These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty

As March slowly draws to its eventual and inevitable end, I cannot help but look back at the last quarter-year that has been, and though I strongly believe in the fact that I am a straightforward and simple being, the set of emotions that slowly take possession of me are by no means uncomplicated.

The last three months have gone by in a whirlwind of activity; a fact that I now become acutely aware of, on looking back at the period in question, completely occupied as I have been throughout its duration, and therefore unable to notice just how frenzied life has been of late.
There have been classes, those indescribable, insufferable occurrences that I had almost forgotten existed over the six month period I spent away from IIT. There have been projects, presentations, tutorials, submissions, and consequently, deadlines, a word I now remember exactly how much I dreaded before, and have come to dread even more, if possible. There have been outings with friends, outings with family members, get-togethers, parties, treats, weddings that I just can't seem to have wheedled my way out of, relatives visiting, closer relatives leaving, seemingly countless trashy movies, followed by a couple of good ones, minor tests, debates, mostly bad, both in India as well as across the border, both as a speaker and as an adjudicator, the fact that the ones I adjudicated were consistently worse than the ones I participated in making the entire situation even more grueling to endure, cultural festivals, technical festivals, seminars, more minor tests, arguments with parents, arguments with friends, unnecessary complications, irate professors, quizzing events, marketing meetings, filling up of forms and other variations of needless paperwork, and people who, for some strange reason I am yet to understand, can't seem to get enough of talking to me.

What makes the entire experience even more unbelievable and surreal is how starkly it contrasts with the six months I had spent immediately preceding it, lazing around, traveling, soaking up the sun, and spending much of my time reading.

However, I am not the one to complain. This year has been, if anything else, exhilarating. There has been, at any given point of time, loads to do, and somehow that always seems to spur me on.
The only possible reason I could have for complaint is that, somehow, time and time again, the social and academic aspects of my life seem to, ostensibly without fail, get in the way when the clock reads half past seven every weekday evening and I am compelled to forego, for the sake of fulfilling prior commitments, yet another installment of Seinfeld.

Any sane man, I firmly believe, must be allowed at least a few minutes of pure, unadulterated pleasure every day, and I have this niggling suspicion that whoever is in control is keeping me from experiencing my share of the joy.
Make no mistake, I am pretty darn pissed about it.

Things, however, are not as bleak as they seem to be on the Seinfeld front. Changes are most definitely afoot. The week that has just passed saw me managing to catch four out of a possible maximum of five episodes, due mainly to completely unexpected holidays on Monday and Tuesday, and a rather fortuitous timetable that ensures that I am free, for the most part, on Thursday and Friday afternoons.
Four out of five. Not bad, eh? Almost reaffirms my faith in myself.

I am, yet, the Lord of the Manor. The King of the Castle. The Master of my Domain.