My First Automation

A lil happy today :)

i made a script today, on my own. Since i had that amazing session with Shantanu (God bless him), i have had a strong urge to dedicate myself to Shell scripting. But then, that calls 4 takin time out of ur work responsibilities and then pull hairs when u r on it. i mean, at d first glance, sed/awk are bloody scary, aren't they?

today, finally, i thought i'd giv it a break. i got stuck at every step, pulled my locks on evry pathetic problem that arose, and finally got done with a 34 line code. Might be a cinch for geeks, but it was d very first fish i trapped.

Shell is funny u c. Sucks at times. the black screen gets in2 the back of ur head. But as Shantanu said, it is worth dedicating a life. i feel the same urge, but that needs a lil bit of time, as well as enthusiasm. Not preaching, no. It's just that i'm happy.

every new language takes time 2 b picked. i know many of them, if not a lot, so i can say that 4 sure. now i made the script for one particular account, it worked. but i wanted to give the account as a parameter, and when i did cd ~$1/((something..)) it failed, & i had no clue why. Now how would i know that tilda won't bloody work here. so i had to search for absolute path in a flexible way. to be specific, grep for the entered variable in a particular file that stores all the account details and then use awk and so on. (please pardon me for puttin in a lil technical things, if u don't get them)

The gist is that i learnt a lot. Every new error, that arose out of ignorance or a petty mistake, gave me insight into Shells, & into life. That's how life is right !!

gharwaalon ne bola, achche doston ke saath raha karo beta (way back in 6th). i defied - i know who i'm with. & i later realised i was better off him. gharwaalon ne bola dawai khaana nahin chodna (for a certain illness). i quit, & saw severe repurcussions, & i make sure i take the tablets daily now. there r a million examples that i can mention here, but that wil make u yawn right? i ain't an Obama or sumthin. This is a very simple filthy caricature that talks to u.

Poeple around u put in their efforts to guide u, with the experiences they have had. but u have 2 c 4 urself. u can read a million books on any programming language, but u won't get it until u try (except at the campus placement times. read a buk thrice, and go give the written + interview in flying colors. hehe)

Anyways, i'm gonna c more shell scripting now. Automating tasks is a part of our annual objectives as well. so that can b taken as a liability as well in a market fuelling with recession. but seems lyk, i'm lovin it !!

I'm the Game , Can you play me ??

Show me Something more thrilling than a perfect volley...
Tell me U never dreamt the immaculate strike...
Tell me That football is not our one common language...
Some may say it’s just a game...
But this is about Heroes, triumphs, loyalties, devotions...
It’s our commitment and our passion, our battle and our belief...
This is our faith...
Now feel the fever of the crowd, Hear the roar of the faithful...
This is the beautiful game. This is, your moment !!

Fck. A million things jst flashed ma mind. Nostalgia. Anywz...

For those who don't knw wht the context is, v r talkin about a religion, & that's FIFA. Personally, i love FIFA b'cause i love futbal. i can't play that well on the field, thou i want to, desperately. so i do it in d virtual world.

Those wer d days. man o man. crowd gathered behind the players who compete. sweat, shivers, mind about 2 xplode, smoke, tense surroundings. & here comes Nuno Gomez, runnin al thru d way 4m half-line, n yes, it's unbelievable, it's a GOAL !! i dreamt a lot. it was sumthin i worshipped, & cudn't afford 2 loose.

The golden days r gone. v r al dun wid clg. i thot it was gone 4 evr. GONE.

Stop. No. I can hear a knock. Am i dreamin, or is it 4 real ?? Well...

Office, work, tight schedule, pesky calls, & amidst all, cruisin it's way al d way down, as if a blazing first-touch. FIFA !! it's back !!

i'm more than glad. work, work, work, & then suddenly a brk 4 a 20-minute game. Argentina vs Brazil...Barca vs Arsenal...Liverpool vs Chealsea
things r a lil different thou. u can't yell, u can't bang tables when u concede a goal, no expletives. but then, damn - it's back. & i can't really xplain what happines it brings 2 busy minds & hefty hearts. Who says winnin or loosin dun't mattr. It dus damn it. Cum beat me, if ya can !!

I'm d game, can u play me ??

Dreams fulfilled !!

I neva thot things come is such a realistically true fashion, without a knock, without a chance to drop jaws, & unexpectedly, while u r working.

Now office is sumthin not many people wud lyk bein calld a haven. things sting at tyms. things dat mak u crave for a day off. needles 2 mention, dat forced the xpression TGIF in2 xistance (go google if u r stil ignorant). n at tyms u don't really realise that a vknd has just passd by (which is xctly what happened wid me last sunday nyt, when i, as a whippin shock, realised - 'Damn, it's office 2morrow'). Dreams comin true is a point of elation, but sumthin perfectly normal when u liv a carefre lyf. But under d tiresum circumstances as mentioned above, a dream comin tru, probably is a dream in itself. Wel, not alwz (n dat's d inspiration behind dis piece of writin).

Was scrollin thru d stuff shared by guyz on the intranet in ma office. a colleague (n a friend) of myn is so very fond of futbal, as any of the brazilian players, the point bein reflectd in his e-mail signatures, his passionate talks about futbal, his blogs, his celebration of India winnin the AFC Challenge Cup 2008, how he cursd the indian media for not coverin the victory, and d talks of his own team, their matches, n innumerabl such things.

[ Gist - fubal drips from evry drop of his blood ]

Now, 4 such a personality, what wud b a dream ? sumthin once fulfilled, is worth cherishin 4 a lyftym ? I got the answer whn i found a folder titled "UK Pics of that Sunday!". n d title itself was so captivating that i cud barely hold-on befor my fingers tapped twice 2 c what moments of glory lies within. A glimpse at the contents of that folder is included in this post

[ it is made sure that d privacy is not breached. he's not visibl here. if it stil offends u Tatha, please accept my sincere apologies ]

Arsenal !! Emirates Stadium !! u know what dat means damn it !!
hah. Been there, done that !!

On-job, on-site, working, and a lyftym dream fulfilled. damn !!
dats how lyf is ryt, suprises, surprises, surprises !!
dat smile on his face whn he poses against d arsenal logo on d stadium walls is stupendous.

Now, if dats how dreams r fulfilled -

Lord, i'm ready to work, al clad wid smiles, 24x7, 12x30, 365xinfinity,
n whtevr calculations represent a lyftym !!
Just keep ma dreams comin in please :)

First Drop In a New City !!

Ysterday !! it wasn't a downpour, a cloudburst. it didn't even crop up enough to form a sphere. it was just a glimmer, a shine, a sparkle. Out of grief or out of joy, m not very sure. But yes, it brought anxiety, a tremor, n a hel lot of thought provocation.


First job, a new city, stil a month for the first salary to b credited, n i, short on cash, with d skysoarin rent and brokerage for the flat we chose, went on to withdraw 700 bucks frm the SBI ATM, d last of what i had. As i was carefully plannin ma xpenses til money comes in, the guard posted on the ATM reached out ma hand. I didn't feel him hot then though.

[Backdrop : I first met the guard a cupl of days ago, n v conversed, later realisin that he was from a place close to ma hometown. 2000kms away frm home, n a person close frm ur place feels really like a close relative. ]

On the eventful day, he askd me for money, some of it. n i was taken back, reasonably enuf. i mean, no mattr what d amount was. u meetin a person for jst d 2nd tym in ur lyf, n he asks u for a favour, dat too a monetory one. Past swept across ma face, whence, 5 yrs back, i gav money to a person who claimed to live in a remote place nearby, as his bike was out of oil. 100 bucks, which obviously, neva came bck. So, retrospectively, i claimed petty xcuses, jstifyin sumhw,

"Sir, i can't do that"

He was stil adament, i turned furious. But when he said that he had high fever, n dat he was wearin a sweater within, in strong daylight (n he really showed it to me), i was remorseful, n realised how impolite i've become.

[Development of Thoughts: Me, or the entire society ?? Who's to blame ? Me, why ? i went thru a bad xperience once, n dat reflected in ma reaction to the 60+ man. was it my fault ? yes, it was, without d slightest tinge of doubt. but the partner-in-crime, or rather the one completely responsibl, was d man who neva gav me back those 100 bucks. was it my fault at al ??]

I askd him how much he wanted. he said "20-30 rupaye beta, bas. main kal lauta dunga aapko". my wallet had d least denomination of 100, which i offered to him, without a second thought. He was confused (i really dunno why). n he said he dusn't want dat much, instead he requestd me 2 buy him d medicine frm d nearby medical store. i did d same. n al it took was 5 minutes, and 4 rupees.

Parting ways, i laid ma hand over his shoulder, askin him to tak care, n hav d medicine on time. He gav me a smile, n i jst couldn't bear it. As i turned ma back n walked ma way towards ma flat, sumthin flickered in ma resentful eyes. I didn't let it flow, it tried to thou, but i didn't let it (they say, men don't cry).

The Matter Of Death !!

No, it's not A Matter Of Life & Death, it neva was...
it's jst The Matter Of Death, as simpl as it is !!

u may b d strongest man on earth, or u may b d happiest, or u may hv been bestowed wid evrythin u hd evr wished 4, u myt b even God, bt no, don't turn ur face on sumthin as simple as the truth...
You Fear Death, n i can bet on dat !!

it's nt ur fault i ges, it's human by nature, or rathr a law of nature which none dared 2 talk 'bout...

u myt hv not witnessed ur Gods fightin 4 long lives, bt u mst hv heard of it 4 sure...
remember d Samudra Manthan scheme of things, n al, so called Gods, fightin der guts out 2 get dat bloody pot of longetivity out of d ocean jst 4 der sake...
dats jst bout hinduism, 'coz i hv no detailed idea of othr religions, bt i ges, u cn ask ur favors each 2 tel ya if dey had dun d same stupidity !!
(i do not intend 2 hurt ne religious sentiments, in case i jst did, my heartfelt apologies)

a few days bck, i questiond a frnd of myn,

"whts ur biggest wish ??
sumthin u think is tuf 2 get, or evn impossibl, but u stil want it...
whts dat ??"

2 ma query, wht she had 2 say is dis,

"i might sound selfish, bt...
LONG HEALTHY LIFE, hapiness n peace, whichever way by money or nythg fr my parents !!!
just a thot of nt havin parents arnd smtym in future leaves me shattered...
i dream of ma dad quite often, and smtyms i find myself in tears after i wake up missin my dad..."

n i ws so srry 4 askin her out, coz mayb i brought sum not-so-merry feelings on d surface.
bt dat reply of her's made me ponder a lot, dat probably, each n evry 1 of us fears death, d axe dat's bound 2 strike on one's own self, n on his beloveds...
al v cud do is mourn ovr whts left 2 cum, or face d heat, wid al d myt n joy our heart subsumes...
(uff, dat was too bookish, damn !!)

d other day, i was listenin 2 a speech by
Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple & Pixar Animation.
therein he mentioned sum beautiful wrds, thou i've alwaz been a bit leery of such auspiciouly idealistic stuff...

"If you live each day, as if it were your last, someday, you'll most certainly be right.
No one wants to die. Even people who wanna go to heaven don't wanna die to get there.
& yet, death is the destination we all share, no one has ever escaped it. & that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of life."

i ges it's ur tym 2 ponder ovr...
i'l leave u wid a quote...

Tomorrow we shall meet,
Death and I.
And he shall thrust his sword,
Into one who is wide awake.
-Dag Hammarskjold, Markings, p. 31