Finally...

I finally found out that a colleague Geoffrey is a big Formula-1 follower, and i finally have someone to discuss the 2007 season with !

What more, to add to it, he supports Ferrari. So i wont be missing out on any of the weekend fights between friends as to which team is better than the other !

Meanwhile, my (well, i didnt pay, but its mine nevertheless) March edition of Playboy arrived. This month i'm reading a complete review on the new Apple iPhone, as well as the truth about how NASA lost the original moon landing tapes.... *blink blink*

Losing My Religion

Disclaimer : The following entry is of highly sensitive nature. The opinions expressed are purely mine, and i urge you to exercise discretion in reading and interpretation.

Last evening, i left work and headed home. I was waiting at the tram stop, to take my short 2-stop tram ride. Beside me were 2 very well dressed Caucasian males. A business suit, tie, and a name-badge that i couldn't quite read. I assumed they were business students... Until one of them (lets call him BWAWA, with no further need to expand the acronym) made conversation with me.

BWAWA : Bonsoir, vous allez bien? (thick american accent)
S : Oui, mais si vous voulez, vous pouvez parler en anglais !

BWAWA : You speak English?
S: Yes

BWAWA : Well?
S : (probably better than you, idiot)
Yeah, quite well.

BWAWA : I'm a missionary, from America
S: (yeah, i figured from your nasal accent)
I see, how long have you been here?

BWAWA : 7 months, and you?
S: 6 months now.

BWAWA : So what religion do you follow?
S : (aha, come on, now i'll kick your ass.... come on Swaroop, tell him you're primarily a human)
I dont practice.

BWAWA : I know it's difficult to believe in God, given all the things that are happening in the world today.
S: Are you a Mormon?

BWAWA: (stunned) Yes ! How did you know?
S: I know about Religions, and i know about Mormons, and your book, and Joseph Smith.

BWAWA: (totally stunned, jaw dropped) We're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ, part of the Mormon faith. So do you think God exists?
S: Tough to say.
(what are you talking. your founder supposedly saw God in a dream and wrote a book the next morning!)

BWAWA : So why dont you practice any religion?
S : Because, its a free world, and thats my choice. I like to believe in things i can see and feel, and trust my own abilities.

BWAWA : But you must have the desire to have faith.
S : (you idiot, do u know how stupid you sound right now?)
Well, i have the desire to do a lot of things.

BWAWA : It is a matter of priorities.
S : Seems like my priorities are quite different from yours.

BWAWA : I'd ask you to have some faith, and to believe, and to pray.
S : Well, i just said the existence of God is tough to prove, whom do i pray to?

BWAWA : (cornered, no answer)
S : This is my stop, and i must be going.

Well well well.... I remember "the brethren" knocking on my door once in Bangalore, and reading some verse from the Bible about the second coming. I think i was quite rude and direct when i told them that i am not interested in converting, given that i dont follow a particular religion to really convert from ! These guys had a puzzled look on they're faces, before i told them about my religious roots (which i am very very proud of, and very happy about). They left in a hurry...

Give me a break. Religion, faith and belief is a very very private and personal thing. Let me keep my faith, let me believe what i want, and i will let you keep your faith. That is the concept of co-existence. Unfortunately, some people don't understand that.

Sunrise

The weather has been a bit strange over the past 10 days. It has rained, and then on the odd day, the temperature has gone up to a nice 16 degrees. The sun has come out, and then it got hazy again.

I woke up saturday morning, my room flooded with an orange glow. I ran to get my camera, stumbling out of bed, all sleepy eyed... and this is what i caught on film (well, not really... on memory card)

I've got mail - 2

Sometime this week, i had a notice from La Poste (the postal department) to come and collect a parcel in the post office, since they could not open my mailbox to put it inside. (I didnt even know they were supposed to be able to do that !!)

Anyway, i went this morning, and got a small white package.

Inside was a letter from "Playboy", thanking for the one-year subscription which i never bought. Also enclosed were some "free" gifts.

A cap : black, with a bit white playboy bunny image on it. Personally, i wouldnt be caught dead in it.

A watch : Nice digital display, with stop watch and alarm and all. But it's bright torqoise in colour. Again, wouldnt be caught dead wearing it !!

Well, apparently i'm in line to recieve 11 more issues of the magazine !!

Whats up?

It's been a while since i wrote... and usually when that happens, it means i've been doing too many things and didnt have the time to write.

So quickly, here is what i've been doing during the past 10 days :

1) Fell ill

2) Went on a team outing from work, to a ski resort, 2 days. Enjoyed myself thoroughly with the team !

3) Passed on my illness to other people. (Sorry, if i name them, they will surely kill me. Bad enough i passed on my flu to them)

4) Ate a fondue. Damn, there was so much cheese in it, i couldnt eat the next 2 meals !

5) Went to the supermarket (What's new?)

6) Stayed home on sunday and turned up the heat to a nice 26 deg C. Felt like India again !

7) Read news about the Indian Cricket team. I hope they win the cup this time !

8) Watched Terminator-3 in French. It is damn funny to hear Arnie go "Elle reviendra" to actually say "She'll be back"...

I got mail !

I got home yesterday, and opened my letterbox expecting my payslip from work (yday being the 31st) and a package with 2 Tintin comics from Amazon. They were there, as expected... but what i did not expect was a white plastic cover, with "Playboy" printed across it ! It had my name on it, printed along with my address, no typos or spelling mistakes. No room for a mix up.

Now, i cant imagine who may have decided to send me the February 2007 edition of "Playboy" magazine. I've never read one, only seen them in the newstands on MG Road (you know, that one next to Deepam Silks) when we were in 7th/8th grade, giggling schoolkids. I took it up to my apartment, and was quite curious to see what was in it. Well, i was not disappointed ;-)

Apart from some very tastefully nude women, the magazine also had articles about bikes and football. That pretty much makes it a complete "guys" magazine, except for the lack of articles on food ! To add to it was a free DVD, which turned out to be the video footage of "Playmate Photoshoot" for February !!

Hmmm... only one drawback. The magazine is in French, and it takes me some time and patience to read this language. But may, however, be a good excuse to increase my vocabulary...