<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78199022892918045</id><updated>2012-01-26T22:47:24.393-08:00</updated><title type='text'>excellence in mediocrity</title><subtitle type='html'>wish i could...</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Excellence in mediocrity</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14335721039284146835</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Sg6Uajfc5EI/AAAAAAAAAD4/xBy2OASIdiU/S220/20032007.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>10</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78199022892918045.post-588868907328072711</id><published>2009-03-02T19:48:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-03-02T19:50:49.009-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Living in recent past...</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class="drop"&gt;O&lt;/span&gt;k, so it’s been ages since I have blogged but the times have been different, can’t really say difficult but beyond comprehension… so let me sum up the last few months…&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;here’s a list of top things that happened to me/were forced upon me … &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Money – Stared continuously at my bed room wall for numerous hours… trying to figure out that one innovative idea that is doable.. and will earn me my millions… The Fallout - Still haven’t found the idea that falls in the suitable category.. but one thing that I know for sure, my bedroom wall looks more dull than when I moved in…&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Ran my car over a puppy - I killed it. I feel bad – and feel even worse since I haven’t done much about it… no community service.. no act of salvation.. . It keeps reminding me of my prior employer… he kept talking about how strongly he felt about giving back to the community… the more I think, I feel I am designed to ‘take away’ from the community…&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;While Israel is busy bombing Gaza Strip my internal fight with waiting for destiny versus making my destiny has widened… I was a firm believer of destiny – kismat se zyada aur waqt ke pehle kisko kuch nahi milta.. that was one of my favorite quotes.. but now I think there are 2 sets of believers one who believe in destiny, karma and all that crap… those would be the guys living in Gaza and would be getting bombed right now.. and then there are those who believe in themselves like Israelis and bomb other guys,, and I think both are right in their belief systems&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Emotions – understanding – ego – practical – if these words are way of life for you.. I am sure you are in deep shit.. I was there.. but it’s fun… new perspective &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Shock – yes there have been shocking things… think about this… 10 gunman hold an entire country hostage …enter Taj and other places… and the only thing they do is kill. Incidentally I was checking advertisement rates on the prime channels and I can tell you that to get the coverage the event got would have left even the richest of companies bankrupt… &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Some people whom I shouldn’t be thinking about took a lot of my mindshare… Mr. Obama for his color, creed, religion… Mr. Aamir for some kind of artistic perfection… and suddenly getting up to know the effectiveness of PR machinery… Mr. Raj’s&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;– MNS campaign… and last but not the least Mr.      Raju telling the world we can also do it… &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;Fear… jobs… the economy is in bad shape.. that’s what I hear from everyone.. I don’t know if people know what economy is … but I learned a lot about pink slips… office politics… layoffs… &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Having said that I am hopeful .. that today when I go to sleep and look at my bedroom wall I will have my multi-millionaire idea… I promise to drive more cautiously… if I cant give to the society at least not harm it…&lt;span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;I hope people become more lovable and their destiny lead them to contentment &amp;amp; happiness…people do meaningful activities..and fear no one.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/78199022892918045-588868907328072711?l=excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/feeds/588868907328072711/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=78199022892918045&amp;postID=588868907328072711' title='23 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/588868907328072711'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/588868907328072711'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/2009/03/living-in-recent-past.html' title='Living in recent past...'/><author><name>Excellence in mediocrity</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14335721039284146835</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Sg6Uajfc5EI/AAAAAAAAAD4/xBy2OASIdiU/S220/20032007.jpg'/></author><thr:total>23</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78199022892918045.post-5321039440063511862</id><published>2008-06-25T05:26:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-06-30T00:15:50.484-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Top Ogling Strategies – Be free as a bird</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;Disclaimer: these strategies have earlier been performed by trained professionals, don’t try it out in areas where too many people are around… or in an ecosystem where u have little or no control… &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Virtual ogling… mannequin is ur best bet to start from… roam around lingerie showrooms… for real fun try getting salepersons’ job there..&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;buy cheap glares and put on those, go to the parking lot of mall, shopping center or near park… Enzoyy&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;if ur office environment has good looking chics … let everyone knw that u have a einstine’s thinking syndrome… your positioning àthe syndrome fixates my eyes on a particular object and ther isn’t anything that I see for the next 10 mins… BLACK OUT… don’t disturb me or things around me( build lot of credibility amongst ur peers before u start practicing)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;In quest of gold: make-up a face that is looking for something very important, that was left behind … for eg u are looking for the keys that u left of the table where a group of female are present.. They might even offer an helping hand.. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Colorimeters: go to a library.., ensure u have a pen that keeps falling down at regular intervals…find out the colors… &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;goto the top most floor of a mall… and dart ur eyes towards people walking up the elevators.. as if u are expecting a friend any time… &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Running as fast as u can… enter into a women wash room … ur eyes need to be quick… as u enter the wash room… hit ur self… and speak out loud OMG… if u are lucky u hear OMG from the other side as well…don’t repeat the act in the same area twice.. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;for this u need a two wheeler.. get besides a car that is driven by someone really sensuous.. stop besides her on every signal light.. watch watch and watch&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/78199022892918045-5321039440063511862?l=excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/feeds/5321039440063511862/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=78199022892918045&amp;postID=5321039440063511862' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/5321039440063511862'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/5321039440063511862'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/2008/06/top-ogling-strategies-be-free-as-bird.html' title='Top Ogling Strategies – Be free as a bird'/><author><name>Excellence in mediocrity</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14335721039284146835</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Sg6Uajfc5EI/AAAAAAAAAD4/xBy2OASIdiU/S220/20032007.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78199022892918045.post-1722242934800244477</id><published>2008-01-08T02:38:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-01-08T02:54:21.769-08:00</updated><title type='text'>How to irritate people...</title><content type='html'>A brief but practical guide to leave people irritated and fuming with frustration!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;P.S. - This totally works so keep a weapon for self-protection handy before trying  it out!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For Starters:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Run one lap around the office at top speed&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ignore the first five people who say 'good morning' to you.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Phone someone in the office you barely know, leave your name and say, "Just called to say I can't talk right now. Bye." &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;To signal the end of a conversation, clamp your hands over your head. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Walk sideways to the photocopier. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;While riding in a lift, gasp dramatically every time the doors open. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For those into groove already:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Say to your boss, "I like your style" and shoot him with double-barreled fingers. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Babble incoherently at a fellow employee then ask, "Did you get all that, I don't want to have to repeat it". &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Page yourself over the intercom (do not disguise your voice).  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Kneel in front of the water cooler and drink directly from the nozzle (there must be a 'non-player' within sight).  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Shout random numbers while someone is counting. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;For “REAL” Pro’s :&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;At the end of a meeting, suggest that, for once, it would be nice to conclude with the singing of the national anthem (extra points if you actually launch into it yourself). &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Walk into a very busy person's office and while they watch you with growing irritation, turn the light switch  on/off 10 times. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;For an hour, refer to everyone you speak to as "Bob". &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;After every sentence, say 'mon' in a really bad Jamaican accent.  As in "the report's on your desk, mon". Keep this up for one hour.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;While an office mate is out, move their chair into the lift. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;In a meeting or crowded situation, slap your forehead repeatedly and mutter, "Shut up, damn it, all of you just shut up!" &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;At lunchtime, get down on your knees and announce, "As God is my witness,I'll never go hungry again." &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;In a colleague's diary, write in 10am: "See how I look in tights". &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Carry your keyboard over to your colleague and ask "You wanna trade?"&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Repeat the following conversation 10 times to the same person: "Do you hear that?" "What?" "Never mind, it's gone now".  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Come to work in army fatigues and when asked why, say, "I can't talk about it". &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Posing as a maitre d', call a colleague and tell him he's won a lunch for four at a local restaurant. Let him go.  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Speak with an accent (French, German, Porky Pig, etc) during a very important conference call. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Find the vacuum and start vacuuming around your desk. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Present meeting attendees with a cup of coffee and biscuit, smash each biscuit with your fist. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;During the course of a meeting, slowly edge your chair towards the door. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Arrange toy figures on the table to represent each meeting attendee, move them according to the movements of their real-life counterparts. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;And if that wasn't enough for you here are some examples of insane acts you can use anywhere... &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;At lunchtime, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hairdryer at passing cars.  See if they slow down.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Tell your children over dinner. "Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go." &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Put your rubbish bin on your desk and label it "IN." &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has gotten over his or her caffeine addictions,  switch to espresso.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Finish all your sentences with "In accordance with the prophecy." &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Don't use any punctuation  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;As often as possible, skip rather than walk. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ask people what gender they are. Laugh hysterically after they answer. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Specify that your drive-through order is "to go." &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Sing along at the opera.  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Put mosquito netting around your work area. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Play a tape of jungle sounds all day. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Have your co-workers address you by your wrestling name, Rock Hard. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;When the money comes out of the ATM, scream "I Won! I Won! 3rd time this week!!!"  &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot yelling, "Run for your lives, they're loose!"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;Danger - Do not, I repeat, DO NOT use with people who are heavier, stronger, or more powerful than you!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;taken from &lt;a href="http://dotcoy.blogspot.com/"&gt;http://dotcoy.blogspot.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/78199022892918045-1722242934800244477?l=excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/feeds/1722242934800244477/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=78199022892918045&amp;postID=1722242934800244477' title='5 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/1722242934800244477'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/1722242934800244477'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-irritate-people.html' title='How to irritate people...'/><author><name>Excellence in mediocrity</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14335721039284146835</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Sg6Uajfc5EI/AAAAAAAAAD4/xBy2OASIdiU/S220/20032007.jpg'/></author><thr:total>5</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78199022892918045.post-7152076665154979448</id><published>2007-11-07T00:35:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2007-11-07T00:47:21.926-08:00</updated><title type='text'>No, I am good</title><content type='html'>On my way back from Delhi to Ahmedabad, I requested the boarding pass official to give me the aisle seat. Putting on his fake smile, the guy gave me the aisle seat… As I went through the security check, the guy checked me thoroughly… if I hadn’t pushed him back, a little … he would have dissected me and checked if my intestines had any explosive in them…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While entering the plane… I could only think about the most obvious – airhostesses … but the cabin crew greeting at the entrance was a male… he kept nodding his head while saying welcome… welcome… welcome… in my mind it registered as.. why come… why come… why come… I reciprocated… Thanks… which was more like a question that elaborates “where are the chicks?”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The window seat was taken up by a stern looking middle-aged man. He didn’t even give a second look to my half-hearted smile… I took my seat… and grabbed the in-flight magazine… and started reading about diamond studded exorbitantly priced cell phones… Before I could read the features the cell phone had… two ladies probably in there late fifties came up to me… and in the most polite form of request one of the lady asked me if I could swap my aisle seat… with a seat behind in the middle… before she completed her sentence… the word “swap” told me the complete story… triggering my memory when numerous number of times I was asked to swap my seat… I probably have swapped MY seat a million times… and by now I had a big problem with the word swap… Why should I? Why I? It brought back many memories from the past… I have swapped my ice-creams because my younger sister/brother didn’t like their flavors and they thought I had a better one…  My mind was blaring at the lady asking her… would you like to swap your necklace with my shoelace… or can I swap the beautiful airhostess with my water bottle…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nooo I said to myself… I was destined for the aisle seat… I won’t swap it… I wanted it AND I got it… with a determined intent I spoke out NO… without looking at her eyes… as if I was committing a crime by turning down her request to interchange seats…  While listening to my subdued No she still was pointing to the place where she intended to transfer me … As my eyes followed her finger… next to the seat sat the most beautiful girl on the plane… it only took me a fraction of second to crown her Miss IC 817… This is a typical condition where ego is pitted against the greed… I wanted to the greediest person alive on the earth… But I guess, my No and the indecent behavior was seen and heard by many of the fellow passengers.  My thoughts were jammed by all permutation and combinations to resolve the situation that I got myself into… My inner self was persuading me to get up and kiss the old lady on her head … telling her  that I was ready to swap and was just joking … Or tell her that I have a rude behavior syndrome that gets activated once in 25 yrs and now I am over it.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Before I could come to the conclusion that took care of my emotional needs and was logical… the middle-aged man sitting near the window seat… volunteered… He VOLUNTEERED to SWAP… I didn’t have a weapon… But I had a pen… which I wanted to poke in his drowsy but lewd eyes… As he passed by I wanted to tangle him and make him experience how it felt lying in passage of plane… but if I had that kind of guts I would have better used it in abducting Miss IC 817 rather than hurting a powerless but shrewd middle-aged man… and this time he even smiled at me…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The two old ladies took their seats… and I could listen to their minds say in synchronization “some people.. uhhh…”.  My indecent behavior made my 1 hour something journey look like a decade… I had a different kind of feeling that was a mix of lost opportunity, indecent behavior but a stronger feeling of doing what I wanted to… The No I said to the lady made me feel stronger and more powerful… I have heard people/read self help books taking about importance of saying “No” but for this very moment I had realized… If today SRK walks up to me with his 6 pack asking to swap lives … I know what to tell him… “No, I am good.”&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/78199022892918045-7152076665154979448?l=excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/feeds/7152076665154979448/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=78199022892918045&amp;postID=7152076665154979448' title='5 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/7152076665154979448'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/7152076665154979448'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/2007/11/no-i-am-good.html' title='No, I am good'/><author><name>Excellence in mediocrity</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14335721039284146835</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Sg6Uajfc5EI/AAAAAAAAAD4/xBy2OASIdiU/S220/20032007.jpg'/></author><thr:total>5</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78199022892918045.post-7020867674632880456</id><published>2007-10-31T04:40:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-10-31T04:43:42.239-07:00</updated><title type='text'>In conversation with the devil</title><content type='html'>Devil: Hello, I am Devil …&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me: huh&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil: Actually was passing by to take Mr. Rastogi… your neighbor… he’s completed his quota…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me: quota???&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil: life-span&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me: huh&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil:  but he’s still not done with hugging and kissing his two lovely daughters… misri and tiki… he’s asking for more time… they are very cute… 8 &amp;amp; 10 yrs old … you might be knowing both of them…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me: huh ya ya…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil: I have a time table that I have to stick to… if I delay it shows up in my timesheet… and then the management penalizes me… they tell me to bring 5 extra guys… repeated bad performances… and I would get transferred to … Afghanistan, Palestine, Pakistan… where mass killing happens… suicide bombers… gang wars… it’s a pain delivering them in bulk… and each of them wants to talk to their near and dear ones for one last time…  they were like years together… and they never talked… and now they want to do it…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me: So did u give him extra time??? Did you??&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil: Ya … I had to … I couldn’t see his little daughters cry… and then actually… there are some formalities to be done before I take him... there are two forms black and white… black is for the hell and white is for the heaven… filling up these forms take 10-15 mins… Mr. Rastogi has been a good guy throughout his life… he gets the white one… But I have run out of white forms… actually I don’t carry many of them… most of the guys get the black… there aren’t too many good guys around…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me: Oh.. ok…. Please sit.. come in… &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil:  No… I am fine … actually u have little less than six hours… once I deliver Mr. Rastogi, next its your turn… can you please fill-up this black form…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me:  BLACK FORM…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me:  And LITTLE less then Six hours… I… I… you… we… check your timesheet … it has to be in the next century… we are in 2007…  I don’t want to go… pls don’t take me… i love this place… I want more… I love everyone on this earth… I promise to be happy… help everyone… and be good…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil: Sorry… your timesheet says you hate this earth… in fact you have many times screamed at 127 decibels that you don’t want to live … and some of the reasons you have cited are… nobody loves you… you don’t have a steady - steady girl friend… you don’t have enough money… you don’t like your job… and you hate to wait for good things that scarcely happen to u…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me: I take everything back… please please give me one last chance…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil: I will be back in 5 hours 47 mins… you can tell thanks to everyone u want to… no extra time… the most I can do is to lend you my cell phone for next 6 hours… it will allow you to connect with anybody you want to…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After Six hours…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil: Hi Dude… ready… lets rock… so how many people did u call…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me:  I couldn’t call anybody… I didn’t have the guts… my parents love me so much… I couldn’t tell them… that this was the last time I was talking with them… and my friends… if I told them they would like… come and kill you… I only called up my insurance agent to check how much… how much money my parents woo-would get… its not much… I wo-woo-would have earned more… fif..if.. I lived… one… chance… last one…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil: so I guess you are done…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me: haan..&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil: close your eyes… count 5 and open your eyes slowly… it wont be painful... got it…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me: yaess&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil: ok start…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me: where am I… I am still on earth… I am alive… I can breathe… I can blink… I can I can..&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil: yes my friend… you don’t go anywhere… you live for at least… 63 yrs more… I just wanted you to appreciate life … so that when I come to take you after 63 yrs … you don’t ask for more time… your friends want to join you … you have given all the possible love and respect to you parents, wife and children… neither you call your insurance agent as you have made lots of money… the only one thing you can crib about is the elusive girlfriends… J … and I want you to take the WHITE form…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Devil : and Mr. Rastogi also lives and he now appreciates life as much as you do … don’t worry… Bye take care… see ya…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Me: I want to call…. Where is my cell …&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/78199022892918045-7020867674632880456?l=excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/feeds/7020867674632880456/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=78199022892918045&amp;postID=7020867674632880456' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/7020867674632880456'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/7020867674632880456'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/2007/10/in-conversation-with-devil.html' title='In conversation with the devil'/><author><name>Excellence in mediocrity</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14335721039284146835</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Sg6Uajfc5EI/AAAAAAAAAD4/xBy2OASIdiU/S220/20032007.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78199022892918045.post-4456642503256612128</id><published>2007-10-08T04:20:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-10-08T06:53:08.246-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Mr. Conductor has changed</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/RwoUP1boXVI/AAAAAAAAABY/LZrVFprx9QI/s1600-h/bus_india.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118926188733554002" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="175" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/RwoUP1boXVI/AAAAAAAAABY/LZrVFprx9QI/s320/bus_india.jpg" width="246" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Over this weekend I happened to travel by our very own state transport bus. And let me be upfront that it was not out of choice. As I entered the Bus station I could see the same settings that have been present at least ever since I was born. I could even identify couple of beggars or possibly they haven't changed their designer. Same spit marks, the undergarment billboards signs and our lovely charming bus station staff - they were all there. I was waiting in the queue for my number to come to buy my ticket. While holding the support bars I was slowly but steadily being pushed to the ticket window. While getting pushed I was wondering how physically close we Indians can get. But it still bewilders me to understand the logic behind pushing, as it does little in improving the efficiency of the guy giving the tickets. The uncle behind me in queue looked educated and did very well to understand my glare and stopped pushing for a while. The only thing he assorted to, was a short-lived but effective spank on my butt with the help of his bag.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ok so when I finally was THERE… Mr. Ticket window guy pointing towards the bus told me to buy the tickets inside the bus… the guy was in grave pain while giving this piece of information, as if I had cut his leg and was asking for the other one to complete my new found hobbies of leg collection. I rushed towards the bus as one never knows when they might take off… to add to my displeasure the bus was empty but had a lone passenger… our eyes locked he said "10 more mins"… he sounded pretty confident… I wonder if he was the head for routes and timing division at the Bus state transport… I knew what I was doing for the next 10 mins… I rushed to my favorite place on the bus-stand …people call it the book stall… My eyes didn't work hard to find MY SECTION… the sleazy sexy vernacular book section… I grabbed couple of the books… so that I could very fast read the preview to the book without buying any of those … and feel happy about the vernacular language's capability to aptly define the THING… was going overboard but managed to get into the bus by now which was considerably occupied. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Taking the window seat… I wrestled with the window to open… Mr. Stranger behind me offered help and was quick to open it… he kind of had developed that expertise… sheepishly I said thanks… The bus took off… and I tried hard to sleep… resting my hands on the handrest, leaning on the window… but gave up soon… I could smell something and this very familiar smell was coming from my hands… and I am sure everyone who has traveled in public transport vehicle gets that smell… the fragrance is of sweat and dust mixed with fillings of iron bars (it has a salty taste if u happen to lick it)… And then arrived Mr. Conductor to give me the shock of my life in the bus … he was carrying a gizmo… electronic ticket generator … I wanted to kiss Mr. Conductor… the state transport had changed… they no longer give piles of tickets … which with my kind of mathematical capabilities would take 10 mins to add… And if I were the conductor I would increase it to 20mins so that I can strike the right balance between center of gravity and mathematics… the electronic ticket generator has opened new set of possibilities… In my heydays I had the fear of being a conductor as I was never a good at academics ... but now I don't think it's a bad profession :)&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;things are not as bad … it's only the incremental change that we don't appreciate…&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;Disclaimer &lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;1. The elections are nearing… none of the political parties have sponsored the posting &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;2. And I am sorry for writing about a public place and not describing the loo &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/78199022892918045-4456642503256612128?l=excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/feeds/4456642503256612128/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=78199022892918045&amp;postID=4456642503256612128' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/4456642503256612128'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/4456642503256612128'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/2007/10/mr-conductor-has-changed.html' title='Mr. Conductor has changed'/><author><name>Excellence in mediocrity</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14335721039284146835</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Sg6Uajfc5EI/AAAAAAAAAD4/xBy2OASIdiU/S220/20032007.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/RwoUP1boXVI/AAAAAAAAABY/LZrVFprx9QI/s72-c/bus_india.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78199022892918045.post-689346688768318818</id><published>2007-09-30T23:01:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-30T23:05:35.165-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Bench lovers…</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/RwCNovn7I0I/AAAAAAAAABQ/IJ6mbbgMcvE/s1600-h/bench.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116244907811087170" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 256px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 156px" height="177" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/RwCNovn7I0I/AAAAAAAAABQ/IJ6mbbgMcvE/s320/bench.jpg" width="285" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;We have spent at least one of our most cherished moments on it…I have invariably spent time discussing from what didn’t work in a movie, my latest greatest crush, why some people suck big time to why I love this earth… for me it’s the ultimate symbol of friendship and love (finally&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/RwCNdfn7IzI/AAAAAAAAABI/uQqQ-HRgZME/s1600-h/bench.jpg"&gt;&lt;/a&gt; in my lifetime I could write a sentence that had love and friendship and didn’t confuse either of us)… From being the back bencher to reducing the bench strength of my company I have a relationship going with it… I know how I will give back to the community… Before I die, I will build a couple of benches where buddies can talk, moan, bitch and bond… Black marble Taj Mahal would have raised some eyebrows but hey guys for now it isn’t financially viable for me (for those of you loving the idea please contribute to Black Taj Mahal fund)… but let me tell you one thing my bench would give Shahjahan run for his money… and for architects and craftsmen u don’t get axed for building it… &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/78199022892918045-689346688768318818?l=excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/feeds/689346688768318818/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=78199022892918045&amp;postID=689346688768318818' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/689346688768318818'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/689346688768318818'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/2007/09/bench-lovers.html' title='Bench lovers…'/><author><name>Excellence in mediocrity</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14335721039284146835</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Sg6Uajfc5EI/AAAAAAAAAD4/xBy2OASIdiU/S220/20032007.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/RwCNovn7I0I/AAAAAAAAABQ/IJ6mbbgMcvE/s72-c/bench.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78199022892918045.post-5181811512439284109</id><published>2007-09-29T06:22:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-30T22:01:51.013-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Rebirth woes</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Rv5Rsfn7IxI/AAAAAAAAAA4/LgLQdy1M1Pw/s1600-h/20070330(002).jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115616051584508690" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Rv5Rsfn7IxI/AAAAAAAAAA4/LgLQdy1M1Pw/s200/20070330(002).jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;I have started believing in rebirths... and that’s kind of scary... becoz one of my friends who knows bit about rebirths told me that this was my last birth as a human... It came to me as a shock... I always thought I would do things that i missed out in my next birth... The lone consolation of not performing in this birth too was snatched… guess that’s how life is… at times it takes away chances to relive...&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/78199022892918045-5181811512439284109?l=excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/feeds/5181811512439284109/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=78199022892918045&amp;postID=5181811512439284109' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/5181811512439284109'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/5181811512439284109'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/2007/09/rebirth-woes.html' title='Rebirth woes'/><author><name>Excellence in mediocrity</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14335721039284146835</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Sg6Uajfc5EI/AAAAAAAAAD4/xBy2OASIdiU/S220/20032007.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Rv5Rsfn7IxI/AAAAAAAAAA4/LgLQdy1M1Pw/s72-c/20070330(002).jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78199022892918045.post-2038479055662703519</id><published>2007-09-29T03:50:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-29T04:15:15.493-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Mindlessness</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Rv4zqPn7IwI/AAAAAAAAAAo/GAI49O7pC4w/s1600-h/Joeytribbiani.jpg"&gt;&lt;img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115583027580969730" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Rv4zqPn7IwI/AAAAAAAAAAo/GAI49O7pC4w/s200/Joeytribbiani.jpg" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I know there isn’t a word like that… but it happens to me… wonder if it happens to you too… this is something like a phenomenon wherein the processing delay of the mind gets magnified… and for the most of its part you only know nothing… it can be called as an evil form of meditation… mindlessness often strikes me at office hours… I have started liking it… its like u sitting in front of your computer… looking at it as if you are just to devise the strategy that would change the rules of game… but little people know that you are stuck my mindlessness… post mindlessness your tendencies are of doing things that mean little… I wrote this graph.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/78199022892918045-2038479055662703519?l=excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/feeds/2038479055662703519/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=78199022892918045&amp;postID=2038479055662703519' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/2038479055662703519'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/2038479055662703519'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/2007/09/mindlessness.html' title='Mindlessness'/><author><name>Excellence in mediocrity</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14335721039284146835</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Sg6Uajfc5EI/AAAAAAAAAD4/xBy2OASIdiU/S220/20032007.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Rv4zqPn7IwI/AAAAAAAAAAo/GAI49O7pC4w/s72-c/Joeytribbiani.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78199022892918045.post-673573798765909237</id><published>2007-09-29T00:13:00.001-07:00</published><updated>2007-09-29T02:51:45.978-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Welcome</title><content type='html'>keep coming keep left... buri nazaar wala tera moo kala..  thanks&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/78199022892918045-673573798765909237?l=excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/feeds/673573798765909237/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=78199022892918045&amp;postID=673573798765909237' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/673573798765909237'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/78199022892918045/posts/default/673573798765909237'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://excellenceinmediocrity.blogspot.com/2007/09/welcome.html' title='Welcome'/><author><name>Excellence in mediocrity</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/14335721039284146835</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGpPKkeYATg/Sg6Uajfc5EI/AAAAAAAAAD4/xBy2OASIdiU/S220/20032007.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry></feed>
