The delightful art of doing nothing

I received a simple two-line forwarded mail yesterday.

In olden days, if people wanted to become hermits, they used to leave behind their homes, their friends and relatives, and such other things and go to the Himalayas.

These days, they join a software company!

I was on leave today... for two reasons: I had some work to attend to in the morning, and an exam in the afternoon. That both things fell on the same day was lucky indeed, else I would have had to bunk one more day. Mother Nature however provided a third, more compelling reason for a holiday - today was the best day yet of the summer of 2005!

Only now do I realise that it is the 21st of June, supposed to be longest day of the year. But we could hardly spot the sun, thanks to the thick cloud cover. It is nice to know that my blog gets read in worlds other than ours (only I can't find many takers in this world!). My veiled wails of yesterday have been justly answered.

The morning's work was over sooner than expected, so I had lots of time to enjoy the charming weather. Afternoon was even better. As I was riding, there were those ever so tiny droplets of rain threatening to break out in full flow. I wonder when last a breeze so enjoyable floated around the city. I wish I had some poetic sense to describe my thoughts. Such a weather brings out the artist in us all.

The exam I was supposed to take this afternoon is the first part of a four-part exam leading to a Diploma in the French language (Diplôme d'études en langue française). Though I didn't have any doubts of breezing past the exam, the fact that I had to converse in French was giving me the creeps. It turned out to be easier than I thought.

I was supposed the play a prospective buyer of mobile phones, who enters a shop and inquires about different models and finally settles down on one. I threw in some extempore phrases here and there, in a mood to impress la vendeuse, who happened to be the most experienced professor of French in Chennai! The written exam was so simple, it makes one think that it is directed at people who don't know anything of French...

Now that I've said so many demeaning statements about the exam, I should keep my fingers crossed hoping to pass!