Orkut Woes

Answer just what your heart prompts you.

And what the hell is that supposed to mean? That’s supposed to be a fortune, is it???? Sounds like a scrap left behind by one of those sidey characters who have film stars pics on their profiles. Once I had a scrap from someone with Superman on his profile. And it said,

Hi I’m Brasillian. Do you want frendelly?

I saved it for posterity. But I’m frankly getting fed up on the number of whacko scraps and friendship requests I get. What on earth am I supposed to say that friend of a friend’s friend? How about the guy who never said a word to me in school? I don’t understand people who want to add me to their ‘friend’ lists and then don’t say a word.

Oh, but lets get back to my homepage. Blah, I hate that photograph now. It did get mixed reactions from people though. Dee called it ‘strangely seductive’ while an old pal said it made me look cross-eyed. Huh. And all the while I thought I was just flashing a Plain-Jane smile. And my head is cocked at a funny angle because I was photographing myself…from behind…looking over my shoulder sort of thing. Do you know what that does to your arm muscles? Crap…no yoga while the monsoons are on and I’m already as stiff as a …stiff.

My friends list shows me the usual suspects have been signing on and off. The ‘younger’ set that were born around the time I was in school, that get in touch these days to find out what they should do after graduating. The kind that leave scraps like

Hi! Soooooooo exciting to see you on orkut! Long time, no see! Okay, bye, keep in touch! Remember our fun times?

It wears me out just listening to them. The last time I was in the car with a few colleagues, two of them (abnormally young at 21 and 22 respectively) bounced out of the car (I kid you not, they really did) and whizzed off ‘for a quick bite and some shopping before the movie’. This on a weekday, while I’d have been counting exactly how long I could dawdle over my meal to be able to get to bed early enough for some sleep before tomorrow’s meeting. I watched them bounce away and asked my other colleague,

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re growing old? Or is it just me? I’m tired just watching those two. And their day hasn’t even begun!

He patted my arm and told me not to worry and that we were carrying a lot more stress than them so we got tired faster. Yeah, something like that.

But that doesn’t keep me from wondering where they have the time and energy to sign in to orkut twenty times a day. I trudge along this rat-race and stop to pick the orkut stones out of my shoes…oh, once a fortnight or so.

Birthdays…oh birthdays. Suddenly I hate the month of July. Its full of birthdays of people I can’t stand and don’t know how to shrug off. Ex-boyfriends, ex-friends, ex-colleagues, people I don’t dislike…that would be too tiring…but just don’t have the room or need for in my life anymore. And oh for…the guilt of having to admit that…the July borns are never vile enough for one to enjoy cutting them off. And well they’re all staring at me from the bottom of my homepage. I shrink my window and try to hide from their baleful, guilt-tripping grins.

Rather bored with my communities too. Something about books that I never visit, a company group I set up in a fit of enthusiasm and now I’m saddled with. Oh why oh why do I never learn? I set up a school group and faithfully moderated it for 7 years. In the interim I managed to track down over 70 people of our 300-odd batch, most of whom made it to the 10-year alumni meet on account of hearing about it on the group. Now all everyone does is bitch about each other in private emails and send me howlers like

Why is X on the group? She was so rude to you in school! And Y, Z and K? They were like too cool for us way back then. What happened to your loyalties? Why does L have so many photographs…now I can’t load mine!

Fine, fine, fine I cried…guys, this is a batch-group, set up private groups if you like (which I did to appease them, only no one mailed on it!!). And gawd…its been over a decade…why would I even want to remember who was rude to me back then? But kick me…I did the same thing later. Now I’m saddled with a group no one speaks on but everyone shouts at me about the ‘lack of activity’ on the group. Grumble.

And then I chance upon my testimonials. Oh okay, I ‘fess…I looked for them myself..they’re the only part of the damn site that makes me smile now. Sense is her characteristic sarcastic sensible self. While Brad makes a play without appearing to. A friend-blogger is sweet and heartening as always and tells the world that I’m exactly the same in real life as on my blog. But my childhood friends are the ones that really make my day with the pot-shots at my expense.

Okay, I am nostalgic and I got my answer. I promised long ago to be always available to the people in my life. Some of those people have gone away but the promise stands. So old friends, childhood playmates, long lost relationships….look for me and you’ll find me right there.

In the meantime I’ll go battle those damn spam-scrappers!