"Conversation like television on honeymoon. Unnecessary."
has been one of my all time favorite quotes. Whether I think conversation to be unnecessary because I'm not too good at it or if I'm not too good at it because I think it to be unnecessary is.. a chicken and egg question(of sorts).
All said and done, you sometimes have this urge to talk to people even when you have nothing to say. I have been flexing my conversation starting skills lately. Needless to say I haven't achieved too much success. Considering the fact that my past attempts involved questions like, "So. You ever tried running away from home when you were a kid" and "Did you ever have an imaginary friend", the fact that the people I tried conversing with didn't think I was a freak was, in itself, a feat.
For lack of better ways of keeping myself amused I've tried to categorize the various conversation starting/making strategies. Some of these I've actually tried out. Some were tried on me. Accompanying them are also the replies that ran through my mind when the statements/questions were made/asked.
1. The skill of observation making.
1a) I walked by the cube of a colleague reading something.
Me: Reading I see..
Ideal reply: Making obvious observations I see..
:D
1b) Walked by the cube of a colleague heading home with his bike.
Me: Ah. Heading home I see.
Ideal reply: Na. Taking my bike out for a stroll.
2. The art of incessant question asking.
She: What are you watching?
Me: The news.
She: Oh. You watch it regularly?
Me: More like randomly.
She: So. How many of you went for the movie?
Me: 5.
She: Who all?
Me: A, B, C, D.
She: Oh. And who organized it?
Me: A.
She: Oh. Which movie.
Ideal reply: Jenna Jameson the Masseuse.
3. The concern strategy.
Question: Hey, how have you been?
Ideal reply: I would rather die than lead the pathetic life that I currently do. My girlfriend thinks I'm a loser and is with me only because she has nowhere else to go, my friends have stopped talking to me since I stopped buying them lunch and sometimes the boredom and ennui of this vacuous existence makes me want to jump in front of a moving train.
That's all I have come up with so far. To all the women out there(and the men who don't get bored easy): This.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may"
"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today;
Tomorrow will be dying."
From this poem by Robert Henrrick. The poet asks young women to nail themselves a man before their beauty fades. Sigh. Even 17th century poets seem to be bent on rubbing in the fact that a woman's beauty is but a fleeting asset. Also the nailing a man part.
I was home spending a not-exactly-happening Friday evening when I decided to occupy myself with a movie. The movie of choice; "Dead Poets Society."
Sigh. I guess you're just more susceptible to getting carried away by words, romance, and happy ideas on a Friday evening.
"Show me the heart unfettered by foolish dreams and I'll show you a happy man.", said the cynic.
"But only in their dreams can men be truly free. 'Twas always thus, and always thus will be.", said Mr. Keating(Robin Williams).
"And not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
"We must constantly look at things a different way"
"Most men lead lives of quite desperation"
"Carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary. "
Robin William kicks ass (like he always does). You also find a young Robert Sean Leonard who also stars in House MD as the best friend and a unfaithful husband. James Williams... Sigh..
Director: Peter Weir. Also the director of "The Truman Show".
" "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be? "
"My verse?", I thought.
"Blow the trumpet, blow it loud. Let the world know you're around."
(I know what blowing your trumpet means. I'm not an idiot, as much as a lot of you would like to believe. Especially you. Why *this* particular line? Because it came to me at the time. And *more* importantly.. It rhymed.)
A good movie is one that makes you laugh and cry with it. I loved every moment of it. Being whimsical one might say. I'm 23. I'll be 23 for only this one year. I want to enjoy every moment of being 23. I was 17 once. I'm really glad I did all that only a 17 year old has the heart, courage and opportunity to do.
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today;
Tomorrow will be dying."
From this poem by Robert Henrrick. The poet asks young women to nail themselves a man before their beauty fades. Sigh. Even 17th century poets seem to be bent on rubbing in the fact that a woman's beauty is but a fleeting asset. Also the nailing a man part.
I was home spending a not-exactly-happening Friday evening when I decided to occupy myself with a movie. The movie of choice; "Dead Poets Society."
Sigh. I guess you're just more susceptible to getting carried away by words, romance, and happy ideas on a Friday evening.
"Show me the heart unfettered by foolish dreams and I'll show you a happy man.", said the cynic.
"But only in their dreams can men be truly free. 'Twas always thus, and always thus will be.", said Mr. Keating(Robin Williams).
"And not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
"We must constantly look at things a different way"
"Most men lead lives of quite desperation"
"Carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary. "
Robin William kicks ass (like he always does). You also find a young Robert Sean Leonard who also stars in House MD as the best friend and a unfaithful husband. James Williams... Sigh..
Director: Peter Weir. Also the director of "The Truman Show".
" "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be? "
"My verse?", I thought.
"Blow the trumpet, blow it loud. Let the world know you're around."
(I know what blowing your trumpet means. I'm not an idiot, as much as a lot of you would like to believe. Especially you. Why *this* particular line? Because it came to me at the time. And *more* importantly.. It rhymed.)
A good movie is one that makes you laugh and cry with it. I loved every moment of it. Being whimsical one might say. I'm 23. I'll be 23 for only this one year. I want to enjoy every moment of being 23. I was 17 once. I'm really glad I did all that only a 17 year old has the heart, courage and opportunity to do.
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