Shellac flakes take about a day or so to get dissolved in the solvent. I took some guesses into how much would be required for the amount of solvent I was taking — roughly (~50gms for 150ml). Based on the suggestions online, I put two coats, while allowing the first one to dry before putting the next one. Since it was my first time I was clumsy — ended up dropping the liquid all over, spilling it to the parts where I did not intend, and what not. However, the outcome was decent enough. Although, in haste, I did not allow it to dry enough, and ended up riding the bike, and have my fingerprints all over the half-dried coats. So year, more than clumsy!

After about 3 years or so, since the bike went a recent overhaul — I decided to go for a touch-up for the shellac coats as well. This time around I wanted to give it its own sweet time, and encash on the lessons I learnt last time! So after having dissolved the shellac, I went for a generous first coat. I had also secured other parts of the bike (tyres, front fork, etc.) to save them from the outcome of these “generous” amounts of liquids being dealt with! Luckily, thanks to the remanent coat from last time, the first coat dried quite quickly — say in about couple of hours or so. I then proceeded with another coat, and left the bike to dry for about 4 hours or so.

The result, as you can see, is drool-worthy! I would highly encourage the brave ones to ditch the conventional handlebar tape, and try out shellac coating!
One tip though — you may want to have a base layer of cork bar tape, and then cloth tape (the one you’d put shellac on) over it. This makes it more comfortable.

I like the way Decathlon has kind of 'democratised' sports' goods in India. A recent news report backs it up. In a place like Pune, and not very long ago, things were somewhat different and not in a good sense. Allow me to be less euphemistic. Things were very different! Picture this: a handful of sporting goods outlets, with an irksome, proud and snobbish staff, blinded by the success that monopoly brought. This was in spite of having a limited variety, both in terms of the sports they cater for, and the goods they had for a given sport. I remember going to one of the immensely popular outlets -- Champion sports -- in the by-lanes of FC Road, and although I don't remember what was I seeking, I do recall exiting the outlet in disgust and anger thanks to the bad taste in the mouth that the interaction had brought about.

Blurry flashback
I remember getting wowed while visiting Decathlon's flagship store in Whitefield, Bangalore. It was an Alice in Wonderland-ish experience. Not only was I overwhelmed with the magnanimity of the store (we're not used to Costco, you see), but also impressed by the range of sports that they seem to be supplying for. I remember having hoarded as much as I could -- or let's say as much as I could imagine being allowed in the budget flight that I had booked. Point being, everything seemed good enough for the given price! Plus, there was assistance only an 'excuse me' away -- people who genuinely knew what they're talking about -- rather than trying to coerce you into buying something slyly!

Cut to 2019
Decathlon has dotted itself across India -- from A-type to now B-type cities. At a store in Pune, I see people from almost all the strata of society happily letting their kids loose, while they pick things that they need or they think that they do. Luckily, at the given nominal price, they do not have to think a lot. Many are or are the kin of frequent and infrequent runners, cyclists or hikers -- 'active' family members, if you please. Several amongst them are planning for their next big trek to the mountains. They seem calm while assessing the 'technical clothing', which would've otherwise costed around five to ten times more at Nike or Adidas or whatever outlets like Champion sports would've sold to them. Their kids play around in the whole store.

I happen to visit the store to return something I had bought about a month ago. Had it been another store, I would've had to plead not guilty -- trying to prove that the product hasn't been used, most probably in vain. The other party would have cited reasons like the 'passing of the return window', the 'company policy', 'hygiene', 'alignment of the stars', 'because the final season of GoT sucked', and what not! At this store, however, I do not have to justify anything, and I am happily handed over a return voucher, and given an option to get back my cash as well!

I wish that Decathlon India prospers also enters C-type towns as well as villages -- where a plethora of talent has to still deal with cocky store owners, and make do with a dearth of variety and exposure.

The word 'regret' would start to diminish from our vocabularies, and more so, from the consequence of our actions (or the lack of it). Our bucket lists would be tiny and, in many cases, non-existent.

Death, then, wouldn't be a taboo topic -- it would be less seen as a disruption and more as an eternal state of calmness.

The funny thing is, all of us do know this, but most of us pretend as if we have unlimited time here. We let ourselves go astray with what doesn't matter in the larger spectrum of things. We chase money, more than we need. We hoard materials. We become stingy and don't share the surplus, even if we very well can. We twist religion and use it to our benefit -- to ensure a great (so-called) afterlife and to maintain our illusionary superiority.

As Alan Watts said, maybe a shift in our mindset can be triggered once we stop considering life as a journey, and think of it as music, or dance:

So yes, being aware of our expiry dates can motivate us to lead better lives. But, then it makes me wonder, are we really dependent on the knowledge of that date to do that? Maybe not.

The cushions that rule our big "comfy" sofa are the most respected members of our family. No one in the family has the right to dethrone them. Regular sofa-'space'-battles are frequent and are almost always won by them. And even when you try to co-exist peacefully on the sofa, some way or the other, these little pricks are constantly reminding you of their presence!

This arrogance did not occur to them overnight. Cushions have worked hard for it. Those things that were once primary weapons to attack one's siblings have successfully exploited the loopholes in the humans' constant endeavour to look better. Hence they kept growing bigger and teamed-up with cushion covers. Covers that are now, supposedly, a representative of their owner's coolness, geekiness, humour, or modern-yet-contemporary-ness. They made humans perceive a sofa with basic or minimalistic cushioning as 'uncool'. What followed can be termed as 'The Wrath of the K(ushio)n". We started seeing sofas in which one would have to search for a 3-year-old if left unattended. If the sofa weren't "plush" enough, people started loading them with these monstrosities to make them look so.

Come to think of it -- in an afterlife, given a choice, I would want to be a cushion -- not just any cushion, but a sofa cushion. Until then, sadly, the argument continues.

I get confused when someone wishes me to "stay blessed". My main contention then becomes, are you -- the blesser, putting the ball in my -- the potential blessee's court? If so, then that's totally uncalled for. C'mon, my plate might be already full with a number of other, more important, tasks. I don't need any new responsibility, especially the abstract, divine kinds, to be bestowed upon me. That too, unsolicited.

Hadn't it been politically incorrect, I would have definitely countered the one who conveniently handed out this mammoth of a task upon me. Why couldn't the person keep it to herself/himself, with a simple prefix of "I hope" -- "I hope you stay blessed". As is apparent, that would have kept things light, goodwill would have been conveyed, and everyone would have gone home happy.

I think people, kind of, consider it in the league of "take care", but it's just that they believe that "take care" is so 80's and sounds un-hep. But I'm far more happy with "take care" because that's something tangible, as I know that the onus is very much on me. (Also, because experiments have shown that the absence of "taking care" might have catastrophic outcomes.) An absence of "staying blessed", umm..I don't know -- it's debatable. I'm better off with "stay healthy", "stay happy" and/or "take care", thank you very much!

I call it amazing because it pronounced a significant number of latent thoughts of mine about the way I see cycling evolving (or 'cyclists behaving' if you will) around me. I think the author, Grant Peterson witnessed a similar trend about a decade or more ago in the US and decided to collate much of his gathered wisdom into this tiny book. The author highlights the existence of the predominant category of cyclists, who he refers to as unracers. I also see a vast majority of them: with the increasing income and knowledge, the upper-middle-class in India is buying bikes which are generally in the range of 15-30K -- a price range that would have made them and their folks jump out of their chairs when they were young. Undoubtedly, it is a welcome trend and should be encouraged by all means.

Apart from things like caring for the environment and all that jazz...one of the primary reasons most of us get the bike is for the joy of riding. And I know, this 'joy' part has been said a million times to the point of being clichéd. But that's a fact -- so please excuse my rhetoric. But, the author makes a very valid point that this very joy starts eroding when these unracers mindlessly start copying the professional racers. It starts with the gadgets (or apps), moves to clothing, and progresses to always yearning for the next best equipment or component that one could get the hands on. I confess to being gradually and involuntarily falling prey to this mentality -- even though I do not plan to race in near or not-so-near future -- I had already ordered a riding jersey and was eyeing more sophisticated (read: expensive) ones. I was also about to order thinner tires for my (non-racing) bike because I wanted to go faster. I was and am still keen on knowing how many KMs have I clocked on the bike ride and whether I outdid my previous timings.

However, with the fresh perspective after having read this book, and as I indicated earlier, with a pronounced set of underlying unease that I had by observing the cyclists around me -- I am beginning to get a hang of where we, the evolving cycling community of India is going wrong. 'Wrong' is maybe too strong a word -- 'tangential' is more like it. We're going tangential! We get the bike because it's something that resonates with the inner child in all of us -- of going out, unbound and unhindered, and feeling better connected to the world around us. Apart from that, we realize that it's a great means to stay "healthy". We then start attending group rides or go out for solo ones, and end up getting influenced by the 'cooler' riders on their road bikes -- in full-fledged bike gear. We pay less attention to their pot bellies or the fact that they're more keen on where would we break for food, but rather, we start concentrating on the superficial things like when one of them announces that "15KMs more and I'd be done with my 'century ride'", or when another one highlights the top speed he reached on the last segment. This is a passive yet strong influence, and if one is not conscious enough, has the power to sway our original intent of getting the bike -- the fun gradually erodes and we become almost 'one of them'. That is, yet another potbellied cyclist, always concerned about the distance or speed on a ride, and living in the illusion of being healthy. Now that I have mentioned 'health', allow me to delve a little bit into it. Modern bikes allow us to 'cheat'. With a range of gears (usually 18-30), there's almost always a way to minimize the effort and hence, the total amount of effort that the rider needs to apply is minimal. Again, I'm referring to the predominant unracers here. This is different from running where there's no such option. That's why we see regular runners more lean and athletic than regular cyclists.

So, inspired by what Grant Petterson lists down as a way to get back to the joy of cycling, with a tinge of my thus-far experiences, here's an Indianized list of tips that one can ponder over:

• Do you really need to be in full riding gear for short rides..say under 50-80 KMs? If 'getting ready' is time-consuming, it might slowly but surely evolve to become a deterrent to heading out for the ride in the first place. It makes sense if it's a BRM -- you should wear padded shorts and avoid getting a sore bum. But otherwise, you might want to get into or get out of something quickly -- and be at ease otherwise also. In fact, loose clothing is far more comfortable for city/short rides.

• Ride when you feel like, as long as you feel like. Don't ride with the sole intention of bragging about it. (This is applicable to everything nowadays, I believe.)

• If you're on a geared bike, the number of calories you've burnt are, sadly, not a lot. Also, don't immediately shift to an easy gear as soon as you hit an incline. Let your legs do the work initially. Shift only if you have to.

• Be mindful of what you're eating before, during, and after the ride. This is kind of related to the previous point of easy-going geared bikes. Petterson summarizes it as: 'don't drink if you're not thirsty' approach (extrapolate it to: don't eat unless you're hungry).

• Don't ride out of compulsion or guilt. Don't go for a ride if you don't want to. If you want to 'free the endorphins', there are other options. Running is great! The newly evolved 'CrossFit' is fun (although there's a fluctuating aspect of bragging there as well, but anyway!), or do some other activity that you love.

• Decent bikes of the current day are sturdy and do not require as much maintenance as you think they do. Don't let the equipment own you, rather you should own it! If your bike requires maintenance every now and then -- change the bike -- it'd be a worthy investment!

• Ride in groups if possible, but, then again, don't let the peer pressure dislodge your peace. If the group leader doesn't care about every person in the group -- even the slowest one -- then leave that group. If the group members are racing all the time, then that might not be a group for you. If the group's main motivation is food -- you'll end up being (as) fat. Join a group of like-minded people instead. Otherwise, go solo* -- if you're like me, you'll soon realize that it's much more fun!

I'm kind of bummed that I did not realize these aspects earlier -- it's been quite some time that I have been cycling. But I am happy that this book gave me a chance to step back and take a stock. It would be inauthentic of me to say that the adrenaline rush is not addictive for me -- a PR^ on Strava, or (on rare occasions) a KOM# does make me feel good. But I think there are different times and places for that kind of thing, and one should not try to mix those -- that is: let the joy of riding get clouded by a yearning for achievement or acknowledgment. From now on, I want to head out to be at peace with myself -- in my own company -- when I feel like. In comfortable clothing.

If you're a non-professional cyclist or an expectant-cyclist, I would strongly advise you to get your hands on this book. It's a short read, but deeply impactful, and helps you get back to the true essence of cycling. Not tangential!

* In Indian cities, I would advise solo riders to go out when it's a bit bright. Since busy roads reduce the overall speed of all the vehicles, even in the case of the oncoming vehicle not spotting a cyclist earlier, the driver has a chance to act within time. Most of the rider fatalities that I have got to know took place in the wee hours of the morning. It's easy to figure out that the 'culprit' vehicle wouldn't have expected a cyclist. If you have to, be as visible as possible. ^ Personal Record # King of the Mountain - a virtual award given in Strava to the fastest rider on a given segment

Update (2017-11-27): Added KOM definition, Fixed grammar.

So anyway, I was my unamused self and headed towards the balcony, where this distant, unevolved, relative of mine had chosen to spend his afternoon. I saw it getting more intrigued by the enactment of the last scene of 'Sadma' movie that my wife and daughter were putting up to shoo it off than they were with his. I am sure, it'd have ordered a popcorn and soda, given a chance.

As I bleh-ed the overhyped situation -- of the red-corner notice issued on the society WhatsApp group -- I felt sorry for the two pot-bellied security guards with their lathis, clueless about dealing with this unwelcome refugee. I felt even more sorry for the bewildered animal, of what all it's being made to endure -- "I hope it finds a safe exit".

For the next two days, we kept hearing reports about the antics of the monkey in various locations throughout the society. I am sure, there'd been a lot of "selfies" clicked as well. Though I am not very sure about who ended up more entertained at the end of it all -- the monkey or yours truly.

Rachel Ignotofsky has done a commendable job by compiling 1-page biographies of 50 women, "who changed the world". She has complemented it with to-the-point, interesting, and effective doodles and illustrations for each of the portrays. While most of us know about the popular ones like Madam Curie, Ada Lovelace, and suchlike; this book brings forth stories of many more who were as brilliant, and fearless.

Buy this book for yourself, and your kids. Especially boys.

The conversation involved a lot of repetitions of the words "bhai", "phir kya", and bollywood celebrity names. It did not take me long to understand that the main subject of conversation was "Salman Bhai", who the owner -- either out of sheer respect, or to uphold the convention was referring to as just "bhai". Ah! then it all made perfect sense. It was easy to put two and two together. The owner was a typical late-20s-gym-frequenting-with-neatly-trimmed-beard guy who claimed to have attended "a lot" of late-night parties where bhai was also invited. So he "knew" bhai and bhai's nuances like the back of his hand.

The subject on the other hand was an early-20s-just-started-with-"gymming" guy with a gleam in his eyes -- and a tremendous hope that his new found guru could get him, maybe not befriended, but at least a picture clicked with the bhai.  (Wait a min, did I say 'picture"? -- I am sorry, that's so 80's of me -- I meant "a selfie".)

The topic of conversations ranged from what bhai likes to eat and drink, to who all does he talk to, to how bhai just showed up in his PJ's to the 'Kapil Sharma show'. Seems bhai calls the shots everywhere. (Pun intended.)

The conversation seemed to start to go downhill when, I think, the owner realised that this yuppy friend is a bit more enthusiastic than he had anticipated, and may actually one-fine-day show-up to join him on his next late-night-party that bhai is supposed to honour with his presence. The body language changed, the owner started looking more at his watch and what looked like "engaging" WhatsApp messages. The poor friend then seemed to have got the drag, and excused himself after exchanging some half-hearted pleasantries.

And yes, then it was my turn to get a trim -- not the bhai kinds that is.

Nevertheless, the experience has been exhilarating! And over-time, like many cyclists would, I have got used-to the glances of sympathy, ridicule, amusement, encouragement, surprise, and most of all the look of a-question-coming-up, from people of various shapes, sizes and ages.

Pune, the place where I live, was known to be a cycle-friendly city. Was. Things are different now, with cyclists having to jostle their way just like everybody else. It's a bit more challenging for cyclists given the fact that unless they're the really loud kinds, it's easy to ignore their presence, and forget their relevance.

Following is a crude list of my observations so far. Based on which Indian city you reside in, your mileage may vary.

• It's not as scary as it might appear till you finally decide and hit the road!

• People are generally considerate, given that you're disciplined. Owning a cycle does not mean you can flout the traffic rules.

• Be wary of taxis (yellow number plates in general), they're the scariest lot with no regard for all other vehicles. Unfortunately, cycles form a part of all other.

• Kids will love you

• In general, expect to get a few 'thumbs-ups' per month (predominantly from Bullet-riders -- not sure why)

• As mentioned before, be prepared to answer FAQs like: "how much is it (the bike) for", "do you ride every day", or for the price of a specific accessory like, "did you get the headlight along with the bike", and suchlike

As for me, I feel more upbeat in spite of sweat and stress once I reach the office. I realized that even though I may be physically stressed, but I am more mentally active. The converse is true when I drive to work. Physical stress is much easier to deal with. And with the released endorphins, it peps you up!

One of the good things that has happened to me in my current organization is that we have been made to undergo a 'leadership programme'. Wait, it's not as boring as it sounds. In fact, to my utter surprise, I have not found it boring at ALL. I used to believe I do not belong to such programmes. That such things are applicable for people who want to become successful managers. To my delight, I was wrong.

So the point of sharing the meta-information about the programme that we've been made to realize that one of the tenets of 'transformation' (from the downtrodden ordinary people, to leaders) is that we have to be fully responsible for our actions. "We have to 'own' our actions." I never paid that much heed to this statement, until I consciously realized what it conveys. It conveys a lot more than what meets the eye -- that it's easy be the effect and not the cause of a situation. In simpler English -- it's easy to hold the situation or others responsible for our actions. The truth, however much we want to deny, is that it is we who chose to behave a certain way, and hence the responsibility is entirely ours!

A lot of times -- in the mindless rat-race of proving ourselves to be perfect -- an ideal employee, an ideal husband, a perfect parent, a caring son, a should-be-looked-up-to human -- we tend to try to cover-up the actions we are not so proud of. While this might work in the near future, it has adverse repercussions in the long run, the most adverse being the effect on oneself. Slowly but gradually it erodes our soul.

Acceptance is liberating.

Accepting that we have been the cause of our actions -- of not being the ideal in certain aspects or situations consciously brings us at peace with ourselves. The erosion stops, and so does the avoidance of facing the ground-reality. We need to realise that being at peace with ourselves is indispensable to trying to attain peace with the rest of the world.

Being at peace with ourselves lets us be aware of similar situations in future and behave in a better manner -- which might still not be ideal -- but still have better consequences than before. This is the key to a long-term sub-conscious aspiration of attaining the ideal behaviour.

Anyway, case in point being, white noises do help me in two ways: A. of course, as expected, they block external (non-uniform) noises; and B. I don't have to worry about -- as in the case of music -- managing the playlist and all.

"Improving the cognitive skills"...erm...I don't know! :) Maybe...maybe not.. little do I care! There are various YouTube videos, Websites, SoundStreams that offer rain sounds, cafe sounds, etc. The one I use the most is called RainyCafe. I stick to the 'rain' mostly, but every once in a while I've tried out their 'cafe' option as well.

Do try out a 'white noise' next time you're trying to concentrate on something, and need to disconnect. It helps.

These guys are flouting the rules left, right and center all over Pune -- and there's no one to question them! The traffic authorities seemed to have washed their hands after doing their part -- "look, we've laid out very strict guidelines for school vans and buses -- they're supposed to put this warning on their rear window: DRIVE CAREFULLY - STUDENTS ON BOARD (or a variation of it)". "Ummm...err...Mr. Officer, who is this warning for exactly? I don't think it's for the driver -- he hasn't ever taken cognizance of it after the first day when he got the package -- I guess it's for the people who just watch the van swoosh past them, praying to their favourite deities in exasperation -- for the safety of the innocent lives -- both inside and outside the van".

You go to type a text message, and accidentally click on send....and whoosh...the message is sent! That's the most stupid thing I have come across in a while. It's worse than my very first Motorola, where if the phone rang while I was typing a message, the message went for a toss.

Anyway, coming back to Samsung -- in their mindless rush to bring zillions of Galaxy devices to the market, did they ever sit back and think of usability? -- because, apart from the looks, that's what makes an iPhone an iPhone. I can bet it wouldn't be more than two lines of code to put a validation to disallow sending of blank messages. But as long as their phones are selling like hot cakes...who cares...right?

But a fun trip, I would say.

It's interesting to notice the difference in culture, landscape and people in general, within a couple of hours of travel. Like those Arab gentlemen at the immigration desk of Dubai airport. Snotty lot. Come to think of it: their cockiness may be justified to a great extent -- there are just too many of us (/people who look like us/people from the Indian subcontinent) in their country. The figure is intimidating. Therefore an immigration desk seems to be an ideal place for them to vent out their angst. Those four or five minutes is their little revenge. Throughout my time in the UAE I observed this snottiness in Arabs in general. For example, if you accidentally bump into them (or somehow if an 'excuse-me-situation' arises) they'll not utter a single word. I wonder if there's an equivalent of 'excuse-me/sorry' in Arab dictionary. Probably, a typical interaction in the moral science class of an Arab school might be like: Teacher: So Majid, tell me, what do you do when you bump into someone, or someone bumps into you accidentally? Majid: Umm, I don't know m'am, hit him/her? or tell dad to arrange for hundred lashes for them? Teacher: No Majid, that's rude! You'll just give him/her 'the look'. Or if s/he is saying 'sorry or excuse me', then turn your face away and walk-on. Aside to the twisted Arabs, one of the best things was good food in abundance. I got to sample a Turkish delight, awesome Afghani cuisine and mouth-watering Pakistani food. All thanks to my cousins and cousins-in-law.

Apart from the family ties, I guess, food would be the only other motivation for which I can visit UAE again.

I confess, however, my bars have been raised several notches, OK many more than several notches, because of what they churn out at Coke Studio (Pakistan), where Rohail Hyatt is doing an incredible job! Somehow, he knows exactly where to provide his inputs and where to just let the things be. Each of their composition is classic, unique and impeccable. I still regret getting to know about it much later -- in their third season.

Anyway, back to our own (Indian) Coke Studio:

I do not understand what stops them from roping-in people like Amit Trivedi and Sneha Khanwalkar -- people who have a proven track record of delivering the most amazing fusion compositions. Just let them 'do their thing' and see what wonders they do!

Also, please leave the likes of Leslie Lewis alone! They've done their part in jamming with Asha-ji. Not everyone can be a great music arranger. 'Rahul and I' was a great album of its time but there's a hell of a difference between genres of 'Rahul and I' and Coke Studio. The latter requires a different mindset and talent altogether.

Anyway, now that we're on my favourite topic, let me mention of a revelation I had had lately -- I did not know Piyush Mishra, who is an awesome actor, is that amazing a singer as well! The song 'Ik Bagal' carves a niche for itself (much like the rest of the songs of 'Gangs of Waseypur'). However this song stands-out because of the distinct and crisp voice as well as lyrics by Piyush Mishra. Kudos to him and to the rest of the gang involved in this song.

Here's a video-less version:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH2Tqwez8qM]

Seriously, what more can I ask for?!

Yes, I accept, it's a feeling that I have been living in the stone-age of blogging all this time!

boats at pier 39 Originally uploaded by pugmarx

...so it's been more than a month here in "San Fran" and now, as the number of days left are getting struck out, the excitement is increasing. I was wondering, apart from the socio-political obligations (sometimes aka 'expectations'), what would be the first thing I do when I reach? Maybe I'll ask wifey to prepare tea. Although it sounds very mundane that a person would have tea once he's back. I mean, what could be so special about it. But the gravity of the crave could only be realised by someone who's been away from a good tea for that long. So, done! Tea it would be!

Not that I'm not having tea here, but it lacks the punch of its Indian cousins -- something which you get after you put the milk, and keep it boiling for long.....and then by several times playing the game of making it boil up to the brim and then quickly lower the flame. [one feels so "in control" -- sort of like, "fooled ya! din't I?!"]. Ah! the little joys of life. :)

So anyways, it was 4th of July today, and there were, of course, a number of events lined up at various places. The only one which did interest me was a series of live performances by local rock bands at Pier 39. I decided to go for it. But what I didn't realize was that being a weekend, the Caltrain schedule was screwed. So I did reach there, but missed the first performance by half an hour. The other performance was due towards the night, so I decided to give it a skip.

Hung around for about an hour at the Pier, visited N*L official store and was almost about to pick a Raiders sweatshirt, when I noticed a 'For Her' on the tag. Damn! That was the only decent (non short-stint-in-Amreeka-at-company-expense) looking sweatshirt there. So ended up returning quite bored, pissed, and tired.

Upon reaching San Mateo, and still struggling with the guilt of "long weekend pe kuchh nahi kiya", decided to go for the fireworks show at Foster City. That happened to turn out nice -- more so because that was the first time I realized that there are so many people staying around.

So that's it.

Sometimes one just feel like confessing, "actually i just updated my Facebook profile...", but then the previous guy had just discussed something which seems similar to devising a next generation rocket propulsion.

Not that updating the Facebook profile requires much less a brain-work (you want to sound interesting, and smart, and honest, all at the same time (more so, if you're unmarried) ), but one has to sound "productive" and "profitable" in the current situation. So then you unleash your imagination and apply a decorator to your, in layman's language, "time-pass".

*Sigh*, how I love scrums!