Wholesome (maybe not so much ;) ) fun!!

I have been postponing writing this blog for a long time. It is about a release party we had half-a-year ago and how it all ended.

At the release party, the admin's idea was to play water balloon. So she got a bunch, and also a pump to match. The party was on an open space in the campus and was meant to be strictly (ahem!) outdoorsy.

Thus happened that everyone ate so much (what do you expect when you have samosas and spinach puffs!?) and fell to just talking, no one was motivated enough to play anything. Some went off to play Volleyball, some to play Frisbee. I played Frisbee, but the thought of those water balloons going waste was killing me. Sigh!

So even though the pump idea didn't work, I actually walked into the cafeteria ahead and filled some balloons with water from the faucet in the coffee shop's kitchen. (Needless to say, I made a mess, and since it was their closing time, I also cleaned it up). Then I came out and picked a colleague who was least likely to thrash me and hit him hard with the balloon. And the game caught on with soon everyone filling tens of balloons and eventually whatever they found, tubs, bottles, mugs etc. Not going into gory details like senior managers hitting their managers, (essentially the director of engineering;) ) I will only say that the outdoor fun ended with one of the senior managers being chased around the fountain and drenched head to toe with a whole tub of (dirty) water, from the fountain;)

Now in all this melee, my own manager escaped. He is a quick runner and we just couldn't catch him. We followed him around all the bushes but he kept getting away, after a while we saw him comfortably perched on the third floor of the building to the right of this pandemonium. We gave up on him, hopeless!

We walked back to our building through the cafeteria with another manager ahead of us. But what is this? He was dry? No, no no no no, not to be borne! So we talked and walked with him till we crossed the cafeteria and came out on the link to our building. Then hit him with one of the balloons we were saving up to go back and target my quick boss. Sorry! Can't see you like this;)

Then we went up, saw our boss locked cozy in his office, tried a lot to get him out, but no, he wouldn't. We proooooooooooomised that we didn't have any water, we had an important issue to talk about BLA. BLA. BLA. No use!

Then he said something. What did we hear? "I already had water poured on me!! Cold water!! Please, no more water!!" And how is that possible??

Turns out that one of my colleagues who had a meeting with him, went in for the meeting, and the dialogue ensued thus: (Disclaimer: I have stayed as true as possible to this narration)

Manager: Hi
Colleague: Hi
Manager: So how is everything?
Colleague: Do you want to save anything on your desk?
Manager: (Now perplexed) No?!?! Why?
Colleague:(Opens a cold bottle of water he got fresh from the refrigerator and pours it on top of manager's head)
Manager:Oh my God!!!!

All of us: Ha ha ha ha ha (after listening to this narration from him;) )

Actually now it reminds me, this happened almost a year back, not even half a year, maybe 10 months! Boy! That was hilarious. We were narrating this to another colleague who was in Germany at the time (watching Italy beat everyone in soccer) and he was so upset that he missed it. What soccer game can provide such entertainment?

None indeed!

Bachelor, Officer and a Gentleman (Ha????)

This series from ABC is the most shameless piece of American Television I have watched. It makes Elimi"date" look holy.

Basically, its about this shameless officer (from the Navy) ! I didn't even like him. And then there is the yet more shameless women. The deal is that this moron is going to shortlist and pick one of the [25, I think] "ohh-my-gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad" candidates and make her his wife. (Huh? did you say?)

Thank God I don't watch TV. Else I would have watched this piece of crap at the beginning when there would have been all those women falling all over this guy. I watched the final episode which was thankfully just two women. And even with that, at the end, I was nauseated and felt sick. Yuck! Both of them are all over him and he takes both of them home (separately of course), takes both of them on "serious" dates (yeah, thank god this is done separately too), both the gals tell him they want to live the rest of their lives with him and he goes and discusses with his family which one he should marry bla bla bla bla bla. All that crap. And each of the girls is hoping she has told him in enough and convincing-enough ways that she loves him. And separately tells the camera that she is hoping he would pick her. Man! What happens when you don't get picked? Do you star in the next season?

It is like what John Tucker does in "John Tucker Must Die" only all his girlfriends (all 25 of them, mind you) are aware that he is seeing another 24 and going on "romantic dates" with all of them. And its like brazenly practicing polygamy on National TV. Sans the vows. Even the family is so shameless as to let him date all these women together and pick one. And then forget not, he is a gentleman (my foot!)

This is what the description on their website reads:

>>>>>>>>>>
U.S. Navy Lieutenant Andy Baldwin, M.D., 30, an undersea medical officer for a special operations dive unit stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, has been selected to star in the tenth edition of ABC's popular romance reality series, when The Bachelor returns to the network in the Spring of 2007. In addition to his professional accomplishments, this Bachelor is also a world-class triathlete. Now this real-life 'officer and a gentleman' faces the most exciting mission of his life -- finding true love.

Andy's achievements are matched by his good-natured personality, stunning good looks and self-deprecating sense of humor. He's an unabashed romantic, has watched the series and believes that the show can help find him the woman who could become his wife. Who doesn't love the movie 'An Officer and a Gentleman'? We're bringing the best parts of that romantic film to real life, said Mike Fleiss, executive producer of The Bachelor.

Hosted by Chris Harrison, The Bachelor is produced by Next Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Television. Mike Fleiss and Lisa Levenson are the executive producers. David Bohnert and Martin Hilton are the co-executive producers.
>>>>>>>>>


Watch more shamelessness here:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/bachelor/index


Guys, get a grip. What else must we see in the name of "reality television" Oh God!!

Can you get this shameless, ABC? And it calls itself the "ABC Family" channel!

Sigh!!

MAD is great!

I recently started reading the MAD Magazine. Subhash picked up one on his way home one day and I took it to the gym yet another day and I am hooked. I give it to you guys, excellent parody. Unparalleled sarcasm.

I was reading an AD in that magazine today. From their latest edition, with the Spiderman cover. Wondering why US Army would advertise on MAD of all the places;)

When I actually read the AD, my doubt was doubled. It read

"Patriotism is a great inspiration..
Unemployment is a great inspiration"

(Definitely these, I have to cross check for sentence accuracy)

I was like, wow! Its come to this. Shamelessly admitting that is for nothing, you should join the US Army if you are jobless. And the ad showed a greedy-looking lieutenant helping a surly looking slightly-obese guy sign some papers and smiling away like he won a conquest. Another referral ;)

And it read:

Lieutenant (or was it Captain? Heck! Who cares!) such and such helping unemployed Raoul such and such sign on.


I went "I don't know what to say". Then I read some more pages and came to another AD. This one read

"Feel the surge of excitement" and showed troops marching. And also read

"Excitement is taking part in aimless wars with other soldiers" or some such thing.

Now I was convinced, this can't be as brazen as it looks. Then I scanned the whole page carefully and found this:

Parody AD by MAD


Ha ha ha. I am definitely watching for that space;)