At Tweet's end..

I created a Twitter account 3 years ago when I was in one of these "Sign up now!" frenzies. I posted exactly two messages on Twitter when I joined --- "Hi" and "sdfsdf" (or some garbage of that sort). Then I promptly forgot about Twitter. Recently, I have been getting a spate of e-mails about people following me on Twitter. My curiosity piqued, I decided to actually login to Twitter and see how many followers I had. And lo behold, I found that my Twitter account was suspended for wrongful use.

Dutifully, I sent an e-mail to Twitter's support desk telling them that seeing as how I had entered only two messages in the span of two years, I couldn't have really "abused" the system. I got this back:

Twitter suspends accounts for Terms of Service violations or spam investigation. Please review our policies for more detailed information:
http://help.twitter.com/forums/26257/entries

If you are suspended, it's most likely for one or more of these reasons::

User Abuse
* a large number of people block the profile or write in with spam complaints
* aggressive following
* imbalanced ratio: the number of followers is small compared to number of people following
* misuse of the reply feature
* updates consist of duplicate links and/or text
* updates consist mainly of links and not personal updates
* updates consist of updates poached from others' timelines, passed off as one's own

Technical Abuse
* updates consist of links pointing to phishing sites, malware, or other harmful material
* a large number of accounts is created in a short amount of time
* an account is identified as belonging to a spam cluster

Huh. Okay. I e-mailed them back saying none of the above would apply to me because I've barely used the account. Haven't heard back. I am righteously miffed now!

the four corners of the sky

For the first time in my life, I had to race to finish a book before the library due date. I have had an awesome two weeks now with my parents visiting. Between eating hearty meals, weekend visits to nearby attractions and hectic work schedules, it was quite a challenge to finish the 14-day book loan.

The book revolves around Anne P. Goode's troubled relationship with her father. Everything in her life is defined by that one relationship. So when her father calls out of the blue with a dying wish, Annie is left in a dilemma. The story moves at a thrilling pace after that. But more than the story itself, I enjoyed the author's stylish writing. His character sketches are so lively, rich in detail and endearing that they will linger in my memory for quite some time.

An extremely good read if you are looking for something funny and charming. I am moving onto "Farm City" by Novella Carpenter now.

Random question

In India, I don't have technology addiction -- the need to constantly have a cell phone near me, to check Facebook every 10 minutes, refresh my Gmail inbox every 5 minutes and read every single blog I am subscribed to. It seems easy to switch off, stay off and I don't miss it so much. But, here in the US, it feels like a part of my life is missing if I don't do these things. Why?

Twenties Girl

I finished reading "Twenties Girl" by Sophie Kinsella last week. As is usual with Kinsella books, I wolfed it down giggling and laughing throughout. As I finished the book, I was reminded of another "twenties girl" in my life.

This time, during my India trip, I managed to find this picture of my paatti ensconced within the folds of an ancient album. My grandma showed this to me when I was about 7 during a summer visit. I can still remember the shine in her eyes, face agog with excitement wreathed in a wide grin as she recalled this triumphant moment from her youth. Her eldest brother had returned from South Africa with a novel "thing" that could take still pictures. She was one of the first people in Sivaramapuram to be photographed much to the envy of her neighbors. Most people had not seen or even heard of a camera in the 1920s!

So there she is, my grandma, when she was around 18 standing in the thaazhvaaram of her family home. Old age has gotten to her these days and she can't move about much. But she still happens to be one of the most colorful, feisty and cheerful people I know. When I showed her this picture, her face softened as she went back in time and I think for a few minutes, she became 18 years old again -- shy, expectant and ready to take on life. If you ask her, she'll say she never feels older than 18. Ever. I believe her.