Last Sunday I took my TOEFL exam. The test centre was in Hyderabad which gave me a chance to visit the city of Chicken Biryani and factories catering to IIT-crazy "students" who, not-so-surprisingly, form a larger chunk of the IITM populace, or for that matter, any IT-related populace. :D It was a hectic visit: reached Hyd at 6am, exam at 10, lunch at 2, sleep + Anime till 6, snack, return train at 7. Nonetheless, it had its moments.
Family
Train journeys are cool: there is always the anticipation that an awesome (= hot + amicable) girl -- preferably of your age though it's not a compulsory condition ;) -- would be traveling along with you. Okay, now back to reality. So, there was this family going to Hyderabad in the same compartment of my coach: a mobile-enthu kid of 12, a silent father putting peace, a jolly mother, and a lady who was the kid's aunt, I suppose. The moment you say mother-in-train-alongwith-her-kid, it implies there would be food all over the place as soon as the train starts. Apple peels, Lays packets, masala idli, sweets, etc. And of course, the kid, engaged in his mobile, protesting to eat the apple slices although Lays and sweets were not a problem. Jokes and laughter, which the curtains of 2-AC cannot hide.
It reminded me of my trip back from Kota to Nagpur after the conclusion of JEE -- perhaps that was the last time we, as a family, traveled together in a train. As I sat on the side-lower birth, I tried to recollect that journey: huge amounts of luggage all around us, me exhausted after JEE, parents exhausted after packing, the late night dinner amidst it, the morning wake-up call by father's cigarette smoke*, and yes, 10 rupees ka Tomato soup after lunch! *nostalgia* *emo*
For the rest of my evening, I was busy watching Ghost in the Shell (GITS) because of which I missed my chance to order dinner; damn the curtains! Eventually, I had to content with very gen Veg Biryani and some Bhujia Sev.
The Test!
Next morning, I got ready at the decent-ish waiting hall at the Secunderabad railway station. Although hungry, I didn't feel like eating anything. Next stop: test centre at Begumpet. Sorry Devesh and Vikram, I ended up paying 150 bucks to the auto-wala not heeding to your advice of not paying more than 80 bucks. :(
After completing some formalities, I had an hour at my hand. So I glanced over the format of the test. Some reading, writing, listening, and speaking. I saw some sample questions in the listening and writing section. As Vikram had indicated, they were light only.
Although Reading, Listening, and Writing sections were very peaceful, I kinda screwed up the Speaking section. In hindsight, I should have done some practice of speaking in front of the coputer monitor. I think I deserved more than I got in the Speaking section, but then, 'Man proposes, God disposes.' I ended up getting 106 out of 120. Pretty gen but it's okay.
The maha-boring afternoon
Headache and stomach growls followed. The former due to lack of sleep, and the latter due to not eating anything other than the fart biryani from last night. After lunch, I resumed GITS but sleep overcame me.
Later, terribly bored, I started a new anime: Full Metal Panic! People sitting beside me were also watching (and reading the subtitles :P). First few episodes gave a feel of watching ecchi, and I was obviously ashamed of myself as people stared at my screen, thinking what kind of cartoons do teenagers watch nowadays! But the anime is actually a mix of comedy + action + little romance.
Waiting beside me was a kid of 12 or so, watching a movie on his laptop and texting like crazy! Kids nowadays, I tell you...
The return trip
Yayy! Finally! A few good girls in my coach implies me finding some excuse or the other to use the restroom. No, not that desperate! But why miss the opportunity when you'd anyway use the restroom or the wash basin for some purpose or the other? Whatever! Instead of counting sheep, I was listening to songs besides texting and checking out T20 scores. India won easily that day. :-)
* Cigarette smoking is injurious to health. My blog does not, in any way, support/encourage/etc. cigarette smoking. But frankly, if you want to kill yourself, go ahead! Just don't drag others into the mess.
Family
Train journeys are cool: there is always the anticipation that an awesome (= hot + amicable) girl -- preferably of your age though it's not a compulsory condition ;) -- would be traveling along with you. Okay, now back to reality. So, there was this family going to Hyderabad in the same compartment of my coach: a mobile-enthu kid of 12, a silent father putting peace, a jolly mother, and a lady who was the kid's aunt, I suppose. The moment you say mother-in-train-alongwith-her-kid, it implies there would be food all over the place as soon as the train starts. Apple peels, Lays packets, masala idli, sweets, etc. And of course, the kid, engaged in his mobile, protesting to eat the apple slices although Lays and sweets were not a problem. Jokes and laughter, which the curtains of 2-AC cannot hide.
It reminded me of my trip back from Kota to Nagpur after the conclusion of JEE -- perhaps that was the last time we, as a family, traveled together in a train. As I sat on the side-lower birth, I tried to recollect that journey: huge amounts of luggage all around us, me exhausted after JEE, parents exhausted after packing, the late night dinner amidst it, the morning wake-up call by father's cigarette smoke*, and yes, 10 rupees ka Tomato soup after lunch! *nostalgia* *emo*
For the rest of my evening, I was busy watching Ghost in the Shell (GITS) because of which I missed my chance to order dinner; damn the curtains! Eventually, I had to content with very gen Veg Biryani and some Bhujia Sev.
The Test!
Next morning, I got ready at the decent-ish waiting hall at the Secunderabad railway station. Although hungry, I didn't feel like eating anything. Next stop: test centre at Begumpet. Sorry Devesh and Vikram, I ended up paying 150 bucks to the auto-wala not heeding to your advice of not paying more than 80 bucks. :(
After completing some formalities, I had an hour at my hand. So I glanced over the format of the test. Some reading, writing, listening, and speaking. I saw some sample questions in the listening and writing section. As Vikram had indicated, they were light only.
Although Reading, Listening, and Writing sections were very peaceful, I kinda screwed up the Speaking section. In hindsight, I should have done some practice of speaking in front of the coputer monitor. I think I deserved more than I got in the Speaking section, but then, 'Man proposes, God disposes.' I ended up getting 106 out of 120. Pretty gen but it's okay.
The maha-boring afternoon
Headache and stomach growls followed. The former due to lack of sleep, and the latter due to not eating anything other than the fart biryani from last night. After lunch, I resumed GITS but sleep overcame me.
Later, terribly bored, I started a new anime: Full Metal Panic! People sitting beside me were also watching (and reading the subtitles :P). First few episodes gave a feel of watching ecchi, and I was obviously ashamed of myself as people stared at my screen, thinking what kind of cartoons do teenagers watch nowadays! But the anime is actually a mix of comedy + action + little romance.
Waiting beside me was a kid of 12 or so, watching a movie on his laptop and texting like crazy! Kids nowadays, I tell you...
The return trip
Yayy! Finally! A few good girls in my coach implies me finding some excuse or the other to use the restroom. No, not that desperate! But why miss the opportunity when you'd anyway use the restroom or the wash basin for some purpose or the other? Whatever! Instead of counting sheep, I was listening to songs besides texting and checking out T20 scores. India won easily that day. :-)
* Cigarette smoking is injurious to health. My blog does not, in any way, support/encourage/etc. cigarette smoking. But frankly, if you want to kill yourself, go ahead! Just don't drag others into the mess.
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