Is it normal not to remember anything? I find myself unable to remember details of movies,shows, books indeed of almost anything more than a few weeks old. It's so bad that after a few months I often can't even remember whether or not I've seen a particular movie let alone the contents of it. Sometimes I'll watch a movie the second time around and realise half way through that I've seen it before. Take for example The Italian Job, I believe I've seen this move at least twice before, but save from the opening sequence of stealing a safe with something in it(gold, money??) I am unable to recall any specific details of the movie.
There is a plus side to this affliction though, I am able to enjoy movies and TV shows I like more than once, and it's almost as if I'm watching it again for the 1st time. I've been on maiden voyages through Middle Earth, done battles with Predator in Vietnam and discovered (and forgot) I'm living in The Matrix countless times.
People details are the worst. I can't remember names - thats a given, but I struggle to remember any of the following crucial details:
- Place of work
- Place of study
- Hobbies
- Plans for the future, travel etc
- Any other detail
The worst is by far not even remembering having met someone before which happens all the time, as recently as twice last weekend at a wedding reception. A lady came up and was talking to me about Vipassana knowing quite a bit about me, shamefully I could not recall any previous time we'd met. This makes small talk on the 2nd time I meet someone incredibly difficult. The 1st time meeting someone is fine, topics can arise naturally and details about each other are eventually exchanged. On the 2nd meeting however, assuming I am able to recall meeting that person at all, I am unable to make any small talk as I am not sure what I've already asked about. It's incredibly embarrasing asking someone where they're going on holiday when you spent 15 minutes discussing it yesterday.
It doesn't affect everything though, I am able to remember specifics relating to my work very well. Technical details such as bugs in code, discussions and resolutions to problems are all at the tip of my tounge days or even weeks afterwards. Indeed when prompted I can recall specific issues and their solutions from years ago.
This inability to remember everyday things is baffling. Indeed one of the reasons I began this blog was so I could look back in the future and see that I really did exist, with complex thoughts and feelings, several years ago. I can imagine though that reading this in 10 years would be like reading about and looking into someone else's life. Hello future me.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
After Holidays
Man going back to work after holidays is hard, it's usually never as bad as it seems. I'm back next Monday after having 3.5 months off and am not looking forward to it at all. The loss of freedom is overwhelming.
Plus points
- Work is usually not boring, it's not interesting but the day doesn't drag on.
- Get to have reasonable break at lunch and don't normally have to stay too late.
- Work itself is usually not too busy
- Have some good friends there to have lunch with
Minus points
- Boss can be annoying, depends who it is though theres one particularly bad one.
- Work can sometimes get quite busy which can cause me RSI related pain
- Working for a large corporation makes me feel like a small cog in a large machine
- Loss of free time and energy to read, take on hobbies and play sports
- Observing the politics and actions of people trying to get ahead is a constant test of sanity.
My job is actually better than most so theres really no need to complain but from what I've observed humans will complain about any situation so why try to fight it.
Plus points
- Work is usually not boring, it's not interesting but the day doesn't drag on.
- Get to have reasonable break at lunch and don't normally have to stay too late.
- Work itself is usually not too busy
- Have some good friends there to have lunch with
Minus points
- Boss can be annoying, depends who it is though theres one particularly bad one.
- Work can sometimes get quite busy which can cause me RSI related pain
- Working for a large corporation makes me feel like a small cog in a large machine
- Loss of free time and energy to read, take on hobbies and play sports
- Observing the politics and actions of people trying to get ahead is a constant test of sanity.
My job is actually better than most so theres really no need to complain but from what I've observed humans will complain about any situation so why try to fight it.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Train Travel In India
My first experience of travelling on an Indian train was to be a short journey between Amritsar and Pathankot. We arrived relatively early this was our first big travel, the final destination was Dharamsala however after Pathankot we were required to catch a bus. Amritsar is a small station so there wasn't much rush, the first priority was to work out which platform our train was going to come on. After asking 5 different people and getting 5 different answers we decided on a compromise to wait on the footbridge above the platforms so it would be easy to scoot down and grab the train on whatever platform it came.
We grabbed a seat just below a nice old gentleman who happened to be catching the same train as us. He informed us that our train was 2 hours late. It seems that long distance trains in India are almost always late, of all the trains I caught in India there wasn't even 1 that left on time. They varied from 15 minutes late to sometimes up to 4 hours or so, averaging about 1/2 to 1 hour late - not too bad I suppose considering some trains travel for 60 hours or more. After waiting about 3 hours, our train finally arrived and we helped the old man with some bags and in return he pointed us towards our carriage. Indian trains are LONG, they are so long that you could spend 20 minutes and die from dehydration walking from one end to the other and back. To board one you must know well in advance approximately where your carriage will be when the train stops. A very elegant system is set up where you can read the position of each carriage from the engine on sheets or electronic boards. Once you know this you can position yourself on the platform and slip onto the train when it stops.
Long distance trains are nothing like the images of Mumbai locals shown around the world, there are no mad crushes to get on or off , no people on the roof and no need to risk life and limb getting on the train. Air conditioned carriages are very orderly to get on or off and inside being relatively clean (and cool), sleeper class is not too bad either though more people do tend to get in to this class without tickets causing it to be more crowded than it ought to. Unservered can get quite busy so don't take this unless you want a full body massage. 2 tier or 3 tier Air conditioned is the best class for foreigners to travel, in 2nd AC there are 3 sets of double bunks in each cubicle of the train meaning 6 people sleep and sit there. During the day everyone sits on the lower bunks and at night half the people climb up and enjoy a welcome nights sleep. Beware though the AC vents are at the top of the train and it can get freezing there, you may not need any warm clothes in India but pack some for sleeping in AC trains! In 3rd tier AC there are 2 sets of 3 bunks and a set of 2 bunks meaning 8 people sleep in each cubicle. This can sometimes be a little uncomfortable during the day as sometimes people's baggage won't fit under the seats forcing everyone to accomodate it somewhere. On the whole though train is a very comfortable way to travel India, it's cheap, comfortable and you get to see the countryside as you flit by.
After the initial struggle of finding our platform and boarding the right carriage the journey was very comfortable. We enjoyed the scenery and managed to get off at the right station Pathankot.
We grabbed a seat just below a nice old gentleman who happened to be catching the same train as us. He informed us that our train was 2 hours late. It seems that long distance trains in India are almost always late, of all the trains I caught in India there wasn't even 1 that left on time. They varied from 15 minutes late to sometimes up to 4 hours or so, averaging about 1/2 to 1 hour late - not too bad I suppose considering some trains travel for 60 hours or more. After waiting about 3 hours, our train finally arrived and we helped the old man with some bags and in return he pointed us towards our carriage. Indian trains are LONG, they are so long that you could spend 20 minutes and die from dehydration walking from one end to the other and back. To board one you must know well in advance approximately where your carriage will be when the train stops. A very elegant system is set up where you can read the position of each carriage from the engine on sheets or electronic boards. Once you know this you can position yourself on the platform and slip onto the train when it stops.
Long distance trains are nothing like the images of Mumbai locals shown around the world, there are no mad crushes to get on or off , no people on the roof and no need to risk life and limb getting on the train. Air conditioned carriages are very orderly to get on or off and inside being relatively clean (and cool), sleeper class is not too bad either though more people do tend to get in to this class without tickets causing it to be more crowded than it ought to. Unservered can get quite busy so don't take this unless you want a full body massage. 2 tier or 3 tier Air conditioned is the best class for foreigners to travel, in 2nd AC there are 3 sets of double bunks in each cubicle of the train meaning 6 people sleep and sit there. During the day everyone sits on the lower bunks and at night half the people climb up and enjoy a welcome nights sleep. Beware though the AC vents are at the top of the train and it can get freezing there, you may not need any warm clothes in India but pack some for sleeping in AC trains! In 3rd tier AC there are 2 sets of 3 bunks and a set of 2 bunks meaning 8 people sleep in each cubicle. This can sometimes be a little uncomfortable during the day as sometimes people's baggage won't fit under the seats forcing everyone to accomodate it somewhere. On the whole though train is a very comfortable way to travel India, it's cheap, comfortable and you get to see the countryside as you flit by.
After the initial struggle of finding our platform and boarding the right carriage the journey was very comfortable. We enjoyed the scenery and managed to get off at the right station Pathankot.
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