Social Pariah

I thought that I still have a decade before the Bridget Jones syndrome catches up with me. But I am afraid that it has already started taking its toll on me. For starters, here we have an average 10-hour schedule, 7 days a week along with weekly FCQs, unscheduled (and useless) batchmeets and presentations at short notice (this happens essentially when the faculty is not prepared for a lecture and they pass the buck to us by asking us to do a group assignment of 20 mins each which will safely see them through the agonizing 2 hours). All these leaves us with very little time for socializing and CL (campus loafing).

That’s bad news for my mom since she was fervently hoping that I would hook up with somebody! Worse, I have become so rude that when my friends come online, I don’t reply to their messages, mostly because I am busy doing some last minute project with the help of Mr Google. My family and relatives have stopped calling me since I don’t pick up the calls (cell phones are not allowed in the academic block where we spend a major part of the day) and I am too broke (thanks to laundry charges, fine payment for bunking lectures, Sweety Stores, and the Luxury Coffee shop) to call them back (no matter what Shahrukh Khan says, Airtel is still expensive)!

I don’t know what education MBA is imparting to me, but it’s definitely eroding whatever little social skills I possessed (I admit that it’s not one of my strengths).
So, once in a while when we do manage to get away, we behave like chained prisoners who are suddenly exposed to civilization.

However, I am starting to appreciate the little things in life which I used to take for granted- new clothes, surprise courier packages from home (alas, I no longer shop during monsoon sales), the joy of catching a movie in the small screen of our auditorium (multiplexes are no longer a part of my life), desserts at the nearby posh restaurant (long live student discounts) and yes, the occasional glimpse at the gossip pages of TOI in the library (newspaper/ news channels are a luxury)!

WORK-LIFE BALANCE?? IT DOESN’T EXIST!!!!!