Recently I have been getting asked one single question by all my friends, “What do you get on these weekend bike rides?”. Well, that’s a difficult one to give an one shot answer. I kept asking myself, what do I get?  Is it the fun in riding through unknown territories? Or is it the quest for understanding different cultures and tastes? As of now, I don’t have a good answer. I am taking it as another no-answer question like what do you get in smoking or having icecream.

Any way, I am going to log all my rides here. It won’t be a travelogue, but more like a representation of my thoughts on the places I go through.

I am confused whether to leave Trivandrum, my home town or not. Ofcourse I have a choice, and I am weighing up the priorities. Things which made me to stick to this city are weakening by days, but it will be hard to part with it. I am still confused.

Some how, lyrics of this song matches with my situation.. And it’s one of the songs which I have in the playlist ‘my picks’.

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under The Bridge

Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner
Sometimes I feel like my only friend
Is the city I live in, the city of angels
Lonely as I am, together we cry

I drive on her streets ’cause she’s my companion
I walk through her hills ’cause she knows who I am
She sees my good deeds and she kisses the windy
Well, I never worry, now that is a lie

I don’t ever wanna feel like I did that day
But take me to the place I love, take me all the way
I don’t ever wanna feel like I did that day
But take me to the place I love, take me all the way, yeah, yeah, yeah

It’s hard to believe that there’s nobody out there
It’s hard to believe that I’m all alone
Atleast I have her love, the city, she loves me
Lonely as I am, together we cry

I don’t ever wanna feel like I did that day
But take me to the place I love, take me all the way
I don’t ever wanna feel like I did that day
But take me to the place I love, take me all the way, yeah yeah yeah

Oh, no, no, no, yeah yeah
Love me, I say, yeah yeah

One time

Under the bridge downtown
Is where I drew some blood
Under the bridge downtown
I could not get enough

Under the bridge downtown
Forgot about my love
Under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away

Yeah yeah yeah
Oh, no, no, no, yeah yeah
Where I stay…

Song: Under the bridge / Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Caution: This is going to be a long boring story for the non riders. Please continue at your own will!

Prologue

I checked watch and it was 3 AM in the morning. I have been working since 8.30 AM and already crossed 18 hours in office. But little was I worried or tired. All I knew was I have to push my limits and avoid any chance of working on weekends. Because after 12 hours, I will start my longest ride on the new bike. The xBhp Tri-state meet was on the horrizon with close to 130 bikes confirmed to participate.

Switching of the workstation, I went to the parking lot to take my bike. The blue beast was glittering in the  night lamps and a layer of water drops left after the rain added to the effect.I had spend only 2 weeks with this bike, but the bonding was quick and strong. My mind was going through a zillion thoughts on my ride back to home, and the brightest of it was whether the new engine can withstand the strain it will be put into. Throughout it’s life time of 2 weeks, it crossed 3 digit speeds only for a couple of seconds though it completed 1000+ Kms. I decided to keep a speed limit of 100 Kms for the entire trip. As always in my case, decisions goes opposite to actions

Day 1

Friday 8:30 AM: Sitting in office on the day of such a great ride is something you have to feel and know! The work was piling up and I failed to concentrate. Deep inside my mind I was having a night mare where the project breaking and I getting forced to work on weekend skipping the trip. 3:30 PM: But things went fine and I left office at 3.30 PM. Went straight to Petrol pump and topped up the tank. I still had around 20 minutes to meet Trivandrum gang, and decided to install the mobile charging unit which I bought a few days back. Installation was simple, and right after that I got a call from Lijo enquiring about my location. Lijo and Tintu were already on their way to Ernakulam.

I soon joined the rest of G2G gang along with few Trivandrum xBhp members arrived to give a sent off! The ride started at 4.50 PM with destination for butt break fixed as Kollam which was some 70 Kms away from our starting point. 5 hours of poth hole infected road trip we reached Ernakulam only to meet the Ernakulam members leaving the O-mall after G2G. This part of the stretch was the worst in our close to 1500km ride. Gutters big enough to park an entire bike was spread across the road allowing the poor two wheelers no chance to have a peaceful ride.  Leave the expressways, stop the 45m – 30m fights. Give us some ride-able roads for the sake of a future with back bones!

11:30 PM: The hunt for a place to park our bodies and rides was started and with the help of Anand, rooms were arranged near Ernakulam South for Trivandrum and Kottayam riders. Night was uneventfull with the urge to start the long ride pushing from deep inside. Sleep was alien that night because of the slight fear that I’ll be late to get up and spoil the fun.

Day 2

Saturday 3:00 AM: My fear of waking up late was lame as the super punctual Lijo woke me up right on time! We all rushed through the morning rituals and was ready to leave the room by 3.50 AM. The meeting point was decided as the IPB pump near Edapalli, Ernakulam where the Ernakulam members were waiting for us when we reached there. Riding etiquettes were shared among the riders and tanks were topped up. We were 15 in total with 6 from Trivandrum, 4 from Kottayam and 5 from Ernakulam and I was meeting most of them for the first time. After some casual chats, bike drooling we started the ride. Next stop was fixed to be the first tea shop in sight as the early morning energy drop was having an effect on everyone’s enthu. Tea definitely poured some energy into us and it was proved in the riding style. Roads were narrow, but good and empty with tempting curves.

Few miles before Athirapally I checked my rear view mirror and noticed that no one was behind me. There was some 8 bikes behind me and I slowed down. Soon an yellow Karizma came visible on my mirror and was honking like there was some message to pass. I slowed down and enquired only to know that he was also clueless about what happened. We both then zoomed to notify the riders in front and stopped them after a few honking and flashing lights.  Mean while a bug managed to get into my right eye and crawled it’s way through the tear glands. It was killing me with pain and in those few seconds I realized the need to invest in a clear visor instead of my current tinted one! After a few futile attempts to push the bloody bug out of  my eye, it came out from another tear gland opening close to my nose! It was half dead and with out a second thought I killed it! Sorry bug lovers, but my deed was purely out of uncontrolled frustration! Soon the droppers joined us and the reason for the missing was because we had our first fall when Anand slipped on a bend on sand and crashed his bike. He survived the crash without any injuries, thanks to the slow speed! Hunk broke one of his indicators.

[To be Continued]

I thought I live in a secular country. I was wrong.I live on a land where any thing can stir up a revolt, from a word interlocutor to cows. The level of violence rise up with respect to the attachment of the issue with a religion. The reason for this post is the recent issue on banning beef. The government of India decided to introduce a bill banning the sale of beef across India, stating the reason that Cows are sacred for Hindus. They say Cow slaughtering is disturbing the Hindu minds. Fair reason I must say. But if it has to be imposed, we must have a ban on rat poisons too. Rats are sacred too for Hindus. There are temples where they feed rats. So why not a move on that side? We all know this ban is for gaining sentiments for votes! Pure vote bank oriented move.

You may think of me as an extreme anti-Hindu. But wait, by birth I am a Hindu even though I am not a follower of it, or any religion. By this post, I am having no intention to ignite another religious flame war. All I need to say is, if a part of  population dont want to have beef, then consider it as their choice. Why should we force the non-followers to follow their practices? I think in all religion, alchohol is disfavoured. Can the government ban Alchohol for this reason? Banking based on interest is not allowed in Islam. Will the government ban banks for this?

The answer will be no. Because it all rests on personal choice. If I believe cows are sacred, I’ll avoid beef from my diet. But I have no right to force my neighbour to stop eating beef. Do I? Do you?

If you are following me on twitter, you may very well know the artic-like environment in my office cubicle. Yes, 12 hours of my day, I live in a space where the temperature is near 10 degree celcious. Its known to be the coldest place in our office and matches well with the Bluestar advertisement where unlucky me can be equated to an Eskimo in that ad.

Constant exposure to frozen breeze from the vents made me sick this week. A deep dedication to work (ahem!..Ok! Take it as pressure to save leaves) pushed me to work every day though I was struggling to keep my head straight. In one way, attending office helped me to keep my body temperature in normal levels. This along with my newly caught craze of playing badminton after work took its share of energy from my body and left me breathless at the end of day.

I think my mom doubted me as drunk one night, but in reality it was a not-drunk-but-high-me struggling to frame (meaningful !) sentences while talking to her. She even offered me butter-milk!! Cant complaint my mom as she wanted me to be normal before my dad finds it out!  Thankfully I finally succeeded in convincing her that I am not drunk and its the tiredness making me look like high after a few futile attempts to speak properly. I survived on cough syrups and D-Cold tablets for the rest of the week.

Weekends! It’s my time to balance my sleepless nights. I skipped a movie offer today and slept peacefully until I was forced to go out for a haircut. It was due for a month, but I wished to grow it long and it was ruined by mom’s stern demand to cut it off as she thinks its ‘my hair’ which made me sick! Sad that she doesn’t know about my office climate. After chopping off my hair  and attending a writer’s meet, I went for the now-routine badminton game.

I am not even close to the standards on badminton which I had in past. Not like I was a super pro in it or anything like that , but I was someone whom you can bet on without losing much money. The decision to play, its a shift in my life’s routine – from endless conversations in museum to something sporty like a badminton game. As said in the linked post, the change has NOTHING to do with my fear on cops! The idea was put forward by two fat friends who wanted to shake their ass to shed some weight. Me being some one who maintain a super light frame, needn’t have to worry about the calorie intake-burn ratio. But, the game was something I liked and I agreed to help them by giving a company, or in other words, sharing the expense.

The night was still young for a party. Ignoring my fever and close-to-shivering condition, I went to purple lounge to freak out. A few shots of fire made my throat clear, the dance warmed me up, and the headache was cleared with music.

Ahh! I am lost. This post was actually meant to explain you all how to fight with fever and I lost track in between. Anyway, my point was to tell you, NEVER take rest when you are sick, specifically when you are having common-cold + fever. Take good food, warm up your body, freak out and never ever let the fever to take control on your decisions. We humans are superior to viruses!

Its not that often you want a need to rediscover yourself. I was on such a mood today and was quite disturbed with the recent activities in my life. I was disturbed a lot and wanted to have some refreshment, which made me to be with friends the whole night yesterday. We roamed around the city, often breaking all the limits. I was going back to what I was a few years before. And I was successful in not letting my friends know what I wanted was an escape from my life rather than some quality time with them. Feeling sorry for them.

Back home, everything was routine. Woke up with loud noises from my sisters room where her son was making a revolt against mom for not letting him go out and play with his brother. I used to love watching those fights which I can very well relate to my childhood. But not today. I need some time alone, away from all realities. So I packed my laptop bag, and walked out with bike keys. The day was special for the city as it is reserved for the opposite sex. All roads lead to a single destination where women from all over kerala gather for ‘Ponkala’. I skipped the busy known roads and took a different route. 1 hour ride without any destinations in mind took me to an alternative route to Ponmudi. On any other day I’ll make a U-turn considering the fact that I have been there umpteen times with all of my friends for all kinds of fun.

But today I felt it special. I found it as the ideal place to be where I can disconnect my network with my reality. Roads were pathetic and sun was intense. But higher up it became a heaven for me. Cool breeze and shadows refreshed me. 3 hours of non stop ride took me to the top of the hill. It was almost deserted with a few people roaming with cameras in their hands. Camera, how I missed to take it? Or I avoided taking it?

I parked my bike, and climbed up to a spot where I’ll be sealed from the shouts and howling from the very few people left on hill top. And I slept there. I dont know how long I was there. Woke up all refreshed and burning in sun. The bag which acted as a bed for me had my laptop inside it but nothing happened to it. Thanks for being a light person. I searched for my belongings, and everything was in place except my mobile which was on my chest somehow. I attended 6 calls while I was sleeping, 4 from the single person and 1 from home and 1 from a friend who I was supposed to meet in morning. And there was a long list of unread messages and tweets. I had to answer a few and then moved to a shadow to escape from the extreme sun.

Logged into reality through my laptop expecting some mail. But there wasn’t any. Though I had an strong urge to have some water, I spent almost close to an hour there until my laptop ran out of juice. Meanwhile a few people passed my with suspicious looks on their face. May be they were wondering I was co-ordinating some terror attacks or  a super nerd. Who else will sit with a laptop on the top of a hill with  an out of the bed look and alone? Packed everything back and rode to the KTDC restaurent to have some food. More specifically some water. Only when I was about to order, I found the sad joke that I didnt take my wallet with me. The waiter was still waiting for my order. With a lame excuse that I forgot my mobile on hilltop, I evaded from there after gulping the hot water from the jug on table. The waiter may have got the clue. Anyway, after fullfilling my immediate need – to have some water, I rode back non-stop to home.

Now while writing this, I am thinking why and what I did today. What was the trip for? If it was to be alone, were I really alone today? And why I had to take laptop if all I wanted was loneliness? I am confused. Confused about my mental stability and my life. Or was it a day dream? My dark red tan and google latitude says it wasn’t. I need some professional help.

• Left office early because of eye 'irritation' Now in home. #
• Check this song by ARR — couples retreat NANA song http://youtu.be/ByCzXVOZefk #
• RT @TvmLife Details of the collapsed lodge: http://www.mathrubhumi.com/story.php?id=80896 #trivandrum #
• After reading the reviews, Drona seems to be a Droha #
• RT @baiju_ayyappa
  Moonnaarile tata dam, congressinakathum bhinnata..ippo moonnu perum naari…#congress, #CPM, #CPI #
• ahh! I had given a frame to Len & Frames 4 months back I totally forgot about it. Need to collect it today. #
• Traffic diverted from Thampanoor area due to #collapsedLodge #trivandrum #
• In lens&Frames for my frame with lens #
• Went to thampanoor and saw the #collapsed #lodge site. The whole area looks like a war zone with barricades and army. 5 more ppl 2 b rescd #
• A sad silence is in the air. #collapsed #lodge #trivandrum #
• back from an empty theater playing 'Chattambi naadu'. #
• First mail of the day was from Google to stop using old browsers The word is changing! #
• "We wl b phasing out support forMS IE 6.0 as well as other older browsers that are not sprtd by thr own manfctrs " -Google #noIE6 #
• First mail of the day was from Google to stop using old browsers The world is changing! #
• GM Twriends!! @vidyagk @binoyxj @mrzoozoo @SangitaSri @ivan457 @rkartha @kuttyedathi #
• RT @mashable Google to Launch App Store for Google Apps http://bit.ly/dtZhyU #
• RT @mashable Google Chrome Gets Greasemonkey Support http://bit.ly/ataFBh #
• RT @mashable Browser Usage Stats: Chrome Grows While IE and Firefox Shrink http://bit.ly/98JvpP #
• Its biriyani time!! In Dhariya for some tasty biriyani.. #
• naale raavile veetil vannal kaaniche tharaam! RT @manderzone
  @srijithv Ithellaam engottu pokunnu?? Biriyanikkum maduthu kaanum! #
• Avane No biriyani! @srijithv Hah….inganeya snehamulla suhruth! Pavam @sreenath_pkd arinjath poolumilla @srijithv 'scoot' aaya vivaram! #
• Heard a wrong news that Cochin Haneefa passed away.. Now news channels coming up with apologies.. #
• Apologies for wrong news from leading #malayalam news papers.. http://bit.ly/bQSe8R http://bit.ly/d0V9LA #
• What to 'Lol' in it??? RT @manderzone
  Lol Kochin haneef in critical condition!!! :-O???????? Still confusing! #
• Sherikkum?? RT @4shw1n Ullathaano? RT @dileep_gg: Tamilnadu agreed for new Dam in mullaperiyar…….happy news for kerlites…#kerala #
• "aaya naya Ujala…" #iconicindianads #
• Death toll = 3 now #TouristHome #accident #Trivandrum #
• A very explained article: The quintessential "mallu" http://bit.ly/9RQeA7 by @scorpiogenius #
• Ne enne konde cheyyikkum.. Enthaane enne parayano? RT @sreenath_pkd @aravindnair @srijithv aduthu undenkil thanne theppu aanello… #
• Have a get together with school mates today. I am rushing through my pending tasks… #mmrhs #SchoolDay #
• Gas leaking from an lpg car. And parked right in front of petrol pump. Police emptying the area. I can smell lpg !! #killipalam #trivandrum #
• Going back 10yrs through my memories… in my school now #
• had a nostalgic time in my old school. Walking through the old corridors, I could feel what I am missing now. #
• SBT not sending me high security password as sms! :X I'am not able to do wire transfer! #
• That breed exists in all languages! RT @fartingpen kannada actors all look pathetic, overfed and are clearly talent deprived. #
• You were in a girls college! O: RT @vidyagk #NowPlaying Akon – I wanna love you ——> Bringing back memories of last days in college!!! #
• Swasthatha ippazha poyathe!!! {@_@} RT @rkartha @vidyagk ini @srijithv-kku swasthamaayittu urangam #
• Eyy!!! Njan aa type alla! RT @aravindnair Ayyo Nale leave edukandi varum allengil @srijithv avande ahangram kanunde varum RT @vidyagk #
• "Ashaane! " http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf0Wr0QFfLM #CochinHaneefa #
• Athangana!! Ashooosha!! RT @aravindnair elavrkum @srijithv same feelings #
• Che!! Ingane public aayitte.. Twitteril.. ayye.. RT @vidyagk @srijithv Uvvaaaa….. #
• Enna ivide thanne parayam! RT @sreenath_pkd @srijithv Eda, vellapolum satyam parayeda…full time ooronnu adichu irakkikko ! @aravindnair #
• Dinner time.. Bubbye guys!! #
• Any one here still watch rented Vcd/Dvd movies? #
• RT @subinpeeru @srijithv Appol "kooduthal" mandan aakkaeuthu ennu maathramey ulloo..! Nee aalu top thanney dey..! @NithinJayan #
• Amazing coincidence! 2 of my sis tld me about thr new job at the same time, thru gtalk.. And both had to ping me and wait to tell it : D #
• Sad that @motherjaneindia is not playing in Trivandrum on 12th feb I even ordered a tshirt for the show ( #
• Updating HTC G1 to #cyanogen mod 4.2.14 #
• Its Arctic here in my cubicle! My fingers are freezing to a level that I cant type.. #
• RT @TvmLife Rock From Germany : Black Rust playing in Trivandrum On 19th February http://bit.ly/aTvwIv #
• In my desk with a jacket to shield away the chill. I guess the people around me got more fat in body compared to my artificial shield #
• WTF!! Student sells virginity for $45k – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation): http://bit.ly/bRxHEo via @addthis #
• Foooood time!! In foodcourt for a combo treat #
• buying some books from @Flipkartdotcom #
• Eee language-um ariyo?? RT @SangitaSri @sr33jith purrr.prrreaw…purr #
• Thanks for reminding that! I am inverted now ! RT @SangitaSri @srijithv First straighten Up – then I'l tell u more. #
• Guys, look east sky to see a big orange moon. #trivandrum #
• Pakuthi thinna pappadam pole unde! RT @Sreedevi_B I saw it!!! RT: @srijithv: Guys, look east sky to see a big orange moon. #trivandrum #
• Why? Where are you? RT @jojime @srijithv so sad that I cant see the orange moon #
• Gushnite.. ! @Sreedevi_B @vidyagk @4shw1n #
• Mind cheyyanda! RT @hollowmaniac @Sreedevi_B <<<– ente ponn @vidyagk n @srijithv !! Ithaara kakshi? Ente shriya mwaley kuttam parayanu. :'( #
• Good morning!! @Reema226 @hollowmaniac @SangitaSri #
• Enthonne???? O: RT @SangitaSri @srijithv Golf Oscar Oscar Delta <Break> Mike Oscar Roger November Indigo November Golf <Over> #
• Thank you bro!! RT @mrkayhere @srijithv read your blog..really great..gud sense of humor! #
• RT @mashable Hovercards: Twitter Launches New Profile Preview Feature – http://bit.ly/bim1oJ #
• RT @mashable Stanford Offers Up Millions of Books in Support of Google Book Search http://bit.ly/bp24nc #
• Sad! But they wont hav the prob of genrtn gap! RT @kuttyedathi http://tr.im/MLgU 9 year old girl from china becomes world's youngest mom!!! #
• TCS pasprt automation proj is complete. Why dont they implement it? RT @kenneyjacob staring at the long queue infront of the passport office #
• Parents hd a chance for abortion. Why they didnt? RT @kuttyedathi she is denied of all fun of her childhood, rt ? Cruel world !! #9yroldmom #
• Ithe orumaathiri mattedathe good morning aayi poi! :X RT @SangitaSri @srijithv Kandupidicho? {clue take each letter & put together} #
• May be they thot about only the f word u tweeted! RT @hollowmaniac Kashtam. Imagine. I mean, what d fck wr they thnking!!! #
• hi hi hi!! RT @4shw1n Poothu, Vedham RT @srijithv: @hollowmaniac Samskaaram venemeda!! #
• Escaped from office for some refreshment. In food court, having hot samosa and juice.. #
• Nope! With my friend.. RT @mrkayhere @srijithv alone at food court? #
• Jolikkaaran aayille! RT @mrkayhere @srijithv aahha…appo vettile chitta vattangal okke maariyo? #
• Lol!! RT @tittoantony @srijithv Twitteril @hollowmaniac inte Kola nadannu —> *background* -> #
• And that's the end of a project. Rolled the final few tweaks and leaving office. Satisfaction!! #
• Why?? RT @vidyagk Worst day ever! #
• Wtf!! Got a cello-tapped 500Rs note from ATM. Month started with a 10 Rs note with a reflective sticker! #
• Ne aarada, @jinju_n -nte PA aano? RT @RajkumarIyer An advice from @jinju_n for @srijithv.. Try to sleep some more time !! #
• #nowplaying "Questions" by Mother Jane – http://tweetmylast.fm/u/742b6 #
• #nowplaying "Karmic steps" by motherjane – http://tweetmylast.fm/u/49c2d #
• RT @TvmLife The Hijacked City http://bit.ly/cv1MyN #
• RT @kenneyjacob RT @trivandrumbuzz Trivandrum all set for 3G http://bit.ly/dvbP5m #
• RT @mashable Seesmic for Android Adds Multiple Account Support http://bit.ly/do2LqH #
• RT @mashable Google Street View to Add Store Interiors? [RUMOR] http://bit.ly/bxhTTS #
• RT @mashable WordPress Launches on Android http://bit.ly/d0ii30 #
• RT @mashable Facebook’s Major Redesign Emphasizes Search and So Much More http://bit.ly/aip3op #
• New FB is amazing.. #
• RT @nirmaltv Search and Find Anything on Android with Moov http://bit.ly/a3cVmi #android #
• Payment deducted from my account 3 days back for an order from @Flipkartdotcom and still the site says payment pending!!Will I get my books? #
• No response yet from @Flipkartdotcom for the issue I raised through their site! #
• Inbox flooded by Google Map maker moderate request. I think #googlemappingparty is a success! #
• Some thing gone wrong. Twitter saying I have 11,217 tweets!! #
• http://twitpic.com/11hhc1 – Twitter saying I tweeted 11,217 times. Actually its around 4000 only. #wrongTweetCount #
• Nanni pora. 15Rs ini kaanumbo vaangi kolaam!RT @vidyagk And at last, I have a new hello tune All thanks to @srijithv for gifting it to me #
• Time to leave.. have to drop @sreenath_pkd to railway station! #
• 11,226 tweets.. Will it ever change ? #
• -100 RT @karthinair +1RT @vidyagk @srijithv Will u stop bragging? #
• +1 I am working tomrw RT @Sreedevi_B
  I'm gonna work on a weekend for the first time in my work life :'( #workingonweekend #
• Thanks bro!! RT @krjnhere @srijithv ur blog was jus awesome dude !! loved d way u presented it.. #
• I dont have any problem in being called a Mallu. If that's comfortable for them, let it be. #iamamalayalee #
• Its our problem. We didnt make a name which is pronounceable by a non malayali. The wrd Malayali is a tongue twister fr thm! #iamamalayalee #
• #IAmMalayali but #UCanCallMeMallu #
• Yay!! I thought I am alone! RT @jaggs0022 Yup yup. +1 RT @srijithv: #IAmMalayali but #UCanCallMeMallu #
• http://twitpic.com/11iqwm – Google suggest for Malayali #IAmMalayali but #UCanCallMeMallu #
• http://twitpic.com/11iqzs – Google suggest for Mallu #IAmMalayali but #UCanCallMeMallu #
• http://twitpic.com/11iqzs http://twitpic.com/11iqwm Better? RT @jishnuvediyoor to know the quality of the word, google the word mallu #
• Nammale mallu enne vilikkunnathe konde. Allenkil? RT @aashiks @srijithv mallu movies ennu vechal ikkilpadangal aanu mikka non keralites num #
• For all who say mallu is bad becz google suggests 'A' listings, here is the listing for Malayali. http://twitpic.com/11iqwm #UCanCallMeMallu #
• The prob is not with the word mallu. It is their view towards us. #
• http://twitpic.com/11iswk – If google is showing such results for mallu, so is for anything related to us .#UCanCallMeMallu #
• For a better view, http://bit.ly/9mVGXh RT @drwiz @hollowmaniac Search Malayalam n u get "Malayalam Kambi Kathakal" What say? #
• http://twitpic.com/11iuqo – Google's Regional interest for the word 'Mallu'. See who is using the word more? #
• RT @srijithv http://twitpic.com/11iuqo – Google's Regional interest for the word 'Mallu'. See who is using the word more? #UCanCallMeMallu #
• #IamMalayali #IamKeralite #IamMallu #IamIndian , but #IamHuman first! Good night tweeples.. I am off! #
• Good night world.. My precious saturday sleep will be spoiled tomorrow with a morning call in office… So off to sacks early!! #
• #nowplaying "Fear" by Disturbed – http://tweetmylast.fm/u/6262f #
• In office.. alone.. #
• Near keltron with friends… having a good day #
• Not bad! Half day only! RT @mrkayhere @srijithv hwz was yer day at office? #
• Ban girls from #womako RT @annu_90 @srijithv @NithinJayan @anoopjacob sheri @vidyagk chechi #womako thanne.. ente samshayam theernirikkunnu #
• Down down police!! I am fed up with their over alertness! http://bit.ly/cXgfZr #
• Sorry! Vallam! @annu_90 RT @vidyagk @srijithv vellam? #
• Boat 1: Allowing girls in #womako , Boat 2 : Banning girls in #womako RT @annu_90 @srijithv etha a vallangal ? #
• Che!! aa boat mungum! RT @annu_90 @srijithv ayyo, 1st boat-il mathrame ente kalullu #
• Feb 14th?? RT @Ru_Ge: #trivandrum tweeps, any tweetups in mind ??? anytime sooner or later #
• Danx!! RT @annu_90 what an idea sir-ji #
• +1RT @subinpeeru @srijithv Or maybe – only girls not worth #womakio -fy who have frends worth womako-fy..! Lolz..! He he… @hollowmaniac #
• GRZ again! Ghost Ryderz 7th Video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXkR-kJU5Go #
• Grow higher! RT @Flipkartdotcom @srijithv The least we could do, really. We should be the ones thanking you. #
• Athaane bhedham! RT@vidyagk @srijithv Pinne nokkan pattiya oru best item undd… Olive Oyl.. Venel kettiche tharam http://bit.ly/8bBIr7 #
• Athaane bhedham! RT @vidyagk @srijithv Pinne nokkan pattiya oru best item undd… Olive Oyl.. Venel kettiche tharam http://bit.ly/8bBIr7 #

I believe I live in a city where I am allowed the freedom to meet friends in a public place and have a talk with them peacefully. But what the hell is wrong with police now? They are looking at us like possible murderers and forcing us to disperse from public places. Do they think its us, the youngsters, are behind every possible crimes happening in and around the city? Or are they really concerned about our safety? For the clueless, let me brief my experience.

We, around 10 of us, used to have a gathering near Museum for 8 years. That is right after we got into college. It was a weekly affair and soon turned out into a daily event. So lets say we are meeting daily near Museum for 6 years. All this while, the cops had no problem at all in our meeting even though it was right next to Museum police station. Those were quite productive time for us, as new ideas and thoughts sparked in us, and changed ourselves a bit to more mature and thinking creatures. But our voice never breeched the tolerant level for creating a public nuisance. We NEVER had an issue from the police, and often some of them took part in our conversation.

All of a sudden, for the past one year, the police are on their toes when they see a young gang gathering around. Immediate action from them will be to dole out us as quickly as possible. The question is why? Are they seeing us as a threat to the social security? Ain’t they killing our freedom to be in a public place? I am sure it is perfectly legal to assemble in a public place without disrupting the peace. From next time, I am going to question them. Till now I never got a chance to engage with them. I will sure do it next time. Fed up with how they treat us!

Hullo writers!

I am looking for people who can write articles about Trivandrum. Not for free! But a qualified post will give you 50 Rs. Thats not at all! The best post of the month will be given a surprise prize too! Criteria for qualification.

1. Must be original! ( Obviously! But you are free to write ‘based’ on a news article, but you have mention the source.

2. A post must have an associated picture. Its not necessary for you to have a picture of that particular incident/news which you are narrating, but a picture which suits to the theme of the post is necessary. You are free to use photos from flicker and post a link to the source at the end of the post.
http://www.flickr.com/search/advanced -> Make sure that you check the three check boxes at the bottom of this page.

3. Maximum of 7 posts from an author for a week. Payments will be made on weekend (saturday/sunday)

4. Posts must be creative, true, ‘new’ and interesting.

5. You can post about the upcoming events/functions in Trivandrum. But that wont be counted as a valid post. But frequent updates on such events helps our site’s growth. So do it!

Thats all! And feel free to refer any of your friend who can write!

Did I tell you the site is TvmLife.com ??

This week was a quick one! May be because I started getting works! Sunday was the shopping day! We went to Meadowhall, a big shopping mall in Sheffield. The prices were sky high so couldnt buy anything at all. But for an avid window shopper like me, price never matters. I covered almost all shops. Only thing I found worthy to buy was a GAP messenger bag. It was good and not costly at all. But the mall was so large that by the time I was back at the GAP shop after having a round around the mall, it was closed. Bad luck! All I bought from there was a Monopoly game set, which I thought will help to pass the boring nights. But none of my friends seems to be interested in playing it at all!

Monday came with a bright sunny morning. We were relieved to see the sun as for the last one week it was raining all the day. One of the friend in Plusnet told me – “If its not raining now, it will be raining soon” . That was proved right to the core with in an hour as it started raining cats and dogs and some water! Lesson number one : Never trust british weather! There was nothing much to do at the office as I was not assigned with any works. I spent time by twittering and some ‘research’ in Android. The research was purely a search for the better Android mobile. Better here means, cheaper.

Tuesday was uneventful. But was not bored at all as I got some spilled out work from Jose. It helped me a bit to understand the flow of a module.

Wednesday was pretty eventful for me as I fucked up my system. Actually its not me, but the ubuntu updates seems to be faulty and it corrupted the GRUB entries. (GRUB = OS Loader for the non-Geeks). I was left without options and was about to start reinstalling the system. If it was my home pc, I would have done that. But here, thinking about the work I have to do after a reinstall to set up the development environment, I asked around for help. Rowan was the immediate guy who I know to be a linux pro! But even he dont know what was the issue.He said to post in the internal forum as someone may be able to help.

Thursday, I went to office hopeless as I knew I will have a tough time ahead to fix my machine. But Riz, another linux guru swept his fingers over my keyboard and the issue was fixed!  He saved my 2 days work in 5 minutes! I got my first ticket and started working on that. It was pretty simple (obviously! Other wise no one will give it to a starter like me!) and was fixed by evening.

Friday came with chilling sprinkle. I forgot to take my jacket also. That happens everytime with me, even in India. Whenever I forgot to take a jacket it WILL rain. Even in summer! Today I got another ticket, which later turned out to be not meant for a developer. I made a big mistake by asking for ticket! I thought it will be better than sitting idle as I was too bored. So I picked a ticket from the pool which seemed to be a simple one for me. Only after I started working on it, I realized that it was a complicated one. The fix was not at all complicated, but to know where to place the fix took some time. I need to get more acquainted with the code flow here. Anyway I finished before I left the office. As with every friday, it was a party day! Plusnet guys invited us for an evening at the nearby dograce field. It sounded funny, but the place was really nice with drinks, food and betting. I am really addicted to gambling. I know it for long and today also  I went on a betting spree. We were there for 10+ race and I betted for 8 or 9! I won one though! It was a freezy night and to double the terror I missed the tram. All the other guys got into it before the automatic doors closed. I was left out with Anitha in a chilling rain. Got into the next tram soon before I freezed to death. So that made a chilling end to a great week!

Thats all for now. Its Pratheesh’s birthday tomorrow, so for the next update here, I am sure there will be something creaky to post! Yes we are planning to make him spend for us!

Officially this is my first post from UK,  ignoring the daily updates from Twitter. Even though I had made promises that I’ll make a post a day detailing my UK experiences,  my experiences kept me too busy to full fill the promises . Completing 10 ‘successful’ days in Sheffield , I learned how to

*  smile at every other guy I see in streets

* eat three times a day

* make the most out of a 4mbps uncapped internet connection

* convert a 5000 bucks shoes to a shrinked mess by washing and drying it an washing machine

and much more.

The most I like about UK is the attitude of the people here. They dont care about what others think of them. But at the same time they care about how others will be affected by their actions. For the souls who didnt get what I meant, (that is for all of you! ) let me make it simple. The people here dont bother about having a funny dress outdoor or even a public smooch ( Ofcourse for us its not a distraction! ) . But they do stop their cars for us to cross, and give us the last bread left in the shelf in a shop even if they are there for it. They are super friendly and they make us smile at them even if its a random guy you met in the alley.

But still  I think at any time I’ll like India unless I am paid a hefty amount to be here. But as the master card says there are some things which money cant buy like the friends and relatives I have back home. I cant miss them for long. A month and a half or three months will be perfect. Anything more than that, I would say no!

I think I am in crisis now . Nothing much to be worried about , but I seems to be financially broke. A series of illness and laziness thats bound to occur after every sick days ruined my freelancing schedule and that has resulted in the current situation. Not a penny left for anything and I am supposed attend a party tonight, a trecking tommorow and a series of marriages next week.

Evil thoughts have already started preparations inside me and I even had dream last night where I looted bigbazaar cash counter. Dont ask me why I choose big bazaar. I seriously dont know. May be they keep currencies in a neat order there and its easier for a looter to pick only the most valued set. .  Take this as a confession in advance so I do anything like that please stand for me

Also I was told by my doctor to stay away from computers/tv and even mobile screens to save my eyes. Some thing gone wrong inside my eyes or nerves which made my tear glands shut off! That is my eyes goes real dry often and I have to manually moisten it using eye drops.  Hard, but I have to live like this for a long time from now. Like they say , it will be hard only for the first few months. Later I’l get used to it…:P