..when the mind ceases to think..

...some organized incoherence.

Friday, May 26, 2006

-[55]- [Untitled] -[55]-

He stood there, smiling.

The crowd was mostly silent, though from people’s gazes towards him, confusion and disgust was apparent. He stood unaffected and offered no explanations.

At last, he bent down to look at the frail woman’s silent face for the last time, and whispered, “Thanks mom,” before closing the lid on the casket.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

The joys of instant messaging

Let's dwell on the joys of instant messaging for a minute - a contact list that covers pretty much all the important people in your real and virtual lives; some with whom share deep dark secrets, others who you just happened to cross paths with (in real life or vitually). Its ability to block anyone with a click of a button so you can hide away at will, and show yourself when you are prepared to be bothered. An alternative to this are status messages, where you may remain virtually 'away' or 'busy' at all times, and are available only for those you wish to talk to.

Of course, there is the marveling convenience where several simultaneous conversations take place varying in moods, from a heartbreaking personal story to casual jokes. Nothing like expressing grief over one's recent break-up, followed by 'LMAO' or 'LOL' at a quip a few seconds later in a separate window.

Unlike the phone, no uncomfortable silences are encountered even if a reply takes ten minutes, the conversation carries on where it's left off as soon as the messenger window pops up with the reply - a blessing for some of us who are inept at carrying on conversations, especially when it is completely and utterly pointless.

Then lastly, the undeniably indispensable feature, the ability to categorize people, divide them on the basis of the nature of their relationship to you - friends, acquaintances, people, individuals.. in a descending order from the most meaningful to least. Sure, one may take a moment to stop and wonder exactly why some of those are even on your list in the first place, but meh, it's just easier this way.

Once organized, you may minimize the 'people' and 'individuals', for their presence doesn't exactly matter. You can even move or rotate people as you experience periodic epiphanies, for example, he seemed interesting- let's keep him up for now; she's lost her charm- let's drop her down, etc. Out of sight, out of mind; till one of them messages you, at which point you would take a couple of minutes to recall who they are.

It works like a charm when you wish to forget someone.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Reflections...friends forever

He opened his MSN list and glanced at various names followed by subcomments ranging from the bittersweet feelings of first week of school, to cheering for Calgary Flames. The list reflected the people in his real life quite well. Everyone belonged to a certain category, ranging from "Friends" who were closest to him, to "People", who just came on and off on his list, much like saying ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ while walking by. He glanced at all the names under "Friends" and stopped at one.

Things had been traversing only in one way with her for quite sometime now. She always had time to listen to him when he needed to vent, but she no longer allowed him the same privilege no matter how much he coaxed her. That violated the unspoken rule of friendship; his rule of friendship. Suddenly, it became clear, she was merely an acquaintance with whom little more than light hearted moments were to be shared.

He chuckled apathetically, clicked on her picture, holding down on the left mouse button, and dragged the name under "Acquaintances". The overall effect was negligible. He had merely replaced a friend with a stranger, and that was just fine.