Lady at the book shop

There is a road in Ahmedabad called IIM road. On this road, some 100-300 meters away from the IIM main gate, sits a woman with her makeshift book shop cum library. Oh, except this "shop" actually is a hundreds of books piled up neatly and kept-on the road. There are books of all types, topics, shapes and sizes. Academic, novels, self-help,comics, magazines, religious texts,coloring books. Even the study material and reports that the IIMA students have given away after passing out can be found. The lady herself sits under an umbrella advertising a certain FM station. Now, the system is like this- You can either buy a book at less than half price, or can rent a book. While you borrow, you pay the full price that she sells it for and the day you return, she keeps some Rs 20-30 for the rent and returns the rest of your money. If you don't return, well, then you've already bought it, haven't you? Simple enough.

And that's exactly how the lady also comes across-Simple. Simple, plain and street vendor types. Hmm..We'll see that she isn't.
So, a few days ago I was so engrossed in browsing through the abundant collection that it was a while before I noticed that she was yelling at someone on phone. About how he's not helping one bit to reorganize the books, about how she has been fussing over getting the perfect setting..yada yada yada...
After giving the fellow an earful she ended the call and caught me looking at her. Now, it might not appear so, but in real life such social situations are awkward for both the parties. I tried to convey 'sorry for eavesdropping' by a sheepish smile. She returned an indulgent one and started talking...
" We were closed for eight days. I had remove all these books from here. Now, having a hard time re-organising"
"Oh, I didn't know that. Why was it closed?"
" Don't you know? The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh came here ( finger pointing at IIM campus)"
Before I could get over my astonishment that this lady on the street knew the name of the PM, she said..
" For the convocation of course"
* Now, eyes wide-opened, positively astounded *. Did she just say Convocation? And pronounced it as Kon-vuh-kay-shen? Hell! I spent four years with would-be engineers who said Kan-vo-kay-son.
This bewildering moment passed as she continued
" So the police made us clear"
" But that's not fair! Just to make the roads look prettier? It must have been such a loss for you. That's so not fair" I replied, morally outraged, expecting her to burst into a rigmarole about how cruel the police is and how the street-businesses like hers have to suffer every now and then. I know her types, a little prod and the outburst starts. Or,I thought I knew. Never, in the wildest of my imaginations I expected the following answer
" No, no. It is very necessary. You see the PM is an important person and his security is of the utmost importance. Now look at these piles of books, somebody can easily plant a bomb here without my notice and he might die. His life can't be compromised. And what after all is a duration of eight days. Itna to hum chala sakte hain. "

I stood speechless at this barely literate woman's unselfishness, solidarity and sound logic.
Here we are- spreading status updates, notes, blog posts about being devoted to country, community and society. And here she is-making an actual difference to the same.

The Ranting Indian

So after an extremely hectic day and four hours of sleep I woke up next morning, only to grudgingly get ready for an even more hectic day. I swore under my breath, fully capitalizing on my limited gaali vocabulary, as I bathed. Three dress changes, two re-doings of hair, numerous futile attempts to make my eyes look less red and puffy and a bite of a chocolate later I was speeding away towards the domestic airport-again.

Later that afternoon I was walking up the road reflecting the happenings of the day. Yes, it had been satisfactory. And yet I was indifferent, maybe a little sad too, owing to a day before's debacle. But it was over. End of the mad journeys . I was so happy to walk alone, in an unknown city on a deserted road. It was extremely peaceful. But all these lazy thoughts were interrupted by an auto-rickshaw that pulled by. The man offered me a ride till the gate since he too was going there. No charge. Now that is a sort of thing that makes one wary, not happy. After all Mumbai is a big, bad city and auto-wallahs are actually wolves dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood's grandmas. Not quite so. I hopped in and as promised was dropped at the gate. Yes, without charge.

I had it all planned. The three hours were neatly charted in my mind. Agatha Christie and random roaming about the shops and I'll be done. Except..

" What do you mean a delay of three hours? Back to the old malpractices, are we?"  thundered the middle-aged, pot-bellied man.Slightly balding. This man, in front of me, had the same flight number on his boarding card as I would get in a couple of minutes( that frankly felt like hours). Oh darn! My flight has been delayed, thought I. That disrupts the plan. Ugh.
Meanwhile the shouting continued. " How can a flight that takes less than an hour be delayed for three hours? You people have no respect for the passengers' time. What? I don't care whether you sent me one sms or one thousand. It's doesn't matter. Why do I care that this sort of thing never happens with your airlines, it's happening to me now. Now, shift me to another flight that leaves early. WHY should I pay for another ticket? You made the mistake, you should correct it. It's not my problem. Call your supervisor. I can't see her coming. Are you lying? You are her superior? What's all this bullshit? Oh, you bloody well be sorry. But I don't need your apologies, I need a new flight. Why should I try to understand. FINE I'll wait!  But I will report this. I will file a complaint. I won't let you go away with it so easily". On this threatening note the man finally stepped aside to reveal a much annoyed lady sitting behind the desk and an exasperated one rushing elsewhere. The lady almost stifled a scream when she looked at my flight number. Maybe she was gearing up for another outburst from yet another cantankerous passenger. Which is why she was visibly pleased when I didn't turn out to be one.

Now six hours can be tedious. Even when you do all sorts of things like-reading, watching tv, changing your clothes for the heck of it, doing your hair, redoing your hair, scrubbing your face, getting some caffeine into your system, some more reading, observing the people, hogging at KFC, checking out an expensive set of pearls at a la-di-da jewelery store, going to the handbag store next and bookstore after that, taking more than your usual time in the restroom, walking all over the place. You can do all this and still you'll find some idle time to do nothing. As the boarding time drew closer, I did few of the above mentioned things again, found a nice seat, closed my eyes and waited for the announcement. Aaah...I was going in a trance.. relaxing, peaceful....noisy . Wait..Noisy?
There was someone shouting. Near the departure gate. That voice was familiar.Oh yes! That complaining man again. "But look at the time" I said to myself. "Did I fall asleep or something? It is well past the boarding time" I panicked. It wasn't. Apparently there was some more delay, and man was beside himself with rage.
" First you delay it for three hours. Then you don't put me on another flight. Now you're telling me that there is more delay"
"Yes Sir, I quite understand, but..."
"We PAY for it. Pay for the bloody ticket. Ha ya Na?"
"Sir, please listen to.."
"Tell me Ha ya na?"
"Sir.."
"HA YA NA? Yes or No?"
" That is true sir, but.."
"Then! Still you treat us like dogs. Telling us when to get on a flight. I will NEVER travel in this airlines. And I will tell everyone I can to do the same. You are unprofessional. Irresponsible. No respect for passengers. Inefficient. Worst treatment. I will tell everyone. You should be sued."
The guy on the receiving end was twice this man's height and ten times as fit. Someone who'd have any day beaten the rudeness out of this guy in a regular roadside brawl. But at that moment his hands were tied and he could do nothing better than to digest the diatribe with dignity.
Finally half an hour later, I fastened my seat-belt and took out my book. The plot was thickening. I was reading intently when...
PING PING PING PING!
"What the...oh crap!" thought I. The rude guy was seated in the adjacent row. The air-hostess came running
"Yes Sir?"
"Shouldn't the flight be taking off for us to reach Ahmedabad?"
"There is heavy air-traffic. We'll take off as soon as we get the signal"
I knew what was coming. I knew I wouldn't be able to read even a word from then on. I was right.
"WHAAAAAT? More delay? Are you kidding me? This is the limit. The limit I tell you"
The air hostess quite taken aback replied " Sir.please try to understand.."
"Try to understand what exactly? That's what you people have been telling me since the afternoon. Unprofessional jerks. That's what you people are. How much time?"
" 20-25 mins" she replied hesitatingly, unable to believe that somebody can be so rude.
The man grunted and she left. Thirty more minutes passed without us moving and as expected..
PING PING PING PING PING!
"Yes Sir?" said a new air hostess. Clearly the old one didn't want to come back
"That other girl said 25 minutes. It is 35 minutes now. Why are we not moving?"
"Sir, the air traffic..'
"Don't give me all that crap. When will we take off? Let me see the pilot"
"Sir the Captain said.."
"I don't want to listen to you (getting up) Take me to the pilot.."
At that moment the the plane moved towards the runway. Ten odd minutes later, it came to a halt.
PING PING PING PING
"Yes sir?" The first air-hostess was back. This time stony-faced.
"I want to get out of this flight. It is unlikely that it will fly tonight"
"Sir we were eleventh in number. Now we are fourth. A little more time sir"
"A little more time? Do you even wear a watch? I should've been at home four hours ago. But where am I? Stuck in this immobile plane. No no, get me out. Now"
"That is not possible sir. We'll be taking off any minute now. Please bear with us. Thank You"
The air hostess left as fast as she could with the man shouting after her. Ten more minutes later we finally took off. All was well. But Murphy doesn't like well. Which is why....
PING PING PING
"Yes sir?" said the exasperated air hostess
"Where is the food? I'm hungry. You make us wait for ages to get on this flight. Then it doesn't take off. And now there's no food. Why is this airline even functioning?"
"The food trolley will come shortly, sir"
"Wait. Where are the headphones? I can't find any?"
"There aren't any headphones sir. This flight doesn't have a screen, as you can see"
"Of course it doesn't. Why should it? Because how else will it accomplish its mission of being completely bogus. You should get an award for this. The worst airlines award. Huh"
" Sorry for the inconvenience, sir". But she didn't look sorry. If anything, she looked murderous.
As promised the food trolley arrived after a few minutes.A pleasantly smiling air-hostess was pushing it while asking everyone-"Would you like to buy something to eat?" She slowly approached the rude man and put her extra-fake-smile-mask on.
"So you did manage to bring the food before we landed. Feather in your hat. What all are you giving me?"
"You get to choose, sir. There's the menu"
"Hmm..Ok. Give me a chicken sandwich, a mexican wrap, this salad thingy and coffee"
(Handed over the food) "That'll be five hundred and fifty rupees sir".The man looked at her as if she was mad.
"I am supposed to PAY for all this? Do you think I'm a first time traveler? An Idiot?"
I suspect she certainly agreed with the Idiot part, but refrained from saying yes. She then calmly replied
" Sir, your airfare is not inclusive of food charges. That used to happen earlier. Now you have to buy your food. It is so in all private airlines."
" Which is why I won't be travelling in one after this fiasco. Take the money and get me a complaint form. And please don't tell me I have to buy that too".
"I'll do that, sir"
The poor air-hostess brought a booklet type form and handed it over with a pleasant (fake) smile, probably all the time wishing to kick his ass. Respect.
"This space is too little for my complaints. Get me another form". She pursed her lips and got another form. The man started working on his vituperative feedback form with relish. The air hostess walked away with supreme indifference. Again, Respect.
Finally the flight landed and while getting down the rude guy (who was ahead of me in the queue.Ugh) handed over two feedback forms, now filled with bitter words, and said "Make sure you give them to the right people. I will also mail and call the concerned authorities to report this ill-treatment, so don't think you can throw that away".
"We don't intend to do any of that, sir. Your feedback is very valuable for us and all your complaints will be addressed. Thank You for flying with us."

The rude man went away grunting.. And I was left to ponder about the crassness that the Indian service sector has to put up with to match up to the global standards. The ranting Indian is everywhere around us. Sometimes, even within us.

Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do!

I can't believe I had forgotten this song. I first heard this Manfred Mann song in the show Fullhouse where Jesse (John Stamos) sang it. Today, as I sat idly in my balcony, the morning rays brought along the tune in my head. Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do was all I could remember of the lyrics, so instead of struggling with my memory for the lyrics to resurface, I turned to God ( Why don't they just rechristen Google and get done with it.Unofficially Google is God. Everybody knows it). Anyway, it is such a fun song! So much better than the garbage that we've to put up with these days. I'd be shocked if it doesn't make you sing along! Here's the link to the video of the original song.

I am very excited about today's game.
 Que el mejor equipo a ganar ! ;)

Anna and Aasha

By a happenstance I started reading Anna Karenina and Starry Nights at about the same time.
It was most fortunate.
Had I relished Leo Tolstoy's magnificent contribution to the world of realistic fiction without allowing my mind to venture into the plots of any other novel, I would have been just mildly enchanted. But reading it along side Shobhaa De's crass narrative that she passes off as 'The original Bollywood novel' meant that I not only was completely spellbound with the former but also pleased with the fact that years of reading had imparted me with power of discretion and also (might I add) a little taste.
But why compare Tolstoy and De? Even De-in spite of her vainglorious estimate of her writing abilities- wouldn't dare compare herself to the legend. Neither would I. The only reason for this seeming comparison can be explained by the opening line of this post. And because both are realistic fictions. Also due to the fact that both novels have adultery as the central theme.Although that might not be an exclusive point of comparison, because by that logic each of De's book can be compared with Anna Karenina. Adultery is not just the central theme of De's novels. It is the only theme.

I have an incurable habit of reading anything that I lay my hands on while I'm bored, and far more hopeless is my inability to stop even when I know that the stuff I'm reading is garbage. A couple of weeks ago a friend had suggested me a book by the name of penthouse, which, as I was told, is a pornographic equivalent of Mills and Boon. I politely declined, but a few pages into Starry Nights and I started wondering if it was any different from the X-rated books in the market. It's not that I didn't expect this. My mind has been assailed by  three Shobhaa De books so far (including this one) and I know that she heavily banks on carnality so that she can have 'Bestseller' written in bold on the cover page, but the earlier ones at least had some storyline! Whereas if you're reading this one you might as well go to an animal farm and see pigs mating-over and over again. It's hideous. Nauseating.
I don't intend to sound like a chaste woman, holy and devoid of impure thoughts. Because I'm not. However what gets my goats is people marketing vulgarity in the name of 'art' and 'freedom of thoughts'. Usually while reading a novel I think in terms of the protagonist (as does everyone else I suppose). But I just couldn't imbibe Aasha Rani's character.What kind of a woman-who willingly sleeps with scores of people, including a woman, to both escalate her career and satiate her lust-can be deemed innocent and morally right? It was a poor attempt at De's part to create a selfish and lascivious character and masquerade her as a circumstantial victim. So, if you Mrs. De are exercising your fundamental right by penning down and publishing your thoughts, I too am enough of a freedom writer to call this your novel of yours an utter trash.

So far I have read just two of the eight parts of Anna Karenina and can I be any more hooked? I'm planning to write a full length book review once I'm done. I'm amazed at how seamlessly the story unfolds, how beautifully the characters are brought into the plot, how aesthetically the tender scenes are described.
I have said this often, more to myself than to anyone else, that a good book is the one in which after a point you cease to be a mere reader and become a character yourself. Unless a book does that to you, you won't be able to enjoy it. And it is quite unnecessary to say, but still let me say it, that I'm thoroughly enjoying this book. Classics, after all are classics.

I wish to...

• live in a wooden house in a faraway land
• close my eyes and and run wildly across beautiful meadows
• go to the Caribbean 
• learn to make the most ambrosial chocolates and confectioneries  
• get lost in deep woods
• run away with a Pirate
• speak Portuguese 
• travel in a horse carriage
• unlearn everything I have learnt so far and forget everyone I know
• be near the waterfalls during sunrise and the sea during sunset
• kiss a stranger
• dance in a bonfire, till every inch of my body hurts
• collect one type each of all the gems strewn in the planet
• swim in a deserted water body with no one watching
• own thousands of pretty gowns in silk,satin, lace,velvet, chiffon, georgette...
• go backpacking
• do theater  

It's the Rains. Rains, that put me in a trance. That bring out my temptations and deepest desires. I think of so many things during Monsoon that I never think otherwise, I never dare think. The above is not some silly wishlist for the future. I want it now. All of it. Right NOW!

Sigh..

telly tales-part 1

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.

          -Groucho Marx

I beg to differ!

I have been an avid television viewer since my childhood days.I was never denied television (cable, to be more specific), and I exploited this to my advantage.
From Duck tales to Desperate housewives. From Chitrahaar to Indian idol. From Surbhi to The Ellen Degeneres show.From Khaana-khazaana to Jamie at home.From Bewitched to Shararat.I have watched all of it.I even gleefully gave into the avalanche of K-serials during the ruling period of Ekta Kapoor! Years later when I reminisced, I found that of the profuse T.V programs I strained my eyes for, there were a few that the sands of time couldn't erase from my memory. My redolent childhood/teenage memories.
I'm listing these down-rank wise.

1. Fullhouse

How could I ever thank Uttara, Prachi didi and Pallavi enough for introducing me to this wonderful family.Well...they didn't exactly make me watch it by force, but then they as good as did! Oh, how out of place I would begin to feel when my friends instead of discussing a common topic(read tattling about school) would discuss Michelle's cuteness and Jesse's hair. How clueless I looked  when one of them mentioned an episode joke. How I used to flash a silly grin trying to laugh with them. I say silly because, they didn't always quote the joke.Most of the times it was like.." Tune woh dekha jab Stephanie ne Kim se blah blah kahan?". The question would be answered with bursts of laughter. Incidentally that was the time when I had just moved into Vikki, and even though I knew them I wanted to make my way into the circle. And if watching Fullhouse was the answer, then so be it. I turned to Zee Cafe (which was then known as Zee English) with vengeance. No longer did I watch an episode, I was awfully charmed by the show. I knew instantly that I was going to like it. But I didn't know how much.. I didn't know I would wait for it with bated breath,even the repeats ( The week that was). I didn't know I would fall in love with the characters. I didn't know I would write about it nine years later on my blog. And I didn't know that these many years and countless TV shows later, it would still top the list.

2. The Wonder Years

Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next day you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place, a town, a house, like a lot of houses. A yard like a lot of other yards. On a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back...with wonder.

No television show made me as nostalgic as this one did. More so because I turned my attention to it when I was in my ambiguous phase. The one you have between just-out-of-school  and about-to-start-college. Growing out of school life was hard. The apprehensions about college was harder. But the hardest thing was to cope up with all those mixed feelings. Watching The Wonder Years was like a time travel-in past. All the early-life memories came back in flashes.I saw all this though Kevin's eyes. Kevin. I once knew a boy like him. In days when if anyone told me that "these are the golden days of your life", I would snort in derision and reply "Of course not. Wait till I go to college". Now I smile ruefully and agree than those indeed were the golden days of my life. The wonder years. And the boy? I know him no more.Or at least, he's not that boy anymore. If you too miss your childhood, your school, your bicycle,your playground, your old chums then don't miss out on this one.

3. F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Some even went as far as saying that not watching this sitcom should be deemed an offence. There was a time when when no one who watched television was unaware of friends. It was friends mania all over.Like many other shows this one too took it's own time to become a rage in India. But it became a rage alright. For me Friends became a classic example of the the fact that- First impression is not necessarily the last one.I was never interested in obliging the obscene number of people who kept suggesting it to me .One day as I was flipping channels I came across it and decided to find out what the hell was all the hoopla about. It was the last five minutes. But very nonsensical five minutes. Here's a woman who's given birth to three babies-her brother's babies :o (my dumb innocence  must be forgiven as I really was a little dumb in school. Plus surrogate pregnancy wasn't a workaday term). And whoever said this was a sitcom! With the amount of tears this woman was shedding it might have as well been a family drama. Little did I know that I was making the same mistake that an ex-classmate had made when he saw the first five minutes of a movie (a hospital scene), called it bakwaas , decided against watching it and invited a year long ridicule in his friend circle. The film in question was Dil Chahta Hai. I don't remember when exactly did I start watching it so fervently, with a near Harry Potter like enthusiam. But once I did, there was no stopping. Even today, six years after it's final season   the re-runs continue. I do watch it sometimes, when I feel blue. And honestly it's not just watching, it's also mouthing the dialogues because despite myself I know most of them by heart!

4. Who's the boss?

The first attraction was the song. The lyrics. It can be found in this post that I wrote some time ago. The second was the fact that my mother loved it too. She usually is disinterested in the firangi shows, but this one, she was very interested in. Mainly because she enjoyed Mona's character, who as she thinks and as I agree is as playful as my mother is. She teases me as Mona kept teasing her daughter Angela. The funny part is that it led me to contemplate that I've got a good deal of Angela inside me. The way she gets conscious of herself in certain kinds of social situations, the areas in which she feels insecure, her uptight nature, the way she's prissy at most of the times and nonchalant when nobody expects her to be, the way she secretly adores Tony and isn't even aware of the fact. And Tony! I love these Italian guys. There's some uncanny raw charm in them that eludes their other counterparts. It's as if their eyes twinkle, and their good-natured laughter reverberates. How I wish someday a macho housekeeper steps into my home and teaches me how to be footloose! :)
A footnote: I had named my favorite Barbie Angela, and the second favorite was called Samantha :)

5 Different Strokes

All foodies unite! (Fhah are you reading this? :D) Look at the one at the center.Isn't he the most adorable kid in the whole wide world? You listen to him once and you'll reply in affirmative. Once Arnold was asked to say two words in his birthday party and guess what he said? "Let's eat" :D
This comes from very early memories when I used to be in 5th or 6th, and lived in a different house. I made it a point to watch it even though it clashed with my playing schedule (5:30-7:30)  I remember coaxing my friends to reschedule it to 4:30 to 6:30, so that I could watch it from 6:30 to 7. Thankfully it worked-but not always. We had a lot of bullies in our group who wouldn't budge after a while. And you really shouldn't anger the gunda kids you know, otherwise they don't take you in their teams, and sadly these are the types who make ruthlessly great players. Aaah...the lessons of life one gets in small packages when one is small. Consequently I missed on a lot of episodes, but I kept watching it on and off. It was a good sitcom.

6 Small Wonder

Oh Yes! This was mighty popular ten to fifteen years ago. It used to be shown in Star Plus. This one was my gateway to foreign television shows. Their people.Their lives. And even their names.  Yes my secret is out! In initial days I was obsessed with Barbie dolls like every other girl and I had a hell lot of them.Needless to say a lot of my concern rested on giving them proper names, and I absolutely disagreed to call them by Indian names like some of my friends who had names their ones Karishma, Raveena, Madhuri (ugh). "They have golden hair, they are foreigners. They don't have our kinds of name" I had argued.In search of good names I began watching Small Wonder. It is so strange, isn't it? Some of the best things in life that we do, we do it for one reason and continue doing it for another.I would religiously watch it day after day. The only problem was that they kept switching languages. A few episodes in English and a few ones in Hindi.But language didn't matter much then. Still doesn't.
 I'm so glad I had Barbie dolls to name. Joan went on to become one Barbie's name and Harriette was the name of a baby Barbie) . I never named any of them VICI because despite what was being portrayed, despite how much I liked-loved-envied her white and red pinafore VICI (or vikki asI would think) was a boy's name not a girls's.

7. Mind Your Language

This was a jackpot! Not only did this satiate my desire to know about the first world countries but also combined it with my love for the English language. This is when I came to know that I simply LOVE the British accent! It is so much better than any other kind of English spoken in various parts of the world.I wish I had a British accent. Maybe this was one of those early influences that made me a stickler for Queen's English. I try my best not to butcher the language even if it means spending one extra rupee on an SMS because I refuse to type 'u' instead of you. I have a strong aversion to SMS language, something that I wrote about in this post.
This was also remade in Hindi and was called Zabaan Sambhaal ke, where Pankaj Kapoor played the role of a Hindi teacher. Although I don't like copied shows, it was a laughter riot even in the desi package.

So much for the TV shows I loved watching. These are the ones that I currently watch- with no descriptions (I have already outwritten my longest post)

 The Big Bang Theory- Because smart is the new sexy!

Two and a half men- Who doesn't love Charlie Sheen!

Castle- Murders. Detectives. Writer. Romance. What more can I ask for? :)

30 Rock- Make merry folks. Season 4 is here :)

So long for tonight! I would back soon with part-2

The tag game

So, this tag game is doing rounds in the Blogosphere. I saw it in this blog. All we need to do is cross out the things we have done. Just for the sake of some random fun!

So here goes:

1. Graduated high school.
2. Kissed someone.
3. Smoked a cigarette. (Only if hukkah counts)
4. Got so drunk you passed out.
5. Rode every ride at an amusement park.
6. Collected something stupid. ( Casper bars, ice cream sticks,tiles,tazzos)
7. Gone to a rock concert.
8. Helped someone.
9. Gone fishing
10. Watched four movies in one night.
11. Lied to someone.
12. Snorted cocaine.
13. Smoked weed.
14. Failed a subject. (Surprise class test :X)
15. Been in a car accident.
16. Been in a tornado.
17. Watched someone die.
18. Been to a funeral.
19. Burned yourself.
20. Run a marathon.
21. Cried yourself to sleep.
22. Spent over 10,000 bucks in one day.
23. Flown on an aeroplane.
24. Cheated on someone.
25. Been cheated on.
26. Written a 10 page letter.
27. Gone skiing.
28. Been sailing.
29. Cut yourself.
30. Had a best friend.
31. Lost someone you loved.
32. Got into trouble for something you didn’t do.
33. Stolen a book from the library
34. Gone to a different country.
35. Watched the Harry Potter movies. [All of them]
36. Had an online diary.
37. Fired a gun.
38. Gambled in a casino.
39. Been in a school play.
40. Been fired from a job.
41. Taken a lie detector test.
42. Swam with dolphins.
43. Voted for someone on a reality TV show.
44. Written poetry.
45. Read more than 20 books a year.
46. Gone to Europe.
47. Loved someone you shouldn’t have.
48. Used a colouring book over age 12.
49. Had a surgery.
50. Had stitches.
51. Taken a Taxi.
52. Had more than 5 IM conversations going on at once.
53. Been in a fist fight.
54. Suffered any form of abuse.
55. Had a pet.
56. Petted a wild animal. [Lion cubs :)]
57. Had your own credit card & bought something with it.
58. Dyed your hair.
59. Got a tattoo.
60. Had something pierced.
61. Got straight As.
62. Known someone personally with HIV or AIDS.
63. Taken pictures with a webcam.
64. Lost something expensive.
65. Gone to sleep with music on. [ The story of my life!]

P.S : Life's so dull without The Big Bang Theory :(
P.P.S: Univ finals in less than 48 hours *gets tensed*