Remembering & wanting to forget

For my very own, for every tear, for every faith, for every act of courage.

For serenity. For peace.

WhatEwah!

Found this random article while browsing today. And at 2 a.m. when your mind is unclogged of sounds and outside influence, it makes me wonder even more at the 'Amreekans'.

'Whatever' so totally tops most annoying word poll

By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press Writer – Wed Oct 7, 3:25 pm ET

Americans are totally annoyed by the use of "whatever" in conversations.
The popular slacker term of indifference was found "most annoying in conversation" by 47 percent of Americans surveyed in a Marist College poll released Wednesday.
"Whatever" easily beat out "you know," which especially grated a quarter of respondents. The other annoying contenders were "anyway" (at 7 percent), "it is what it is" (11 percent) and "at the end of the day" (2 percent).
"Whatever" — pronounced "WHAT'-ehv-errr" when exasperated — is an expression with staying power. Immortalized in song by Nirvana ("oh well, whatever, nevermind") in 1991, popularized by the Valley girls in "Clueless" later that decade, it is still commonly used, often by younger people.
It can be an all-purpose argument-ender or a signal of apathy. And it can really be annoying. The poll found "whatever" to be consistently disliked by Americans regardless of their race, gender, age, income or where they live.
"It doesn't surprise me because 'whatever' is in a special class, probably," said Michael Adams, author of "Slang: The People's Poetry" and an associate professor of English at Indiana University. "It's a word that — and it depends how a speaker uses it — can suggest dismissiveness."
Adams, who was not involved in the poll and is not annoyed by "whatever," points out that its use is not always negative. It also can be used in place of other, neutral phrases that have fallen out of favor, like "six of one, half dozen of the other," he said.
But the negative connotation might explain why "whatever" was judged more annoying than the ever-popular "you know," which was recently given a public workout by Caroline Kennedy during her flirtation with the New York U.S. Senate seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton. "You know," Adams notes, is a way for speakers to seek assent from others.
Pollsters at the Poughkeepsie, N.Y. college surveyed 938 U.S. adults by telephone Aug. 3-Aug 6. The margin of error is 3.2 percentage points. The five choices included were chosen by people at the poll discussing what popular words and phrases might be considered especially annoying, said spokeswoman Mary Azzoli.

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938 US adults actually pondered over the 'most annoying word' when questioned over the telephone? Or when questioned, did they just roll their eyes and say "Whatevah, man!" and slam the phone? And that by default became the most annoying word?
Now, How about questioning 938 US adults what they really thought about the war? How about waking them up in the middle of the night with the shrill ring of the telephone, and asking them if they thought about it at all? Would the response then be "Whatever"? Or would there be genuine concern by a country that has therapy for a phenomenon called 'shopping stress'? Would there be, if any an answer at all?

So, like, you know....Whatever.

'Pulp'...and just that

Pulp

Definition: any soft or soggy mass; "She pounded it to a pulp"

The last week was filled with hugely hyped movies/books for me. And i found myself asking "So what's all the fuss about?" It made me momentarily wonder if I was too 'dumb' to 'appreciate the finer points'. But then, I'm not one for intelligence that needs to concord with the rest of the world…just to fit in smugly :P

The first of my woes was 'Pulp Fiction'. I had heard so much about it being a cult movie, so many friends raved about it and gave me an accusing "You haven't watched it yet?!!? You ought to be dead!" kind of feel...I almost felt obliged to watch. Or be relegated to being the scum of the universe.

Five minutes into the movie and I was thinking how blissful it was being the scum. At least I wouldn't have been subjected to this. WHAT THE HELL WAS THE MOVIE (*!!@#$$%&**!) ALL ABOUT? It was like listening to somebody indulging in all the talk they never got to talk about, because people just weren't interested. I can take that in a book, but a movie??? I was biting my knuckles to stop myself from yelling "Aw C'mon, what's the story??!!?" (yes…I need a STORY). I didn't even find the dialogues funny (somebody droning on about a cheese burger...really???). I'm suspecting the only reason it got popular was for the uninhibited language.



Which brings me to 'The world according to Garp'. I won't slam the book as much as I did the movie. But again, I wondered what the fuss was all about. It had its moments...some bits i really liked, some that made me ponder, some that made me laugh. But for the majority of the book, it was nothing more than a recounting of male fantasies (despite its pseudo-dominant theme of feminism).

After that week of sex and violence, I snuggle up to my (safe) copy of ‘Mill on the floss’ and inject a dose of DDLJ into my system. And with a blueberry cheesecake for company (:), I’m purged of the last week’s excesses.

Of trash & moving

I can't believe how callous some people can be. With a LOT of effort, I was clearing up the last of the trash in the house before moving to another place (this is my 3rd house in 2009, by the way). I had dumped all of the heavy stuff at my doorway, so that I could drag it all to the chute.

When I was done with the house, I stepped out to find that somebody had happily clubbed their trash with mine! (oh, the joys of communal living…). I was furious…what did they expect, that I lug their trash as well?? Couldn’t they do it themselves?? All these question-rounds later, I still threw all the trash – theirs and mine. I couldn’t bear to have it lying around. I lugged all of it, making 4 rounds up and down (yes…I’m a chronic garbage collector). I came back thinking…would I ever do that? I somehow knew I wouldn’t…

It may be a small thing, but still…to me, it shows a lack of sensitivity and respect. Oh well...

As an aside, I was quite proud of myself during the 3rd exodus. Daddy’s li’l girl who couldn’t cross the street without holding his hand (even till high school!) packed all her stuff, hired a couple of pathans for the moving and set up the new place – all by myself. The 1st 2 times I had friends who helped me out while I stood like a helpless puppy and followed orders. This time around, I kept fretting how I would do it with my friends being away. But lo & behold! The good Lord shows you that you are capable of much more than you know and gives you the strength to do it. And I suddenly felt thankful for those years that I’ve spent away from the protected and loving environs of my home – or else I would have remained the same delicate, fragile person bursting into tears at the slightest challenge.
I’ve never worked this hard in my life, made so many decisions, or carried so much (esp. in 40 degree heat!) and the satisfaction was immense. I looked like a burnt pygmy at the end of it all, but it was worth it.

I adore my new, cozy li’l home and I have this smug smile on my face. There! I did it dad!

Rest in Peace, MJ...hopefully.

I hope we let you live in your death. I hope we let you be the child you've always wanted to be. I hope we stop dissecting your life. I hope we realize how music mourns your loss. I hope, finally we let you rest in peace.

Why so serious?

I'm bored. I'm so bored, it's unbelievable. I don't remember ever being so bored in my life. I find a seriousness creeping in, a lethargy, a 'I-don't-care-what-happens' settling in like a curling-up cat. I don't want to feel like this, but I'm too bored to even try. I find people, places uninteresting...I find my mind drifting when someone's talking. I find talk boring...it's the usual, the mundane. All I want to do is snuggle up in bed with a good book and doze off peacefully, somewhere in between it's pages.

People drive me nuts and I can't understand why humans love to complicate their lives. I'm bored of their constant whining, of perceived threats, of advices doled out, of illogical reasonings. I'm bored that there's nobody here who likes to share long silences with me...and not feel the need to puncture every silence with a word.

I'm bored that I'm bored.

I'm bored that my job doesn't excite me anymore. That it's become just another means to make money. I'm bored to the depths of my being.

And now I'm too bored to write.

I miss...

Unending coffee table conversations.
Mindless laughter, uncontrollable giggles.

Jumping fences.
Familiar faces.

The company of good human beings who occasionally bitch :)