Last month the office management decided that they were going to pay their employees on the 3rd day of every month. So I've got my salary today and I am so excited cause this is my first salary ever. I've already made a plan about how I am going to spend my money. I am going to buy some books according to my list tomorrow, though I am not going to get a chance to read the books this week. Cause I am going to be extremely busy with work this week. Maybe I am going to bring some works at home as well. Though my mom gets angry if she sees me to do the office works at home. 

I am going to buy presents for everyone of my family. I did not get a chance to meet my friends for long. So I am going to meet them soon. I am going to give them a treat as well for getting a job and celebrating the new year. I know that I am going to spend a great time with them.

‘I want all the exam-copies on my table within two minutes’, the Principal ordered. So I rushed toward the teacher’s room to collect the copies. Only after unzipping my bag, my heart sank and I came to realize that I did not bring the copies with me on that day. They were left on my reading table back home. I changed my bag on that day and forgot to get the copies in my bag. Oh my God! So I went to the Principal’s room again and told her about my mistake. She was not happy at all and I could not blame her for that. How could I afford to be such an irresponsible! She ordered me again to get back home and bring the copies as early as possible.

It was an odd time and the office car was not available. The day was hot and I had been standing on the road for almost half an hour under the glaring sun. I was in a hurry but not getting any transport. I was completely at a loss and I did not know how I would reach home. Then a CNG driven auto-rickshaw halted abruptly in front of me. It was a ‘public’ auto-rickshaw, which carries five passengers at a time. I never ride on these vehicles because of safety matters. But on that day I eagerly got into that auto-rickshaw.

The road was empty and the vehicle was sprinting through it. I had lots in my mind. So I was sitting on the vehicle and being absorbed in my own thoughts. Suddenly the small vehicle started to fly. For a brief second it was in the air and then it came to a halt with a tremendous force. I was totally unaware of the situation. I only understood in that time that the passenger who was sitting right next to me was almost on me and somehow I hurt one of my toes. And though the vehicle was about to topple but somehow it managed to stand still. The driver of the auto-rickshaw was sitting still on his seat with his head down on the driving handle and the other passengers were also sitting on their seats, nobody was moving an inch.

I was so numb and totally speechless. I was just standing there and staring at everything without seeing or understanding anything. I was not realizing why people had been rushing toward us or why they had been helping us to get out of the vehicle or why they had been asking if we were hurt again and again. Nothing was making any sense to me. Maybe for two or three minutes or more, I don’t know exactly, I had been standing on the road like an unmoving statue and then I started realizing everything I had just experienced a while ago. The front wheel of the three wheeler was somehow broken and it was nowhere to be seen. The auto-rickshaw was standing on the right lane of the road like a hunch-back, though it was following the left lane. The huge area beside the left lane of the road was a low land. The road was about 15 feet higher than the land beside its left side. So if the vehicle flew toward that direction instead of flying toward the right lane of the road, it would jump down 15 feet from the edge of the road, and we all would turn into a pretzel!

We all could die. At least we all could have serious injuries. But there we were! Safe and sound! On that moment I realized that the distance between life and death is only a fraction of time! Tears were in my eyes after realizing that I was actually alive. On that moment I realized that only being alive is meaningful and rest of all is just meaningless………

It's the end of November. Winter has already announced its presence in the air. Blankets are now needed at night, and it's difficult to leave the warmth of the blanket in the morning. 

My home is at the far corner of the city and my office is out of the city. After five or six minutes drive from my home towards my office, the road becomes narrow and bumpy. So it's difficult to sit up straight in the car. We bounce up and down on our seats. And everyday it feels like the bumpy road will never end. 

Like every single working day, I was going to office today with a sour expression of my face. In the car, my colleagues also put the same expression like me on their faces. Everyone hates the way to office! The drive was as usual until we got past the city and reached the countryside. Today was a comparatively cold day and we found out that it was a misty day too. There were less traffic at the road of the countryside. So the road was all covered up with thick fog. The fog was not driven away by the stirring of the traffic. And it made the difference today. The thick fog changed the road into a mystery! The radio was turned on and playing old day's songs in the car. The road has thick bushes at its two sides. But all we could see today was just fog. It was like a thin gray curtain was around the car and we were going ahead through it. Normally we chat in the car with each other to pass the time. But today everyone was silent, though no one was silent out of boredom. Everyone was awestruck by the beauty of the gray mist. And the melody coming from the radio made it all impossible for us to believe that we were actually on the very known road we pass almost everyday. Everyone of us was in an infatuation and for the first time we were wishing that the road would never end.

Nature is indeed powerful! It has the power to change the most boring road into something mysterious and something beyond our imagination.

What is the main difference between humans and animals? My opinion is humans have good manners and animals don't have it. Politeness is a very important part of one's behavior. A person's manners give us an idea of his education, family background and his cultures.

It's not only important to show manners in our real lives, but also in virtual lives. Some people tend to forget their manners while chatting. They forget that they are chatting with real people. They ask questions directly about age, gender, current relationship status or any other personal matters. But they should keep it in their mind that those they are chatting with are real people. Will you ever ask those questions to anyone directly in your real life? I guess 'no' is the answer. Then why in chatting? 

Good manners make others feel comfortable. So when we are here to improve our English or to make friends, it will be prudent for us to show good manners. And thus EC will be a better place to learn English together and also a place for friendship.