Time IT out!

One of my dear friends – Arpit Rastogi has just rambled on his blog – Notebook that life is shit. Well, we’re all here to support good ol’ Rasto to get a grip on the limited time he has in a day (you know, the usual 24 hours –> 1440 minutes –> 86,4000 seconds) and make the most of it all.

As Arpit points out, he likes to drink, sleep, work (doesn’t like, but has to), click (he’s got an amazing camera!) and upload, not necessarily in that order.

Well Rasto, here’s my tirade against your problems –

  1. Stop Drinking, you’re paying to destroy your brain.There’s only a few hours of fun that you have by guzzling down beer, so drink the quality stuff that you can enjoy. All my friends who drink say the same thing – after some time, drinking and puking and hangovers are boring. But a good drink is like an interesting stranger- you meet them for the night, enjoy the time and then part ways, maybe exchanging phone numbers to meet next weekend. But a bad drink is like a frustrated spouse, they’ll nag at you the next morning.
  2. You know you want to do it, then find make the time. God gave everyone 2 things – 24 hours in a day and the challenge to use them properly.How can you find the time to upload pics? By MAKING the time! You seriously need to understand that you have all the time and energy you need. Just look for it. For example, you say you’re tired at the end of the day and can’t even find the time to upload pics? Hogwash! Have you asked yourself how you’ve been awake these past few days? Is it proper food and enough water in the day (our brain loves water, feeeeeeed it) or has it been coffee, black coffee, still more coffee and lots more coffee???
  3. Get connected but get in control. I love getting info. I’m subscribed to about 30 blogs, Google groups, email lists etc. I have 7 messenger apps on my iPhone and a constant stream of info pouring in. But what do I do with all this info? When do I consume it? Who decides that?? I do! When I want to concentrate, I don’t minimize an application on my desktop – I close it. I have 3 different browsers – one for general browsing, or for tech browsing and one for uploading stuff (Chrome, Firefox and Safari, in that order). What do I do to concentrate on a task? I keep only 1 browser open at a time. Tabs? They can be recovered. If you’re on Chrome and have too many tabs open all the time but don’t wanna bookmark them then I suggest you use TempMarks. Just get rid of the extra stuff.

You are an avid photographer. I’ve seen your work. It’s good. You’re also tech-savvy enough. Find an app that, as soon as you connect your camera to your laptop, either imports the pics to an image editing app or just directly uploads to Facebook/Flikr/DeviantART. These websites have good image editing tools themselves and you can then edit that stuff on the go! At least you’ll be publishing ASAP dude!

So, how does that rant sound?? Give it some thought, you’ll find ways to get the most out of your life. And just in case you’re still at a loss for ideas, subscribe to LifeHacker. No one beats his tips!

Who am I?

Oftentimes, I ask myself- Am I really a person? Do I really have what qualifies as a personality? Do I have a fixed set of identifiers which a person can describe me as?

Then I ask myself why I am asking myself this. I ask because at times I feel that I am no more than a chameleon’s skin. Not only do I adapt according to my surroundings but also adopt the personality of those around me. I start acting like those people, with no real original thought or action when I am surrounded by people. Perhaps original thought is not the correct term. When I sit down to write, I can write well. But when we talk, that is when I am at a loss of words. It is strange for me to come up with any bit of original or funny or sarcastic comment when amongst friends. I am more comfortable with copying their funny comments and using them over and over.

Of course I want to get over this habit. I assume that I too was born with the funny bone, just that it’s not as big as Chandler’s. I want to us it. I want to be able to think up funny comments. I too want to be liked. Or perhaps I am wrong in assuming that being funny is what being liked is all about. Maybe the characteristics I associate with myself- being polite, accommodating and chivalrous to some level are what can classify me as a likable person. Perhaps my friends do not just tolerate me but accept me for who I am and like me for who I am. Which is when I ask myself once again – Who am I?

Am I the same person who copies others’ personalities because he’s insecure about his own? Am I putting this post as private because I am afraid that this emotional outburst will only make me more vulnerable to jokes and hurt me more if it becomes public? Is this emotional outburst associated to my coming to this new place and settling in with new friends, which seems to be an activity I’ve been doing since birth but have never been comfortable with? Or is this outburst related to my realization that I do not have a funny comic side which I think is essential for people to like me?

Will I have enough courage to press the Publish button at the end of writing this down instead of saving it as a draft?

Who am I?