Me Vs Nihongo

Hello everyone. Hope everything is fine. Its been long time, rather a  veryyyyyyyyyyy long time since my post. Its been 25 days since my exams got over and its 11 19 PM i just decided to write something. But what shall i write? After a bit of delibration i decided to write something light (In the sense that i don't get a WAR of Comments ;) ). Well if u hadn't guessed it right from the topic, this post is gonna be about my experiences learning "Nihongo". Well the etymology of this word is 'Nihon' -> Japan and 'Go' -> language. In short my experiences durin my japanese classes. If i run a small flashback my tryst with 'Nihongo' started in december when the organisation which recruited me gave an option of learning japanese. Well fortunately or unfortunately (This only time will answer. Hope its former than the latter). I was one of the 20 students who got enrolled from my college. The classes were scheduled Tue, Thur and Sat 5 30 PM to 8 30 PM.

The first class started in december. My teacher asked us what we knew about japan. Those were the days when i was playin AOE2 quite regularly and i just said about the korean war and stuff thanks to AOE history of civilzation menu. And i barely controlled my giggles when my teacher said " You have a very good knowledge about the country's history and its relationship with neighbours". Then came our first test. Most of us weren't familiar with the alphabets and it turned out to be a open book test and that was the only test in which i have managed a PASS. We were supposed to finish with our JLPT Level 4 and level 3 portions before we join the company. Days passed, months passed JLPT level 4 came to an end. A mock test was conducted. It was a 3 hour test based on the JLPT pattern. As usual most of us didn't study a thing as those were the days when our univ exams were nearin in. Our teachers got changed and we had a native japanese teacher or 'Sensei' teaching us.

The first part of the test was based on 'kanji' reading. Well if u dont knw what 'kanji' is, jus google and U will defintely get an idea of the difficulties. There were a couple of kanjis which i could recognize, the others were just a combination of lines and curves which created more confusion than clarity. (In short jelabi ah pichu pota mathiri erundhuchu). 

The second part was listening comphrehension. In short it was a total disaster.  Suthama pesarthu onnume purila. There were few known words amdist words which can be termed as 'noise'. The third part was grammar. It was relatively ok compared to the previous two parts.When the results were announced, there were no surprises to know that out of a class of 26 only 3(ya all 3 were gals) had passed.

Well my japanese classes (were,) is (and will) never boring, thanks due to the people around me. Its loads of fun. People gettin teased and people teasin. There's Mimicry Mannan "G K(arthik)". The day he mimiced Hari's, mine and host of others voices is unforgettable. Hari is known for his Idly and Getti chutney dialouge. Aashiq is the favourite of our 'Sensei' for whenever the words "BEER" and "WINE" comes his name is attached to sentence or a reference is made to him. Then there is PUNTER POONAI a.k.a Sai Ganesh and NAVEEN who's names are taken whenever sentences with 'DATING' and 'GIRL FRIENDS' are formed. U can guess the atmosphere and words exchanged when these sentences are formed!

RAGHAVENDRAN is the most regular person of our class. He always comes late ( It will definitely rain if he comes early) and once he gets settled down in his seat switches on the computer and starts browsin. And on IPL and other match days he constantly updates us with the scores. There is always a competion in these aspects between Raghav and Vishwesh(Velammal). Rendu perum potti potukitu late ah varuvanga and rendu perum potti potukitu scores papanga.

Did i miss anyone? Ah the class is never complete without VADAI san a.k.a Sriram. He is known for his intellectual questions. One day he had asked our teacher  "What will you do if there is a Volcano??". WHat a quesion!! WHat a question!! A question which can stump the greatest of intellects in this universe. The rest of the class supports these great stalwarts by constant appreciation for their acts.

Thus goes my experiences durin my japanese classes. The recent test i got 7 on 30 and lets hope i get better marks in future tests. Yah athuku padikanum theridhu. Lets hope i do that too. Till my next post its Krishna signing off!! Adios.

KP
THE DEVILZ ADVOCATE

Women (In)Equality

Hello everyone. Nice to meet you after a brief lull. So whats this post gonna be. Am i going to be a pro - feminist and say women must be given equal rights and blah and blah or is it goin to be a post dominated by male chauvinism.... Well read on, you may find that out.

I was watching the railway budget session, Lalluji made some announcement about concession to all women till they complete their graduation. I thought thats a decent move to woo the female voters.

A couple of days after this, a friend of mine called me and said check the class groups, it seems some news about Microsoft placement. And when I checked the group mail, I was kinda taken aback, astonished, dumb struck(well i still cannot find the proper adjective). The mail read thus

"Hi ppl,

A  good news for our campus is that MICROSOFT was invited our college for the 'All India Placements for Women Engineers!!'

The criterion for placements if that one must me a B.E/B.Tech or M.E/M.Tech in C.S.E or I.T streams only.

Girls,

Please register at www.merittrac.net/microsoft........."

Now whats microsoft thinking?? I can understand Lalluji's intentions, this being an election year. Does Microsoft think that men are incompetent or does Microsoft think "WOMEN ARE NOT CAPABLE ENOUGH TO COMPETE WITH MEN...", thats a question, the answer for which still eludes me. 

Then came the Budget 2008. As a person whos gonna start earning in a few months, I was majorly interested on what PC would do about the "Direct Taxes". The first announcement regarding the increase on tax bracket from 1.1 lacs p.a to 1.5 lacs p.a came amidst loud cheers. PC followed  it with a shocker "and for women 1.85 lacs p.a...."

Now why is this Inequality? Why are the major industries and the government trying to woo women? And most importantly why does a gender which dosen't just say but boasts itself of not only being equal, but also being better to their male counterparts, be happy with such announcements? Can we infer from these announcements that the claim made by most of our female counterparts are just a hollow claim with no substance? If thats not the case why do they accept such offers which clearly shows women are weaker and need extra support?

There are some questions which cannot be answered. And there are some questions which people are afraid to answer. I think i'll never get answers to my questions.

Till my next post adieu

KP - THE DEVILZADVOCATE.  

P.S

• 
  
  What do i say here?? Just feel free to comment. I wanna hear your views especially the views of my female friends.
  
  

Moron Magnet - "Like Poles attract"

Hello everybody!! Hope you all had a wonderful 2007. I would like to wish you all a very very happy, prosperous and an adventurous 2008. Its been quite sometime since i wrote my last post. My exams, project hunt and above all my innate laziness have kept me away from writing. After some pestering by my friends Raghu and Vidya, here i am writing this post. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing this. And hey, i dedicate this post to all those intelligent people who call themselves moron magnets.

Well all of us know the meaning for Moron right!!?? In case u happen to have missed the word, a "moron" is a dumb or a stupid person. So what or who is a "moron magnet"?? The meaning is quite obvious isn't it? A moron magnet is someone who attracts morons, as simple as it can get. The word "magnet" can be quite misleading and the presence of this word makes many intelligent (Duh) people calling themselves "MORON MAGNETS". Now why is the word 'magnet' misleading?? Magnets attract, but its unlike poles which attract in the physical magnet. And this property of magnetism makes it quite fashionable and attractive for the usage of this phrase. Isn't this usage justified? And ain't I being a big moron  saying "Like poles attract"??

Well its very true that this property of magnetism holds really good in physical magnets, but, with respect to human magnets will the same law hold good. Now lets think of this scenario for a moment. We do make friends right? What do you think will be the criteria?? Compatibility, cohesiveness, ability to make adjustments to name a few. Now how possible or probable is it for two individuals with strikingly dissimilar likes and characteristics to strike a great, thick and close friendship and on the other side what will be the possibility or probability of two individuals with almost similar or complementing characteristics being best buddies?

Wanna think more. Lets take it to the next level. Would you want a life partner with very contrasting characteristics or would you prefer a guy/gal who complements your thoughts and lifestyle?

We all talk about matching wavelengths? With what kind of people do we expect matching wavelengths? Now if we are able to answer all the questions, it will give us a good idea about the characteristics of human magnets. Now I leave it to my readers to decide on whether I am justified in saying Moron Magnets - "Like Poles attract" after trying to think about the questions put forth previously. Your comments are always weclome and till my next post adios.

KP - The devilzadvocate

P.S:

1. 
   
   The human attraction theory is very complex and i dealt only with the majority of cases. Don't start an argument citing few exceptions. I believe that i dealt with a fact in majority of cases and if you find this contradictory i am open for arguments.
   
   


2. 
   
   There can be arguments and comments and please don't start a fight out here. This is my humble request.
   
   


3. 
   
   Again I request you to not to comment as anon. Lets be brave in what we comment and stand by it if we are right.