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September 10- World Suicide Prevention Day

Did you know?

Every 43 seconds someone attempts suicide. Over 8,00,000 people die every year. The indigenous suicide rate keeps increasing exponentially. 

Suicide is an iceberg. There's more than what we see on the surface. Because you find it's much easier to hide behind a mask. I just want to say to those of you out there who have considered suicide: It's okay to ask for help.

I have known a lot of people who have wanted to kill themselves, so I have some small idea of what you might be feeling.

I know what it takes to act like it doesn't hurt. A smile is painful, but it's easier to smile- than to have to explain what hurts to the world. It takes much less effort to sit down and embrace that pain, then articulate it so others can understand. And god, do you ever dream of words to describe it. 

They called you a mean name- it hurts you. But it's not that simple.They can hate you- that's fine, because that hate, is one tenth of the hate you feel for yourself. Useless, despicable - the people around you would be better without you.

And, for apparently no reason at all, you start to distance yourself from them. Because they'd be better off without you, they just don't know it. And when they call you out on this barrier you've created, you flat-out deny it, you lie between your teeth. Make them hate you, because if you do that… Just make them a little happier- then maybe you can hate yourself less. But then, that's just a completely selfish notion.

You're sinking deeper. You feel numb. For some reason, they haven't given up on you yet, and they are still calling your name. You just want to be what they want. You smile blindly, and do as they say; whatever they say, without a fight. The false happiness, you start to believe, is worse. You don't know what is real anymore. Because you are laughing and so is everyone else with you. But something is missing, it's a shallow laugh, and there is something missing. And you start driving yourself crazy- looking, researching for what component is missing. You never feel complete. You feel broken, worthless and pathetic. 

You don't reach out, don't want to be touched. Because you don't feel you’re worth it. As if their hands would be tainted by trash. You don't want to disappoint them anymore- because things are just, finally, getting better. How can you ever describe this feeling anyway? You can't. Because you can't even remember what it is. You convince yourself, that you've always felt this way. That you've never laughed truly, and heartily since you were a child. And you believe this is normal. This is a stage.

Until it hits; it’s like the weight you've been carrying on your shoulders, just suddenly taps you on your shoulder. It whispers all to you, all your fears. Tells you how broken you are- how you aren't normal. You'll never amount to anything, never be like the people around you. 

The part that comes next may sound like a great leap, but it hardly is. Because it has honestly been creeping in the back of your mind for a while now. And when you think about it, it is just a great relief. And the most disgusting thing is that you consider it rationally. In a more calm, and upright matter than you've dealt with anything in a long time. Because now that you've decided, all that is left are the details. The little things. Like how you'll do it and where you will do it.

And, often or not, it isn't long after those details that you do it. And it's over. You are over. 

You think so? No, I disagree. 

You can't just hope to die easily and painlessly. Many people who have tried suicide and failed have got severe brain or organ damage in the process. Do you want to be stuck in a mere vegetable like state and be forced to live a helpless, miserable life than before? 

It may feel as though you are living in a nightmare and feel completely hopeless, but continue to push through each day. By never giving up you are essentially building inner strength and resilience that nobody can ever take away.

If you feel as though you can no longer weather the storm of depressive emotion, this exactly when you need to dig deeper and push yourself to survive this challenge. Depression is never permanent – feelings of pleasure and happiness will return, and when they do – you’ll be glad you were strong enough to continue living.

When giving up seems like the easiest option and odds are stacked against you, always keep pushing and always keep going. Sometimes life challenges us to keep going even when we feel as though recovery is impossible. 

At those times, think of your friends in the ambulance who would blame themselves for seeing the sign. Think of your parents for blaming themselves for not seeing the truth sooner. Because that’s the thing about suicide, no matter how many times you write “it’s not your fault”, “there’s nothing you could have done”, “this was all me”, “please don’t blame yourselves” in a letter, every person who knows you will blame themselves.

If you feel suicidal, or just lost; whether you’ve been feeling like it for one minute or for years, please reach out to someone. So, please put down the broken mirror, the razor blade of the scissors. Take a deep breath, wipe your eyes and know that there are a lotta people out there who care for you. Yes, that includes me. 

Whilst I can’t promise you that I will have any brilliant advice or that I’ll even know what to say, I can promise you 100% I won’t say “I know what you’re going through” because no one ever does. No matter how similar a situation you have had with another person you will both have different feelings about it. 

I believe it takes a strong person who has a high pain threshold and someone who can keep calm in the process of actually committing such act, without trying to back out in the final moments. Why not use a sliver of that courage to keep fighting to live another day.

Who knows if you continue to live for another year, week, or even day – it may result in a radical transformation of your mood from doom and gloom to happiness.

I hope you guys know that suicide is never the answer, and that sounds really cliche, but it's true. If you ever need anyone to talk to, please call a hotline or a friend. Someone will always be there.

Even if you don’t believe in yourself, let me believe in you. Your life and you, are worthy.

'No matter how hard life gets, the sun will always come out the next day, so does the rainbow after the storm.’

[mycrumpledjournal]

Panic Attack

It’s 4���o clock in the morning, but here I’m; staring wide awake at the laptop screen as I type, feeling incredibly stupid and awkward at the same time. I feel like a mess, I probably resemble one now with my blood-shot eyes, tear-stained cheeks, nails nervously chewed down to the flesh, enduring yet another sleepless night.

A Panic Attack; almost two years, I had gone without one of these attacks and yet all of a sudden they had returned. I was back at square one with nothing left in me to fight, feeling like an empty shell.

I needed a way to express my feelings and so, I decided to write a blog post. Hopefully, I do a decent job of conveying the experience. So that, in the future if you happen to notice someone having a panic attack you’d be there for them. I can hear you guys yelling what good would it do? But, trust me when I say that your mere presence, a moral support would make a remarkable difference.

I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down. It didn't help. I couldn't do this; I was a fool to think I could. I should never have agreed to do this madness. My palms were sweating and my hands were trembling, I had to get out of here. But, I could not just walk out of here. A deafening noise was pounding in my head, the walls were closing in on me and I was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.The noise around me was becoming increasingly distorted as I tried to regain control over myself. My attempts were unsuccessful; I had to get out of this situation.

The only way is to get out of this situation is to complete this and get the hell outta there. I took a deep breath and stood up with false hope and determination. I could see the concerned looks my friends gave me. But they had no clue on what was wrong with me. I felt light headed and ready to faint. No, I could not let that happen. I took a seat as a feeling of dizziness consumed me, I closed my eyes and counted to ten. I can do this; I've done this so many times before. I can be strong.

I took a shaky breath and started talking(more like babbling). My tone was brusque and anxious. As I sat in the chair, I wound my hands together trying to keep myself under control. I couldn't lose it here. I felt tears form in my eyes. I couldn't do this; I didn't feel strong enough to fight. I knew what was happening to me, I was having a panic attack. That's why I felt like the world was closing in on me, like I was about to faint.

I detest people. Now, don't get me wrong; I like human beings. I like them very much, individually. But when they gather in hordes like this, they appear to be transformed into this many-headed, ferocious monster called a crowd. That makes me anxious, resulting in this panic attack.

I terribly miss my chill pill, my best friend, who always knew how to handle me when I become a bundle of nerves.

Not one of them in this room understands me well enough to know how to help me. But, the mere presence of a few friends in the crowd helps me overcome this. Just a little eye-contact and encouragement, cherished a little ray of hope in me, helping me over come my fear.

Whenever I had a panic attack one of my besties would be there, taking me out for a cake or coffee, usually sit in silence and watch me rant as we both tried to figure out how we could turn me into a normal person.

Despite the fact that none of my besties were here with me, it was heartwarming to see other close friends step into those shoes. Their blatant ignorance of my panic attack and their attempts to behave as normal as possible made me get through this episode.

I would find the strength to overcome these panic attacks, I had done it before, I could do it again and no doubt I will have to in the future. I would fight through this, I deserved to be happy. To go out without wondering what would trigger the horrendous feeling of the world attacking me. Panic attacks would not rule my life. That was one thing I was certain of.

Thank you for reading!

[mycrumpledjournal]

Iraivi- Mixed Emotions 😒

Where to start?? After reading those hype inducing status updates & reviews, I walked in starry eyed with lotta expectations. Were they fulfilled? Well, keep reading n you'll find out eventually 😝 

I have quite a few things to share so pardon me if my rant is incoherent. 

Let's start with the rain.. A major player in the movie that signifies the emotional state of the women involved leaves us feeling as though the skies are shedding tears for them as well. 

SJ Suryah manages to captivate the audience with his unabated rendition of Arul, the dejected drunkard director who is the movie's main protagonist. His unparalleled performance speaks for itself and makes us feel as if this role is just tailor-made for him. 

Anjali does give him a run for his money with her stellar performance and stands her ground with just raw emotions which depict a housewife who is pretty much resigned to her fate. 

Kamalinee Mukherjee lets her eyes speak.. Her role of a confused wife who just can't make up her mind whether to give her drunkard husband a chance or he leave him once & for all to remarry is rather realistic. 

The scenes where Michael marries Ponni and Yazhini gets ready to re-marry.. Not because they want to, but because they were forced to, give us all a kick in the gut. 

Bobby Simha makes justice to his role. But the characterisation of Jagan, seems rather convoluted. What with being portrayed as a torch-bearer for unappreciated women, he ends up making us feel that Jagan is nothing more than a self-centred sanctimonious jerk who is so determined that he would be the only person who could keep Ponni happy. 

Pooja Devariya leaves quite a mark on us as well, no matter how insipid it may seem to some. 

Lastly, my beau Vijay Sethupathi 😍😍 plays a crucial role in the movie. Be it expressing his undying love for his paramour Malarvizhi or being a hypocritical husband to the poignant Ponni, his charismatic performance brings out the best. The fangirl inside me is still weeping for Michael's death, but as his fan I'm rather glad that he did not restrict himself to just the entertainment factor.

The swerving screenplay and the byzantine story telling with the intermittent scenes takes us on a daedalian journey where quite a few frames leaves us yearning for more. However, some subplots do make us feel as if they were included just to justify certain nuances, thus stretching the movie a bit too long.

The movie ends with Ponni getting out of a stranded train to get drenched in the rain with her child. It leaves us with a tempestuous mind but just did not quite reach my heart..

Yes, you read it right, it did not wrench my heart out, but sure as hell it did quite a number on my brain.

It made me think.. Not from a feministic perspective, but rather of my instinctive impulsive reactions. 'No matter how noble your intentions are if you over-indulge your impetuous ideas they would not just lead you down the path of self destruction but would obliterate everyone else as well' is now etched into my mind.

So what's the verdict?? It is not flawless, but it is an applaudable attempt; could have toned it down a bit. I would give a 4 out of 5.

[mycrumpledjournal]

Sethupathi

Watched Sethupathi today..

Gripping screenplay, enticing romance, climax could have been better..

The irony is that the villain reminded me so much of my dad, the mannerisms, the physical resemblance, the spectacles, the shirts, such an uncanny resemblance, may be that was another reason why I did not like the climax.. P.S: did I mention the eye-candy Vijay Sethupathi 😍😍😍??

[mycrumpledjournal]

24- The Imagino Romanso Philia (Imagine panna romance illa)

A classy sci-fi tamil movie; an applaudable attempt. The story line was good, visualization was decent (the rain scene was pretty good), Suriya's performance- as good as expected. The humdrum romance, which seems to be added just to sate the masala aspect makes it sour.

Our childhood dreams of time machines come alive through the good plot line. Director's attention to detail rewards an applause, except the too many repetitive dialogues that start to grate on our nerves.The masala aspects added to the movie just for the sake of it, disrupts the genuine phase of the movie.

A tad bit disappointed.. Maybe, my expectations were too high.

To ppl, who are gonna watch 24, just don't expect any logic. You'll find the movie to be pretty decent when u walk in without any expectations.

I can almost hear you ppl shouting, "enough with the diplomacy get on with it". So here we go..

The image- Yeah, you guessed it right. Walked in starry-eyed with too many expectations, the time travel aspect managed to catch my interest, but the atrocious romance scenes and the repetitive dialogues (I'm a watch mechanic) tuned me down completely. 

I honestly wanted to strangle the person who sang praises about this movie. The bottom right image labeled reality is how I felt anticipating the reaction of my oh-so-annoyed family who were ready to pounce on me the moment we left the theater 😰.

Verdict: A good attempt if you ignore the usual monotonous melodrama. I'd give it a 2/5.

[mycrumpledjournal]

Ka Ka Ka Po

A slow-paced, breezy, romedy. The strange thing is that, yet again, a father character reminded me of my dad. The over-protective yet supportive dad who lets his daughter pursue her passion and the uncanny physical resemblance hit me hard. ☺️ Madonna's expressions add more grace to the movie. She carries the middle class engg grad character pretty well.. Guess, quite a few ladies out there would claim that they could relate to Yazhini's situations(though most of them were a tad bit exaggerated) Lastly, the heartthrob Vijay Sethupathy.. A stellar performance as usual. Makes us fall in love *long sigh* with quirky Kadhir character using his unique charm. Yes, this is a normal romedy with a hefty load of illogical drama, but I would definitely watch it again just to have a hearty laugh. Forget about logic and realistic plot line, just sit back and enjoy. Watch the movie without any preset expectations. Watch it, just for the sake of entertainment, I assure you that you'll not be disappointed.

[mycrumpledjournal]

Happy Friendship Day!!!

All I ever wanted

Was a place I could belong

But no matter how hard I tried

I always got it wrong

And it was you, in the end

Who found me a place to call my own

With your love, your eyes, your smile

I knew I'd never be alone

You break me down, you build me up

You make me feel complete

And you never even realize

That that's such an amazing feat

You make me glad to be myself

I'll never feel out of place

I'll never feel I'm not good enough

To show them my true face

So I want you to know I love you

You're my kindle; you're my novel

And you give me the most precious thing of all:

Your friendship!

[mycrumpledjournal]

Revenge Wears Prada - The Devil Returns : Book Review

                                                                                Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns by Lauren Weisberger My rating: 2 of 5 stars This much-anticipated sequel could not have been more of a disappointment. Our fun, cool heroine, Andy, has turned into a whiny, boring and pathetic character. This book lacks all of the fun and frivolity of the fashion-filled Runway days and lands Andy as this lame person who somehow lands this PERFECT man but complains and pouts throughout the entire book. In spite of having the perfect career, amazing man, huge apartment in NYC and seemingly no problems whatsoever, she feels sorry for herself. I found myself hoping that something bad would happen to her because she annoyed me so much. I only actually finished this book because I was stuck in a hospital bored outta my mind with nothing else to do, otherwise I would have been too fed up with it to continue after a chapter or 2. I am very disappointed in this sequel! What happened to Andy? She is an emotional wreck of a woman and not someone I can relate to. This story did not engage me the way the first one did, or maybe it was the movie in the first place that I loved so much. Either way I am not impressed. -_-

[mycrumpledjournal]

I'm So Sick

Of running from weak hearts and endless promises that never stick

Of trying to mend myself from falling over and over again, of being bruised and scarred Of fighting for ungrateful people, of trying to give second chances to those undeserving Of putting forth all the unappreciated time and effort to make something work, of being the only one that cares Of silencing myself from the truth, of these feelings I can't deny Of remembering past wounds that will never heal, of the lies that can't be untold, of the memories that can't be replaced Of songs about love, of the good and the bad of it all, of the loops and misguided youth Of couples, fighting the little fights, falling a little harder, loving a little longer Of being chased by Mr Right Nows, of being played, of having to be insincere in return Of waiting for you to run with me, of trying to convince you that I can be the one, of contemplating if this is even worth it, of pretending that I need a guy to feel complete Of portraying myself as anyone but me.

[mycrumpledjournal]

DisneyWar : Book Review

                                                                                               Disneywar by James B. Stewart My rating: 4 of 5 stars If you're a fan of business situation bio's, you'll enjoy this book. It's not of the same caliber of Stewart's previous work, but I thought it was one of the best books in this genre. That said, the book has serious flaws that keep it from being a great read. The endless bickering and backstabbing at Disney gets tedious and becomes a laundry list of conflicts. This book is the dramatic story of the reinventing years of the mid 1980's through the mid 2000's. It's focus is mainly on Michael Eisner, the CEO and boss during that period. We get a good look at what went on behind the scenes and in the boardroom during that time frame. As a child, I always watched Disney movies and productions without giving much though to all the hard work that went on in order to get these productions to the public. It's fascinating to see how Disney went from the king of animation to a struggling studio trying to keep up and then back again to the top of it's field. In this book we get a great inside look at the characters that worked tirelessly to maintain the legacy. Some personal stories had happy endings while many didn't. Nevertheless, I must say that this book was very exciting to read especially if you love thrilling boardroom drama filled with cut-throat politics. Read this if you want a sense of what occurred at Disney during the Eisner era. But, if you want to be entertained while reading a business book (after the first couple of hundred pages) this isn't the book. Would recommend if you're interested in learning about Disney, or would like to learn more about business, corporate governance, & executive compensation.

[mycrumpledjournal]

Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government--Saving Privacy in the Digital Age : Book Review

Crypto: How the Code Rebels Beat the Government--Saving Privacy in the Digital Age by Steven Levy My rating: 4 of 5 stars Steven Levy always does a good job of making a complex and potentially dry subject readable for a wide audience, using an approach similar to the approach he took in Hackers; he uses the personal history of the participants as a lens to study the history of a technology development. Crypto outlines the history of cryptography as it lurched towards public availability. Levy provides an overview of both technical and political obstacles that occurred along the way. Examines issues of control, personal freedom, and national security. This is the story that Steven Levy tells. Although the book tends to portray researchers outside the NSA as skillful and lucky heroes, and those inside the NSA as pompous but brilliant ideologues, it's a compelling story. The book is roughly chronological, starting with Whit Diffie's independent discovery of public key cryptography, one of the major breakthroughs that made the field feasible, the story of RSA, the ill-fated Clipper chip, and concessions the NSA was forced into against overwhelming pressure. Mr. Levy outlines the development of a people's cryptography and its collision with the U.S. government. This book is about privacy in the information age and about the people who saw many years ago that the Internet's greatest virtue was its greatest drawback: free access to information that leads to a loss of privacy. From a developer's standpoint, the story is interesting because it explains many of the features of cryptography as we know it today, making it easier to put them to efficient use. For example, what was the big deal with keys longer than 40-bits that the government restricted them from export? And just how much safer are 128-bit keys? Sure, we all have heard the number of hours or millennia today's computers take to break such keys, but why those specific numbers? As with most complex controversies, both the government and the outsiders make compelling arguments for their case. Cryptography has long been the province of governments, and wars have been won and lost on the success of keeping secrets secret. But in a demographic society, individual privacy is almost sacrosanct, even though it is not explicitly guaranteed in any of the documents on which the U.S. is founded. Crypto tells the story of how these conflicting interests have been sorted out to the current state of affairs.

  If you are looking for a book about crypto in order to understand "how it works", forget this book.If you want to understand how people with one obsession can change the world, just read it.

  P.S: yeah, yeah, I know I’m obsessed with Levy’s books! K? No need to start tat again!!

[mycrumpledjournal]

Where the heck am I?

Oh God, not again. Maya rolled over, spit the dirt out of her mouth. I can't believe I let this happen. It's that dang Pooja's fault. She dared me to do those shots last night, and I had to go ahead and take her up on it. Every time I'm stupid enough to take on one of her challenges, I end up in trouble. Now look at me, passed out and dropped off in the middle of who knows where. That girl really went too far this time. Where the heck am I? She slowly stood and took in her surroundings. It was almost pitch black out, not a ray of light in sight, a calm, clear night with a billion stars in the sky. A faint glow on the horizon. East? West? No way to tell. How far must they have gone to dump me, she thought, if I can't even see the lights from the city? As she looked around, she felt the first stirrings of what? Panic? No, too early for that. A little anxiety, maybe. After all, they were her friends. They wouldn't mean her any harm, just a good joke on ol' Maya, leaving her out here in the middle of nowhere, they were probably waiting in the car just around the corner, sleeping it off, ready to laugh their heads off, when I went staggering back, she thought. But then where was the road? It was really dark out here, but the glow on the horizon was getting brighter. It looked like the moon would be coming up soon. But there should be a road here somewhere. They couldn't have carried me, dragged me maybe, but I should be able to see marks. Wide awake now, Maya took a good look around. The ground was hard and full of dirt, with shrubs scattered irregularly, no trees that she could see. Hills close by, the terrain broken and undulating, looking pretty much like some kind of high desert area, nothing at all like the city she lived. Mountains, off in the distance, tall and rugged looking. That was strange. There weren't mountains like that anywhere near Bangalore, nowhere she could remember ever being. Something was wrong. Maybe this was some kind of hangover illusion. Maybe she was still asleep. But no, the way her head was hurting, she had to be awake. The moon was getting close to coming up, the glow was really bright. When it came out, she would be able to see a lot better, and then maybe she could get her bearings, figure out what was going on. Because, something sure as heck was going on. The better she could see, the more confused she became. Something was definitely not right here. She had the sudden feeling that more time had passed than she was originally aware of. What was the last thing she could remember? She and Poo, laughing, drinking, leaving the pub, and then what? Lights, the sensation of spinning, falling. Yeah, she knew that feeling, too much alcohol, as usual. But something more, those lights, really bright, piercing, it made her head hurt more just thinking about it. And that panic starting to raise, yeah, something bad had happened. May be, an accident? Maybe she was in a coma and trapped inside her own head. Now that was a scary thought, but no, she was really here, wherever here was, and she was alive and awake, and one hundred percent freaking lost. Brighter now, more and more of her surroundings were coming in to view. She really was in the middle of nowhere, no road, no trail, not even a footprint that she could see. The ground was hard but she was leaving tracks as she walked around, and she realized she felt really weird, lighter, like she was walking on foam rubber. She kicked at a rock and it flew off, bounced, almost in slow motion. Wow, I must have a really bad hang over, she thought. And the air feels wrong, thinner, getting winded just walking around. The moon was beginning to peak over the mountains, casting a shadow in front of her. In the distance, vaguely illuminated, was a horizon that made no sense, falling away at the edge, way too close. This was starting to feel like an episode of the Twilight Zone. It was like she just fell from the sky or something, dropped, where? And who abducted me? If she could just remember what happened, if she could just figure out where she was, if...  As she turned to face the rising moon, she felt what was left of her sanity slipping away. Because that was not the moon rising above mountains, no, that wasn't the moon at all. It was huge, and full, and freaking red! And close! And she laughed as the thought came to her, “No Maya, you're definitely not in India anymore!” And that just made her laugh even harder, and she clicked her heels together and closed her eyes and thought, "This is just an illusion, this is just an illusion, this is just an illusion", and dropped down in a dead faint.

******************************************

"…mayu?"

The voice cut in and out of her dreams.

In her dream, Poo was trying to climb up the slimy cave rocks in her nightgown and bare feet. Her soles were spotted with red from the sharp points of stone. Maya tried to climb too, but she couldn't lift her legs. She felt as if she were moving through water. Poo glanced over her shoulder. She called out to Maya, but her lips were as frozen as Maya’s legs. 'I'm trying'… Maya wanted to call. But Poo ignored her and kept climbing; she was using her knees this time. Maya could hear her voice… but now there were two. Two…

"…not in a coma, Ads, she's only sleeping!" A harsh whisper floated from somewhere around Maya’s head.

Something fluffy felt hot pressed against her face. Limbs heavy and clumsy, she rolled over on her back—slowly, her right foot tingling with sleep.

She heard a throaty gasp. And then the light flooded her vision as she opened her eyes.

"Is this a space ship?" Maya blinked, slapping her palm lazily around in search for her glasses.

"Space ship? What in the sodding hell—Ow! You've already hit me there once!"

Maya's senses came back to her in a rush.

Oh dear God…

Pressing her glasses onto her nose, Maya tried to sit up, but she was trapped. Trapped, underneath her best friends, who were currently perched on either side of her, holding her down.

"Pooja…" Maya groaned, her cheeks pasted over with heat from sleep and shock. She could feel the hair plastered to the back of her head and sprouting a dozen different directions. "Why are you— How are you in here? Where are we?" Even breathing was a chore. Maya could feel her heartbeat in her forehead; although, the pain was nearly gone…

She disregarded the question. "Maya mate, watcha doin sleepin on the ground?" Poo critically observed as she sat back on her heels. Her face was pinched with worry, the ends of her braids frizzy as ever. "Are you sick?"

 Advay was still staring at Maya with flared nostrils and a wrinkled forehead as he examined her closely.

"Erm…no…I'm not sick," Maya muttered, using all her strength to push herself up. Taking the hint, Poo and Ad stood for a few seconds allowing her some slack before plopping back down and hanging on her explanation. "I, sorta fainted” Maya rubbed her eyes thoroughly, her glasses bobbing on her forehead.

Poo fidgeted nervously. Maya didn't have to go any further. It was obvious that Poo understood. "I’m sorry Maya, I shudn have ditched u like that in d middle of an absurd place." She said in a voice full of remorse.

"Oi! U ditched me, too!" Advay complained. "Y don I get an apology? That's lovely of you." The boy scrunched up his nose in a scoffing manner.

"Oh, shut it, Ads. You're always thinking about yourself…" Pooja breathed in disgust before quickly turning her attention back to Maya.

Maya’s head was beginning to throb again. Why couldn't the floor just jump up and bury her alive?

"What did I miss?" Maya asked hastily to avoid further confrontation. She reached underneath her and yanked out a warm, flattened handbag. She rested it on her lap, burrowing a fist in either side of the lumpy handbag.

Advay was still brooding, his mouth as curved as his furrowed brow.

"Not much," Pooja informed her. "We met Adhi on our way here from pub, and he wancha apologise to me in person, so…. I dropped you off here.." she said pointing Advay.

"Actually, where are we now? What time is it?" Maya asked Advay ignoring Poo’s words.

"Almost twelve-thirty mate," Poo replied, absently straightening out her tee little tugs. "We are here in Sahara mate, that new lounge bed place. We were looking for you everywhere sweetie, only to find you in a deep slumber on the floor no less." Poo said smirking.

That smirk irked Maya way too much, and she lost her cool, and started shouting profanities at her best mates, which they whole heartedly returned, resulting in an epithetic war.

A bulky guy in a security suit, entered the room and started to say, “maadam, eet ees clojing time….” before he saw them staring back at him with defiant expressions, he then thought better of it and left the room to the three of them.

Only after he left the room, they noticed that they were all standing, now. They stood looking at each other silently for some time. Suddenly Advay grinned, somehow this very serious situation made him want to laugh. Maya answered with a grin of her own, while Pooja just rolled her eyes.

All of them started saying together, "look …"

They looked at each other for a second before bursting into laughter. After a few seconds, Advay was sitting on the floor laughing hard, Maya was holding her sides, and Pooja had tears running on her cheeks. The Security guy popped his head inside the room and looked bewildered. When he had left the room, he was afraid that they were going to kill each other, now, only a few minutes later, they were laughing like raving lunatics. “Ahh, I don't want to know!” he thought. He left again, leaving them laughing even harder at the expression on his face.

Finally, they managed to get themselves together and aside of a few giggles every now and then, they decided they could finally start conversing like sane persons would. Surprisingly, it was Advay who started the conversation, "Maya, look, I don't know what happened, but I am sure that the three of us don't like it."

Pooja took over then, "Yes, we spent most of this night, either searching for or angry with each other. I dono why, but maybe we have all been under a lot of stress lately, or may be under the influence of heck a lotta rượu " Pooja sighed before continuing, "I am sorry Maya. I shouldn't have left you alone like that."

“Roouuoo?? What the…” Advay Started. But Maya cut him off, “Alcohol ads, in Vietnamese” she said smirking.

When Advay opened his mouth to comment on that, Pooja interrupted him saying, "I know ads! Save your breath!"  Then she looked up at both of them before grinning and saying, "Friends?"

They both grinned back before "Yep! Definitely mate," and "Of course Poo" were declared.

 “Guys, I think we ought to leave before that bulky guy calls the cops or something, come on, let’s leave when we can” Maya added, dragging them along. And then they checked out of the lounge singing a ole cult hit friendship song, completely off tune.

P.S: 100% fiction!!!

[mycrumpledjournal]

The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness : Book Review

The Perfect Thing: How the iPod Shuffles Commerce, Culture, and Coolness by Steven Levy My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book covers the iPod from just about every angle. How it was made, how people responded to it, where it fits in the history of portable music players, why it’s “cool”. The most surprising thing to me is how long ago the pre-smartphone world feels. The book was published in 2006 (1 year before the iPhone), but it feels like the stone age when Levy gushes about how small and light the iPod is..! An Interesting read :)

[mycrumpledjournal]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1) : Book Review

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams My rating: 5 of 5 stars This novel is Douglas Adams' best ever. The book picks you up, drives you to the movies, and never lets you go! Ford is hilarious with his insane logic. Trillian is a wonderful as the only really sane one on board the Heart of Gold. Marvin is so pathetic that he makes you cry every time you read the book. And through it all, the hapless Arthur Dent just tries to understand what is happening. The plot involves the earth being blow up to make a hyperspace bypass. Anyway, throw in an ancient race of planet builders, some towels, a stolen space ship, and a restaurant at the end of the universe, and you get the first novel in one of the best sci-fi series ever. Douglas Adams is more or less the master of confusing but hilarious plot as well as dialouge. Now, I'm not just writing this review because I love all sci-fi books. In fact, I read very few, about 20%, sci-fi books, although I still like the genre. So you can see I'm not a Die Hard sci-fi comedy fan. Adults as well as children (teenagers really) will find the material and dialouge side splitting. A must read for any science fiction fan!

[mycrumpledjournal]

Life of Pi : Book Review

Life of Pi by Yann Martel My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the first book I've read written by Yann Martel, Canadian writer. It was sitting on the coffee table of a friend's house I was visiting, I picked it up and I couldn't put it down. Intensely compelling and riveting, this book picks you up in the first chapter and never fails to let you go. Along with being filled with detailed descriptions and an interesting plot, Life of Pi also is a guide that allows the reader to explore personal convictions on several themes including innocence and experience, faith and truth, belief in God, and the relationship between men and animals. The reader might not find sophisticated revelations in the novel, but they are from the view of an insightful and profound sixteen-year old boy. It is while Pi tries to discover himself and the world that he makes perceptive observations and conclusions that the reader uses to explore his or her own beliefs. Pi sees fear as "life's only true opponent that forces you to make rash decisions and abandon your allies of hope and trust." This exploration is not forced and is not insulting to the reader; it is a polite guide that can give the reader a new perspective or reinforce his or her existing viewpoint. In conclusion, Life of Pi is a fantastic novel full of splendid imagery, intriguing events, and opportunities for personal reflection.

[mycrumpledjournal]

The Oath of the Vayuputras (Shiva Trilogy, #3) : Book Review

The Oath of the Vayuputras by Amish Tripathi My rating: 5 of 5 stars More spiritual than first two books of the trilogy. But, Lacks pace of the first book. When u read immortals of Meluha, U get spellbound, just like reading harry potter or LOTR , that is missing in oath of vayuputras! But still a delightful read! A good end to one of the most well written trilogies from an Indian author!!

[mycrumpledjournal]

In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives : Book Review

In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy My rating: 4 of 5 stars Every page of Mr. Levy's book is packed with detailed information about Google's technology and business, certainly detailed enough to reveal the essence of each topic. If you want a good history of Google's early years, this is the book for you. The author, a Google booster, had unparalleled access to current and former Google employees and presents more information about the history and development of the company than has reached print before. If you're interested in the causes of Google's recent stumbles, though, the author's hagiographic approach gets in the way of understanding. There are a dozen "evil" approaches from the "don't be evil" company that simply are not adequately explained. It has a few shortcomings, but overall they are insignificant compared to the amount of information that one can glean from it.