Klueless 6 - The Kult Of The Klueless

I have been a great fan of KLUELESS. It is a multi-level online game that requires you to solve a sequence of puzzles in order to progress to the next level.
Not only is it fun and addictive, there are times when it is so mind-boggling and frustrating that you will feel like pulling your hair out! It is not unusual to be stuck at a level for hours and then discover that the answer was too simple and very obvious!
For all those who wish to try, here is the link:

http://ahvan.in/ahvan10/klueless6/

I am still stuck on Level 13! Any hints for cracking this level is welcome...And yes, if you get stuck on any of the previous levels, feel free to ask me! You won't get any direct answers but hints - definitely!

The Bookworm Speaks

I am taking up this tag from Upasna...

The rules are: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen authors, poets included, who've influenced you and will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.

I thought it was going to be really easy and turns out, I was right! I did not have much difficulty in coming up with this list. Well, here is my list of favorite authors (not in any particular order):

1. Enid Blyton: I grew up reading her books. I loved reading the 'Famous Five' series, the 'Mystery' series, 'The Naughtiest Girl', the 'Secret Seven', the 'Adventure' series and her school-stories of St. Clare's and Malory Towers. Her books made me want to go to boarding school so that I could have the same amount of fun and her short stories gave wings to my imagination - I hoped that one day, I, too, would get a Wishing Chair or manage to discover the Faraway Tree! I did believe that toys come alive at night and I think I had a fabulous childhood, a lot, because of her!
2. Pablo Neruda: I love most of his poems!
3. Charles Dickens: 'A Tale Of Two Cities' is my favorite all-time classic.
   "IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
4. William Shakespeare: I have read almost all his works. I love all his sonnets and most of his plays. "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Macbeth" and "Tempest" are my favorite works by him.
   "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
    - Prospero, 'The Tempest'.
5. George Orwell: I loved his work, 'The Animal Farm'.
   "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL
   BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS."
6. Bill Watterson: I don't know if he qualifies but I love 'Calvin and Hobbes' - the comic strip and can read them over and over again! Calvin reminds me that I should always keep the child in me alive!
7. Karl Marx: I am not a communist but I am deeply inspired by a lot of things he wrote, especially his views on religion: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."
8. Paulo Coelho: 'Veronica Decides To Die' and 'The Alchemist' completely floored me! 
9. Erich Segal: I have loved all his books. "Doctors" and "The Class" are my favorites. It surprises most people though when I tell them that "Love Story" is not his best work, in my opinion!
10. Harper Lee: I loved reading "To Kill A Mockingbird" - I enjoyed reading the tale being told by a small girl (Scout) and Atticus Finch was a hero in my opinion! I seriously recommend this book to everyone who has not had a chance to read it!
11. J.K. Rowling: I became a fan of Harry Potter from the very first book itself! And after each book, the story just kept getting better and better (and the movies started getting from bad to worse)! I am passionately in love with the magical world of Hogwarts!
12.  Khaled Hosseini: I remember reading 'The Kite-Runner' on a flight and crying my heart out! My co-passenger actually asked me if something was wrong! Ha! Ha! I think it is a wonderful story. His second book 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' also is an amazing piece of work!
13. Mark Twain: As a kid, I enjoyed reading "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" but I think "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a much better work!
14. Roald Dahl: Again, he was one of my favorites! I loved reading most of his stories. My favorite is "Matilda". 
15. Rudyard Kipling: I loved "The Jungle Book" and his poem, "If".

Well, this is my list. I took more than fifteen minutes to come up with this - but that was because I had too many authors in mind and I was not really sure who among them were more deserving to be a part of this prestigious list of fifteen only! Anyone who loves reading books is welcome to take up this tag! I would love to read your list!

Friends? Really?

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Then, there are some who stay for a little while, leave footprints on our heart; and then, we are never ever the same."

I am a person who is always surrounded by a large group of people. I am friendly and find it easy to get along with almost anybody. A lot of people consider me to be their good friend. They call me when they are in trouble. I am on the guest-list of every party. I still get more than 300 calls on my birthday along with e-mails, cards, letters or wishes on Facebook.
BUT I still wonder: how many friends do I have?
Sounds absurd, doesn't it? You must be thinking (after reading the description above) that I have tons of friends. I am not quite sure if I do...

People say that friends are people with whom you can share everything. Never in my life have I been able to share each and every aspect of my life with one person! I think I have trust issues and I feel that what I cannot tell everyone, I should tell no one. I know a lot of people's secrets and I keep them! But I find it hard to disclose my secrets even to the ones who confide in me. I have never shared my secrets with anyone. I don't know if it is because I have never met anyone trustworthy or if it is because I have major trust issues! I feel everyone loves gossip and I should not make the mistake of trusting one person because every best friend has another best friend and no one ever keeps things to themselves!

I hate being at home. I find it to be very confining. Therefore, whenever I get a holiday, or if I have an evening off with nothing to do, I easily find company to go out and do something I wish to do but just because I go out with a person for a movie or hang out with a person at a coffee-shop, does that mean I can now call that person a 'friend'? A friend is not just a companion for certain activities which would be boring to do if you were alone...

"A friend is someone who is with you in your good times and your bad times."

I always have people around me to share the good times and join in the celebrations. I have been extremely fortunate and I consider myself to be the luckiest person on the planet *touch wood* because I have not experienced any bad times or devastating times yet. Therefore, these people have never really had to take the test of friendship...I do not have any occasion to doubt them but I also do not have any occasion that can make me proudly declare that my friends have always stuck by my side even during my tough times! So can I give them that certificate so easily? 

Till date, no one has ever betrayed my trust because I think I have always played safe and never given that luxury to someone because I have never managed to trust anyone so blindly in the first place. People say I am fun, I am friendly and I am a wonderful person to be around. I have been given a lot of compliments but I think two of the sweetest things that have ever been said to me, are:
"You are a gift to those around you."

"No Sapphire, No Friendship. Know Sapphire, Know Friendship."

The best way of having a friend is to be one. I am a good friend and I am sure more than 400 people will certify that but despite knowing and being friends of so many, I am still confused about who are my true friends and who are not.

"A true friend knows you inside out."

I exhibit different sides of my personality to different people. And, like I have already mentioned, I do not share secrets with anyone. Hence, all those who claim to know me only know those things which I have told them or those aspects which I have wanted them to know about. All those people who claim to know me really well also know very little about me. 

I know this may seem like an unnecessary rant but should I narrow down my definition of 'friendship' to just include those people I can spend time with, share a few stories, do things I enjoy doing and, after all that, to go back to whatever it is that I am supposed to do? Surely, friendship is more than that...What do you have to say about this?

TAGGED

Lala [Mrs. New Guy] at What?Mermaids? tagged me. I am tagging a few people and even if someone is not tagged but wishes to do this, feel free...

The rules are:

• Link to the person who tagged you.
• Paste these rules on your blog post.
• Respond to the following prompts (in bold).
• Tag a few other bloggers at the bottom of the post.
• Leave "Tagged You" notices on their blog/Facebook.
• Let the person who tagged you know when you've written the post. 

1) The best investment you ever made: I think the best investment I ever made was on my laptop. It's been more than four years and it still works fine!

2) If you could have written any book, directed any movie, and composed any song, which three would you pick:  I would have loved to be the author of the Harry Potter series. I would have loved being the director of the movie Avatar - I think it was beautifully made! I think John Lennon's 'Imagine' was a beautiful song - I wish I would have composed it!

3) Weirdest quirk: I believe people having the same name have similar personalities!

4) One wish immediately granted: I wish I could more holidays...

5) Most expensive hobby: Travelling! I love exploring new places but it is an expensive hobby!

6) An inexhaustible gift-card at which store: I love reading books...I am a total bookworm! I would love to have an inexhaustible gift-card at Oxford - The Book Store. They have an amazing collection of books!

7) In another lifetime, you’d be: A singer or a detective!

I would like to tag Ria, Pramoda and Creativity.

Blackberry Boys

I really like this jingle, "We're The Blackberry Boys". It shows a bunch of guys joined by girls happily dancing and singing, "We're The Blackberry BOYS." It made me wonder: If this same commercial was made but the lyrics were, "We're The Blackberry Gals", how many boys do you think would have readily joined in and sung and danced in this very same manner? I don't think there would have been any, what is your take on this?