Email/Chat

Hilarious.

Unlike the writer of this article, I equate chatting and even email as more of a replacement for verbal communication than an equivalent of a written memo/article. And shortened words are because I cant type as fast as I could speak.

However, I do agree that blogging/email/chat has had a negative effect on my ability to write. Its easily accessible, so I should be spending my time on writing better, but instead, because its easy to reach my friend the moment I write, I don't take the pains to say something elaborate. I don't worry that it better be interesting. I write whatever comes to my mind, quite cryptically. After all, he or she will immediately ask me to clarify, if necessary. I don't argue my point. I make statements. I don't bother about my friend's point because I am too lazy to type, which I would have if we were talking.

I have lost the best of both worlds of talking and writing.

Privacy

Great news! If I live in a world where eventually everyone can get all the details about everyone else [Sort of like the street I grew up in] I dont have to stress about revealing personal information in my blog. What a relief. All those pictures I have to crop my face out before putting it up in the web - no more.

Temporary autism

I hate confrontations. Usually I am a model citizen [tongue in cheek], meekly taking the injustices/unfair treatments, shrugging it off as part of life. Yesteday I confronted. I yelled. And I was thinking how my mind was not registering the details it would usually do, how it was so inward.

I had an epiphany. This was the temporary autism in a charged situation that Gladwell talks about. Thankfully I didnt have a trigger to pull.

It also brought back my usual - 'I am so unobservant' lament. There must be some mental exercises. There is a beautiful story by Jeffrey Archer. He has dinner with a friend who talks about becoming a writer but fails to notice things happening around him. "What Japanese men?" or some such is the ending.

Jetlag

Jet lag should be kicking in about now. But I feel fine. I cant remember feeling jetlagged during any of my trips. My body must be too stupid to have an internal clock. All that sunshine and it happily adjusts.

Sensors

Its a delight to walk here. It was a bit dark, but I finally got to walk a long distance. I had good company too - I was talking and she was listening, what more can I ask? Birds chirped, stream curved along the walking track.

I noticed the street light coming on in some strange pattern as I walked. Do they have sensors, I wondered. It had to be time sensitive, day light savings adjusted too in fact. Or maybe they do some other pattern of lighting. I walked a bit back and forth to check it. Nothing happened. I must have looked funny.

I love the houses here around the little pond. But they seem a bit sad to me. There are no children playing outside in the yards, no grandparents talking politics.. Not much signs of life except for an odd light in one of the rooms. Where does everyone hide?