Who the heck is getting married?

Oh, this is a good one. I didn't want to forget one second of it. But inevitably, you always end up forgetting some part of your dream, ALWAYS! I also had another dream of me traveling in mumbai local train again, I was behaving like a noob again, the name of the station I wanted to get down at was written on a piece of paper. I got down at some station, but I walked to the place where I had to go as if I knew my way around that place perfectly well. I don't remember anything else about this dream, but lets move to the good part. 

We are definitely in some foreign country. Preparations for a wedding are in full swing. There is commotion everywhere... hehe, no surprises here, this always happens at Indian weddings. We drive down to the mandap. I look into some more arrangements. Then Its time to check out the car, car decoration and the band. most of the band guys are foreigners except for two. We enquire whether they can play hindi songs. They said yes, they can. And 'johnny' here can sing while the others play music. And this johnny was JOHNNY LEVER. HAH!

Next, I remember we are dancing in the baraat. (I know I was dancing and not sitting on the horse so it wasn't my wedding; okay?)It was dark, and not very crowded on the road or where ever we were. They were playing great hindi songs one after the other. I can't seem to remember them all, but I definitely remember 'say na say na' from bluff master and us dancing to it. The faces I remember are vivek jijaji(oh yeah happy birthday jiju!), sonu didi, tina, Divya, Purva. I couldn't help but ponder why no friends.. Maybe because none of my friends have ever come to a family wedding before. Anyways, I was really excited with the sound of the hindi songs even though they were in a dream. That's why when the alarm went off, I just let it go on, and listened to the song : pyaar karke pachtaya. 

All these and more

I always thought "how much money could he be making when he's sitting downstairs in the house all day!" Then his really silly actions to cut down his expenses like having a slow as hell internet connection! Its even slower than the broadband connection I used in India! He got rid of a lot of channels on cable so now I only get 8 channels! Man! I feel like I'm living in some third world country! He wouldn't even turn the heat up a lot! My room would be cold during the winter, and now its the hottest place during hot days on the summer! I say, I didn't get my ass out of there sooner!

So here's a bunch of reasons I think justify me moving out of here.

• The room only has a table lamp. It is too dark to work after sundown!
• The Ethernet cable is faulty, I can never connect to the internet using that, and he won't agree that it needs to be replaced.
• The router setting blocks my laptop and cellphone from successfully conecting via wi-fi.
• There is a lot og junk in the closet which I asked him to move out but he still hasn't.
• The cat walks in the room if the door is open and walks all over my bed and ME!
• If I leave the door closed, there is no ventilation and it gets really hot during summer.
• The table is getting smaller and smaller for all my needs. Maybe I'd have more room if it wasn't for that damn table lamp!
  
• There is nothing to watch on the T.V. (only 8 channels remember?)which was part of the facilities I am paying for.
• The tv in the basement doesn't have a working remote control so watching television alone by myself is really inconvenient.
• Mostly, a couple of my stuff has gone missing and I say its unacceptable!

Plus, he recently told me, "I've got a lot of things going on in my life right now, and the house is getting kinda expensive, so I'm thinking of selling it."

There you have it!

Now the dilemma as to where I should move in!

Happy birthday Richa

Yahoo! Another fun holiday!(not really,) I had to take care of some business. I left for college at around 12.pm, I stored the newsprint pads and my technical pen, illustration board etc in college, went to the bookstore, but it was closed. I went to the library, checked my mail, chatted with Abhishek for a few minutes and decided to walk to Gino's for lunch. I ordered a slice of pizza, and then I remembered, its Richa's Birthday! It was already 12:30 am on the 24th june in India, so I was kinda worried that she had slept, but she picked up the phone as soon as it rang! She was really excited(after the initial confused phase) But believe me, I was more excited than her.

It had been really long since we last chatted or even sent an email to each other, and I didn't know what she knew about me, but I had been getting updates on what she's upto from her little sister Dristi. So I was prepared to tell her all about the things I have been doing here in Canada. Turns out, she has been reading my blogs (unlike some of my other friends) and knows more than I thought. Regardless, we talked for about twenty minutes about my pottery experience, my classmates, all the times I've gone out with them and the activities that we did together. She said she really admired me for going to another country despite being a cancerian and I feel really happy for that. I don't think I could thank her enough for that compliment. I believe she really know what I'm going through. Well, my pizza was getting cold here and her little sister and parents were probably starting to get pissed and wishing she'd go to bed already, LOL, so I hung up.

Then I figured I should give a call to vironica and confirm that I would be staying in that room, and that I want her to hold the room for me. So she said I could give her a couple hundred if not the complete rent to hold the room for me. Now I had to go to the bank and get cash the 250 dollar refund check that I got from the college residence. I took the 24 bus from college, and guess what! I didn't have to pay, it was free! Hmm, is it free every Saturday? I would totally roam around he city every Saturday if it is! Anyways, I quickly got back and as I was walking to Veronica's house, I realized I didn't know the house number. I called her up, but she wasn't home so I walked back home.

At home I got a call which I recieved, but couldn't hear anything. I guess it was vironica, because a little while later, she called again, and asked where I was. She even gave me her house number (Oh crap! I forgot it again! I just remember that it was in the 2000 series). But when I told her I was already back home and was kinda tired now, she offered to come pick me up/or just the money?.. I was not very comfortable with this option, for some reason I don't know, I didn't want her to see the current house I'm living at. Plus, it would be awkward for herself too, to come to my house, meet with me and probably my landlord too, and just take the money and leave. So I asked if I could come to her house tomorrow, but she said she was going to the Niagra falls. Oh that ought to be fun! She said she'll leave at 12 pm so I should come to her house before that if I want to come on sunday or I could go on monday. Whatever, I'll think about it tomorrow now.

And yeah, I want to announce that I got a flickr pro account, and I would like you guys to go check out my collections and sets. Go to http://flickr.com/photos/yashrg

Pottery experience.

Yesterday, after the damn mid term exam of 'art of cinema' , as I was walking down the wing hallway, I bumped into Evan, Emily and Jerica. Their 'Cults class' teacher didn't show up this morning so they didn't have any class. Poor guys, they had to get up early and come all the way to college for this. LOL. So now they were just sitting around waiting for 12 PM so they can go to the ceramics department and try their hands on pottery. I was pretty excited about that too. I'd always seen potters working on the wheel and it seemed almost magical how they made all those wonderful matkas and pyalas and gharas. I always love the smell of the new matka we bought every other summer. And I wanted to try and make one too. I wanted to know what went on during the process of making one.

But before we did, we had to go to Oakville place for some Thai food! you see, we had to bribe Evan with some food in order to make him stay for the pottery thing. The food was just too much for about all of us, so we got take out containers and brought it back with us.(The rest of which I ate this morning) I used chopsticks for the first time to eat rice. and it was much more difficult than grabbing pieces of sushi. But I think I'm getting the hang of it. I just hope yesterday's leftover chicken fried rice left in my backpack overnight doesn't make me sick now. On second thoughts it probably won't, I've got a pretty strong immune system.

In the ceramics department, first we were given a tour of the facility and were explained a lot of the processes involved in the making of a ceramic 'piece'. Then we were given a demo on the wheel, first making a long cylindrical shape, and then a platter shape. Then we were given our own wheels and clay, a water container and we were ready to get down and dirty! Luckily I had my apron, or else I would have badly badgered my jeans and t shirt. The first process, centering the clay, is a pretty tough thing to do. It requires the most physical strength as compared to any other process. Infact, the shaping of the clay, is a very delicate process. I had to learn that the hard way. The first cylindrical shape that I was making, got destroyed when I was pulling it up, i.e. raising the clay to make it taller. I gripped the wall too tightly and I suppose my hands were too dry and so the wall of the cylinder just ripped! there was a slit in it because I made it too thin and I had to start all over again.

By now, Emily was already finishing her first vase. Very nice and curvy. And even Evan was chugging along nicely. I think I should blame it all on the Asian student who was 'TRYING' to help me. LOL. Anyways, I finally did end up making a vertical vase shape on my second attempt, but again, cutting it off was proving to be a tough task... my fingers would start rotating with the wheel instead of coming straight towards me. Anyways, I was just happy to get done with that, and start on a platter form. This time around, one of the faculty was there to help me out. (yeah, my stupid brain can't remember the name of that dude) I looked around now, and noticed that Emily was in the process of making a third one, and even jerica and Evan's plates were actually looking like plates! Damn I suck! So after I was through with this one, I decided to do a miniature, small matki.

Well, now that I think of it, a diya would have been better. Atleast I'd have been able to use it on diwali! Ahem! getting back to the story, the first attempt at a small pitcher failed spectacularly! The other faculty then encouraged me to give up on it and start another one. This time around, I was more confident and stable with my hands and I actually ended up making something I really liked! I said "mom can use this for her pooja." I don't know though if I will be able to keep it intact till the time I leave for India, and whether it'll actually survive the trip in the cargo compartment. My soft luggage bag was terribly damaged while coming here. Oh well, lets leave that for the future. Next, I'm looking forward to glazing those pots and plate.

Why do I have to be like this?

I was just having lunch at burger king when I got a call from dad. I talked to him about my possibility of moving to a different location next month. I said that I had seen this house about the same distance from college, same rent, but a bigger room, bigger house, and two other students living there. My current room, is small dark, hot(only during the summer, during winter, it was chilly!) and I strongly believe that is hampering my creativity and my work. Its also pretty lonely here and thats making me really depressed lately. Leading to me lagging in my academics a bit(but obviously, I would never tell that to my parents). Wait, I'm deviating here, lemme start over.

Why the fuck do I have to be such a soft hearted do gooder all the friggin time? I'm starting to relate myself to michael scofield these days. I could still look for similar places with lesser rent and closer to college, but wouldn't because I feel kinda obliged to stay with her because veronica was so nice, she picked me up from college, showed me around the house, talked to me so nicely and even droped me at dominion later on. Also, I wasn't too keen on leaving this place because Kevin was really nice to me in the first few months, walking me to college, driving me to toronto, taking me to lacross match, easter dinner etc. I really feel I need to put these kinda things behind me asap!

Just because of this kind of attitude, I am never gonna be able to get things done. I have been thinking for few days now, whether I should talk to abhinav bhaiya and let him know that I'll be moving. Ask for his help in picking a good place and maybe ask him if he'd help me move. But I feel it'll be really awkward and maybe kind of wrong. Maybe he'll think I'm asking him to return a favour because I helped him move. Plus, he helped me out even when I first came to canada, he visited me and took me out on holi. So he has done so much for me, and now by asking him for this, I wouldn't want him to think I'm 'using' him too much. Neither would I want him to feel 'responsible' for me, because he has been doing everything for me. I am almost 20, I should be able to handle things on my own by now. And thinking about all this, made me feel really sick. (or is it the burger/onion rings?)

So I decided if I am feeling so strongly about this, I should post it. I was also discussing this with abhinav just few mins ago, about how and why I became like this. If only someone has a way to undo this, to make me NOT care about such small things, please let me know.

Dying note.

If anyone of you guys actually ends up at my funeral, maybe because someone else dragged you there, or you wanted to eat the free food, or maybe you just got lost and ended up at the shamshaan, I would appreciate if you go ahead and read this out to the people(if any) assembled there. I know you'll first have to convince them that it won't take long so you'd say something like 'This will only take 5 minutes so you can still get to the 'thank god he's finally dead!' party in time.'

GET OFF THE TUBE! I CAN'T BREATHE!

Hehe, no, (insert your name here) wasn't really standing on my oxygen pipe or anything, that ws just because I wanted to make you all laugh at my funeral. I could never imagine my funeral being a really sad and depressing event. I always Imagined my death would be some really bizzare and funny incident that people would love to share at parties or gatherings. Like for example, "So, that moron started chasing the bus, shouting 'wait for me!!!' The bus driver notices him, and stops, starts backing up the bus, and runs him over! Just like that really funny movie I watched! ha ha ha ha! ha ha ha ha!"

And that's why, you can be sure that when... (go through options a to d and read the one that suits best)

a) I fell to the ground from the 10th floor in attempt to fly,
b) I died of morbid obesity after eating a LOT of green vegetables,
c) I was squashed by the cow that fell on me,
d) I was killed by a goomba,

my last wish has been fulfilled and I will rest in peace. So you don't need to go around performing stupid rituals for my wellbeing in the afterlife. Also, nobody needs to worry about me haunting or stalking them as ghosts, I believe I have better things to do.

And yeah, all the people I owe money to, 'fuck off!'

Everybody that's left(I doubt there's any by this point...) thank you for staying with me. Bye bye now. Have a great day, great week, great month and a awesome great life. See you when the time's right.

And that's all folks!

Zonig out while drawing.

Following is an excerpt from Tom's mad blog. I recently realized something about life drawing, that is quite related to what he has said here. go ahead and read it.

Q: A friend of mine who does the party caricatures for a living told me “zones out” a lot while drawing a big crowd. He said that he gets in a rythm of drawing where he’s so comfortable and routine he goes on automatic pilot to the point where he’s actually floated above himself watching himself draw and entertain for a couple subjects. My friend says it happens almost every gig. Sometimes its out of boredom too. Its very surreal. He said watching himself draw and talk was freaky. He doesn’t do drugs and has a couple beers to unwind only after the gig. Have you ever zoned out?

A: This is a very real phenomenon. Drawing live caricatures is a mentally and physically draining thing to do, especially in a theme park. It is an exercise in endurance.

I was drawing circles as a warm up yesterday, at the portfolio workshop class, and I guess I was being just too enthusiastic about it. I started doing it really fast! The paper almost caught fire, and the graphite was melting! And my right arm got really tired. Then, when I was drawing, it was like I wasn't even telling my hand to do it. It was moving on its own. Ofcourse I'm not a pro and didn't end up making beautiful pictures, they were just scribbles of 5 to 30 second gestures. And I would have been in the complete zoned out state by the end of the 7th hour, had I not been given a break during which I went and hogged KFC popcorn chicken.

Random musings and a hasty update

All my friends and relatives in India are on vacation. I'd be lying if I said I'm not jealous of them, but if they worked hard throughout the year, they deserved it. Whereas bums like me, deserve to be rotting in hell...school. I haven't been working quite hard enough. just 30 hours of drawing in a week are not nearly enough. And I still haven't completed my assignment from previous weeks. Work is piling up. And no matter how hard I try to get my stupid self to do it, I can't help but get distracted. I'm still not focussed enough.

Today was a pretty hot day. I spent most of the morning down in the basement when I was doing the laundry. Then I went upstairs and both me and my laptop were getting really hot when at around 4, I started to do some of my homework, and it had gotten pretty dark by then. Damn clouds! I had opened my window, to help cool things down, but it got really windy and kept blowing the door shut and making things fall. So I decided to hang out in the basement again. Its easily atleast 5 degrees cooler than my room. Plus, its nice and quiet.

But even here, there's only so much I can do. My gouache is in the college. And I don't even have a proper sized illustration board. Can't wait for tomorrow! And then the day after. But as the song goes, tomorrow never comes until its too late!

We miss john parker

2d design Tiger by ~yashrg on deviantART

This here was my 2d design assignment that I did for john parker. He was a great teacher and we will miss not having him around. No, he didn't die or anything, LOL. why would you think of it like that? He's an amazing person, I wish he'd never die! And be teaching generations to come. And hopefully, he will teach me again someday. But for now, I am stuck with mike mccartney. He is just one big doofus! Okay, you got me! This post is really a 'we hate mike mccartney' post disguised as a nice loving tribute to john parker. Mike is such a bad teacher that compared to him, even sybil would seem awesome. Atleast we ended up doing some work with her.

Now john and mike are two ends of a string. If john's the best there is, the god, Mccartney is the worst, the devil! Mike's just really dull. He has no energy, no excitement. Nothing about the way he teaches us makes me want to work for him. Plus, I hate people without a sense of humor. He has this one creepy expression on his face at all times, and sometimes he has fits or sudden outbursts which really freak me out. This guy should be in an asylum. Or atleast anywhere but my class for our sake. And that's why, I can't wait for week 8.

On the bright side, all the channels are back...

I had that weird feeling again this morning. The feeling that I'm in some television show or movie. Someone is directing my life, all the things and everyone around me. This time, I was watching tv while having lunch before heading out to college, and I notice that all the channels on the tv are back on! And I had just talked about that to my parents yesterday. I said that I was thinking of moving out of here because I feel kinda hot upstairs during the night even with the fan on. Dad said that's just silly. We are sleeping here in temperatures reaching 45 degrees! Personally, I feel the same way, totally shocked because even I lived there in such heat for all my life, but lately, I dunno why I get so sweaty at nights here with temperatures as low as 24 degrees! Still, I try to explain to dad,

"But I can't sleep well because of that. And he should turn the air con on!"

"Then tell him to!"

"He's just really nice... I can't go and approach him like that."(yeah I'm just a wuss when it comes to confrontation) "And there are not many channels on the tv either!"

BIG MISTAKE!

Dad goes "Did you go all the way to canada to watch tv?"

"Nooo... I'm saying that cable was included in the rent... and he has recently gotten rid of the packages so he should have reduced the rent!"


"Then talk to him and ask him to reduce the rent!"

And we're back to square one. Now all the above conversation was done in hindi, and unless my landlord knows hindi or a translator, and was spying on me, there is NO freakin way he could have gotten all the cable channels back on that very day unless ofcourse, the director of the 'Yash gupta show' had told him to.

Paranoia?

Testriffic test

What Disney character are you?

Minnie Mouse You are Minnie Mouse! You are extremely peppy and nice. You may come off as annoying at times.. but you care about people's well being. You give more than you get.

How do you compare? Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic

I loved the idea of making custom quizes for your friends to take and find out how much they know you. So when facebook.com application didn't work, I decided to go to the source and make one I could post on my blog or something. I ended up on the registration pahe for testriffic.com. But the registering process was a put off.. After the basic steps, I was asked over and over again a zillion times, whether I wanted to sign up for so and so freebie or special offer. I don't trust those things at all. So I was pissed and I closed the window. But today I went and decided to take a few quizzes before I went about making one of my own. so here is the result. How about you take the test too, and post your result.