Bored!

This time, last year...

I was busy working on my DDP. Well, not really :D let’s be honest, I was trying hard to find time for “Stochastic and Population Balance Model for Bistable Genetic Switch” (Wow I still remember the name of my project, pat on the back!). I was super busy with my friends, going out with them for movies, never ending dinner and drinks sessions, pictionary, bowling, go karting, ccd, coffee shack...

There were so many people in Bombay, in h10, in insti that I was always short of time.

This time, this year…

Lots of my friends have left Bombay. And on this particular weekend Anish is in Delhi, my room-mates have gone home, Chinky is in Chennai, my brother has quizzes (and he wants to study! What’s with him and quizzes I don’t understand), Shikha is home, Jain’s busy with her *friend*, Dola is in NY, Bhangi is attending some wedding, Gauri’s busy house hunting, Viks, for a change decided to spend the weekend in Bhopal, Chhi and Sahil are traveling. Sobo trip won’t happen this weekend- Uncle Aunty are busy with few things.

So this weekend it’s just me- I was happy. How often do you get such a chance- I thought! Time to tick mark things from my girly-stuff list and indulge. Hair spa. Facepack with cucumber slices. Threading. Manicure. Pedicure. Body massage. Trying out new makeup. Watching SATC.

Done all that and it’s not even 3pm on Saturday. It's annoying how suddenly I have so much time in the weekend, and no idea what to do with it! My usual weekend can be described very well by Circuit’s expression when he saw Munna Bhai’s room “shuru hote he khatam ho gaya.” In a typical weekend if I manage to catch up on my sleep, I consider it achievement.

Which is why this weekend is really weird. Time just wouldn’t pass! I made myself nice healthy dinner- egg bhurjji , bread, and kesar milk (yes, I call it dinner), cleaned my wardrobe, finished two episodes of Gossip Girl went to sleep.

Sunday morning, made myself pyaaz ke parathe, watched a movie on youtube, chaatofied facebook, spoke to family, went to gym, slept for two hours and its 6pm. I could’ve gone out for shopping but didn’t feel like stepping out in the heat. Stared out of the window.

Stared out of the window.

Stared out of the window. And some more staring :-|

I was bored.

I realized that when we say we have no time for something, we're just bullshitting ourselves. If we really want to do something, we'll always have time for it. I guess that holds for boredom too. If you really want to get bored, if getting bored is important to you, if you truly value boredom, you will surely find one way or another to achieve it.

Saw some tv and like a good girl, got into my comforter at 10 in the night to get up fresh and relaxed for Monday morning. Never have I ever looked forward to a Monday morning like this!!

FRIENDS

Ross: What is Chandler Bing's job?
Rachel: Oh! Oh gosh, it has something to do with numbers.
Monica: And processing!
Rachel: Oh, well... and he carries a briefcase!
Ross: Ten seconds. You need this or you lose the game.
Monica: It's, um, it has something to do with transponding.
Rachel: Oh, oh, oh, he's a transpons... transponster!
Monica: That's not even a word!

FRIENDS fans will know this. While watching this episode tonight I was wondering how true this phenomenon is. How many times have you been asked about your work?

I am faced with certain few questions every time I meet my old friends and cousins. My answers are usually less than five words for each question. A sample conversation goes like this:

Someone: “So, how’s your work going?”

Me: “It’s going good. I love it.”

Someone: “I heard you’re in bank?”

Me: “Yeah.”

Someone: “You’re a graduate in chemical engineering, right, what are you doing at the bank?”

Me: “Yes I know, I didn’t want to go in core chemical side.”

Someone: “Are you manager at bank?”

Me: “No, I am analyst, junior most post.”

Someone: “Which bank?”

Me: “Deutsche bank.”

Someone: “What!?!”

Someone: “What is your work about?”

Silence. There’s no way, I know, to answer this question in few lines and explain them what I do. After I say a few things about my work, I’m cut…

Someone: “So MBA over?" (MBA? Who's doing an MBA? If you mean Masters in Chemical Engineering, yeah, that's over.)

And so on…

After one such conversation it struck me - instead of being glad that most of them at least know vaguely that I have abandoned engineering and plunged into banking, I go "What buggers! They're supposed to be my close friends and they don't even know what I do!" without wondering for a moment if I know for sure what the hell they do.

I mean face it, your friends, your cousins... do you really know what they do? I’ll confess- I don't. I mean I know some are in IT, some are in banks, some are doing their MBA degrees, some are doing random things, but if you ask me exactly what they do, which company they are in, what their designation is, what they are studying, I have no clue most of the time!

When you become friends with someone, the first thing you find out is what they do. The closer you get to your friends, the less it matters what they do, and after a while, it stops mattering at all. And it comes naturally.

Conclusion: That’s why Chandler doesn’t bother whether Monica and Rachel knew his occupation, because he knows they are his close FRIENDS. J