FTW

A good few days into my life sans social networking, I find myself finding a lot more time for a whole load of things that were otherwise impossible given my tight schedule filled with immensely long failbook, mafia wars and poker sessions.

Given all the time I’ve had, I’ve managed to sleep better, pay attention to journal-work (one more semester to go) and also throw in the usual fun activity here and there.  3 days have elapsed and I’ve already managed an awesome CS-ta (supposed to be a take on the word siesta), a fun dinner with Sumit and Rashmi where they so gracefully allowed me to drink considering I’m still 20 and they’re both legal yet do not drink(?) and finally a game of bowling in the course of which I actually upstaged Headhunter and Godzilla.  Life is making up for my previous lack of win.

The formal start of my final semester in college coincided with the start of the inter-college football season.  With all the new blood coming in, I find myself benched a lot more than before and when I look at it from solely a personal point of view, I find it frustrating yet challenging to work harder and try and make the best of the time I spend on the pitch.  But when I look at it from a broader perspective, I remember how in my first year, we’d just formed the college football team.  How we’d gone around playing as many tournaments as we could and tried to not get beat too bad and also causing a few upsets on the way.  Today, when I see how far our team has come, considering I’m the only remaining dinosaur from the first ever DMCE football side, I feel happy that we’re not push-overs anymore and go into matches not as under-dogs but on an equal footing with most colleges.  I shall go out this year, proud at what we’ve achieved and also at what we’re definitely going to.

Football is the only thing that can get me emotional.  So, this apart, considering the sudden surge of win in my life, I hope it gets transferred to my team and my game.  I am sick of being a perennial silver medallist.  Want to lay my hands on some gold.

To continued win, write, game and social not-working.

Edit March 7th, 2010: After this post, the Explorer went on to play and score a penalty in a shootout which saw his college win their first EVER football tournament.  Win was created that fateful day.

Metempsychosis, the return

I have been very occupied with all the developments in the social networking cloud, what with Failbook and my social life being absolutely pwned by my desktop computer.  Countless evenings (and nights) being spent in company of people belonging to the I-don’t-have-a-life persuasion, myself included.  My case has not been given any kind of help considering that I have a past history of application abuse wherein I was dangerously addicted to Failbook games by name Texas Hold ‘em Poker and Mafia Wars.

It had gotten to the point where I was regularly having nightmares about how I had managed to get amazing hands in poker (namely 4 of a kinds and full houses), up the ante, pot commit all the players and then lose to hands like a straight flush or a royalty.  These are but a few of the nightmares.  Detailed and descriptive accounts shall be published as part of my memoirs.  I also vividly recall dreaming about Mafia Wars strategies and game-play choices and decisions.  Virtual and real life were about Mafia Wars.  Countless friends have been abused/unfriended and countless strangers have been friended for the pursuit of excellence on this one game.  I currently lie at a respectable level 347 with the title of Avtoritet Don Niccolo Machiavelli.  Don Niccolo Machiavelli being my recently adopted pseudonym, my first alias being Don < ^ WaRLuND ^ >.  For the definition of war-lund, check Oxford’s dictionary under “w” and go to any Indian street and start screaming the other half of the word loud for explanations pertaining to it’s definition.

With a lot of help, support, love and affection from certain determined and caring individuals, I managed to rid myself of these vices.  To the point where I absolutely do NOT play poker anymore and can go for days without checking on the progress of my Mafia Wars alter-ego,  in the process getting myself addicted to a browser-game called Travian.  This can be excused owing to the fact that Travian is run on an independent platform and NOT on a social networking site.

But after successfully rehabilitating myself, I observed that I did not spend any less time in front of the machine.  Only difference being, instead of progressing through levels or making virtual cash, I was socializing.  It was like my virtual social life got a few shots of meth.  Hours and hours of empty waste taking it’s toll on my psychological and physical health.  Mental inactivity finally took it’s toll on me and I have reached a point where I know I have to stop.

I read about a certain concept called Virtual Suicide in a newspaper.  The action I’m taking here is not unlike said suicide, but in real terms, it’s the exact opposite.  I am giving my life back to myself.  Taking away the monotony and going back to the way things are supposed to be.  Social networking is now officially out of my life.  Let’s face it, I’ve never been big on having a social life.  Routine blog posts may show up on my Facebook wall.  But I shall not be there to read your comments or notice your likes.  People may still keep in touch with me (if you’re crazy enough) via things called telephones, e-mails or even the obsolete form of keeping in touch which entails physically being present before communication can occur.

Months ago, I made a post by the name Mine Metempsychosis, which basically means rebirth.  If that post marked my rebirth on the blogosphere, this post marks my rebirth and my re-entry into a normal non-virtual world.

To continued write and social not-working.

-The Explorer

Failbook

A long time ago, the world was different.  It was peaceful, harmonious and and delightfully uncluttered.  People would meet, socialise and when actual meeting failed, people resorted to writing letters and/or making phone calls.

January 22, 2004.  A wise guy, who went by the amazingly spectacular name Orkut Büyükkökten, came up with his idea of social NETWORKING.  It entailed meeting people online.  For the unaware, this is not the same as chatting which was already on the rise as people tried to make up for loss of personality and/or hygiene by creating stud avatars and logging into lame chatrooms.  His concept was a network which allowed people to remain in touch despite being logged on to the internet asynchronously.  Like public email if you like.  Vague and imaginative theories were put forward to explain why Orkut was started.  Stuff like how Orkut got separated from his girlfriend in a Kumbh Mela and started the website to find her or how Orkut was in love with this beautiful mermaid but didn’t know her name and created this website hoping she’d get a wi-fi signal in Atlantis and log on.  Digression apart.  Slowly but surely, the thing spread (not unlike a virus).  Each and every one of us has an Orkut account.  It’s like the initiation into the social networking world.

Here on, as you gain experience, you branch out to Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and so on and so forth.  We have reached a point on the timeline of the Internet where most people’s social lives are governed by their ISP.  Another passing phase in the long history of human evolution.  Now Facebook is another popular website which started off primarily as a means to connect and interact.  Soon Facebook underwent multiple stages of evolution.  Already extremely popular, they tried to increase their popularity by introducing quizzes, games, friend/enemy/loser/winner/weiner etc of the day and other endlessly irritating applications.

Facebook’s evolution can be charted as:

Facebook -> Quizbook -> Mafia Book -> Application Book -> Spam Book.

Now Facebook has embarked on it’s final and mortal transformation.  The process of combining all it’s  annoying attributes, rolling them into one gigantic Networking website and unleashing on thousands of walls.

In order to safeguard myself without losing the desirable portions like communication and social interaction, I have devised a method to stay free of the Facebook virus.  Simple rules I follow help me keep my walls un-cluttered and simple to follow.

1. If you post stupid shit, I hide the application that led to said shit.

2. If you repeat shit, I hide YOU.

3. If you again spam me through notifications and/or requests, I dunk you into my ignore/Mafia list.

4. You cross the line and ask me why I’m not responding to requests or if you PM me about aforementioned shit, Purgatory shall be unleashed, Unfriend shall occur.

Limited and easy rules to follow and keep track of, but hugely effective in limiting irritation.  Facebook’s next evolution has a name.  It’s Failbook.

Protect yourself from the transformation.  Do not network on Failbook.  Prevent Fail.  Inculcate these rules to promote Win.

Be wary.

-The Explorer.