Analogies

The other day, I was just wondering what I think about other people. That turned out mostly what I want them to be. Then it occurred to me- if I can think that way, everybody else must also be thinking the same about me!

I want people to be like low maintenance loving machines. Handle them roughly, do whatever you want to them, ignore them, insult them, and DON'T give them the lubricant of apologies. The fuel consumption- the concern, the involvement from your side has to be minimal (or should I say optimal?) And still the output- the love has to be maximum.

But then, everything comes with a price tag you see! Such machines are either way too costly to have, or their working is not guaranteed.
How inappropriate it would be for such a machine to actually stop working without warning, or to leave you, probably?

Then there are some, which consume too much of the concern-involvement fuel. The maintenance is also very high. You have to keep on tightening the nuts and bolts with the spanners of courtesy, to lubricate them with affection, to wash them with apparent love, to polish them with the rags of cuddles.

Nevertheless, it pays off. The love you get in return is overwhelming. The way affection flows, the way they become possessive is just divine! How otherwise would you expect someone as practical, as utilitarian, as selfish as a Human Being to be like this?

Also, there are machines which are absolutely maintenance free, but still give you a lot of output. The only thing is that they can not be owned as such. But then same is the case with me! When I am maintenance free, I am almost impossible to own! And when I am owned, my maintenance costs are dreadful!

But is it all this simple?
I think this is just these 4 years of Engineering that I have been doing speaking here.

Well but then it isn't totally illogical. Is it?

Relativity

Today has been one of the very bad days I have had this semester.

Losing one third of the total marks in a quiz.
Getting an assignment to design, analyse and assess an entire small scale infrastructure project in 10 days.
Getting blasted by the Senior VP of Infrastructure Finance and Leasing Services.

What more does one want to get excruciated? Phew!

While I was trying to call the SVP, I got what appeared to be just the normal "busy" tone. But as it turned out, it was an interruption in his conversation for as many as 16 times. He calls back on the phone from which I was trying.

"Hello, WHO are you?"
"Hello sir, this is Blakaranamamba speaking from IITM. Did my professor mail you regarding the data I need for the seminar assignment?"
"No, I did not get any mail. We work on a client relationship basis. I can not go on passing data on to people like that. And HELLO, please try to learn that the busy tone is an interruption in the conversation of the other person. He is busy. Please try to understand that."
"Sorry sir, I am really sorry for that."

Hang up!

It was like we are in different galaxies, separated by millions of light years. What appears to him is not the true present, what appears to me is not the true present situation there. And we can not even communicate this to each other, because we are way too far off from each other.

Now, how was he to know how the busy tone appears on the other side when he is busy talking to someone else? How was he to know that it was NOT possible to distinguish the busy tone form the call waiting tone?

My professor should have mailed him.
I should have made sure that my professor had mailed him.
He should have known that there must be some problem with this tone because of which this guy went on calling, and would not have done it otherwise.
I should have stopped calling the moment I felt there was something wrong here.

3 galaxies. Millions of light years apart. Never will the correct information be interchanged. Never will the minds meet.

What will happen for sure is that whenever the VP thinks of my professor or Blakaranamamba, He will frown.

The way I accepted that we can never know what is actually going on right now in the Sombrero galaxy, I accepted this also.