Programmer unleashes creativity in an otherwise monotonous workday

Quixotic

quix·ot·ic (kwĭk-sŏt'ĭk) also quix·ot·i·cal (-ĭ-kəl)
adj.
Caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; idealistic without regard to practicality.

I wish i could say that about myself once in my life at least.

Scene at Sauna

66 kilo Asian guy enters (me!). There is a 100 kilo Caucasian lying peacefully, soaking in the heat. Has good physique for his age (about 60-65 I guess). 66 kilo Asian sits down, adjusts to the temperature, and realizes its too hot. Anyways, few minutes later, another guy enters. He is about 140 kilos, with a humongous belly, and 66 kilo Asian is not sure of his race at this point.

140 Kilo guy looks at 66 kilo Asian and says: "As-Salaam Alaykum"
66 kilo Asian: "wa `Alaykum As-Salām"
140 Kilo guy: "Arabic?"
66 kilo Asian: "No!"
140 Kilo guy: "Pakistani?"
66 kilo Asian: "No!"
140 Kilo guy is rather clueless at this point.
66 kilo Asian to the rescue: "I am from India." (Feeling mera bharat mahan at this time)
140 Kilo guy: "Aaahhh! I see many Indian movies."
66 kilo Indian: "In Cyprus? Is there some where place they play Indian movies?"
140 Kilo guy: "No, I see on CD nowadays"
66 kilo Indian: "Where are you from?" (Got a hint from "nowadays")
140 Kilo guy: "Lebanon."

100 kilo Caucasian is fidgeting meanwhile, sits up finally.
140 Kilo Lebanese to 100 kilo Caucasian: "How are you?"
100 kilo Caucasian: "I am tired. Came here straight from work" (Obviously a Britisher from the accent)
140 Kilo Lebanese: "You still work? Where?"
100 kilo Brit: "I teach English to Russian students."
140 Kilo Lebanese: "So work is tiring?"
100 kilo Brit: "Not so much now. It was much more tiring when I used to teach the whole class. I did that for 35 years. Now I just take individual lessons."
140 Kilo Lebanese: "Very important to learn English. My father made me, my brother learn English, my sister learn French"
66 kilo Indian is wondering meanwhile if Lebanon was a French Colony!
100 kilo Brit: "French is out!!! Everyone wants to learn English. There are 3 -4 good schools in Limassol (took names I don't remember) and they all have English as their medium of instruction. Even French is taught in English!"
140 Kilo Lebanese: "In school, my teacher tell me write A, B, C. I write (showing pictorially) A, B and ")" (mirror image). I never good student."
66 kilo Indian: "Are there many Russian students here?"
100 kilo Brit: "Yes, quite a few. They have a lot of difficulty initially. I take lessons from 2 o clock. A lesson lasts about an hour."
140 Kilo Lebanese: "My brother go to London. Come back after 10 years and speak English like a Britisher"
100 kilo Brit: "Ah! The London accent! I am from the middle, and speak the Oxford way of English. The Southern, Northern or London Britishers have a different accent"

66 kilo Indian is thinking "They all sound like British accent" and suddenly remembers Mickey O'Neill from Snatch, played by Brad Pitt. Now that definitely wasn't English. And 66 kilo Indian's nose is burning because of the heat. Feels like it'll start bleeding.

140 Kilo Lebanese: "Yes, London English, like Margret Thatcher and Mr. Bean."
100 kilo Brit and 66 kilo Indian start laughing.
100 kilo Brit: "You know, Mr. Bean is a Cypriot by the way!"
Both 140 Kilo Lebanese and 66 kilo Indian express surprise.
100 kilo Brit: "Bloody hell! There are more Cypriots in UK, than in Cyprus! And they want us to get out of Cyprus. What if we send all Cypriots back?"

100 kilo Brit is making reference to 2 British Air Force bases in Cyprus, which completely fall under British Authority. 66 kilo Indian feels that it's good for Cyprus that the Brit bases exist, as they prevent the Turks from completely taking over the island. He anyway makes a mental note to check on google about Mr. Bean and the Cypriot population in Britain. (Both claims are not true btw)

99 kilo Brit gets up and heads towards door. The heat is now unbearable. 65 kilo Indian takes cue and also leaves.

Baaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggg!!!!!!!

An accident happened right below my building few minutes ago!! There was a very loud noise. One car is visible, seems no on is hurt. Can't see the other car, but there's crowd assembled near it. But no Cypriot police still. 15 min and no police!!! Like my flatmate said, "Dangerous to do an accident here. Cypriot police can't be trusted to save u on time!!"

Blood Diamond

The last really amazing movie I saw in a theater was Blood Diamond. It was gripping right from the word go. A somewhat "real life" plot and stellar performances from the cast make it truly memorable. Both Leonardo DiCaprio and Dijmon Hounsou were nominated for Academy Awards in their respective Lead and Supporting Actor categories. Too bad they did not win. Jennifer Connelly is as gorgeous as ever and has an amazing role. The movie is extremely touching. A scene in the end when Solomon Vandy is in London and is looking at a diamond necklace in shop window, each diamond in the necklace metaphorically meaning a person killed in Africa, is very moving.

Thinking about the movie now coz i watched it again on my laptop. The song at the end of the movie has some interesting lyrics:
Everybody wants heaven, but nobody wants dead,
Everybody wants diamonds, without the bloodshed.

I wish more such movies are made.

Tsonga

One of my friends mentioned that Tsonga looked quite a lot like Muhammad Ali. Quite true I say.
Can't wait for tomorrow's match. My money is on Djokovich.

After the match: What an amazing final!!!!! Too bad i am not into betting. Tsonga is unbelievable. But i guess Djokovich was just more experienced when it came crunch moments having won 7 titles and been in a Grand Slam final before (even though he's 2 yrs younger than Tsonga) . This season looks very exciting. After the humiliation he received from Tsonga, Nadal will be fired up for the Clay season. Federer will want the missing jewel in the Crown. Djokovich has come of age. Then there are Tsonga, Nalbandian and Murry. Men's tennis has reached unbelievable heights of late!!!!

1 Cyprus Pound = 100 Rs = 2.54 $ = 1.71€

Above are the various conversion rates I have had to deal with over the last year.

No, its not a typing mistake, 1 Cyprus pound is equivalent to about 100 Rs. I wonder how such a small Island with hardly any industry other than tourism can have such a high valued currency. But, tourism is free money, and people do spend a lot of their hard earned savings rather extravagantly on holidays. Anyways, I had a very tough time when I first moved here, multiplied all prices by hundred, and had second thoughts before buying even bare necessities. Imagine my surprise when I came to know that the daily newspaper costs 2.35 Pounds!!! The annual DNA membership back home is cheaper than this!! This phase didn't last long thankfully.

Since we were paid in Dollars when I came here, the next rate to worry about was the USD-Cyprus Pound conversion. Now this has been extremely volatile. From 1 Pound = 1.4 USD in 2001 to about 2.48 last month. For my colleagues working here since before 2001, their salary converted to Cyprus Pound today is lesser than what they made seven years ago!!!! Anyways, it was a monthly ritual to wait/hope/guess when the dollar would rise and convert your salary for the monthly expenses. Some people even tried Credit Cards to outwit the Forex market while others dabbled with Hedge Funds.

There were 2 alarming side effects of getting habituated to Pounds and Dollars. Firstly, since Cyprus is so fucking expensive, I did all my shopping on the net and on my US trip last year. US is so incredibly cheap!!! I mean not only for electronics, but even apparels and stuff. And just thinking about the high prices in Cyprus, I have started to get carried away while shopping on the net (to have the items delivered to colleagues on site in US!). Secondly, I found myself dividing each price by 100 on my vacation back home and started tipping autorikshaw drivers!!!!

Anyways back to conversions, the European Union came to our rescue this January, and the Euro currency has been introduced in Cyprus. The Pound was pegged with the Euro at 1 Euro = .585274 Cyprus Pounds six months back. And I chose to getting paid in Euro instead of the dollar (having lost faith in Uncle Sam long back). Now I sleep peacefully not having to worry about any conversion rates, except twice a year perhaps when I (hopefully!) send some money to the motherland!