Miles to go before I sleep.

One of my Dad's ex-colleagues recently visited our place. He retired from Office work about 5-6 years back. He falls among those category of people, who, you do not have to work too hard to like. About his life, well, he is unfortunate enough not to be blessed with any children. He used to work in a decent position in Dad's office, so, lets just say, he is more than just stable,financially. He loves to travel and using his resources, he has managed to travel to many, many countries spread over all five continents. From the Taj Mahal, to the African Jungles, to the culturally rich Europe, to the Amazon rainforests, he has been everywhere. No kidding.

If I had to visit any one country in the world, it would be Italy. Apart from the obvious reasons, I have no idea why. Anyway, coming back.With Internet access, all you need to do is type relevant things, and you would be on an almost virtual tour of any place on Earth. Anyway, I always believe, like so many others, that there is no substitute to listening about stories narrated by somebody right in front of you. So, after listening about various incidents and experiences for almost an hour, he said something, which really stayed with me. Here it goes, -- " I've been to so many, so many remote corners of the earth because I love to travel. What travelling a lot does to you is that it kills your pride. We human beings, everyone of us has varying degrees of vanity amongst ourselves. When you travel so much, so many lands, so many people, lifestyles, you actually realise how small and insignificant you are, when compared to the vastness of the planet, not literally. It makes you humble. Humility nowadays is becoming a cult virtue, which it ideally should not be. "

I've travelled too little due to a lot of valid reasons, but the lines got me thinking. He was right of course. I don't know what life has in store for me, or how things will pan out in the future. I've been sitting on my fat ass for months now, but if I have resources and opportunity as life progresses, I will certainly try and cover as many miles as I can, to vanquish my own pride, and know mother Earth, bit by bit. Willpower would be a non - issue.

An embodiment of shamelessness.

Of all the examinations I have appeared in my life, CAT 2012 would be unique. Most of the exams I have appeared in, the primary objective has been to give my best. To score maximum marks so that it somehow augurs well for my career. However CAT 2013, which is six days away would be one of it's kind. My primary objective for this exam would be to avert disaster to prevent a social backlash.( No, I haven't been reading about Jason Bourne recently.I totally mean the meaning it means. ) Now, if I manage that, I will have enough confidence to think about preparing seriously for next year.

Yes, GATE 2011 and 2012 were quite similar, with a small yet significant difference. I was in college then, so I was too proud to even consider a social backlash, which indirectly did affect my attempts of disaster prevention. I don't deserve anything, you Allmighty. The funny part is, a part of me does not regret it. With time. With time. An embodiment of shamelessness.

Endorphins.

If someone scrolls down my list of blog posts, they would soon lose interest.I mean, how long would you tolerate someone who's incessantly talking about trying to get better at things? Anyway, I believe it has a reason. Writing about these things acts as a big motivational tool for me.No matter how much you love doing something, periods come when you need a push.And my post is again treading on familiar territory.The path was never supposed to be easy.

I've become a recluse. Socially. I don't know how many Bengalis are there, who don't feel elated during Durga Pujas, the biggest festival in our region.I am one of them. DP is always meant to be fun, going out with friends,rating girls,having junk food, maybe liking someone in the Puja mandap ( as they show magnificently in the coca cola ad),getting drunk ( which is an absolute necessity for so many) and so on.But, over the last few years, it didn't seem to matter much. Infact, over the last couple of years, if i had to jot down a list of things which really mattered, it would be really short.Unconditional love.Never a myth. Trust me.

The challenge was always to become unique and make a difference.Not consciously.I have a natural aversion in thinking about things the normal,or should i say, the popular way. Yet, i always believe a large part of being unique lies in commonness itself. " I would rather feel pain than nothing at all. " -- it's one of my favourite lines from one of my favourite songs.

Worldly issues. Is Julian Assange going to stay in house arrest forever? Is Roger Federer going to be assasinated? How did Goldman Sachs cause the food crisis? yeah, right.I have views.so? nobody gives a rats ass if you can't contribute to a cause or change things. Plain awareness does not help. That is what they don't tell you. It's as good as being an ignorant fool.Life isn't supposed to be this way.Freedom is way too much overrated.

Ample proof of a muddled up mind.Cold Turkey without heroin? Shoot.Maybe I'm unique after all.