♫ Music is my life? Nah! ♫

Today, while I was on the way to college, the song Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai got stuck in my head. I didn't have my iPod, so I couldn't listen to it, and the whole thing just got me thinking about my taste in music.

My taste in music is quite eclectic, to say the least. I listen to musicians like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Snoop Dogg, George Michael, Rihanna etc. That's a lot of different musicians from different genres altogether. My tastes keep on changing. When I was 13, I was really a crazy hip-hop & rap fan (or should I say devotee?) I loved it... But soon I realised that not only was there too much swearing (I need to clarify this I have no huge problem with swearing as I've mentioned in one of my previous posts (check it out here) I swear when I'm angry. But I don't like mindless swearing or swearing just to look 'cool') so I still listen to hip hop because I love the beats. Now I listen to different artistes, and I have this encanny ability to recognise singer's voices, even if I'm hearing the song for the first tie.The first singer I noticed this was with George Michael (one of my all time favorites). But I also do it with Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Ludacris, Phil Collins, Chad Kroeger (from Nickelback) etc. Sometimes I scare myself. Like the time I heard 'Kissing a Fool' by George Michael, I was in my sleep. Mom was close by, surfing the internet. I turned sleepily towards her, smiled & said '"George Michael" & went back to sleep! And I didn't remember any of it later!

Anyway, I off to listen to some music now.
I'd suggest you do the same. Theres nothing better. Though music is not exactly my life, I still can't imagine life without it.

Until next time.

No compulsion to blog, right?

It's been a little over a week since I re-started blogging. I really do love it... but sometimes I just don't feel like blogging. The first two or three days, I try to blog every day. But then, I'm either too lazy, too tired or I just can't think of what to blog about (like right now) It upsets me, because I thought I was passionate about blogging (still think I am).

I had a little talk with my mom about this topic. She approves of my blogging habit because of the many reason I gave her: it's a constructive pass time, keeps me occupied, gives me writing practice & maybe practice for my future job (I want to be a journalist). I was expressing my frustration about how I really can't think about what to blog (anybody have any suggestion?) & she told me that it really didn't make a big difference if I was blogging everyday, because I was forcing myself to do it & I would cease to enjoy it. Blogging will always be a hobby for me.

So I've decided to take mom's advice (It's good advise after all!) & so I may blog just about 2-3 times a week, if & when anything strikes me. So I'm gonna blog less, but I still promise to blog!

xo

Magali

Is a Twitter Exodus on the cards?

I still remember when I was new to twitter. Twitter was new & exciting. I tweeted multiple times a day, and gained 3-4 followers daily. But now it's been about 3 month, and to put it into a corny idiom, "Tweets which flowed like a gushing river have now slowed to a measly trickle." The novelty has worn out, twitter doesn't seem like SO much fun any more. I don't feelcompelled to tweet as much as I used to. I might have my reasons. One of them might be the fact that I don't have any mobile internet. I hate my current cell phone, & I'm gonna have to wait a while before i can get a new one.
But everybody has different reasons. That's not the point. The question is whether twitter is just a passing fad. Just like the 'Trending Topics' that appear in your sidebar on twitter, is twitter itself just something like that? Here today, gone tomorrow? Already there are a vast number of zombie accounts. My mom has already decided that she is fed-up of twitter, and she doesn't tweet that much any more (she joined in the first place just because I forced her to) and I don't know how much more she'll tweet. I know a lot of other people who created accounts,tweeted with gusto for a few days,only to abandon it later. Or those who created accounts & tweeted just once or twice. I think that once the trend grows old, there will be a mass twitter exodus. Twitter's days are numbered. Enjoy it while you can!

Speaking when nobody is listening

Like any other new phenomenon out there, twitter has it's fan & haters. Personally, I'm a fan of twitter because it's quick. I can return from a fun night out, dead tired, and still have the energy to tweet about it. I've been a blogger since about half a decade, and as any other blogger will agree with me, blogging is not that easy. Very often I've wanted to blog about stuff, but been to lazy or too tired to do so.
But I've written this post to address something once & for all. Many twitter haters (most of whom HAVE a twitter account) say that they don't like twitter because they find it narcissistic or too self-indulgent. But they blog. Isn't blogging much the same? If you aren't blogging about your day, your blogging about your experiences or views. How do you REALLY know whether people LIKE what you blog? How do you even know if they even READ what you blog?
I know that after reading my last two sentences, people are gonna argue that they have followers & people who comment on their posts. So if you didn't know already,I'll tell you: twitter is much the same. people reply to your tweets, and when you have many followers, you know that they think you're worth following. So don't just dismiss twitter because you've been on it since months & still have a measly amount of followers. 

xo

Magali

Twitter: My Story

Twitter. I'm not sure when I heard about it first. But I know what made me join and where exactly I did. It was the summer after my 11th grade (about April '09) We (my parents & me) were holidaying in a resort in Goa. I love sleeping in on Holidays, so as usual I woke up late one particular day. That's when both my parents told me that on the 'E! News' show that morning, there was a report about how Snoop Dogg made some silly video when he was high. Snoop Dogg was my favorite at one time (not any more!) Anyway it'snot like the video had anything significant other than him getting high on weed & swearing a lot. But my parents told me that he had posted the video to his Twitter page & I thought 'hmmm... interesting! I have got to check twitter out'Twitter wasn't really in Indian news that much (yet).
But I was in Goa, with my laptop but without any internet access. I did go to cybercafes a couple of time, but didn't remember to check twitter out there.
Then we got back to Mumbai for a couple of days (still no internet!) and left for Bangkok. No internet access there either, but when I went to the cybercafe I remembered to create a twitter account. And tweet one. My first tweet was:

"Living it Up in Bangkok!"

Twitter wasn't really on my mind that much for the rest of the holiday. But when I got back I decided to check it out again. I liked the concept.And I was hooked. I tweeted 4-5 times daily & my followers increased by at least 3 a day.
But it's been 4 months now. The initial excitement has long since worn off, & though I still like tweeting, I don't do it as often or as enthusiastically. My followers peaked at 150, and now since the last week or so I've been losing 1 or 2 per day.

But I must admit that tweeting has been the main motivation for me wanting an iPod touch, a goal I'm slowly working towards.
When I go on holidays, I don't have internet access for a month, maybe 2 at a time. And I said I don't tweet too often, but I still love my daily dose of twitter. How am I going to live without that? Those are some questions only time will answer. Until then, if you are interested in following me my twitter page is: http://twitter.com/magali_c . Have any question or opinions? Please leave a comment!

xo
Magali

☠@#&!*

Bad language, also known as abusive language, cussing, abusing swearing etc. Who doesn't use it once in a while? For some, it's a way to fit in, others a matter of habit while yet others it's a way to express extreme anger of frustration (in case you're wondering, I belong to the last group).
And no, I'm not writing this post to tell you what abusive language is or why people do it. I have a confession to make: I use abusive language- A LOT!
As the daughter of a sailor, I get to hear quite a lot of it (don't think mom just lets it slide. Dad gets a stern glare from her and sometimes a stern rebuke!). It was around 8th grade (when I was 13) when I first started to hear abuses a lot from peers. Most of them just did it to emulate the rap stars they listened to, or because it was the 'In' thing to do. I didn't succumb.
Then came college, & a long & somewhat stressful daily commute. And that's when the abuses started. No, I don't abuse random people who cut ahead in a line or stamp my toes with dirty, ugly shoes (though I'm tempted) But I do get stressed. And I fly off the handle much easier. People deal with that differently. Some keep really quite, some start crying, some get violent or destructive. I abuse.
At first I thought that wasn't any harm with it if it helped me deal with stress. But now it's getting out of hand! Sometimes I let one slip in front of mom. I think I need to be calmer because thrash talking is not the answer. But how? I started to carry my iPod with me daily. Though it did keep me calmer, I sometimes resorted to listening at maximum volume, causing unimaginable damage to my ears. So now I'm stumped, and I'm asking you for help. How do you deal? And do you abuse? Let me know!

xo
Magali

Monopoly City Streets: The World as our Game-board?

There has been a lot of hype about the internet game Monopoly City Streets. Many people not in the know wonder what the big deal is.There's Monopoly Classic, Monopoly Here & Now,etc. This is not just another one of those games. Because Monopoly CS works with Google Maps,and allows you to purchase basically any street in the World! That has gotta be cool. Now I'll talk about my experiences & observations with the game.
Monopoly City Streets launched on the 9th of September (09-09-09) I obviously came to know about it because it was a Twitter Trending Topic. I was definitely among the first 10 from Mumbai to join in. The game was horribly slow, and gave errors saying that the servers were down (due to the massive load of people buying streets) However, I did manage to buy a couple of streets. Then it stopped working all together & I got fed up & left.
I checked the game again on the 10th. I was surprised to see a few players from Mumbai & I ranked number 6 in the entire city. I was elated! I did buy another street, and the something came up so I left.
I forgot to check at all on the 11th.
Then the 12th (yesterday) I checked again. This time things were different. The entire map looked crowded. I tried to buy a street but ALL of them were taken (Damn! Should have bought 'em when I had the chance!) I was pretty frustrated that I was nowhere to be seen on the leader-board so I quit.
The 13th (today) I decided to give the game a second chance. After all, I loved monopoly in it's other forms. I know I own very little property, but I'm not giving that away. So I rejected all offers for the properties that I own. I think the game is fun, though I regret losing out on about two days, they would have given me a nice headstart.
Wanna play the game? Check it out here: http://www.monopolycitystreets.com/

Now I pretty confident about playing the game.Need any help? Leave a comment or sent me an @message on twitter.