Nothing much..;)

There are two reasons why my blog remained dormant for such a long time:
The idea of stepping out of the house, walking a kilometer to the nearest café, waiting in a queue for half an hour and then posting something here appeared preposterous!
Secondly and more importantly I had nothing to write. ;)
Yeah…I tried …looked at ceiling through the rotating fan….out of the window…from the balcony…but nothing ‘philosophical’ came out of it. ;)

There are few reasons why I am blogging :
Most of my friends who blog have been doing so religiously.
I fear losing the 1 or 2 readers I have.
Sid asked me to do so!
Sid also had nothing to write but still managed to write two post out of ‘nothing’ ;)( to verify go to- sh-ithappens.blogspot.com ;))

Why we should still write when we have nothing at all to write?:
When you have nothing to write, you actually write about ‘nothing’. ’ Nothing’ is in itself a great word. Nobody knows it, but everybody uses it.
You see someone quiet and upset, and ask him “Hey what have you been thinking?”
He laconically replies” Nothing”.
You scrap a friend “hey what’s up? Howz life? Blah blah…
He replies back-“nothing much…u temme..” ;)
You write a mushy SMS to your boyfriend and wait for a deserving reply and he replies ”Nothing”.
You see, ‘nothing’ has the power to end it all and nothing has the power to start it again!

Why should you read it?
Well you already read it. So I guess you don’t need a reason anymore ;).

Sid I did it too!!! Yuppie!! ;)

I take it.. :)

I have always been loved and liked a lot….may be because we were three people in the family and I was the only kid!...in school too I was liked by teachers as well as friends......I hated not been liked. If anybody spoke anything against me or gave any hint of disliking I would sulk in acute depression.
The bottom line is that I was unable to take any sort of criticism.
But thankfully college provided me a few people who by and by actually started disliking me to the extent of hating me, for reasons which are beyond me.
And now finally I have actually learned to take it all…I am thankful to these people from the bottom of my heart for feeling so strongly for me. ;) ;)

The only call of the season...

There is more to write about the talkative Indians. But before that I would like to post my recent GD/PI experience at IMT. For those of you who are curious ( ??) to know my CAT results, I must tell you that all I had this year was an IMT Nagpur call. Expecting to get a 95-97 percentile and a score of 19-28 in English, I was surprised to get 4 marks :). All I got was a 90.01 with a low verbal i.e 38 percentile. CAT says I am bad at English. I disagree though ;). XAT was a relief with 96.4.
But then as I said the only call I had was from IMT Nagpur. I did not take it seriously and did no preparation. But the day before the GD/ PI, I was worried. Converting it will not be a matter of great happiness, but not converting it will make me feel too bad.
I reached IMT Ghaziabad, changing autos, quite on time. I was not feeling very comfortable in the formals because I borrowed them from a junior and they were quite loose for me. Two things I learned were - wear your own clothes and carry a deodrant!

The GD started at around 2 p.m. There were 3 people in the panel – one from KPMG, one from IT, and one lady from commerce background. There were 10 people in the group - 4 from commerce, 1 from arts and others were engineers. They gave us time to interact before the actual GD started. The topic for the GD was – Consumer is the GOD of today’s market. I did decently in the GD, though not outstandingly well. It was followed by a monologue for 1 minute which I kind of screwed. I fumbled as I started and till I warmed up and recovered, the man in the panel rang the bell! They asked us to write a summary of the whole thing in 5 minutes.
Then came the interview. Here it goes:

I1: You played national level in badminton ( thanks to U.P.T.U for conducting that sport event and granting me a national level certificate ;)). Why didn’t you choose sports as career?
Me: (felt like he he ha ha…) Sir, sports as a career option is not too promoted in India.( as if had it been so I would have become the Shariapova of badminton ;) )Moreover, it was a mixed doubles match, so the credit goes to my partner too.( I am modest)
I1: But since you were also a part you share the credit too!
I2: Are you placed? Which company?
Me: Yes Sir. I am placed in I-Flex.
I2: You have a low verbal score. Why don’t you devote some more time and efforts this year? Why MBA at this point?
Me: Well, sir being a girl I have to take care of lot many things. I want to do certain things before my parents want me to do them.
I1:(laughs) that is a smart answer.( looked convinced that I don’t want to give CAT again!)
I3: Ohkkk…so what is your take on women managers?
Me: Maam, to be honest, I sometimes wonder how will I strike balance between my work and family. My mother says that it is rather important to find a suitable guy than doing an MBA. But I think I can perhaps leave my job if my family suffers, but I cannot leave the degree at this point of time. This is something I will possess for life.
I2: (nods) yeah…so the degree will be a permanent asset…
I3: (smiles) And the guy wont be a permanent asset!!
Me: (smiling)
I2: Rupali, but why suddenly MBA after your B.Tech.
Me: It isn’t sudden at all Sir. Infact whether it was school or college I was always managing things. I worked for this literary society in college for 3 years and now I am its president. I was also the Head girl in my school. I was always doing n number of things simultaneously!
I2:Your academics aren’t too good.
Me: That is because I was too involved in other activities. Infact the drastic fall you look in my 2nd year marks was because I participated in everything possible in that year!( Oh no…he didn’t notice it before…he didn’t even ask me....why did I say this at all! And I won’t stop here.:)) I was playing badminton in may be Agra or Bareily or may taking part in a ramp show!
I2: so basically you had fun :)
Me: ( yeah you are right…I was actually having fun). I think I learned a lot from all that.
I1: But management is all about multitasking. This is no excuse.
Me: Sir, I agree. You can look at my third year marks. I eventually learned to manage and got a decent score again.
I1: Your role in GD was too confusing. You made 4-5 good points but you were never able to steer the direction of the GD to your side. What do you have to say about that?
Me: Yes, probably I wasn’t able to steer the direction of the GD but never in the GD did I feel that I was not involved. Infact , when I was not speaking I was actually consistently listening to what others said. Moreover, I was geographically well located ( they smiled) and therefore I was kind of serving as a bridge!
I1: so you blog…What do you blog about?
Me: Sir, I blog about abstract things….about what I see in my daily life…for example it can be something related to how people converse in a passenger train.
I1: What will you write about today’s GD?
Me: I will probably write about the informal promises that were made before the GD started that we won’t make it a fish market. The calm faces of the people made me wonder if they will speak at all. But as soon as the bell rang, they sprouted with ideas!

There were few more questions I do not remember. But they seemed happy with me. Even if they do not select me I think they enjoyed the conversation, and not to mention, I enjoyed it too.
Oh I didn’t tell you about this guy from bangalore who was sitting next to me in the GD. He was fantastic in the GD. I went to congratulate him for his performance which resulted in a further conversation and much more…..I will write about it in my next post which will be a continuation of “Being talkative”.

Being talkative!

(Me: Is there any other way to reach there? I don’t mind if it is longer!
X:Yeah… you can take a bus, but that will consume a lot of your time. )
See, I can run after DTC buses, change buses, go to places I have never been earlier… But sophisticated things like a metro with doors that open and close themselves send jitters into me.
But then there is no other option today. I will have to use the ‘great’ metro. I am worried. Last time I travelled in a metro was with a friend who managed everything while I kept wondering why I was so bad at reading maps.
Anyways, here comes bus no. 355. The conductor is shouting – ‘bags under the seats…’ Within sometime the narrow aisle will be jam packed with passengers rubbing with each other. Only thing that will be in your mind from now on will be that howsoever close they are, you still have to ‘somehow’ manage to take yourself out.
It wasn’t that difficult for me though. Four years of college are enough to teach you certain things.
Oh yes, I am confident. Barakhamba to Rajeev chowk, Rajeev chowk to vishvavidayalay…just two metros and I will be there. I will also take help from the map. In worst cases I will ask someone. This has been a technique I have always been using to find places. But even that is not again a very comfortable option for me, especially when someone replies something like – go straight, when the third red light comes, take a left , then take a right from the second red light and then blah blah…. I pretend as if I will remember verbatim was is said. But inside I say to myself – Rupali, go straight, reach the first red light and ask someone again.
Hey, by the way, it wasn’t difficult at all. I am inside the metro!
………………………
……………………….
The day was good and I am waiting for the metro at vishvavidayalaya to go back. “Excuse me, what should I do to reach New Delhi station”. I turn back to find a south Indian guy clad in saffron. His voice is quite a whisper. Perhaps, he does not want anybody else to know about his ignorance. But then to be true, someone asking such a question that too in a metro station is certainly an honor. I can not understand what he wants to convey though and therefore I will better direct him to a girl who is looking more familiar with the place.
All three of us- the ‘guy’, the ‘gal’ and me are inside the metro. The guy is sitting next to the girl. The girl is all dressed in pink…pink shirt…pink lipstick…pink hand bag, pink hairclips. I am not able to make out what exactly they are talking. He is explaining something to her and she is nodding. Suddenly she looks at me and mutters “ Who the hell is he?”. She again turns towards the pundit.
Hey the guy is gone and I will talk to the pink girl now.
Me: (smiling) How was it?
PG: kahan phansa diya the yar…chat mara pundit ne!
Me: My station is about to come. Tell me what he was talking about.
PG: He was from Sri lanka…came to meet his friend from Chennai and got lost…
By the way, how come you are here?
Me: You are talking as if you know me from ages. Anyways I came here to collect my admit card for fms.
………..
………..
Me: I am travelling in the metro by my own for the first time.
PG: So you aren’t any better than the pundit.
Me: You seemed interested in the pundit. Anyways, nice meeting you Lovleen!
PG: same here Rupali.


Indians are talkative. The can talk at practically all places and all times, with or without any good reason. Travel in a daily passenger train and you will know!
An elderly woman is telling somebody that she buys milk at 20 Rs per kg. Suddenly this skinny woman, sitting besides her, waiting for an opportunity to interrupt, will say with utmost pride“ I get it for only 15 Rs per kg” . This very ‘numerical’ conversation will then shift to how she always bathes in cold water even in winters without a miss or how she is always alert so as to never let her little son piss on the bed.
The other woman will then nod in appreciation and will even encourage her by pointing to how modern women use ‘huggies’ for their children. They will now discuss in ‘detail’ how ‘suffocating’ huggies can be to children and can lead to ‘further’ problems. While this desultory conversation keeps shifting, there will be a group of men busy talking about how far the crossing is, how many sugar mills the area has and what is the ongoing price of ganna, or how far the road is from the railway line.


To be continued……..

City of Angels

What's it like?
What?
Warmth.
It's wonderful.
If you'd known this was going to happen...
...would you have done it?
I would rather have had...
...one breath of her hair...
...one kiss of her mouth...
...one touch of her hand.
...then an eternity without it.
One.

The 'NIGHT'...

So I am blogging....I am blogging on the night before CAT...not for any other reason but because I have nothing else to do....yesterday my mom called to wish me, because she didn't want to disturb me today(???) :)...
" so are you prepared?" she asked.
"No" came a terse reply.
" o..how will you manage in a day then!!" (mom).
I smiled and said "mom, it cannot be managed now!".
And then we both laughed.... :)...for the past 4 or 5 hours i have just switched off my cell to avoid all the "best of lucks".....sorry guys...had to do that else everytime you wish me luck, I feel I have to go on a war tomorrow.....
Apart from this CAT stuff things are going pretty fine...there is no backlog of movies....enjoying some good music...chatting with friends....sleeping...orkutting...blogging....dreaming..dreaming of doing this and that....dreaming of being at places....dreaming of making it big....and yes waiting..waiting for this B.tech to get over...there is not much left here to learn.. he he...
Anyways, i guess I should sleep now.... guys all the best for tomorrow....

P.S - This a sheer piece of crap....

It could be just anything that makes you smile ....it can be the silliest or wierdest thing..like the one liners written at the back of a truck.....apart from the usual ones like - 'horan pelease' and 'buri nazar wale, tera muh kala', here is one more I saw yesterday---
'latak mat, patak dunga! '

Not dumb anymore!

There is a lot of silence around me. Most of the people in the hostel have left for home to celebrate diwali. I am kind of enjoying this time.
I enjoyed the small chat with sadaf, in the mess, today. She told me about her childhood days, how she missed her grandma after she died. She was eight and a half then.

My childhood was the best period of my life till know and I guess will always remain so. And now when I look back at that time, I laugh upon myself and wonder - Omy God! What a dumb child I was….

We lived in an old government quarter with walls that were painted yellow. It was located in a farm with all those fields planted with ‘barseem’, ‘sarso’, ‘ganna’ and yes ‘munji’. The time they planted munji was the best time because that time the field was watered most. It was like a pseudo-little-river for me…..

Naniji would make me sit near her and study while she cooked food on her ‘chulha’.
All my attention would remain on the wood that was burning inside.. :)
To escape studies I sometimes hid behind the same ‘chulha’. Naniji made a song out of it.—
‘lado beti ladli..
chulhe peeche gadli…
jab ji chaha nikal li…’

These village songs…rather folk songs you call them…I have heard a lot of them. I still hear them from her.
I was in class fourth…we had a dance competition in our school. I cursed both of them for not buying me a ‘tape recorder’. ‘how do I participate now?’ I shouted. Naniji came with an instant solution. She taught me a folk song which was something like---

‘gazar ka halwa laya mera piya…..’

I sung it myself and danced on it while everybody laughed on me. :)
But I still believe I was the best…. :)
When ‘teez’ came, nanaji would make a ‘jhoola’ exclusive for the cinderella that was me….and while I enjoyed the swing both of them would sing the ‘teez special’---

‘ kachhe neem ki nimboli, saawan jaldi aiyo re…
dada door mat bihaiyo, dadi nahi bulane ki….
Mama door mat bihaiyo, mami nahi bulani ki…
……
……
……
And I would desperately wait for the line—
Nana door mat bihaiyo, nani nahi bulane ki….

Nanaji called naniji by her name 'shiksha'.
And I used to think that every man in this world calls her wife as ‘shiksha’. I never knew it was her name. I mean she was ‘amma’! thats it!..why did she need a name!
(it was much later that I was ‘informed’ that I was just too stupid!)

And yes that poor old black and white 36 years old television that introduced me to vyomkesh bakshi...potli baba ki…vikram betal….alif laila …I loved them all…..

When we got a phone connection I was given the privilege to make the first call. I called my friend just to know if she has taken my ’50 paisa’ pencil with her!
I was so enthusiastic every small thing that was brought into the house.
I was the happiest person on earth when we got a refrigerator. After all I would not rush with that 25 paisa coin to buy that small piece of ‘burf’ for my ‘rasna’.
That was my little paradise..and was the only princess… :)
I thought I was the most beautiful girl on earth. And when I came in class 5th I strongly felt that I should be take to a ‘parlour’ instead of the ‘local nai’.
And I hate that sick teacher who failed me in poem recitation. I mean how can you fail someone in that small an age!...i was just in K.G then!
(* That was the only time I failed before coming to college!)

ahh…I guess I can write pages on that….

Now I keep telling them that I have grown and matured…I have learned the ways of the world and stuff like that…
But they strongly believe that I was too dumb to improve….
They think their child is the most innocent girl on this earth. I was dumb..alright..but come on…I have come a long way now….see I have my own view points about things..i can argue with them now…I have started liking english numbers…wearing branded stuff….using orkut….i am socially more active then they were at my age!...those folk songs…home stiched frocks….plastic hairbands….they all form a long lost story!....

But then I still miss those fields…the old chulha…the black and white television…the tainted mirror….the yellow walls of the government quarter….and everything that made me dumb!...... :)

These days I desperately want to hear that jagjit singh's ghazal i heard long back....

kyun dare zindgi mein kya hoga.....
kuch na hoga to tazurba hoga!

Contemplate is the word!

You stuck in a stalemate??
Choking eh??
Unhappy?
Talk to somebody.
What? Doesn't help?
Talk to few more people!
Still doesn't work out?

ummm....
Stop!
Stop talking!
Stop running after people!
Relax!
yeah..you can be happy...
Look at the sunshine...
warm eh ??
Play your favourite number...
hmm...dancing again :)
crack that old poor joke...
lauging out loud??
Good.

Well now look inside...
o o...that needs immediate treatment...
Take a deep breath...close your eyes...Remember all good things in life....
Feel at peace....Calm??
Hey look..its there!...happyness!..how dumb of you...It was there at the first place...
You just needed to contemplate!
And hey love yourself before you love anybody else....
Good luck! :)

Just another conversation….

Me: I am bored of being at the same place for almost three and a half years now. Humans have created a strange conventional world. How can they give 25 yrs of their life to studying! And everybody is following the conventions is even more strange.

XYZ: (happens to be one of my female friends) yeah…Don’t you think old times were good? Girls were not taught. They were happy with what they had…with marriage…family…

Me: smiling.

XYZ: You know what…my sis is expecting. I said to her that she should enjoy now...you know…marriage, family…kids…she said – “ you become unhappy when you know what you deserve and you know what you deserve when you study! “

Me: When my grandma talks about how some girl is happy with his hubby( because he earns a decent amount…has a flat…blah blah) I am surprised. When I tell them that for me most important thing is having my space in life and having the wavelength match with the guy, she is surprised!...

XYZ : Yeah…we have set patterns…we have strong likings and dislikings…point of views… so ultimately all of us will be unhappy in a marriage!
I guess I won’t make my daughter study much. She will have a better life…

Me : yeah…send her to some arts school or somewhere where she can just have fun and grow….

XYZ : B.A it is…

Both smile and go to our respective rooms….

I am tagged!

Hey I have been tagged by siddhartha( sh-ithappens.blogspot.com).

How it works:-

1. Players start by posting 8 random facts about themselves.
2. Those who have been tagged, must post these rules, along with their 8 random facts.
3. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them, that they've been tagged.

Hmmm...8 facts about me :


1. They say "yesterday" was the first day I reached college on time in the past three years. And guess what - They are right! ;)

2. When I do something with interest I become so engrossed and lost in my own world that I will not listen to the most tempting gossips and important orders. I will infact block all the voices around me and you may have to try real hard to get me back. My mother says this came from papa. Papa feels too degraded when i am compared to him(???). He says i have all from my mother.

3. I have been brought up by my maternal grandparents(mind you affection was the sole reason :)).

4. I am extremely fond of hot chochlate fudge. And you better not disturb while I eat it with my eyes closed and making sounds like umm...

5. I like making stuffed parathans and making people eat them too :).

6. I think I might die by a road accident. I get jitters on seeing speeding vehicles.

7. I was a very confused child. For example I was always confused why one-ways are called one-way when it has two roads and two-way is called a two-way when it has only one road. I can be disastrous when it comes to directions and reading maps.

8. I appreciate subtle and witty humour but I enjoy silly humour. If you are using toilet jokes, illogical comedies, look around I might me laughing out loud somewhere. :)


And yes, I tag Anchit, Shikhar, Prakash, Rahul, Arpit, Varun sir, Nikhil sir and Manas.

The Random Number

Colloquial seminar....we are a group of four speaking on mobile cloning....I am explaining the authentication process in CDMA devices -
'..there is a network and a mobile terminal..Both of them contain an ESN no. and an A-key....The network generates a random number that combines with the other two elements and is fetched into CAVE algorithm to generate a SSD number...blah blah blah....At the end of the presentation a question pops up -
"How does the network generate the RANDOM number?"....
"RANDOMLY", I said....'

Ahem....

I am looking out of the window of the DTC which will take me to morri gate.....Some big names out there - SAARC Disaster Management center.....WHO.....and hey that looks like a slum!

I am a bad poet.. :)

After reading the previous post one of my friend told me that I am a bad poet and I almost instantly agreed :)....
Anyways those who read my last post should read the comment I got on that. I couldn't stop laughing on that one...I am putting it here so that you do not miss it :


Hey thats really nice,.
i tried along the same lines
i feel like a dog!,
i am barking..you are afraid
i come forward to bite you-
And you run away!!

now howsthat??!! Heheee..

I feel like.....

I feel like the rain drop,
I am falling,
you are spattering and sploshing.....
I am rising,
you are capturing....

I feel like the snow ball,
I am freezing,
you are holding and moulding...
I am falling,
you are catching.....

I feel like the wind...
I am blowing,
you are breathing and feeling...
I am whirling,
you are watching.....

I am back! :)

Those of you who were missing me badly(???) on blogosphere and were waiting for me to come back(oh really!) will be happy to know that Rupali is back!.. :)
It was a long break...no! i wasn't bereft of ideas...i was just waiting for people to come back to hostel after the holidays so that they could share the cost of the internet with me :)...infact i penned my thoughts many a times...but carelessly left them to go to the dustbin...or for deepu(my small cousin) to paint his aeroplanes and blue skies....
so now that i can afford to have the world at my table, i am sure you will see more of me on blogspot! :)

"Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free."

Hey Shikhar...thanx for suggesting this movie to me..Though honestly speaking it wasn’t your suggestion that made me watch the movie…:) But then, there was nothing to do and one of my roommates had saved it on my system without me knowing ….I hardly have the patience to give my thoughts to a ‘movie’ for three continuous hours…I sometimes start watching a movie and stop doing so even before the story actually begins…sometimes I do watch it half….I mean it has to be really good to keep my attention….
After I watched the whole movie and advised everybody I met to watch it , I was amazed to realize that it managed to be brilliant without a female starcast!….no typical love making scenes….nothing that you wont believe…nothing that you won’t understand…but the message it carried….the simplicity with which it narrated a beautiful story of ‘hope’…..and not the mention the awesome piece of acting done by Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins could not have been better….
Here goes some of the excerpts from the movie( I loved them)…have a look…

** Red (Morgan Freeman): They send you here for life and that's exactly what they take.

**
Red: The first nights the toughest. No doubt about it. They march you in naked as the day you were born. Skin burning, and half blind from that delousing shit they put on ya. And when they put you in that cell, and those bars slam home. That's when you know it's for real. Whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left, but all the time in the world to think about it.



**
I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singin' about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I like to think they were singin' about something so beautiful it can't be expressed in words and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared, higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away. And for the briefest of moments, every last man at Shawshank felt free.


** Andy: My wife used to say I'm a hard man to know. Like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. She was beautiful. God, I loved her. I just didn't know how to show it, that's all. I killed her, Red. I didn't pull the trigger, but I drove her away and that's why she died - because of me, the way I am.

**
Lord! It's a miracle! Man up and vanished like a fart in the wind….

**
Andy Dufresne, who crawled through a river of s--t and came out clean on the other side. Andy Dufresne, headed for the Pacific. Those of us who knew him best talk about him often. I swear the stuff he pulled. Sometimes it makes me sad, though, Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright and when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice, but still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend.


** Red: I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still, or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey who's conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope

** Red: Rehabilitated? Well now, let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means...I know what you think it means. To me, it's just a made-up word, a politician's word so that young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?...There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. And not because I'm in here or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then. A young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him. Tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone. This old man is all that's left. I gotta live with that. 'Rehabilitated?' That's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your forms, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit.

I hope that is enough to motivate you to watch this movie…
Enjoy!

......

You are there for me, I wanna know....
You care for me, I wanna know...
When I walk in the darkness, will you walk beside me, I wanna know....
I love you with all that I have, do you love me for that, I wanna know...
Do i matter?
How would I ever know?
How would I ever know?

Life is good....

Each time you will lose something they will say with an air of wisdom “ Life is good…”.
And when you hear this, take my word you are learning more, growing more….
Each day you overcome that ache inside you, you realize that life is good….
And one day you will start loving that one corner of your heart that ‘aches’.
After all it has taught you so much…to let go…to move ahead…
At times you tend to derive a strange sadistic pleasure out of those low moments….
a pleasure of ambivalence….
And in your trials and tribulations you find yourself, the one who is calm and deep, one who introspects and retrospects, one who forgives and forgets, and the one who knows that ‘ Life is good…’