pushing the sky

Yesterday’s total Solar Eclipse as seen from space: Shot from the ISS. That is cool.

Day 1

I saw this girl standing on the opposite platform today, waiting like I was. Almost exactly like I was actually – slouched at the end of day made much too long, iPod plugged into ears, staring off into the middle distance.

Day 3

I saw that girl (from a couple of days ago) again today. We made eye contact for a second across the tracks, but in the usual manner of strangers looked away nearly instantly when we realised eye contact had been made.

Day 5

She was there again (see about 2 days ago). Noticed she had medium length wavy hair. She wasn’t listening to her iPod today, but had a book in hand. Couldn’t tell which book – too far. Greenish cover.

Day 9

That girl at the station again. Noticed she has a gorgeous figure. Spent more time looking at her than down the tracks waiting for the train.

Day 10

She was there again. Eye contact made again, lingered for more than the usual.

Day 11

And again. Couple of consistent days now. She varies her hair daily, but for all that it’s still long and wavy. Intrigued. iPod is back, novel seems to have been finished. Made effort to smile at her, but I don’t know if it came out right or indeed at all, as she looked away without response.

Day 12

Smiled at her today and she smiled back. Small, quick smile, but a simple acknowledgment no less. Looks like I could have some fun here.

Day 13

She was sitting down today; either she managed to get a seat, or was tired. On phone until her train pulled in. Feeling little less happy; weekend ahead.

Day 16

Running late today; arrived just in time to see her disappear behind her train.

Day 17

Saw her again. Announcement came over PA expressing regret at being late, so I mouthed “Not Again” & rolled my eyes exaggeratedly (is that even a word?). She smiled back with a small shrug and put down her shopping bag. Her shirt today was a bright pink that really stood out.

Clarkson reviews the Alfa Romeo 159: “The greatest sensation of speed afforded to ordinary man is not on a go-kart or a rollercoaster. It comes when you’ve got the cruise control set at 70mph, the traffic in front is stopping and momentarily you can’t find the button to turn it off… It feels like you’re doing three times the speed of light.”

I found myself thinking yesteday: If I was a cop, and I was feeling particularly sadistic one morning, I would go on the freeway and drive at about 80 km/h, or 50 – depending on how sadistic I was feeling and how fast the traffic around me was going. And then I’d just sit and wait for someone to overtake. Just screw with their heads.

When was the last time you overtook a cop?

My photo of Washington Square Park’s arch is in the New York Schmap Guide – check it out =)

That’s it, I give up. I’ve been trying to write something here which would interest even me, but I can’t. I’m all outta ideas. Taking a break until I can come up with something.

I’ve been poking around Web 2.0 a lot more recently, and that’s keeping me amused. There are some bizzare sites out there, that’s for sure. On the other hand, there are some useful ones – del.icio.us and 30boxes are nearly worth their hype, I’d say. I do have this feeling that while this crash is nearly inevitable, the cycle will be a lot longer this time around, as people hold on to some of the lessons at least.

Anyway, that’s enough from me in a I got nothing post. Y’all lovely people.

So I figure I can’t be stuffed waiting a week because no research questions have been asked and it’s practically only two questions on the list anyway.

Answering in order of ease, we have:

• Jack asks: Do you ever worry that your friends will realise your sister is much cooler than you and one day hang out with her instead?
  Well jack, the answer to your question is simple – I don’t worry about it. I already know it. But I don’t fear it – I’d be perfectly happy for that to happen. I hang out with her friends often enough, and while occasionally it feels like big-older-brother-pushing-in-because-he’s-bored-elsewhere, it’s usually cool. If anything, it’d be even cooler to have a good mix & cross-section of people hanging out together, which I don’t think happens enough. Stop cliquing about, y’all.
• Kahiti asks: what would you say is the worst fashion fad ever?
  Well Kahiti, I’m not sure if you remember, but in the late 80s and early 90s there was a fashion for what’s commonly called “Day-glo”. It was terrible on a scale that you can’t imagine. With the hangover of the 80s Dallas-esque clothes at one end of the scale and day-glo at the other, everywhere you looked there wasn’t a single stylish and understated option. In fact, practically all fashion between 1976 through to 1996 is enitirely forgettable.
• Kahiti more relevantly asks, and I’ll answer this second question because it is a deep-thinking one: What is the best thing about true disappointment/”failure”, if there is one, in your opinion? Personally and for humanity as a whole?
  There’s no better way to put this than “good question”. The best thing about disappointment and failure, in my mind, is the chance to pick things up and start over. It’s a chance to wipe the slate clean and move on. However, a lesson must be learnt, or otherwise you’ll be staring down the same barrel again – be it in 6 months, a year, or indeed a decade later – if the lesson isn’t learnt, it will come back. Essentially, the best thing about failing is getting back up afterwards.
  On the level of society, however, opinion generally differs. Society’s failures take a long time to correct, and in the meantime people get hurt, and generations can suffer for mistakes made by a foolish few. One example of society’s failures would be slavery – it took years for that to be effectively removed and its after effects cleaned up. Society through slavery failed to deliever positives for all its members – and that’s what a successful society does.
• And that’s it.
  Should you think this was positive, feel free to drop a question in the comments or email me (karanj at gmail).

And that’s a wrap. Hope that was informative, peeps.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Solid State Society (a.k.a. GitS:SAC-S³) coming soon *dances*

So in the vain hope of trying to put something regular into this blog, I’m going to send out a call for questions. Ask me a question, any question, one question per commenter, and I’ll do my best to answer it.

I’ll return with the answers in a week’s time; this gives me time to research if someone asks me an oddball question like “How many fins on a Stegosaurus?” or something (please don’t).

Personal questions will be answered as honestly as possible, but some may be turned down. The boudaries are pretty wide here though, because otherwise it wouldn’t work.

The old scepter rises again. You’ve had your patience tested and emptied before, but over time it builds up again, and you, in your forgiving nature, forget that it happened before. It’s the easiest way to live – in the moment rather than the past – but it does catch you unawares at times, like now. Easy to let things slip and make the same mistakes again. “Only a fool does the same thing twice and expects a different outcome”, the pertinent saying goes.

You don’t want to deal with it today, not right now. You’ve got work and that should keep you busy enough. But you know it’ll be on your mind all day, unless you force yourself to banish it. But not completely – remember the lesson, and hold it close to your chest this time. The sense of betrayal, of being used & discarded, is too great to suffer again.

It’s a fucking grey day. Wait for that blue sky.