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Kids and the pressure cooker.

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You know in the old days, (wow… I feel very old now) i.e. 10 years back kids used to play outside and used to beg for  more mins before coming home. I know I did. Life was simpler back then. You play for two hours everyday except Sundays and vacations, then study for a few hours and sleep soundly till you reach the high school. Then you pass the exam, select a good college and try to keep yourself afloat long enough to graduate and look for a job. That’s when you can start to stress yourself out.Well this is what I did.

Now I see kids sitting on benches, playing on their ipads and various other tabs while the ground is mostly used by people out for a jog, or at-least what is more like brisk walking.

I am sure you are aware how much time, money, paper and blogs are filled with articles on the topic of ” Kids these days are more engrossed in their smartphone than the ground”. I am confident you might have chuckled at the article and remembered the “good old days”. I did this myself today. Which prompted me to write this article.

I saw my little sister, who is not even 14 yet, fuss about the points she got in her class tests. Now, let me tell you, in India thee is only one exam that matters and the marks of only that exam are considered while selecting a good high school. (we select the high school first then we can select the college , after two years in high school). This kid is scoring a perfect score in all her exams and still she fusses about her marks. She is stressed that she might loose a point in one exam and loose the top spot. Though admirable quality, winning, not for a 14 year old.

Now, parents are always blamed for pushing their kids. But not in this case. Both the parents try to convince her to take a “chill pill” once in a while, but to no avail. I can’t seem to understand when she will enjoy life ? when will she just take a break once in a while to sit still and do nothing, just breathe ?

I guess this madness will stop only when people stop associating intelligence with the grades or marks scored in an exam, but till then, it will continue to be a rat race.

 

2015 in review : A vote of Thanks

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A vote of Thanks from the Piper to all my readers.

 

I hope to entertain you more in the coming year.

 

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 670 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 11 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Morning Ritual

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Due to technology, this has become the morning ritual of most of us :

  • Reposition yourself from a prone position to a seating position on your bed
  • Take your mobile in hand with sleepy eyes. Let your eyes adjust to the bright screen. Rub them vigorously till they adjust.
  • Check whatsapp.
  • Reply with as little words as possible on whatsapp. If reply can be a smiley, consider it as an added advantage.
  • Go to the facebook app on the phone, check status updates you posted a decade ago and share it. This will indicate you were very socially active at one time
  • Share random facebook posts. If possible tag your friends.
  • Refrain from posting anything original. If you do, take care to repost it at a later stage.
  • If you are properly awake, gather enough energy to get down from bed, else keep browsing 9gag till you muster the strength.
  • Curse the weather for making the floor so cold.
  • Figure out what day it is. Use complex mathematics if necessary, else refer to your phone.
  • Start your daily routine.

Poor Restaurant, Rich Restaurant

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ballet of words

I am a foodie, so I like to visit plenty of eating places. During  the sorties, I observed a few things which might differentiate pricey fancy restaurants from cheap  budget restaurants.

Fancy : If you have to stay in a queue and have to be quiet, it is bound to be a fancy place.

Budget :You can be in a queue and shout to your hearts content. 

Fancy : The “Fancier” the place, less the portion of the food.

Budget : The Portion does not depend on the cost, but on the whim of the chef.

Fancy : The waiters take their time to bring the dish to the table. They event wait an appropriate amount of time, before bringing the next course.

Budget : The waiters bring the food very fast, even though you haven’t finished your current meal. 

Fancy : You can stay and chat as long as…

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Poor Restaurant, Rich Restaurant

Standard

I am a foodie, so I like to visit plenty of eating places. During  the sorties, I observed a few things which might differentiate pricey fancy restaurants from cheap  budget restaurants.

Fancy : If you have to stay in a queue and have to be quiet, it is bound to be a fancy place.

Budget :You can be in a queue and shout to your hearts content. 

Fancy : The “Fancier” the place, less the portion of the food.

Budget : The Portion does not depend on the cost, but on the whim of the chef.

Fancy : The waiters take their time to bring the dish to the table. They event wait an appropriate amount of time, before bringing the next course.

Budget : The waiters bring the food very fast, even though you haven’t finished your current meal. 

Fancy : You can stay and chat as long as you want. Mostly, you wouldn’t be told to hurry up and leave as the guests are waiting.

Budget : Strong chance that people, ungraciously shouting, might form a queue and stand behind you till you complete the food , so as to book their seats.