself by studying! All this is there in your text book”. You look in the text book, and if you still don’t get it, ask someone else. Not our professor.
English class – the one with the guy who teaches grammar – consisted of a heated debate between the professor, my good friend & I and a few others regarding selfishness, whether all acts done by a human are selfish. It absolutely rocked, but he couldn’t complete that days portion thanks to my argument...
I wonder if my room will be infested with frogs on Monday…
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Who says College is easier than School?
It can be easier in terms of the amount of brain power needed to get through, but surely not in terms of work. This is supposed to be college, where students are supposed to be free from excessive writing that they had to do school. Not quite. In fact, there's quite a lot of homework, yeah you read that right HOMEWORK they give here. My dad was quite surprised when I told him about this. Apparently, his college, i.e IIT Madras, never had such things.
I think I've mentioned about Engineering Drawing (or Graphics) in one of my earlier posts. It's one of those subjects which are interesting when you don't have to do any work with your hands. It was like that initially, all you had to do was imagine and visualize points and lines and planes in different dimensions, apart from sketching those visuals on a piece of paper. What I didn't know was that you had to draw very, very clearly, and accurately, which takes a long time to do. And I don't like anything which takes a long time to do. I'd rather draw pseudo-anime chicks. Yes. Really.
I also figured out that a large percentage of the boys (no, I'm not a bigot, only the guys are bad) in my class are quite naive when it comes to computers. We have a "Fundamentals in Computing" practical class, where the professors give us a list of operations we have to carry out. There are guys who don't even know what a mouse is. I was looked at in awe when I opened Microsoft Word and did the given work. Computers are not yet ubiquitous, or so it seems...
Eagerly awaiting for news about Mr. Physics? Sorry to disappoint you, but the guy came off clean this week. He does have a weird accent as a matter of fact, he keeps saying "chich on the chich" after he presents a slide-show. We figured out that it meant "Switch on the switch". Maybe the guy has a lisp or something, I don't want to discriminate. As I said earlier, I'm not a bigot.
There is one good thing about the hostel I keep forgetting to mention - Cable TV. Now I can watch all the pay-per-views in peace. Pro- Most hostelites like watching wrestling. Con - They don't want to watch English movies or sitcoms. Most hostelites are from Andhra Pradesh, so they like watching Telugu movies and channels. Damn them. No, I'm not a bigot.
Chemistry - The professor doesn't seem to have any experience with using chalks on the board. Only a sniper could see what he writes. And I sit in the first row.
English - Speech class is just getting better and better. There was a guy who spoke about democracy in India, as compared to other countries. I wasn't listening to most of it until I heard the words "sex" and "rape". This guy has some guts, talking like that in front of a class with a number of women and a senior professor. I guess he has the right to freedom of speech, after all, he was talking about democracy.
SO WHAT IF I'M A BIGOT!!!
I think I've mentioned about Engineering Drawing (or Graphics) in one of my earlier posts. It's one of those subjects which are interesting when you don't have to do any work with your hands. It was like that initially, all you had to do was imagine and visualize points and lines and planes in different dimensions, apart from sketching those visuals on a piece of paper. What I didn't know was that you had to draw very, very clearly, and accurately, which takes a long time to do. And I don't like anything which takes a long time to do. I'd rather draw pseudo-anime chicks. Yes. Really.
I also figured out that a large percentage of the boys (no, I'm not a bigot, only the guys are bad) in my class are quite naive when it comes to computers. We have a "Fundamentals in Computing" practical class, where the professors give us a list of operations we have to carry out. There are guys who don't even know what a mouse is. I was looked at in awe when I opened Microsoft Word and did the given work. Computers are not yet ubiquitous, or so it seems...
Eagerly awaiting for news about Mr. Physics? Sorry to disappoint you, but the guy came off clean this week. He does have a weird accent as a matter of fact, he keeps saying "chich on the chich" after he presents a slide-show. We figured out that it meant "Switch on the switch". Maybe the guy has a lisp or something, I don't want to discriminate. As I said earlier, I'm not a bigot.
There is one good thing about the hostel I keep forgetting to mention - Cable TV. Now I can watch all the pay-per-views in peace. Pro- Most hostelites like watching wrestling. Con - They don't want to watch English movies or sitcoms. Most hostelites are from Andhra Pradesh, so they like watching Telugu movies and channels. Damn them. No, I'm not a bigot.
Chemistry - The professor doesn't seem to have any experience with using chalks on the board. Only a sniper could see what he writes. And I sit in the first row.
English - Speech class is just getting better and better. There was a guy who spoke about democracy in India, as compared to other countries. I wasn't listening to most of it until I heard the words "sex" and "rape". This guy has some guts, talking like that in front of a class with a number of women and a senior professor. I guess he has the right to freedom of speech, after all, he was talking about democracy.
SO WHAT IF I'M A BIGOT!!!
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Well whaddaya know? It was a fun week!
If being on the run from nagging professors bugging you to get your practical records corrected can be considered as fun. That was pretty much the only problem I had the whole week, besides the bugs in the food. Unfortunately, being a hostel student and not a day scholar, the hostel's mess is the only place I can rely on for food, unless I try fasting. But the food was good again only on Saturday, and the whole place was cleaner than usual. In fact, it was so good that I went for a second helping. It almost made me wonder why I complain to my parents about the food. My theory is that, that's what they (the warden and the guy in charge of the mess) want us to think. That's why they do it on Saturdays, the day when most students go home for the weekend. Shrewd bastards.
The Physics professor strikes again! I don't think he can stop making an ass of himself at least once a week. On Tuesday, midway through his class, guys in the last bench were chatting amongst themselves. After reprimanding them a bit, they guy starts talking about his life history, how he did his Ph.D. in Physics at a time when there were no computers, how he has 20-25 years experience etc. Then he says "Yesterday one boy was trying to teach me a lesson! In my 20 years I have never experienced such a disrespectful fellow. He is trying to tell me that it is possible to measure 31 centimeters using a 30 centimeters ruler! Does he think I'm a fool?!". Probably everyone in my class thought he was one at the end of that speech! I can't believe that this guy actually HAS 20 years of experience in the field of Physics. I'm being merciful enough to not mention his name, though I have to say that these were the words of the Head Of The Department for Applied Physics at my College. Sheesh.
We had a substitute teacher for Maths one day, and it was then that I didn't understand Maths for the first time since I joined the College. The substitute couldn't explain the concepts properly, possibly because she came unprepared.
Coming, to English, my favourite subject in College. We have three professors for the job, all three are extremely good. There's one for speech and letter-writing, one for pronunciation, and on for grammar. The guy who does speech is simply brilliant, probably the most affable professor I've come across. We have a "Speech Class" every week, where 4-5 of us have to speak on any topic of our choice. Public speaking is something I've done only once before. My mother feels that I'm good at written English, so I should be good in speaking it as well. I might be with friends, but facing an audience? While writing I have time to think and choose my words, but while speaking, words come off the top of my head, and I might end up saying something stupid. I wonder what topic I should choose when my turn comes...
Next week I'll be home early. Friday and Saturday are holidays due to a couple of festivals. Only four days of College! Yay!
The Physics professor strikes again! I don't think he can stop making an ass of himself at least once a week. On Tuesday, midway through his class, guys in the last bench were chatting amongst themselves. After reprimanding them a bit, they guy starts talking about his life history, how he did his Ph.D. in Physics at a time when there were no computers, how he has 20-25 years experience etc. Then he says "Yesterday one boy was trying to teach me a lesson! In my 20 years I have never experienced such a disrespectful fellow. He is trying to tell me that it is possible to measure 31 centimeters using a 30 centimeters ruler! Does he think I'm a fool?!". Probably everyone in my class thought he was one at the end of that speech! I can't believe that this guy actually HAS 20 years of experience in the field of Physics. I'm being merciful enough to not mention his name, though I have to say that these were the words of the Head Of The Department for Applied Physics at my College. Sheesh.
We had a substitute teacher for Maths one day, and it was then that I didn't understand Maths for the first time since I joined the College. The substitute couldn't explain the concepts properly, possibly because she came unprepared.
Coming, to English, my favourite subject in College. We have three professors for the job, all three are extremely good. There's one for speech and letter-writing, one for pronunciation, and on for grammar. The guy who does speech is simply brilliant, probably the most affable professor I've come across. We have a "Speech Class" every week, where 4-5 of us have to speak on any topic of our choice. Public speaking is something I've done only once before. My mother feels that I'm good at written English, so I should be good in speaking it as well. I might be with friends, but facing an audience? While writing I have time to think and choose my words, but while speaking, words come off the top of my head, and I might end up saying something stupid. I wonder what topic I should choose when my turn comes...
Next week I'll be home early. Friday and Saturday are holidays due to a couple of festivals. Only four days of College! Yay!
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Six days of misery? Not exactly.
Six days of hell would be more like it. Alright! Alright!!! Maybe I'm exaggerating it a bit. After that first day, things in college didn't turn out to be too bad. Mark my words - they didn't turn out to be too bad. They were still bad, of course. I initially thought of posting a day by day recap, but then that would be pain to read, plus time is short. Time is very fucking short. That's an oft repeated line in Stephen King's "The Langoliers", which I picked up from the college library. Right. On to business.
Forget the lack of taste and variety in the food available at the hostel, the least they could have was hygiene. There are bugs all over the place. Someone in Canada found a fried bug in a packet of chips? That's nothing compared to the food I eat. I get fried ants in my chips, boiled ladybugs in my milk, and some unidentifiable flying insects in my soup. No flies. One guy commented -"They say this college food is pure vegetarian but right in front of us they make non-vegetarian food." But the food was actually good on Saturday, and they cleaned up the place after a couple of requests from me. But the bugs don't stop with the mess, they attack the rooms and the bathrooms too. I've encountered more than a 100 bugs in just 6 nights, of some 6-7 different varieties. It's a good thing that my roommate brought his boots. Thank god the spiders stick to the plants outdoors. They're HUGE.
Thursday was a VERY bad day for me. A hostelmate nearly ran off with my wallet. He had come into my room to clear a doubt. Five minutes after he flicks it he comes back to me saying that he took my wallet thinking it was his. My guess is that he couldn't do anything with just a 10 rupee note, so he returned it. Next, another hostelmate breaks my high-tech flashlight in an attempt to see how it works. Then another guy spills his milk over my pants. Horrid day.
I've a new interest in Maths now. It's the easiest subject so far in college. There's also a class called "Fundamentals of Computing" which exactly is what is says. It's probably the most boring class since I already know everything there is to know about computer fundamentals. And the teacher hates people who know it all. I guess that's the end of me. Another new class is "Engineering Drawing" or "Engineering Graphics". It's really good, a very specific language for engineers. All the blueprints of buildings are engineering drawings.
It so happens to be that the Physics professor's not such a bigshot after all. He's the kind of guy who makes empty threats, and then returns to his normal self. By normal, I mean abnormal, 'cause this guy ain't normal at all, by human standards. One day, his class was right after recess. One of the girls of our class got stuck in the ladies room... and guess what happened next. Mr. Physics tries to save the day. Considering the fact that this guy is big, I mean really big, one would expect him to easily open the door from the outside. NOT. He huffed and he puffed but he couldn't blow the door down. Then this puny little girl comes along and she does something with the door, and voila, it opened. So much for being big. I also got word from the senior students of the college that the guy only acts like he's big, but he's just a bug.
I also want to post more about English classes, but maybe later. Time is very fucking short.
Forget the lack of taste and variety in the food available at the hostel, the least they could have was hygiene. There are bugs all over the place. Someone in Canada found a fried bug in a packet of chips? That's nothing compared to the food I eat. I get fried ants in my chips, boiled ladybugs in my milk, and some unidentifiable flying insects in my soup. No flies. One guy commented -"They say this college food is pure vegetarian but right in front of us they make non-vegetarian food." But the food was actually good on Saturday, and they cleaned up the place after a couple of requests from me. But the bugs don't stop with the mess, they attack the rooms and the bathrooms too. I've encountered more than a 100 bugs in just 6 nights, of some 6-7 different varieties. It's a good thing that my roommate brought his boots. Thank god the spiders stick to the plants outdoors. They're HUGE.
Thursday was a VERY bad day for me. A hostelmate nearly ran off with my wallet. He had come into my room to clear a doubt. Five minutes after he flicks it he comes back to me saying that he took my wallet thinking it was his. My guess is that he couldn't do anything with just a 10 rupee note, so he returned it. Next, another hostelmate breaks my high-tech flashlight in an attempt to see how it works. Then another guy spills his milk over my pants. Horrid day.
I've a new interest in Maths now. It's the easiest subject so far in college. There's also a class called "Fundamentals of Computing" which exactly is what is says. It's probably the most boring class since I already know everything there is to know about computer fundamentals. And the teacher hates people who know it all. I guess that's the end of me. Another new class is "Engineering Drawing" or "Engineering Graphics". It's really good, a very specific language for engineers. All the blueprints of buildings are engineering drawings.
It so happens to be that the Physics professor's not such a bigshot after all. He's the kind of guy who makes empty threats, and then returns to his normal self. By normal, I mean abnormal, 'cause this guy ain't normal at all, by human standards. One day, his class was right after recess. One of the girls of our class got stuck in the ladies room... and guess what happened next. Mr. Physics tries to save the day. Considering the fact that this guy is big, I mean really big, one would expect him to easily open the door from the outside. NOT. He huffed and he puffed but he couldn't blow the door down. Then this puny little girl comes along and she does something with the door, and voila, it opened. So much for being big. I also got word from the senior students of the college that the guy only acts like he's big, but he's just a bug.
I also want to post more about English classes, but maybe later. Time is very fucking short.
Saturday, October 2, 2004
Unpalatable food. More than just warm nights. Tight schedules. But it was alright.
It was a rainy Thursday morning when I reached my college, all set to move into the hostel. I had the whole day to myself, so I decided to take a little campus tour on my own. The rain had left quite a few puddles on the grounds, making it difficult to move around. I managed to find the library, and was delighted at the number of computers there. I even saw some of the senior students chatting and reading mail. At last, a place where I can blog for free, I thought. But bad news was headed right around the corner. There were only two computers free at the time, and both had Linux as the operating system. That didn't bother me much, I had some previous experience with Suse and Mandrake Linux versions. The problem was that I couldn't surf. Every time I tried to, I was asked a username and password. Hitting cancel didn't do any good either. I waited till one of the Windows PCs were free. But even in those I had the same problem. I couldn't even use Yahoo! Messenger.
I found the librarian and asked him what to do. The guy says to me that I need to register for an account to access the internet service they had. And registering costs money. WTF??!! This is a goddamn library! Every other college I know has a free internet service in their library! I finally got they guy to use his username and password so that I could browse. That was just a waste of time. They have this slow, OH SO slow internet, that even google.com only opened after 5 minutes. There was absolutely no way I was going to pay for internet like that. So I'm afraid I can't update this blog on a daily basis. But a library is meant for books, and in that aspect, it was well stocked. They even have a subscription to New Scientist! I spent some time refreshing my Photoshop skills with the books they had on it. So moving into a hostel does have its advantages, I guess.
I never used to crib about food. I didn't mind eating anything I could get my hands on at home, sometimes I didn't mind not eating at all. But after a day at the hostel, I was craving for better food. They make only the spicy and the sour types of food at the mess. Nothing sweet or even remotely tasty. Not even the water was good.
That night I got a permission slip and a gate pass so that I could get out of this miserable excuse for a hostel for the weekend. Saturdays aren't usually holidays, but thanks to Gandhi Jayanthi, the birthday of our beloved Mahatma Gandhi, this one was. Sleep was something difficult to achieve in the heat of that night. I was awake the next day at 6.35 AM, even though I had never woken up before 11.00 during my 6 month long holiday. The bathrooms had only cold water, which was ok with me considering the heat that morning. Took a quick bath, managed to swallow some cold rubber like dosas (termed "rice pancakes" by NRIs who've set up Indian Restaurants), and then I rushed to the first class of the morning. Mathematics wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Physics turned out to be a disaster, and it used to be one of my favourite subjects. The professor was nowhere near to being amiable. He treated some of the students in my class as if he were a pezzonovante. I guess he could be called a .90 caliber bigshot considering that he's been teaching Physics for 20 years. But even such pezzonovantes should have limits. Later in the class, he tried to crack jokes to awaken the dormant part of the class, which consisted of everyone except the students seated at the first row. At least I think he did, for there wasn't even a murmur when he spoke.
The lunch break was for 30 minutes, one would think of that as adequate, but not for me, and other hostelites. Our mess is situated in the hostel buildings, which are quite far from the classrooms.
The last 3 periods were for Electrical and Electronic practicals. Since it was the first day, we had nothing to do for the most part. After that, I was home free. Went to my room, got my stuff, got the ticket for the bus and got the hell out of there. Unfortunately, the bus broke down in the middle of the way, and I had to improvise. I was starving when I finally reached home. But at least I did reach home.
I found the librarian and asked him what to do. The guy says to me that I need to register for an account to access the internet service they had. And registering costs money. WTF??!! This is a goddamn library! Every other college I know has a free internet service in their library! I finally got they guy to use his username and password so that I could browse. That was just a waste of time. They have this slow, OH SO slow internet, that even google.com only opened after 5 minutes. There was absolutely no way I was going to pay for internet like that. So I'm afraid I can't update this blog on a daily basis. But a library is meant for books, and in that aspect, it was well stocked. They even have a subscription to New Scientist! I spent some time refreshing my Photoshop skills with the books they had on it. So moving into a hostel does have its advantages, I guess.
I never used to crib about food. I didn't mind eating anything I could get my hands on at home, sometimes I didn't mind not eating at all. But after a day at the hostel, I was craving for better food. They make only the spicy and the sour types of food at the mess. Nothing sweet or even remotely tasty. Not even the water was good.
That night I got a permission slip and a gate pass so that I could get out of this miserable excuse for a hostel for the weekend. Saturdays aren't usually holidays, but thanks to Gandhi Jayanthi, the birthday of our beloved Mahatma Gandhi, this one was. Sleep was something difficult to achieve in the heat of that night. I was awake the next day at 6.35 AM, even though I had never woken up before 11.00 during my 6 month long holiday. The bathrooms had only cold water, which was ok with me considering the heat that morning. Took a quick bath, managed to swallow some cold rubber like dosas (termed "rice pancakes" by NRIs who've set up Indian Restaurants), and then I rushed to the first class of the morning. Mathematics wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Physics turned out to be a disaster, and it used to be one of my favourite subjects. The professor was nowhere near to being amiable. He treated some of the students in my class as if he were a pezzonovante. I guess he could be called a .90 caliber bigshot considering that he's been teaching Physics for 20 years. But even such pezzonovantes should have limits. Later in the class, he tried to crack jokes to awaken the dormant part of the class, which consisted of everyone except the students seated at the first row. At least I think he did, for there wasn't even a murmur when he spoke.
The lunch break was for 30 minutes, one would think of that as adequate, but not for me, and other hostelites. Our mess is situated in the hostel buildings, which are quite far from the classrooms.
The last 3 periods were for Electrical and Electronic practicals. Since it was the first day, we had nothing to do for the most part. After that, I was home free. Went to my room, got my stuff, got the ticket for the bus and got the hell out of there. Unfortunately, the bus broke down in the middle of the way, and I had to improvise. I was starving when I finally reached home. But at least I did reach home.
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