Hopeless Romantic .. Not me!

Some say they are hopeless;clip_image002

.. or at times aimless or helpless;

.. purposeless, they can be too;

.. I say they are shameless ! ;)

Call it deception, thawing of frozen hearts, rides, drum brakes, cycle rickshaw or with those hyper reactive keywords to compare your life to a poem .. some rotten minds put the cart before the horse and most likely burden their friends with expenses for their cry-baby behavior, never ending sad stories, their pessimism, nerve jerks, etc. So, beware those “hopeless romantics” and crooning songbirds who simply cannot live without your (so called desperate) love.

If you are a “hopeless romantic”, it’s not all bad, though. Every new acquaintance is looked upon as potential for the one true love. You are ‘perpetually’ optimistic, certain that your soul mate is just around the corner. You enjoy the thrill and anticipation that each relationship brings. As a downside, you are governed by emotion, rushing into relationships, hoping they will be "the one". The preconceived idea of the perfect relationship inadvertently causes you to sabotage yourself. Frequently you expect your latest love interest to live up to unrealistic ideals. What happens, the ‘hopeless’ one disappoints the other and part, or fall helplessly in love, yet again and live happily ever after (in the poems).

Get a life, the self proclaimed hopeless lovers, love is not only a boyfriend girlfriend thing, talk about mother’s, father’s, daughter’s, son’s, sister’s or brother’s love or for heaven’s sake leave love alone. Though I can make it easy for you, talk about the love for attention or for money ! ;)

It is evident that most people do not understand the true value, meaning or definition of the word love. Admiration, caring and respect are the cornerstones of love. I'm not going to look up any definitions of love, it is plain and simple, either you do or you don't. And those who cannot will never have known that there was something to live for.

P.S. resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is ABSOLUTELY intentional and you might judge this an attempt to teach some people lessons of life !! :P

History repeats itself, every year !

26 years ago on 13th February, 1984, Sourav made it to planet earth, to make his family and friends proud with his extra-ordinary hidden talents and skills (which are still hidden and unknown to him and everyone) .. Time goes fast and and in this day I always tend to be a little nostalgic. Every year i do the same math. This year’s math is: “Last year i was 24, next i will be 27!” ;)

Horrendous preparations, large sums spent, broken glasses, devastated flat, neighbors calling the police and pile of dishes to wash – is that all worth that one annual day? As far as I can remember, there was always huge stress as my birthday was to come. Mummy’s express shopping, haggling, ordering a cake, preparing food and then, what seemed to be the worst , my coping with family constantly repeating: “you grow up so quickly! You were so tiny when you were born and now look!”.  As a result of all those party rituals, a mountain of presents was left with my family – mainly bars of chocolate with banknotes inside, flowers, which rot the next day and useless, usually too short garments. And all “fun” mentioned above by family party left the same. Catastrophe.

So when I finally got an obvious answer to this, I was denied of all the gifts and in stead had to shell out some hard earned money to feed those ‘gimme-a-treat-it’s-your-birthday’ friends !

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Not forcing you to read the crap we (brother, friends and I) did on my birthday, in stead will ‘torture’ you with a picture collage .. !

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday, dear everyone, Happy birthday to me! In case I didn't mention it, it's my blog birthday today, it was today I took to blogging ‘seriously’ and ‘personally’ ! :)

I love my family, friends and all those who wished me on my birthday and even those who didn’t wish, but they always wished for my well-being :) Not being diplomatic, I am NOT thanking the world, the ‘me’ haters, the bees, the grass, the honks of the horns, your or my neighbor, etc and not so etc .. !:P

But what about the future? Ahh, the future. Who knows. For now, I plan, as someone legendry said someday, to “keep on keeping on”.. OKAY .. I said that, now I remember ! :D

Love,

Yours truly ‘me’ :)

Interviewed at TPS !


Following is my interview with 'The Pakistan Spectator' .. You can choose to read here or at their website @ Sourav C. Pandey's Interview

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?
A 25 year old, love my family and friends, optimist, happy and narcissist, born in Uttar Pradesh, India, studied across the country. MBA working with an MNC, who took up blogging just like that and it all turned out to be one addiction, and today I have two blogs -
1.
…in love with me and life .. the blog which helped me relate to my life more, and taught me to love my self more, gave me some real GOOD friends and is now one inspirable part of being me!
2. Tips, tricks and techniques ! .. The tech-help-blog which has around 1000 odd unique visitors every month and 100+ articles to it’s credit and help on request forums!

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?
I hope to refine it over time and I’ll keep working at it. I also look at others writings, their style and it tends to improve my own from time to time.
But probably my best work and insights ended up in conversations and comments on other people’s blogs and forums, rather than on my own blog with the absence of me being able or wanting or trying to promote my blog a little more.

I’m wondering what some of your memorable experiences are with blogging?
Every word of appreciation from my readers means a lot to me and having them as real life friends is something nice which has happened to me only because of blogging.
Getting those checks from Google Adsense and Adbrite Inc. stays firm in my memory too.
What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?
Stalking every blogger friend, through Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, Gtalk, Yahoo, phone and at times meeting them helps.

If you had to describe life as a blogger in a Twitter message (140 characters) what would you say?
Tweet and we hear each other, writing and reading, no matter what and the freedom to expression is what we enjoy with blogging!
What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?
Aman ki Asha, an Indo-Pak media initiative, in print, electronic and social media is one positive use of technology which comes to mind now.
Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?
Yes, it does, though it’s more of an individual prerogative, technology acts only as one wake up call to be more responsive towards certain issues.

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?

The fact it’s original, it’s design, the readers … and as it says; “in love with me and life … with my own reflection.. with my own affection.. with the vision that i see.. doing all i can for me” .. sets it a class apart !!


If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?
My optimism !
What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?
I live a ‘happiest’ life, where gloom stays back and forgotten J
If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?
1. Madrid and other cities in Spain.
2. Winterthur and rest of Switzerland.
3. Kashmir, once every year !
What is your favorite book and why?
A walk to remember – Nicholas Sparks, probably because I could associate and because the name of this novel is something etched deep in my mind.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
Hair, smile and the way they talk to me.

Is there anyone from your past that once told you you couldn’t write?
YES, and they are PAST now!! :D

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?
Write and read more, be original, socialize more, be aware of technological advances (SEO, Trackback URL’s, etc) , and even if you write personal topics, do not compromise on associating people with what you write. There are wide range of online advertisers, choose intelligently.
Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
Not necessarily, I took to blogging while doing my MBA .. need I say more !

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world more friendlier and less hostile?
By spreading awareness, clearing misconceptions and delivering messages, which are understood or at least read by people from all over the world.

Who are your top five favourite bloggers?
Shashi Tharoor – not a blogger, a tweeter… a well known and acknowledged face in Indian politics and is incomparable to the most I read.
Among my friends, Saad Shaikh, Sapna Dandona, Sreya Ghosh, Indian Pundit, and all the bloggers I know are few I enjoy reading because of their humor and more because I know the now J

Is there one observation or column or post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?
What if .. in life !! .. read it to find out !

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?
Pakistan’s people are as human as of any other country, with their own beliefs, joys, reactions and sorrows. As a country though it could have been at a much better position – financially or economically, had it not been so disturbed politically and because of anti-social elements. Scopes and opportunities are the things they should build on to.
Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger?
Not much of a poet, I could hardly rhyme .. the way some bloggers express their mind through only a few lines is astonishing.
What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?
Developed is done-and-over, past tense while developing is an on going, present/future continuous tense. Developing is growth and the potential; the desire to achieve and a developing country gets defined as such !
What is the future of blogging?
There will be a day soon, when people go to toilet or shave, and post it on their blog. The future is bright; blogs will have everything and anything to offer.
You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?
A lot, developed both personally and professionally by interacting with people from different spheres, countries, societies. I have a better and more informed professional network and a large group of friends who are always there to advice/criticize me ! In some ways blogging has earned me some good enemies too, those who know me know them too ;)

What are your future plans?
I live in ‘The Present’, but for the future I plan to live more happily :D

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
A well informed forum, a place where you can speak your mind, where you get to know like and unlike minded people and this website serves as one link to people from across continents, whether Asians, American, European or anyone, we all can contribute and share our opinions. Another attempt to get the racers in us to stop and breathe .. Thank you TPS for honoring me :) ! 

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