Elements and Dreams

A few days ago, my friend Chioma got a henna tattoo on her back that said 'water' in chinese. That started a discussion about elements, and what each person's element was. I, apparently, am an 'earth'. I interpret that as being grounded and practical. Chioma said that many earths ended up living vegetable-like lives, and the secret was to know when to stop.

Huh.

I guess that's all right. I can take criticism. And when I have time, I will probably come up with 10 reasons why earth elements are superior. Just like I came up with 10 reasons why it was good to be short. I'm listing most of them...the others were too dumb to put down here.

1. Being tall makes you rather high headed. And let’s face it. Who likes being with high-headed people?
2. If you’re tall, you’re closer to the sun. So you feel hotter in the afternoons.
3. Tall people have difficulty breathing, because higher up, the air gets thinner. So there’s obviously less oxygen.
4. Tall people occasionally get hurt while walking into a room. Doorways are designed for normal people, you know.
5. The centre of gravity of a tall person is pretty high up. And if your CG is high, you’re bound to be more unbalanced than the others around you.
   
6. Imagine a tall person being a criminal on the run. If that person tries to disguise himself/herself, he/she will be highly unsuccessful. Their height will surely give them away. That, of course, is not the case with people with normal heights.
7. Tall people are slow. In any situation, if quick action is the requirement, then tall people are the most unsuitable. Because of their long limbs and extremely long body, electrical impulses from the brain will take longer to reach the motor organs, and hence slow down physical activity.
8. Last, but not the least, when tall people die and have to be buried, they need more coffin space. And if the family is not very well off, the height that was admired throughout their lifetimes does lose most of its grandeur, doesn’t it?

Getting back to the topic I started out with (although digression is good - it reminds me of P.G.Wodehouse, or perhaps Dave Barry), I realized that there is hardly anything else I want to say about it.

I ran into my friend Bharathi after a long time yesterday, and we talked about everything ranging from Aerospace Engineering drop-outs ('the smart ones', as she called them) to the awesome rapping at the Forty Acres fest. And then, we talked about dreams.

'Dream without expectations', she said.
'I can't do that', I said flatly.

Because I can't - not yet anyway.

There's a lot to be said about dreams, and I will get to all that - after I check off a few things on my to-do list.

Which, at the moment, would scare Santa Clause if he thought it was a Christmas wish-list.