The quarter tag

Richa tagged me, asking me to write about 25 random things about myself, and then pass the tag on. I have done some similar tags before, so I'd borrow some of the things from her and finish the tag nevertheless:

1. My favourite color - black, if you must insist. Actually, I don't have one: don't want to have one, and have found the whole concept confusing. I think I've switched between yellow, navy blue and then to black, partly because I had to either write school essays or contribute to a discussion somehow. Black is my current answer, because it contrasts well with everything else.
2. Childhood dream - was inspired one day after watching too much Ramayan that I had supernatural powers. There were some boys pelting stones at a jamun tree outside my grandparents' place to get some of the fruit. I went towards them with a bow and arrow I had made out of broomstick/palm fan leaves and had the rudest shock of my life when one big guy tore my six-year-old self-'s bow apart and threatened to whoop my ass with that. That was the end of faith in Rama for me.
3. My love of academic subjects spans Mathematics, English, Physics, Statistics, Bengali, Psychology, Computer Sciences, Economics; and of course I'm a History buff. Yes, yes... before you say it, I'm a geek.
4. Exercising... hmm, I can get on a pretty consistent track record in doing stuff out of the gym than in it. I love all sorts of games -- volleyball, football, cricket, ping pong, badminton, basketball: and I follow a lot more sports than I play. Just that running on a treadmill inside a gym seems so pointless to me -- I prefer running on a trail any day. Yeah, the fine print is that such days are pretty less these days ;)
5. My favourite historical figures: Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore. There is soo much more to each of them than what you typically know of them. I'd love to discuss their lives with any of you any day.
6. Speaking of Ayn Rand, the only person I've felt real in any of her books has been Peter Keating. I know, this person is nowhere close to the lofty ideals set by the others. But he is the only real person who can exist, someone whose decisions I could sometimes identify with. Yes, yes, we've all heard: "Who is John Galt?"
7. I have doodled sometimes in class (doodling = drawing random pics in your notebook when getting bored in class). My typical doodle art: all the frames of a bowler coming to bowl and delivering, a fielder taking a superb catch, a gun being fired, etc. I figured out a lot about the art and science of movie-making, how frames with little changes shown in rapid succession make a movie sequence. Try it out sometime!
8. I hate small-talk when you have to set your brain aside and simply talk because propriety requires you to. Bakwaas with friends is a very different ball game. But going to a bar/club at the end of a day/week just to dance "because it is cool" or "because all of my friends are there!" ?! I could just as easily be reading "Far from the madding crowd" or researching about the latest exploit fixed in the Linux kernel then. Sorry, I may be a geek/nerd/all of the above, but I find it criminal to be wasting time for any reason. If nothing else, I sleep.
9. Sleeping... hehe... my record is 23 hours non-stop. Sorry, just could not stay in bed any longer. One of my weekend rituals (at least once every one/two weeks) is to sleep for 14-16 hours straight.
10. Lesse.. the proper male equivalent of being graceful is perhaps being macho or gentlemanly. In my case, I guess you can insult or cross me personally a lot and I wouldn't battle an eyelid. But you dare touch anyone I care about and you're looking at a serious ass-whooping from me.
11. The movies I watch a lot of times: if one, there is the Matrix trilogy. I can repeat the entire script along with the movies as they play, and to me as a spirituality and computer geek this is like the perfect confluence of philosophy.
12. I'd skip borrowing from Richa and talking of "bindi collections" and continue with movies. I love witty quips and remember them to use with people in conversations. If you are impressed, I feel flattered. If you can recall where I quoted it from, I feel VERY happy to have found someone else who really shares the same passion. Be it The Princess Bride ("Get used to disappointment"), or James Bond movies:
    
    Elektra King: You could have had the world.
    James Bond: The world is not enough.
    Elektra King: Foolish sentiment.
    James Bond: Family motto.
    
    I love to remember them all!
    
13. I love the aura of freshness. Be it the smell of the morning dew, the freshness of the flowers and the pradip right after the morning puja or the warmth around my mother when I'm just embracing her: they somehow calm me; make me want to do nothing, speak nothing, think of nothing -- just stand transfixed right there, silently, and live the moment. If you find me just silent for no apparent reason with a gaze far into the horizon with dreamy eyes: do not disturb, I love being lost thus.
14. I tried smoking once. Was able to take in and exhale a few puffs with relative ease (a few little wheezes, maybe), but never thought of sticking to it. Like so many other things, I found it pointless.
15. Love chocolates, love food. Live to eat.
16. Tea, coffee, milk, cocoa, hot chocolate... I'm perpetually hungry and thirsty. Seriously, even I doubt how and why I feel hungry at random moments.
17. TV Series... hmm... Frasier, Friends, Simpsons, Byomkesh Bakshi, Mahabharat are among my favourites. Can watch them again, any time.
18. I want to build my own techno-house. You know those geeky homes where you build funny robots in the garage? Or the Batman-ish houses where the floor just opens up to reveal the jaw-dropping constructions below? Yeah: I want to design, build and live in them. Oh, a little personal Iron-Man wouldn't hurt, either. ;)
19. About liking girls: I get a crush on almost every girl I meet. Okay so it lasts only 5 minutes, but I get it anyway. Oh BTW, it also lasts much longer in the rare case. So ladies, if we haven't met yet, you know what to do ;)
20. I've got no religion in clothes, dresses, hairstyle... whatever. All I want is to feel comfortable and look presentable. Oh but if I strike gold with some 'cool' combo, I either wear it out until it gets cliched or save it to suddenly wear it one day and impress 'people' :)
21. I have pretty high tolerance of all kinds of people, filth, inhospitable conditions, scarcities, etc. If I want something and it just requires me to give up a few things mentally, I can do it easily. I sincerely want to believe in the philosophy of mind of matter, and do as much as I can to prove it to myself.
22. I was born on the same day as king Saud of Saudi Arabia, the same day as the Coca Cola company was officially incorporated, and the Russian composer Tchaikovsky died. Go figure :)
23. I don't remember having any big fears. Except hurting people unintentionally, though. For some reason, I can be very blunt at times and point out very rude truths in passing if you ask for my opinion.
24. On the other hand, if I choose consciously, I can keep you company and (at least try to) cheer you up from no matter what is worrying you. Try me some time -- I guarantee an honest effort and a very patient ear.
25. I am not so active on social media like facebook or orkut. But I always make it a point to at least acknowledge the receipt of an email if I cannot reply on time in detail. I hate it when you send an email to someone and they seem to disappear into a black hole -- it is called email etiquette, and you should learn it.

Stay tuned for more posts -- promise more interesting stuff soon!