office conversations

#1
something that transpired between the tech lead & me when i just came in last week. was trying to get my m/c moved to a new location (my prev location was taken while i was away)

TL: has your m/c been moved to the new place?
me: nope. spoke to IMG (our office help junta) they said it would not be done till 3pm as there were no assistants around
TL: why till 3pm!?
me: 'cos its rahu kalam till 3pm. its not auspicious to move the machine during that time. might create problems in the proj later.
TL: aiyyo! but today is thursday... rahu kalam starts at 5pm!
me: (speechless)

#2
was explaining to a colleague how the iTrip works

me: its a small FM transmitter, an add-on that transmits the iPod output at an FM frequency.
bloke: what does that do?
me: (i suppose radio transmission was not enough. it was made to accomplish bigger things in life) any FM receiver in the vicinity of 5-6ft can receive whatever the iPod transmits
bloke: so that requires bluetooth right?
me: (speechless)

chow time

i prefer not looking up the canteen menu before having my lunch. more often than otherwise its a scary proposition. holds prospects of terrible damage to one's appetite! its usually more fun to scan it on the way out. you know, kind of lets you play "match-the-following". today they had something called cappathi and jaalfrazi. on other days they offer "barota". am i glad i dont read it beforehand! :-)

civic sense

always thought this city lacked sensitivity. all that concerns these people is their larger-than-the-world egos. was watching an ambulance desparately trying to wade its way thru traffic, sirens bellowing. not one wretched soul gave way. all they wanted to do was get past the signal before it turned red.

games people play

game #1
its this thing about strollers that gets to me! somehow its a stand out feature of desis in the US. like a sign of social image. bigger the image, bigger the stroller as one would like it to be. in most cases one can find the baby's stuff spilling out of it (with more underneath) and the baby itself in the parent's arms....!

they no longer come on four wheels. its a complete 8 wheeler! a trailer is whats lacking. a bonanza if the mom conceives twins. can see the gleaming mom as she pushes the stroller around. the pride is not in having a cute/chubby baby. its more about getting to push that HUGE stroller around. i would love to let her lug my luggage cart around till her heart's content!

"yay yay! my hubby is phoren return. he got this stroller (its not a pram!) for our baby!"

game #2 (literally!)
spotted this guy in a rick. laptop open and a frenzy of fingers flying on the keyboard. laptop... while in a rick!? of course, what else would he be found doing.... playing solitaire :-)


something tells me this list will grow :-)