So I am preparing for UK car driving licence theory test. For past two weeks. The test is tomorrow. I am over-saturated with information at the moment. The worst are the national speed limits and those numbers that you need to remember. And worst of them all are the stopping distances. 

The thing that is bugging me is that if I am driving the car, I don't think my 3D perception is good enough to judge 24 car lengths(about 93 m overall stopping distance if you are travelling 70 mph). I know there is a 2 second gap rule which is much easier to follow then why, in the name of everything good, do I need to memorize this table?

(linked to its source)

and other information like this (e.g. you can only switch your fog lights when the visibility is reduced below 100 m. How am I supposed to judge that?).

And did you know that this stopping distance increases 10 times in case the road is icy? Do you know what that means? 240 car lengths or 960 m (almost 1 km) between two cars if they are travelling 70mph. I don't know about you but I don't think I can see a car a km away from me. I think I would have to keep a pair of binoculars in my car to do so. (Of course, I know I won't be driving 70 mph on an icy road. In fact, I don't think I will be driving at all. Am not a big fan of ice or snow. I like my winter without them.)

Anyway, wish me luck. Hopefully I pass my test tomorrow.

P.S.: On a side note, I think UK driving test is far more rigorous than US driving test and they provide a lot more information regarding road signs etc. than the US. I actually like that part. (I know I am a nerd.)

My new year resolution has been put to the test this weekend. To explain how and whys of the story, I have to start from the beginning.

About two years ago, I moved to UK from US to be with GF. My first year in UK was, well as British will put it, not as good as I had hoped. In American English, we call it a disaster. It came to the point that we broke up for few days last year. One of the contributing factor to that was GF's friend circle. Well kind of. I think it is more the fact that I was born and raised in North India while she (and most of her friend circle) was born and raised in South India. I guess you can surmise where I am going with this.

We have quite different cultural background. We are not comfortable with each other's language (we converse in English). I did try learning Tamil in the first year of my residence in the UK but it didn't go too well. I, again, blame her friends for that. I have developed a mental block against the language and culture due to them.

For some reason, all her Tamil friends have at one point or the other have told me "Tamil is a great culture" whilst we were visiting them. However, during those visits, they all (GF included) continued to converse in their mother tongue while completely ignoring the fact that I do not understand them. I would be sitting in the corner of the room being completely ignored by all of them for an entire evening and then one of them claims that 'Tamil is a great culture'!

In the world I grew up in, a person's culture is judged by his/her manners and not just by its literature or art or even achievement of its people. And to be honest, I didn't think much of their manners or their hosting abilities. If a guest of mine had felt ignored or unwelcome in my house, I would have been called uncultured, ill-mannered person and rightly so (well, unless the guest is a complete ass and makes the life of the host difficult). To make a proclamation that my culture is great after such a behavior, is unthinkable for me.

Anyway, as part of our patch-up last year, I told my GF that I will not sit through such evenings any more. She can meet her friends when she so wishes but not to drag me along.

So this weekend, GF went to meet one such couple, D&S. I kind of like the wife, however, I can't tolerate the husband. Just to narrate one of the incident to give you the background: Once they were visiting us and I made Bhelpuri for the wife as she likes chaat. When we offered the husband some, he refused saying he does not eat junk food like this. He, as a matter of fact, gobbles up the bucket of fried chickens form KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) and yet, homemade Bhelpuri is junk for him. He actually called my food as junk in my own house! So much for being cultured! Anyway, needless to say, I did not wish to meet them this weekend.

The wife, being the nice lady she is, inquired about me and asked if I am upset with her. She wants to call me and apologize but she doesn't know what to apologize for. I haven't visited them in a year now so she feels bad about it.

This, along with my new year resolution of keeping in touch with my friends and acquaintances, puts me into quite a dilemma. Good manners dictate that I should call her and talk to her but that may (actually, most probably) will end up being invited over to meet them which I really do not wish to do.

Dilemma, dilemma! Any pearls of wisdom from anyone out there?

PS: The problem of ignoring other people while amongst your compatriot is a universal one. I have experienced it with a lot of different cultures: desi and non-desi. 

I strongly believe that culture is a dynamic concept. It changes with each generation, with each mingling of different cultures. By clinging to it, we make it static which is not good for the well-being of the culture. At the end of the day, we need to remember culture is made by its people and not the other way around. Just my two cents...

So we are actively trying to get SIL married which, unfortunately, translates registering into numerous matrimony sites and trying to find a match. We, GF and I, actively screen the profiles and send the interesting ones her way. There are quite a few interesting characters out there but that is not the point of the post.

Past few days SIL has been talking to this particular guy who, apparently, blogs. Of course, I was interested in seeing his blog. So she sent the link across to me. I clicked on the link and up came the blog: Black background, white text with minimal template. My first reaction was: a newbie. You know, they are the ones that use minimal standard blogger template but apparently not. He has been blogging since 2008. He has on average about 20 posts per year since 2008. However, he has zero comments on any of his posts. He has absolutely no outgoing links on his blog.

Am I an absolute Blogging Snob to think that his blog isn't good?

Well, that's at least what I told myself and made my self read few of his posts. Well, let me put it this way: I know couple of teenagers who are more mature than him. His writing style needs a bit of logic and reason in it. Most of the times I think only he can understand what he is saying.

I am back to my original question: am I a Blogging Snob to judge him on his blogging style? He isn't too offensive (except for the post where he describes atheist being hypocrites and says that 'Science is real' is a childish argument!! Being a scientist and an atheist I find it quite offensive) just a bit annoying.

Being an avid blogger for 9 years (past year not withstanding. BTW, this is my third blog in past 9 years), I think I have a preconceived notion of what I consider a good or successful blog, or more to the point, who I consider a good blogger but at the end of the day, isn't blogging a bit more personal concept? People blog for various reasons. People like me (personal bloggers) blog to keep an online journal. A place to vent out their feelings. If that's an okay reason to blog then isn't this particular guy doing exactly the same. Even more so because he doesn't do it for an audience but for his own amusement/satisfaction. So, again, am I not passing judgement on a blog because it doesn't satisfy my definition of a good blog.

Blogging Snob?

So the other day I was booking my tickets to India and for some reason, it ended up in being my credit card being blocked. May be buying tickets to India is a suspicious activity now or it may simply be the horrendous amount of money they charged me for the ticket. Either way, I had to call the fraud department of my credit card in order to get it unblocked. 

Of course, the call started with me giving them my credit card number and few security questions. One among them was about my age (haven't they yet made it illegal to ask age of a woman). I was completely baffled by that question and it has nothing to do with me wanting to hide my age. I have been completely lost when it comes to remembering my age ever since my late twenties. Seriously, I haven't been able to remember my age ever since I passed the age of 25. I usually round it up to my nearest multiple of 5. So for past 3 years I have been telling people that I am 35, which was exactly what I told this lady from fraud department.

Now it being the question of security and all that, she asked me again, "Are you sure that you are 35?" "Oh well," said I "I am somewhere around 35. Let me think. I was born in 78 so I will be turning 35 this December, I guess." There was silence on the other end for few moments and then the lady proceeded with my request. I guess the idea  that someone has been telling everyone that she is 35 when she isn't 35 yet was a bit too much for her. I am so glad she didn't know that I have been doing that for past 3 years. 

I think the reason it never bothers me is because, for some unknown reason, I look quite young for my age. People usually don't believe that I am past 30, let alone nearing middle ages. This, on contrary to what most people believe, is quite disadvantageous, especially at work. It is so hard to make a first impression of someone who knows what they are talking about (which is usually associated with experience and hence, age) on most people. They take a look at me and usually patronise (and antagonize) me.

The other day I was explaining this to a colleague, and friend,  and he suggested using anti-botox treatment. It was quite funny to him. A woman who is complaining that she doesn't look old enough. And please don't tell me that it is a good problem to have because it does affect my promotion and the salary I get.

Anyway, that's the rant of today for me. If you have been wondering where I have been for past few days, I have whole another set of rambling but I am trying very hard not to put it here. I don't think anyone will be interested in my petty office problems...

So here is the deal. My dearest girlfriend likes to brag about my blog. To her friends. And I don't like some of those friends. I would have never told them to read my blog (not this one, the other blog with my real name). Things between those friends and us have gone a bit bad recently. To the extent I can't any longer write on my blog. My Own Blog.

So that is why I have been writing all these tit-bits on this blog. I still need a place to vent and since I have been evicted from my own personal blog, I am 'crashing on' this place to vent. I feel kind of home less. Well I have been feeling like a homeless for about two years now in real life but now I am a homeless in virtual life as well . Yes, I resent it and no, I haven't had 'the fight' about this with my girlfriend yet. I can see it coming though. Soon.

Anyway, just wanted to put it there in case some one is wondering about the sudden increase in my posts on this blog. Please bear with me.

Well, that is the current state of everything around me including the weather, the work, my personal life, my moods and my health. Everything is a big blah. So I decided to blah away on the blog. Isn't that what blogs are for? Rambling. Well, at least that's what mine is for.

So what's going on, you ask? Well a lot. Which is good in a way that I don't have time to mope around and feel sorry for myself. But that also makes me wonder if I am running away from grief. But I digress.

So I have been very busy for past few weeks and it isn't intentional. The work has been crazy. Well, just not busy crazy but absolute-nonsense and office-politics crazy. Normally, I hate office politics but my current job description requires me to be a liaison between different technical groups. If you have ever work as a liaison, you might know what I am talking about. Every one in every group have their own agenda and its my job to make everything work smoothly. It is an absolute nightmare.  The worst thing is when one of those people doesn't want to compromise and becomes petty/sore loser (honestly, grow up!) if, for whatever reason, their agenda is not met. I have to watch everything I say, things I put on a slide and of course, while interacting with such people. And I am new at this (changed to this role six months ago and have been recently (=last 2-3 months) given all these responsibilities) so I almost always screw up. As I said work is blah.

And don't get me started with the weather. I mean, its March for crying out load. How can the temperatures be still in negatives? I guess the weather forgot that this is not Canada or Arctic. This is London. March means starting of spring. March means temperatures in positives. And definitely no snow.

To top it all, its flu season and, of course, I got it. But being busy at work and being a liaison and all that, I had to work through it. I worked from home mostly but I worked through my high, muscle-inflaming fever and soon-to-drop-dead weakness.

Well, I am not even going to personal relationship category. Although my ex did drop by when I was very sick and got me some medicine and food etc. so not that grouchy about it at the moment but then I don't want to go back to that either so that's another blah...

Can I please catch a break sometime that is soon? Hating everything around me. That reminds me, I have a new set of room-mates now and they all are another big blahs. I have had my full quota of blahs for the year. Can I please not get any more of that stuff for the rest of the year? Thank you.

I am not sure how people do it. I mean write under a pseudonym. Every time I have started writing a post in past few weeks I felt I am making it easier to identify me. But then no one I know knows about existence of this blog. Hopefully. So I guess I do need to shed the fear and start writing. Okay, here goes nothing.

Let me start by telling you a bit about myself so that my latest "crisis"  makes sense. I have been a good student all my life. I grew up in a prestigious university campus in India where my dad was a professor. I have always done well in studies. I am a straight A student from Ivy league in US where I did my PhD. Naturally, my friend circle (which includes neighbours and friends) includes people from good universities. Almost all my friends have a PhD degree.

Why am I telling you this? Oh well, the other day it came up during conversation with my girl friend and her sister (they tend to gang up during most of our arguments. Being sister and all, they kind of agree on everything which becomes very frustrating for me but that's another post). The point of discussion being photography (one of my interests) and how I know better photographers than me. I was part of a photography group during my grad school in US. There are quite a few people in my friend/acquaintance circle who take amazing pictures (all of them are amateur photographers like me).

The response to that was "Yeah, but how many normal people do you know who can take better pictures?"

Normal people? Am I not normal? Is my friend circle not normal? Who is to say that I and my circle are abnormal? Who decides what is normal and what is not? To me, all my friends are normal. Okay, some them have few funny quirks. Some of them are quite insufferable as well but they are still very much normal. Thank you very much.

P.S.: Sorry about the rambling. Being new in the city, I still don't have friends here. I need to get a load off myself in order to function.