Ugh! Microsoft!

It's been several months that I have almost stopped using Microsoft MSN, except very occasionally. I don't know why I downloaded 8.1 Beta; it makes my computer slow like a hell. It eats lots of my memory. When will these MS people know about proper memory management. Maybe they are targetting high end computers with 1GB memory. And now that beta product wouldn't let me to login and instead asked to upgrade, and that by downloading. Ridiculous. I am complaining and yet using MS. Ugh!!
I don't know what went wrong with GAIM. It just kept crashing. Well downloading and reinstalling didn't help too. Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!

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"lazy work doesn't work! boy!!"

I applied to Acumen Fund Fellowship almost a month back and later got rejected as expected. There was a form to answer the difficult questions, the soul searching questions that make you take a dip inside yourself, search for the answers and get nothing (atleast for my part). Yeah the questions were really vague and I answered those in a matter of minutes on the last day. Can you imagine that? The result is "Better Luck next time! buddy". I still remember one question which says "Some examples of where the power of listening makes you proud?", a little distorted as I extracted from my memory. I had a really hard time to answer that question. Perhaps the time I gave for soul searching queries is far too less to deserve that prestigious fellowship.

I am one of 466 people that applied for the fellowship and one of the 400+ that got rejected. There is long procedure for selection. Had I been selected, I would never get to know that "lazy work doesn't work at all". Good for me.

The first time I got to know about Acumen Fund is few months back when I, for no any apparent reason, downloaded a TED presentation of Jacqueline Novogratz, the CEO and founder of Acumend Fund, an impressive lady who envisions of making poverty a history.

Mega-hit performance?... most says so

Friday, 23th February 2007
Finally the much awaited day arrived, the time to put our practice at stage, infront of an ICIMOD crowd. Yeah it was ICIMOD DG farewell party last Friday. Our almost two weeks of toil was about to be unveiled. And I was sick. I can't believe i got knocked off the day before (I think I mentioned about friend's party in my last blog). I slept at 3 in the morning the day before at my friend's home, woke up at 7:15, got back to my home, showed my fresh face (but not inside) to my mom, had a little food and off to office. I was hazed the entire day, my tummy was not feeling well. And an hour long meeting made me even more sick. I was pretty sure that I was going to do something nasty that would certainly make our performance terrible. I would never forgive myself for my would-be-terrible act. I told Prative-di, our gracious coordinator that I was not feeling well (but not the night-before act). She worked much hard to get us working, call us to reach the practice on time, encouraged us from time to time, even instructed us at different points (she herself is a dancer and giving newbies a chance). Really she is a fun to work with, a great person.

We reached the venue quite early, to have a little bit of practice. I was feeling awful, resting over anything of my reach, and worrying Prativa-di. The cultural show was to start at 6PM, it was somewhere around 3PM. The stage was ready, beautifully done; you should see the ornamented flowers in the stage. Superb.

Lots of speech. Finally the time. I was also to sing a nepali song "Musu musu hasi deu" in a group, just before the dance. I couldn't trust myself of my ability to stand the entire song. I dropped out. I knew I had some reserved energy, which I didn't want to lose before my performance. Finally on the way to stage. The girls went first, were dancing and finally boys turn. I saw the cheering audience, heart was hammering slightly, and yet made my moves, trying to show my energy; and I did feel revitalized. The song ended. It was a swift song that any of us (at stage) had ever heard before. All of us were unsatiated, even the audiences "Once more!Once more!". I didn't heard though at stage, but later people said to us. We were congratulated at every corners, as if we were... It was a mega-hit. I heard people talking. It was indeed a memorable day for all of us.


Dance Crew

bday wish again!

Again today I got a message from a good friend, wishing me belated bday with some apology. I had expected her call the same day. But no bad feelings.

In her last bday, she called me, I talked and hung up. No clue about her bday. And the next day, I got an SMS "I called you on my bday and you didn't even wish me." I didn't do that intentionally so no apologies. I am like this. So I don't feel bad if anybody forgets to wish me or doesn't wish me. I wonder if other people also think the same way. Oh no, not the girls, they are very very strict about these small (for me) things. If you look at my previous post (an email forward) on "Why men are happier than women", you will realize that some of these things actually hold true for majority of women. Believe me I am not against feminist or feminism, but just some of the facts that I face every often.

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An unintentional act of mine hurts me

We, the dancing boys, went to buy shirts for dance. We saw a shop at Thamel, went inside and found all the colors we were looking for, with some tolerance though, tried some bargaining, ok, bought them and off the shop. It doesn't sound shopping, or does it? Not for me, atleast. That's how boys are, as far as I am concerned. If the girls were to buy the same, how long would they take? Probably two days, provided 98% luck. If a girl had been with us, then it wouldn't have that easy (again my assumption).

On the way to home, I took a tempo. I totally forgot that I had no change at all, just a 1000 rupee note. I was pretty sure that the tempo driver, a female one, wouldn't have the change to give me Rs.992 back. I was feeling terrible. I didn't know what I was supposed to do or say. It would look like I intentionally carried that note not to pay at all. Fortunately I had folded 5 rupee note, hidden in my purse. I was thinking of getting off the tempo, get 10 rupee from the barber shop (my regular one) and give it to her. The tempo stopped a little far (50 m) from the shop. After getting off, I first apologized for having 1000 rupee note, asked her if she had change, "no" and then asked her if she would spare me few seconds to get some money from that shop. She looked unhappy and was about to go. I said I had 5 rupee, she took it "Give it next time" and drove away. Next time? There are hunderds of tempos, I wonder if I would ever met that tempo again.

I know how much hardships the laborers, here in Nepal and elsewhere, are going through, how much a mere (for some privileged us) 10 rupee would matter to them. That female driver would probably have a family to support. I really really felt bad, even though it was not deliberately done. I am really sorry for my unintentional act.

technorati tags:dance

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Bday!! Is it worth a celebration?

My eyes opened to the short vibrating music of SMS in the morning of 19 Feb. I unlocked my mobile, opened the message, "Happy birthday", I smiled and went back to sleep. It was from a friend, a good one and a girl. Girls are really good at remembering bdays. Believe me, I don't remember birthdays of any of my friends (please don't be offended, I am what I am). That was the only wish I got from Nepal. Then I got a greetings from Bulgaria, an e-pal and a girl again. I was not expecting that. But that really brought another happy smile. And then today I got another wish, though belated, from another friend studying in US, but this time a boy. To be true, I never find bday charming. Maybe that's the reason I don't remember anyone elses. But I do take guys for a treat. It's like a culture to us. Bday boy takes the group to some fancy restaurant and eat food. The group started with 8/9 of us during college and now 3 remains (most in US, one or two in Canada and one is Hetauda, a city of Nepal). We are very much against the gifts - another culture of us and a good one too. I wonder if a girl would like to join our group. I bet they will never.

I remember a beautiful saying about bday, "Oops! today I am one year closer to my death". Well I don't mean to be that pessimistic, but it's a beautiful saying. There's nothing to be happy about bday, expect those who love gifts. It's not that I don't love gifts, it's just that I am trying to follow our dying culture.

Is it really worth a celebration? Perhaps this should be one day that you do something good to the society, to the people, to the needy, if you are the one that is occupied in your daily work, if you have never looked beyond your friends circle. I am not saying we should not celebrate (not because I am being invited for another friend's bday party this thursday and I don't want to miss that). Celebrate it and also be this day be the day to take a deep look around our society.

I am really enjoying my writing. So guys, don't forget to invite me for parties.

Indeed! An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth is a very insightful documentary on Climate Change and its consequences. At some point I even pictured the shocking images of "Day after Tomorrow" when Al Gore explained that many areas of our planet earth (China, US, Netherlands...) will be submerged under water when a big chunk of Antartic ice will be melted, displacing hunderds of thousands of people and killing millions.

This is a really huge issue than terrorism. If the current world process continues, then our children will never get a chance to see this was-beautiful earth. There's a lot we can begin to solve this problem on our own, rather than waiting for some ignorant politicians to start.

Indeed Climate Change is a truth, an inconvenient one, that we would rather take it as a theory than a fact. But we must face this truth and act responsibly, or else ...

Dancing is almost complete

Our dancing preparation is still going. So far the song is almost complete. Steps.. yeah need a lots of practice. The song has been changed to "Changba oey Changba", a popular remix. I am really enjoying the practice, especially the laughs in between. We have also named one "robotech", just dances like a robot. We have two expatriates in our group, they are really fun to watch. Sometimes they just go awe (expecially when our dance teacher instructs in nepali), the look on their face is hilarious.

Nepali bloggers get together

I didn't realize a mail, inviting for a bloggers get-together, lying somewhere in the junk folder. Well it's an invitation tomorrow for nepali bloggers. Don't know what the discussion is about, maybe some experience sharing. Also searched through some blogs on previous gathering. Hope to attend tomorrow.

What writing is all about? Stephen King's "On Writing"

"[...] Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It’s about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy. [...]"

My first impression on "On Writing" by Stephen King was how-to manual. I was wrong. I was captivated until the end and I am puzzled whether it's about writing or Stephen biography - autobiography, in this case. He has illustrated the procedures in a very story-like and I never felt that I was reading a book on Writing. In the past i had tried reading "how to write a damn good novel?". Got lost before I reached half. The matra to writing, stressed many times at many places by Stephen, is "Read a lot and Write a lot". Practice is the only thing if you really want to improve your writing. It took him years before he finally made his stand in the writing world.

He also suggested that interest should come first for writing. The quotes above, from the end of the book, explains it all.

Fwd: Water after Food PREVENTS HEART ATTACK

This may be useful to you. Nothing to lose...

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE



Heart Attacks and drinking warm water....



This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your

meal, but about heart attacks. This makes sense.. the Chinese and

Japanese drink hot tea with their meals...not cold water...maybe it is

time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!!



Nothing to lose, everything to gain...



For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to

you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the

cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It

will slow down the digestion. Once this "sludge" reacts with the acid, it

will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid

food. It will line the intestine.

Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to

drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.



A serious note about heart attacks: You should know that not every

heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of

intense pain in the jaw line.



You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart

attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of

people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up.

Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be

aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive...

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we can beat man-made global warming

"If 10% of americans don't use driers but instead sunlight, if people start to use quilt, blankets instead of central heating, if IPCC officials stops travelling in air several times, then we can somehow beat global warming. We, on the ground, should act first and not wait for the politicians to take action." That was one of the comments made on the floor during the discussion of Talk programme on "A story of Keeling Curve: Is global warming really man-made?" by Prof. Kyung-Ryul Kim from Korea.

Professor Kim said that it's almost scientifically proved that global warming is really man-made. This is emphasized by Keeling Curve, that shows that the concentration of CO2 is increasing enormously in the last 50 years, probably mostly due of human-activities.

If we start to take action on our own from today itself, it will definitely aid a lot to alleviate global warming to some extent. For that people need to be educated about the impact of climate change and global warming. I wonder what percentage of the world are aware of potential disaster, though it may take years, decades, centuries. The professor also mentioned that "The Day After Tomorrow" like scenario is probable but it was much exaggerated in that movie. Future generation will definitely experience climate change in real, if we don't act soon. The good thing is we can.

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dancing steps are difficult to remember

"Ok I got it. This is the way, isn't it?"

But again when music comes, everything gets chaos. You should be doing this, you will be doing something else. This is the second day, so it's normal that we forget the steps. Even girls are having hard time let alone boys.

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A memoir of the past or ... the present

The gruesome photos at phalano.com are touching, disturbing and reminder of the bitter past that Nepal and we have gone through. Unfortunately the past is still hanging around as the present. />




Children in Motipur of Kailali play in the ruins of a police station destroyed by Maoists.


Photo: Amrit Gurung




Children near Mugling inspect and army armoured vehicle that was bombed.


Photo: Narendra Shrestha




This passenger was among 36 killed when the Maoists bombed a bus in Madi, Chitwan.

Photo: Kumar Shrestha




A student protester at Tribhuban University in Kirtipur successfully saves a deputy inspector of Police.

Photo: Sundar Shrestha

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Testing from Post2Blog

Testing from Post2Blog

I just downloaded Post2Blog from http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ that allows to download the software that must be installed on the same day. Just giving a try to the blog posting desktop application.

food waster... us people

I was just observing party people laughing, talking, eating, drinking, some were sober, some were looking lonely, some were little drunk... It was a typical wedding party in Nepal. Today I didn't have much friends or familiar surrounding to engage in so I just thought of watching people. You wouldn't imagine how much food was wasted there. There were lots of snacks moving around by waiters, some were kept over table, some were being served in movable table. You would see people taking food and put the food aside and dismiss its existence. Rich citizens of poorest of the poor countries.

computer-phobics are fun to observe

"Oh i just know how to do the things I need with my computer. Last time I was using excel, doing this and that and blah..everything got big. It's so scary.[...]When I was told that i have to everything in Wiki, i really got nervous and feeble. Won't it take lots of time and effort than my current task?[...]"



This was the response (altered when translated from Nepali) from one of the staffs of ICIMOD. The expression on her face was something you should see. I was smiling, trying to calm her down "It's nothing! You don't have to worry" and blah, blah... But my trying-to-calm-her-down reply took a little time before she finally said, "You mean I don't have to worry".

"Yes!"



Computer phobia is real; many people, especially aged ones, are really afraid to do anything in computers besides their day-to-day work. I used to be the same, when I bought my first computer. I still remember the time when I formatted my entire hard-drive. You learn from mistakes. That's what I did. Now anything happens, I am not frightened. The worst thing that may happen is hardware crash, then I will buy a new one. Financial insecurity is also other reason for this phobia. Many people don't want to or won't be able to afford new parts if computer fails. But again with electronics gadgets, you can't rely on the fact that everything will be fine if you don't mess with them. They are not to be trusted. A small electric spike may damage your hard drive. Another aspect of computer phobia is lack of support. If you can get support anytime you need, then you will free yourself from the anxiety of "what will happen if i do this?". If you can support yourself, then that's the perfect way of unchaining oneself from computer phobia. It's really fun to see computer-phobic person. No offence please!

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Dancing at ICIMOD

We are preparing a dance for the farewell of our leaving DG, Gabriel. Today's the first day of practice and we have only 2 weeks to go. Managing the time in our busy schedule is not that easy but it's fun. Half-an-hour during lunch time is allocated so far for the practice but today it was almost a laughing session. Boys are really fun to watch, including me; our inflexible, stiff body needs the simplest of the simple steps and yet we find it hard to grasp those. It's going to be fun though.

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another good friend is leaving :(

I never felt bad and terrible like today upon hearing the news of departure of another good and close friend. Many of my friends have left to US and very few are left in Nepal. I am shocked to know that he is leaving tomorrow itself. I don't know much details right now, but he's going to another city.

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