Hashi!!!

Well this word doesn't really seem to ring bells when I mention it to others though it seems to be ruling my life right now!

When I mentioned this word to people around me, I got some really funny responses. Sample some of them, go ahead!

- "Oooh is that Shilpa's new perfume!?!"

- "Hmmm.....I have heard of sushi."

- "Forget hashi!!! Let's talk about Hashmi(Emraan)!!!"

Yes, I have nothing better to do than chat about random stuff like vinegared rice and the likes. Sheesh, talk about the torture.

Anyway, hashi or hashiwokakero is an extremely addictive logic puzzle which originates from, well you should have guessed by now, Japan.

You are faced with a large group of islands and there is a number written on each island which is an indication of how many bridges can originate from that island. You can connect the islands only horizontally or vertically, no diagonal connections allowed. There can be a maximum of two bridges built from a particular island. And none of the bridges can cross or overlap with each other. Sounds pretty simple right!?! Nah, life isn't that simple. At the end of the puzzle, you need to make sure that you can reach any island from any other island. And, no island or group of islands can be left isolated.

I'll tell you one thing about it: IT'S ADDICTIVE. Do some puzzles right now, thank me later for introducing you to it ;-)

www.mathsnet.net/puzzles/hashi/index.html

WALL.E!!!

I am writing this blog barely a minute after watching the most heart-wrenching movie I have ever seen. And I'm not talking about "Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum" or "Hum Saath Saath Hain"....nope none of that saas-bahu sh*t. I'm talking about "Wall.E". Yes, I can understand that you are staring at your computer screen trying to fathom why I would find this movie so moving *chuckling at my own wit here*!

I love the way they start the movie. You know, every movie that is set in New York starts with the camera roving around somehow magically in the sky(I still wonder how they do that!), focusing on the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, the works. In this movie, they show skyscrapers whose building blocks are, well what I call, garbage cubes. And the person, rather robot, responsible for these architectural, ummm, wonders, is, *TA-DAH* Wall.E!!

For starters, I don't think I have found any metallic thing so cute. Wall.E makes me sigh....gosh he is such a little darlin'. The thing that struck me was his personality, and I'm sure you would agree to the same if you have seen the movie. He is such a curious little fella, and that I mean in a good way. I love the way he pokes around at the stuff that we humans wouldn't give a second look to. And he has a nice retreat filled with chimes that are actually made from CDs, and a toaster that actually holds a "Hello, Dolly!" cassette, that Wall.E watches over and over again.
I shouldn't forget to mention Wall.E only companion on Earth....the cockroach. Now under normal circumstances, I would lose my mind and kill a roach if I saw one, but this roach was adorable I tell you! Love it!

Now Wall.E finds himself head over wheels(hehe) in love with EVE. She is one tough cookie who has been given the job to determine if Earth can be inhabited by humans, who are actually in a spaceship named "Axiom". Soon, she also starts to like Wall.E(who could blame her?! He is so cute!). But then she discovers the plant that Wall.E had found in one of his "garbage cube making expeditions". And she is whisked of to Axiom. And our Wall.E, being the lover boy that he is, hangs on to the spaceship that going to Axiom, all for EVE *an "AAAW" moment for me!*.

Do the humans come back to Earth? Does EVE fall for Wall.E? Where is my butter popcorn? Watch the movie and you'll know!

Best And Worst Of Times!

Worst Of Times

This happened very very very recently....all of us were on our way....correction....DRAGGING OURSELVES to the mess.....and we just stopped for a minute by the notice board....you see, we wanted to delay the going-to-the-mess activity as much as we could....when our eyes fell on this one notice. I shall state what it said:

"Opal inmates are advised not to eat in the unhygenic road-side motels/dhabas. All opal inmates are strictly instructed not to eat at any of the shops/motels/dhabas outside NITT campus."

My first reaction was something like "WHAT THE HELL!?!". It is really idiotic that the only thing that actually tastes like good food is being forbidden. And what the authority does not realize is that now whenever we read the notice, the only thing that will cross our minds is "DHABA DHABA DHABA DHABA....."(It's true...I conducted a small research in opal :) )! It has actually turned into the forbidden apple now ;)
And what is more irritating is that in any of the "other" hostels, such notices aren't put up....unfair unfair unfair! But it's okay....because when something is forbidden, it becomes more irresistible! ;)

Best Of Times

An outlet of Nescafe has been opened up INSIDE opal! Well this time my first reaction was something like "^_^"! I could not believe it. The countless times my friends and I had visited the Nescafe near the boys' hostels just to have a sip of that divine cold chocolate and fled from there at the sight of a blue uniform, were super fun. And now, we had what we wanted and that too within reach. But like I had mentioned earlier, when something is forbidden, it becomes irresistible.....

Profanity - What The F*** Is Wrong With It!?!

It is really wierd what I experienced the other day....we were having a casual chat....and this friend of mine used the "F" word(as everyone likes to call it!) and to my surprise, another friend of mine flinched and put her hands over her ears! I mean....being in the BMW(my version of the Big Mad World!), it is important to adjust to all kinds of people around you, and it is plain infuriating that there are some people who still behave this way!

And frankly, I do not understand what all the fuss is about! People have just over-hyped the whole thing....atleast that's what I think.

Of roll calls and power cuts!

The roll call - the one senseless ritual that guys are not subjected to, is actually fun! Now that it is accompanied by the 9:00 - 10:00 P.M. power cut, the fun has increased manifold.....how you may ask!?!
Well for one thing, the moment the clock strikes 8:50 P.M., me and my roomies "prepare" ourselves for the power cut(you know what i mean!). From this point onwards, we stop looking at our mobiles for the time(wonder what watches are for!) because we know that the TNEB is very very ahem efficient! So power goes exactly at 9:00 P.M.!
Now the moment we are plunged in darkness, everyone trudges out of their rooms grudgingly for roll call. "Luckily" since we are on the second floor, the moment we reach the stairs, the girls with Sony Ericsson mobiles switch on their inbuilt torches(damn Nokia!....Except 1100 ofcourse!).
The moment we reach downstairs, the incredible hunt for the missing roomie begins! The best part is that she would have been right next to you few minutes ago....but the moment you reach the line...POOF! She won't be there! Anyways after countless times of screaming her name, she will come panting saying "Sorry sorry I was in the mess"...ah the mess story!
Now when we reach the loooooooooooong queue, the real fun starts. With my roving eye, I spot those who push others in the line and those who irritated me during the day. They don't call me "Stealth" for nothing, so I slowly go near them and give them a jab or pull their hair...thereby decreasing the strand count on their head by atleast 5...YAY! Immediately I start locking and unlocking my phone at a furious speed in order to create the illusion of messaging, while my victim looks around suspiciously.
After the roll call, everyone drifts of into smaller groups. Some go back to their rooms, or others' rooms rather. Others stay back and chat incessantly about arbit stuff ranging from mess food to waist circumferences.
During the power cut, there are some who switch on their torches and emergency lights and write records and assignments(God knows how!) and others who sing stupid songs at absurd volumes! And trust me when I say "stupid songs"....most of them involve Bobby and Sunny Deol!
My conclusion is that, power cuts are actually fun, if you exclude the sweltering heat and the mosquitoes, because they bring friends together :)
HAIL POWER CUTS!

The Shining!

As the title suggests, I am talking about a classic horror movie that I had watched recently called "The Shining".....What a brilliant movie! Stanley Kubrick is a friggin' genius! I mean.....the man has directed the movie with mind-blowing finesse. And ofcourse, then there is Jack Nicholson, who according to me is God! He charms the camera and delivers a kick-ass performance in the movie. The scene in which Jack just stares into thin air is so scary! Also, the scene in which Shelley Duvall reads the manuscript that Jack had been working on is awesome. And not mentioning the little boy Danny would be a crime....REDRUM! A classic movie of the horror genre.....the Shining thrills and chills ;)