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birds of a feather...

A couple of declarations before I pontificate on today's theme...
  1. Manchester United finally stopped torturing me and won the premiership yesterday. Its been 4 long years of watching them see-saw between semi- decent football and the kind of stuff that can only be described as akin to several Greek and Shakespearean tragedies put together. However, the deed is done for this year and joy is in the air... for now.
  2. My exams are finally over and another semester has been chalked up as completed. What I actually learned is open to debate, but the important thing is, I am one more semester closer to coming home. Which really is all that matters anyway.
Now that we've got that out of the way, back to the issue at hand - room mates.

It had been a couple of days since I got to the land of excitement (o good for you, you recognize sarcasm) and the first couple of days went by in the usual fashion - I spent a good portion of it berating my actually being here, a little more cursing myself & the world for good measure and the rest filling out paperwork at the university office. Once all the supposedly necessary red-tape had been negotiated, I had to face facts namely that I had to find a place of my own and and also look out for other desperadoes who wanted to share a place. People are apt to tell you that finding room mates is an important process... for, eventually, they take the place of family.

Now, even the best and kindest of my friends will testify that I’m not the easiest of people to get along with. “Antisocial, alien bastard” was the popular phrase used to refer to me, I believe. Keeping my charming personality, idiosyncrasies and other character defects in mind I considered the fact that this whole deal could go pear-shaped very easily. I could very well end up rooming with a bunch who were either ruthless manipulators, terribly and creepily friendly or heaven forbid, the very epitome of the phrase 'village idiot'. The possibilities were endless and so I did what I usually do when I need to carefully consider the consequences of my decisions - asked the first new chap I met whether he was on the lookout for a room mate. He was... and he knew 2 others who were also in the hunt. And just like that, the four of us moved into a nice 2 bedroom place within a period of time that can only be considered a dubious record.

Instead of a long drawn out epic describing them, let's just say they were and are as eccentric as I have been accused of being... I name no names so sobriquets will have to do with the current set of ruffians I live with -

Batman - active solely at all ungodly hours of night and sleeps most of the day. How he juggles his classes, which for some perverse reason (for him, that is) are held in the daytime, only he knows. Excellent cook and all-round smart ass.

Grandpa - The oldest chap in the house by a long way... a really long way, believe you me, so his name practically suggested itself. Hides a smart brain behind an expression so inane that it beggars belief. Tells extremely tall stories that nobody even remotely believes anymore and eats as if the next famine is around the corner, resulting in the fact that he currently looks rather as if he is pregnant... with twins.

Mod i.e. the master of disaster - replaced one of the original guys. Announces his arrival by promptly burning a plate in the oven.....

while making.... tea.

Yes, tea.... which he was making on the stove.

And yes, we still are trying to figure out how he pulled that off. Wasn't satisfied with his entrance so tried to sabotage the whole kitchen at a later date by simply attempting to make rice in a fashion that I will not attempt to describe here, for this blog does not attempt to describe the occult. Suffice to say, that too is still in the head-scratching and puzzled stage with a bit of ardent "thank you merciful heaven" thrown in for good measure.

And me - the resident candidate campaigning for a seat in Yerawada Mental Asylum (only Puneites will get this one)

All in all, life hasn't been dull so far. Here's hoping the jamboree keeps moving along....



P.S: Did I mention Manchester United won ??


Comments

Unknown said…
Yeah my man! Man Utd. won!!! And I vote for the rules to be relaxed and matters of the Occult to be set forth. The guy seems to be a dude. Beer drinkers, all?

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