Back to the Real World

Well, it had to happen at some point, right? The little dream died. After spending the better part of last week relaxing and not catching too much shit at work, I started to prepare for my next stop on the whirlwind US tour, this past weekend to be spent in our nation's capital. Of course, fate has a funny way of using a rusty pipe against you in the worst possible way.

I got staffed at 4pm last Thursday afternoon... for a meeting scheduled for tomorrow, 4/25/06. What does this mean? Long story short, kiss the weekend goodbye and bury the hatchets- this storm is gonna be a bitch. After cancelling my trip to DC, I spent the better part of 8 hours on Saturday and 12 hours on Sunday in the office, and capped it off with a marathon 19-hour session last night- suffice to say, I'm not too happy right now.

Still found time to go out Friday and Saturday of course, but no interesting stories to really tell... except for the fact that I had to remain somewhat coherent due to my work schedule. In other words, I wasn't a blithering mess and people around me didn't need to protect their drinks from the wobbling idiot. I'm so mature, I know.

Also saw the Sentinel on Sunday night with Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, and Eva Longoria. Quite frankly, the movie tried to be like 24 (my all-time favorite TV show... if you don't watch this show, I pity you) and failed miserably. It was a good way to kill two hours, but nothing you haven't seen before. The only reason I bring this movie up is because of Eva Longoria. To be quite honest, I don't see what the hype is about. Yes, she's got a great body, but her face isn't all that. Yes, I already know what most of my high school and college buddies are thinking: "T.O.N." (pronounced TAWN). What does this stand for? "Taste of Nishant". See, once we all started talking about girls, about who was hot, who was not, etc., I quickly developed a reputation for having a very "eccentric" taste in girls- the girls everyone else thought was hot, I thought resembled a pig in heat, and every girl I thought was ridonkulous was, in the eyes of my friends, someone who would probably look better if she had a lazy eye and weighed a buck seventy-five. This is why I make the best wingman, since I have never thought the girls my friends went after were all that attractive and vice versa. So take my opinion for what it's worth. I stand by my claim that I wouldn't look twice at Ms. Longoria if she wasn't famous.

Another story of interest that some of you might of seen was of Kaavya Viswanathan, the Harvard sophomore who, at the age of 17, became the youngest writer that Little Brown & Company, one of the oldest and most prestigious American publishers, had taken on in its 109-year history. A two-book deal worth a staggering $500,000. Why is this newsworthy? Because it looks like our budding writer actually ripped off some of her text from another author. I only mention this because of her idiocy. Look, everyone cheats in school (no matter how minor) or copies answers or plagiarizes (side quote: "If you steal from one author it's plagiarism; if you steal from many it's research." -Wilson Mizner) . Whatever your reasons are to do so, whether you have too much work, too much pressure, or are just plain too damn lazy, I'm sure everyone has tried to at least take basic steps to cover one's steps. And if you take a look at the examples she ripped off here, you realize even more how stupid this girl is. It's not like the sentences highlighted are difficult concepts to portray (and quite honestly, it's not like the stuff that was initially plagiarized was all that brilliantly written in the first place). The fact that she plagiarized so much of her book, something that she knew was going to be released to the public and heavily scrutinized, makes me wonder how much she may have plagiarized in the past when she figured she wouldn't be under that much scrutiny (liker her Harvard admissions essay, past term papers, etc.). In any case, watch this interview (right-click and save file to download it directly) with her where she mentions that she thinks a similarity between herself and the main character is that both of their parents drive Range Rovers- after watching how she comes off as a bit prissy, one can only make the connection that she is the smart Indian equivalent of the girls on "My Super Sweet 16."

I'm done ranting and raving. To end on a comedic note, enjoy the second coming of the Backstreet Boys, Shanghai version.

Holla.