You are cordially invited, with family (only non-pesky kids allowed) and friends (again, only non-pesky kids), for the blog-pravesham ceremony of my new blog at Wordpress.
Transportation to the new blog has already been arranged - all you have to do is hang on for another 10-15 more seconds and you will be at the blog-step of my new abode.
This blog will still remain, but only as a testimony of my journey so far and for those few of you who could undergo withdrawal symptoms since you're so addicted to this blog (the only 3 persons on that addicted list as of now is me, me and me).
All further updates will be at the new place. Please update your bookmarks (humor me, will ya?) and please do come by to the new blog as often, if not more often, as you used to come here.
P.S: If your browser likes embarassing me and is not exactly redirecting you, please exercise your finger muscles and click on the following link, thanks! -
Update [15th May, 2007]: The poll has been closed, thanks to the schmuck who decided to cast 32 votes saying I should remove all widgets and another 32 saying I'm crap. I appreciate your enthusiasm, Mr.S, but shut it. And you know what's the best part? I'm completely ignoring you 64 times. How's that?! Rest of world, thank you! I'll put in the changes to the template as soon as I find some time and inclination. And I'll try not to bother you guys with polls again. Thanks!
HOUSTON! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!
I've been postponing this little decision for so long now that I've finally decided to decide.
Problem Statement: I've been having this template for Thought Process for the last few months and I've ended up adding so many fancy widgets over time (mainly 'coz, well, they caught my fancy!) that it's come to a point where I'm beginning to find the blog cluttered up with too many things. Hence this poll.
Steps to arrive at conclusion: So, my dear readers, would you be so kind as to spend a few of your precious minutes, take this poll and let me know your ideas on what you would like to see on Thought Process, please? A lot of you are anon (or so I kid myself, so humor me will ya?) for reasons best known to yourselves - this poll would be a great way to keep your anonimity and still let me know what you think! Like they say, two mangoes with one stone. (insert sheepish+guilty look at murdering another Tamil idiom).
So without any further ado, scroll down, read the question carefully and exercise your right to franchise TODAY!
What's with the title? Well, just that I've officially given up on thinking up nice titles for my posts. Given. Up.
I'm smitten with Anne of Green Gables. And the last line in the book is from "Pippa's Song", by Robert Browning -
The year's at the spring, And day's at the morn; Morning's at seven; The hill-side's dew-pearl'd; The lark's on the wing; The snail 's on the thorn; God's in His heaven— All's right with the world!
Apart from certain issues like the lack of crown jewels in my jewellery box, the absence of, not just a bright red Maserati in my porch, but the porch itself; and sundry other items of a similar nature, all's right with the world, indeed!
Scene: Me is sitting staring the the 'Compose' window, not typing a word. Other-Me is yapping non-stop somewhere in the vicinity of the brain. Other-Me's voice sounds strangely familiar. The sarcasm is definitely familiar.
Other Me: So, write something fantabulously awesome that'll shake the entire blogosphere and bring them all to your blog-step!
Me: Oh yeah? Like what?
Other Me: I don't know! But something really really cool.
Me: Ice?
Other Me: Funny?
Me: (dejected) No. But it's irritating when you have to convey something really huge and you don't find the words!
Other Me: Ok ok, don't go all polyglot-ic on me. How about google-ing for an image. It is equal to a thousand words you know.
Me: You think I didn't do that already, you knucklehead? Why don't you just shut the heck up for a while and let me think?
Other-Me: Oh, but I can't shut up. You know I can't. You can't shut up! How can I? Maybe you should just let me do the writing. Like you always do. *smirk*
Me: WHAT??!! HOW DARE YOU insinuate that I pass off your work as mine? How dare you, you..you cheater, pumpkin-eater?
Other-Me: Fine, fine. It's all your work. Now get to the work at hand. Write something good. But sweetheart, pumpkin-eater? Seriously? That's all you could come up with?
Me: *through gritted teeth* I will not swear or name-call on this blog, so shut it.
Other-Me: Oh right. Forgot. Did you wash the blog with turmeric and apply kumkum on it today? How about actually using that coconut you bought 2 weeks back? Can I get some camphor?
Me: Leave me alone!!!!!!!!!!!
Other-Me: Can't.
Me: Can too.
Other-Me: Can too not.
Me: You mean 'cannot'?
Other-Me: Whatever. *long series of beeps that can't be typed on a public domain*
Me: Ok!! No point resisting you. Give me one good idea and I swear I'll treat you like an equal.
Other-Me: God promise? You will?
Me: I will. *fingers crossed behind back - loophole for the promise*
Other-Me: You do realize I can know that you intend to cheat, right?
Me: *giving up* Fine fine fine! Tell me.
Other-Me: Considering the dire straits you're in, and considering the fact that your mental health is my mental health and considering the fact that I do owe you one from long time ago and considering...
Me: You know, I would like to publish a post on this blog at least before 2080 so...
Other-Me: *Dont-push-your-luck-too-far-or-I'll-have-to-kill-you look* considering the very obvious fact that your writing skills are fast drying up, I will give you one piece of advice.
Me: Which is?
Other-Me: Just say it.
Me: Er, what?
Other-Me: No big hungama, no party-ish shouting, no fancy pictures from Google, nothing. Just say it. Those few words. Say it.
Me: *bewildered*
Other-Me: What? You got a better idea, chum?
Me: No. This is it.
Other-Me: Then go! Now! Before they all leave. Go!!
So, Me is writing the following in the 'Compose' window and hitting 'Publish' -
This is my 200th post. I'm happy for me! (going 'YAY!!'). Thank you, my silent and not-so-silent readers, who put up with everything that I post here and who actually come back (God bless you!) and say nice things about what I write. It's easy to say that I write only for myself yada yada yada, but the honest truth is, after a point, it gets really lonely writing just for yourself (and the occasional spammer advertising engine oil). It could be no big deal for you leaving a comment, but if you're also a blogger you'll know it's a huge deal to see a comment on something you felt about and penned. And if I'm still here, still writing, still yappin', it's because of you. Yes you, right there, reading this line. :-) Thank you. You've been great, and I do hope I can keep you interested in Thought Process, at least for a little while longer. And I'll sincerely try not to get this mushy again. But maybe for my 300th post, no? :-)
Other-Me: See? That wasn't so bad after all, was it?
Me: *relieved* So now I have to treat you like an equal?
Other-Me: *strutting about proudly inside head* You bet, lady!
Me: In your dreams, you nut! *wicked grin*
Other-Me: Hey!! That's not...
Other-Me's voice fades out. Enter Bryan Adams with 'Summer of 69'.
P.S: 200! Two hundred! 2 followed by 2 whole zeroes. Yippie! Woohoo!!! I did it! I lasted this long! *goes away imagining Oscar statuette in hand, acceptance speech in mind*
I'm tired of this template for my blog. So me going to make some changes.
If you find queer things or misplaced things or a completely messed up place, please adjust! I'm not that dumb usually, but it happens sometimes. Like a great soul once said, some people have the ability to mess up anything and everything. I know that person was definitely talkin' about me.
So do come back after a while - at least to tell me if my new template can stay or not.
P.S: If, even after a week, you find the same template, blame Garfield. Seriously, that cat is having a very very bad influence on good girls like me. It's as if being lazy is the latest fad or somethin'! **shakes head** It's hopeless, I tell you.
P.P.S: Long P.S eh? Yeah, I do things like that. **shrugs**
Live Update: So far so good. I could do better with the title. Looks downright crappy. Oh BTW, from now on, site best viewed on resolution 800x600 and above. Like it matters! :-P
Update 2: Check out my new Calvin and Hobbes font for the page header!!!! Awesome! I love it. :-)
Update 3: Ok, I've done something wrong. That much I know. Wanna see something weird? Click on 'Comments' and see the crazy sized font that appears! Or you could click on something in 'Calvins Desk' and see the old template show up! Yikes! Man, I got work to do... oh, just found another one - check out the really old posts around March 2006 - resolution does matter you know, I take back what I said in Update 1. **shoulders slumped**
Update 4: Hopefully this is the final update. :-) I've done what I could. I'm thinking of outsourcing the acceptance/unit/system testing to you, my dear readers! So please feel free to break my page ;-) Any comments/suggestions most welcome (for once!). You think I should increase the font size for the posts? I don't want to be the reason why you had to start wearing spectacles you know. :-
- You look at every incident in your life for its blog-worthiness. Things as mundane as buying groceries miraculously becomes an interesting event where you can observe and make-up (?!!) things and then write a blog post about it. If the credit card-reader apparatus (for want of a better word) doesn't work, you can write a post blaming the Govt for poor infrastructure. If you had a really embarassing incident - nothing like it! It's like Christmas came early to your blog!! You watch movies/TV shows you can write about. You actually watch a saas-bahu soap to crib about it on your blog. If you suddenly remembered a funny incident that you had in your childhood - you DO NOT share it with your spouse/friend/colleague, instead run to update your blog with it so your spouse/friend/colleague can read it online and leave witty comments about it.
- Your mood turns sour if you got only single digit comments on your post. And this mood stays till you somehow - somehow- make the comment count >= 10.
- You spend time thinking on the topic of your blog. You're always thinking about what to write on your blog. You scan through all the junk emails you have ever got in your life and think which one would be an appropriate one to post. Any funny/weird/gross thing you hear, your immediate response? "Hey..cool..I'll put that in my blog!".
- You want to blog all the time - 24x7. Blog while watching TV. Blog while working. Blog from airport lounges waiting for your connecting flights. Blog while eating. Blog while cleaning the keyboard due to blogging while eating. Blog while cooking (thereby letting the curry burn - then come back and blog about that also). Blog while walking your dog (show off saying you mo-blogged!). Blog while on vacation. If you miss blogging on one single day - you come back with an 'Apology' for not updating your blog 'for so long'.
- The first thing you open when you come to work is your blog and not your email. Sure fire sign of blog-o-mania. Your email used to be your lifeline. Till recently. And then you started blogging. It's ok, priorities do change in life, go with it. It's more important to reply to the comments on your blog than send that quick reply to the manager saying you did not complete that fix. And then you get flayed alive by your manager and..get this, you come back to your blog and write about that flaying!! And then you get hazaar 'dont worry, take it light yaar' comments and a few comments that go "Huh! me too dude!".
- You write out lists that you expect people to find funny and nod their heads about. It's like you're reading this now, smiling to yourself at how right I am and how I hit the nail on its head and how come I can write so well.. and then reading the last few words again and think, "My! what an arrogant..er..girl!".
Get the drift? ;-)
I know there are more to this list - will collate 'em all from the comment box and update this blog as 'Readers Reply'. Gee, it's like having my own newspaper or something! Way cool!
My experiments with backgrounds - finally, I seem to be getting somewhere! Still a lot of work to be done, still a lot of tweaking to be learnt, but I'm happy with this start :-)
Only problem now, is how to make sure the image encompasses the entire width and length of the post and not just where the text is! I could put new lines all over the place, but...there's got to be a better way to extend the image size inside an HTML table tag...gurus out there, any ideas please?
Max I could for now, people. Rounding up anything worth reading on HTML (I'm just starting with it) to see if I can achieve what I want. Till then...please put up with my ignorance!
Disclaimer: All opinions expressed here are my own and do not represent those of my employer. The fact that a particular comment is posted on this blog does not mean that I have endorsed it in any way or verified the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any such comment. I, in no terms, shall be held responsible for/associated with the content carried by the blogs I link to.
