GS recently made THIS post on Insignificance and it's invited pretty strong comments from a stranger who surprisingly makes perfect sense.
I read the post a week ago and didn't react much to it because I thought he had made that post for a different reason. Sorry dude, mistook your thinking. Now, after reading those comments I feel the Insignificance myself. But then, the way I see Insignificance is on a more personal level. You, as a person, as an Individual, what have you done to change the chaotic way this world functions?
Some thoughts come to my mind as to what I was doing to change the world. First of all, the need to think that I wanted to change the world, changes the world in a way. Loads of people are satified with living their lives the way it takes them, but then again, the way their life takes them is the way they do things. It might sound like I am contradicting myself, but I was never good with words. Anyways, A person living in Tambaram may do something that might change the way my life functions, albeit in the minutest of ways. But still, that minute change might affect my life in a huge way. Butterfly Effect. It's not only about some small thing you do that'll eventually get back to you, it might be something a total stranger does.
What has this got to do with Insignificance? As I said before, I see insignificance in a personal way. What have I done to affect this world? Everybody is significant in some way or the other. Every action of yours, affects people everywhere, though you might not realise it. Exactly my point. To feel significant in some levels, you demand to see the "changes" you've made. Well, you can't see them all. But, as long as you realise that you Have indeed made a change in someone's life, you are significant in this universe. A person holds some value for the universe. The way the Universe functions is affected by each and every single individual, on earth or elsewhere. ETs do exist. I am not gonna argue on that here. That's a given.
What would your action of, lets say, walking, affect an ET on Planet X? I could stretch on to say that by walking you are creating a wave of change in Earth's mass and thus affecting it's movements in space, which in turn will affect the movements of other planets, which will affect the Planet X's gravitational field and affect our ET's life!
Again, Significance or Insignificance. It depends on the way you want to percieve it. If you agree that every person changes everything, you might want to see the change you created. On the other hand, you might be satisfied by thinking that you do change the world, whether you can see your effects or not. That's where the line between Significance and Insignificance lies.
Thursday, 25 December 2008
Friday, 19 December 2008
Madras JAM Association.
For beginners, JAM is Just A Minute. That hilarious competition that you've always watched from the seats during the college culturals mainly because you didn't want to participate and make a fool of yourself on stage. But, you discover the joys and pleasures of JAMming only when you do make a fool of yourself. Some people fear this "embarrassment" and never take part in JAM again, while there are others who take that mockery as an insult and participate the next time to prove a point.
Let me bore you with some personal stories. People who even remotely know me, know that I am a JAMmer. It wasn't a one day thing. I signed up for my school inter-house JAM in 10th std after watching a riveting JAM the previous year. The first time on stage was quite an embarrassment, understandably. I managed to get just 1 objection and when I got the chance to speak, I screwed up with a pretty basic Grammatical Error. That went on to be my last JAM for the next 2 years. Some Departmental Culturals at Ethiraj during my 1st year in College was the first time after that debacle at school. This time, I didn't manage to get even a single objection my way. The Moderator stopped the JAM for a moment and reminded me that I was indeed a participant! That was extremely embarrassing, in front of a woman's college! I was angry and I vowed to come back. I did and ever since then, I've been participating in every random JAM i've heard about and won quite a few. Not to be boasty, but I think I am pretty good at it.
JAM helps in many ways. It improves your English by leaps and bounds, helps you get a command over basic vocabulary, makes you think on your feet and importantly, helps you make tons of friends.
Everytime I participate in JAM in some college, there are always some new comers. It's very heartening to see this. But the sad thing is that I never see them again at any other place and that's when it becomes disappointing.
It was after such a JAM at Stella Mari's today that Francis and I hit upon this Idea of creating a JAM association. Francis is a friend of mine, who I met during one disastrously bad JAM at KMC, who's doing his Vis Com 2nd year at Loyola. This association will essentially be a place for JAM enthusiasts to continue their passion and for wannabe JAMmers to come and practice and learn the intricacies of JAM. As of now, we have only 2 members, but I am guessing that as word spreads, there will be more. The present rung of JAM moderators who've passed outta their respective colleges will also get an opportunity to sit on the other side of the table.
We plan to get together on a monthly basis, pool in some money and JAM. Winner takes all! So here's an open invite to everybody. Join the Madras JAM Association and try your hand/mouth at JAMming for money. I'll be creating a Facebook page soon and I'll post the link here. Let's see if this gets any mileage.
Let me bore you with some personal stories. People who even remotely know me, know that I am a JAMmer. It wasn't a one day thing. I signed up for my school inter-house JAM in 10th std after watching a riveting JAM the previous year. The first time on stage was quite an embarrassment, understandably. I managed to get just 1 objection and when I got the chance to speak, I screwed up with a pretty basic Grammatical Error. That went on to be my last JAM for the next 2 years. Some Departmental Culturals at Ethiraj during my 1st year in College was the first time after that debacle at school. This time, I didn't manage to get even a single objection my way. The Moderator stopped the JAM for a moment and reminded me that I was indeed a participant! That was extremely embarrassing, in front of a woman's college! I was angry and I vowed to come back. I did and ever since then, I've been participating in every random JAM i've heard about and won quite a few. Not to be boasty, but I think I am pretty good at it.
JAM helps in many ways. It improves your English by leaps and bounds, helps you get a command over basic vocabulary, makes you think on your feet and importantly, helps you make tons of friends.
Everytime I participate in JAM in some college, there are always some new comers. It's very heartening to see this. But the sad thing is that I never see them again at any other place and that's when it becomes disappointing.
It was after such a JAM at Stella Mari's today that Francis and I hit upon this Idea of creating a JAM association. Francis is a friend of mine, who I met during one disastrously bad JAM at KMC, who's doing his Vis Com 2nd year at Loyola. This association will essentially be a place for JAM enthusiasts to continue their passion and for wannabe JAMmers to come and practice and learn the intricacies of JAM. As of now, we have only 2 members, but I am guessing that as word spreads, there will be more. The present rung of JAM moderators who've passed outta their respective colleges will also get an opportunity to sit on the other side of the table.
We plan to get together on a monthly basis, pool in some money and JAM. Winner takes all! So here's an open invite to everybody. Join the Madras JAM Association and try your hand/mouth at JAMming for money. I'll be creating a Facebook page soon and I'll post the link here. Let's see if this gets any mileage.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Post Its
Here are some of the things I want to Blog about:
How to ruin a perfectly deserved Holiday!
My Pathetic attempt at "belling" the CAT
My Lost Love..
My final Semester at College
My new Found Love
The biggest crush of my life, returning, only to be better and muchos cuter
My New found interest in Death Metal
Scrubs
Chandrayaan
My attempt at listening to every single song in my System (brought it down to almost a thousand from 2k)
anyways.. here's where my newly acquired and much deserved laziness kicks in and I say:
"what has 2 thumbs and doesn't give a crap? Hi, Karthik here, Nice to meet you!!" :D
How to ruin a perfectly deserved Holiday!
My Pathetic attempt at "belling" the CAT
My Lost Love..
My final Semester at College
My new Found Love
The biggest crush of my life, returning, only to be better and muchos cuter
My New found interest in Death Metal
Scrubs
Chandrayaan
My attempt at listening to every single song in my System (brought it down to almost a thousand from 2k)
anyways.. here's where my newly acquired and much deserved laziness kicks in and I say:
"what has 2 thumbs and doesn't give a crap? Hi, Karthik here, Nice to meet you!!" :D
Thursday, 6 November 2008
Michael Crichton
Just when I thought I have to stop spending much time online, the News of Michael Crichton's Death made me post this.
Crichton is one of my favourite authors. I'm not a huge book person. I've read very few books, definitely just in double digits. Crichton's contribution to that number is pretty huge. I've read mostly all his Fictions except Andromeda Strain (Which I started and couldn't sit through).
The first book that I ever read in my life, in 8th std, was "Jurassic Park". Sci-fi pulled me and Crichton became my fav author. I carried on with "Lost World" and then moved on to other books of his. Any bookworm would tell you that it's a bad idea to read a certain authors' books consecutively, but I did exactly that. I read many of his books, "Prey", "Timeline", "Airframe", "Sphere", "Great Train Robbery" and such.
The science in it kept me glued to his books. A few concepts or things that I read in his books have stuck to my mind for long. Like the Chaos Theory explained by Ian Malcolm in "Jurassic Park", the concept of Parallel Universe in "Timeline", the Herd Behaviour in "Prey", the detailed description of Aircrafts and precisely, the Black boxes (Which are actually Orange!) from "Airframe"!
I am going to miss him. A definite loss to the Book World.
Crichton is one of my favourite authors. I'm not a huge book person. I've read very few books, definitely just in double digits. Crichton's contribution to that number is pretty huge. I've read mostly all his Fictions except Andromeda Strain (Which I started and couldn't sit through).
The first book that I ever read in my life, in 8th std, was "Jurassic Park". Sci-fi pulled me and Crichton became my fav author. I carried on with "Lost World" and then moved on to other books of his. Any bookworm would tell you that it's a bad idea to read a certain authors' books consecutively, but I did exactly that. I read many of his books, "Prey", "Timeline", "Airframe", "Sphere", "Great Train Robbery" and such.
The science in it kept me glued to his books. A few concepts or things that I read in his books have stuck to my mind for long. Like the Chaos Theory explained by Ian Malcolm in "Jurassic Park", the concept of Parallel Universe in "Timeline", the Herd Behaviour in "Prey", the detailed description of Aircrafts and precisely, the Black boxes (Which are actually Orange!) from "Airframe"!
I am going to miss him. A definite loss to the Book World.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
*This Person Has Stepped Away From His Computer*
Off. Till the end of CAT and Sem Exams. Till 19th of November ie..
Monday, 3 November 2008
The 2008 Brazilian GP
Well, it’s finally starting, the Brazilian GP is finally here. I want Massa to win obviously. Let’s see what happens! Steve Slater and Karun Chandok are commentating.
6 Mins to Lights Out...
Well, just when people thought this Brazilian GP couldn’t get any more dramatic, the Rain Gods start to dance. Rain, with just 4 mins left for the Warm-Up Lap. This is gonna be awesome I tell you.
The question that’s killing every Race Team Head: Slicks or Intermediates?
Delayed Start thanks to Rain. Delayed by 10 minutes.
Some facts about a Formula 1 car. ½ a ton, 700-800 Hp, 0-200 Mph in, wait for it, 2 seconds! Even better, 200-0 in 3 seconds! We kinda take it for granted, how much of an awesome piece of Technological Brilliance a Formula 1 car really is.
Oh, and I just remembered that this is David Coulthard’s final Race. DC’s retiring after this race. We are gonna miss that Square Jawed Scot!
2 mins:
Warm Up lap starts. With water on the track, it’s going to be tough getting the tires up to temperature.
START!!!
Amazing start, Massa clean as usual. Nakajima and Piquet jnr tangle into each other and the Yellow Flags and the Safety Car are out. DC crashes out too. Pity. That’s not the way he would’ve wanted to end his final GP ever. As the safety car comes out, the top 4 stay just the same. Vettel creeps up behind Kovailenen and is on 5th at present.
Rains stop to pour and the Track is pretty much dry.
First fastest lap from Massa, still 6 seconds off the Qualifying pace, but given the rain, that is Still pretty quick! And I don’t think even Steve Slater noticed, but Sutil is up on to 13th after starting from 19th!!
Massa in the Pits! 6.5 seconds, clean stop and he joins in behind Hamilton. Not a biggie, Hamilton’s gotta hit the pits too. Now, pitting are Kimi and Lewis! Massa takes back the lead. Trulli does an awesome job of denying Lewis the opportunity to overtake him in the pits. And what do we have here, Fisichella is in P 5!!!!! We have Cars spinning all over the place, Massa leads and Hamilton is on P 6. Fisichella is racing bloody awesome, as fast as the Ferraris and the McLarens and he is denying Hamilton the Championship as of now!!! Vijay Mallya must be having a Heart Attack!
16 laps over.
Massa does another fastest lap as the race moves into what should’ve been the normal pit window, but given the Rain, the pit schedule has gone for a total toss. And race control says, rain expected in 20 mins. And Hamilton overtakes Fisichella. Clean Sling Shot thanks to the massively long home straight. Vettel sets the Fastest Lap Now from P 2 and his engineer says “No More rain expected!” Contradictory, but let’s see what happens. Fisichella down to 8th as everybody overtakes him, nothing surprising there. Vettel does an awesome job of tailing Massa. He’s pushing him, that is good for both of them as Massa will be able to pull away from Hamilton.
24 laps done. 47 left.
27 laps done as Vettel goes into the Pits. Strange, cuz he was there on lap 9, a 4 stop strategy?? Vettel rejoins at P6 as Hamilton moves to P 4 and Fisichella down to P 8. Glock sets a Fastest lap, he’s surprisingly light on fuel, dry tank! :P Massa sets the fastest lap again, that’s more like it. The commentators go silent as Massa’s Ferrari takes on the Home straight. Silence, except for the gorgeous V8 revving at the 7th gear, 320 kmph and 19000 rpm! Bliss!!
Next round of Pits, lap 36. Glock first in. A pitiful pit for him, 14 secs. He was seriously about to challenge Hamilton for P 4 but the mistakes in the pit cost him that place. The Ferrari pit crew get ready for Massa. No mistakes there, 9.8 secs, he rejoins at P 4 and Alonso leads, only for a short period of time though, he’s still gotta pit. Hamilton and Alonso into the pits. Please let it flop for Lewis! :P Damn, 9 secs, fine pit and he rejoins at P 6. After the front runners pit, he’ll be back to P 4 I guess. Sad stuff.
29 laps left. Raikonnen pits. 8.3 secs for Raikonnen. Clean for him and he rejoins the race in P 4. P 5 is Hamilton, awesome stuff. Pressure is back on Hamilton. As they stand, Hamilton will win it by a point, but that isn’t gonna happen as Massa is going to be the Championship. :D Don’t ask me how! :P
23 laps left as Vettel is back on 2nd and Alonso is on 3rd. Some problems for Fisichella as he slows down miserably and goes back to P 15. Gearbox problems say the Commentators. 2nd place Vettel pits as he leads the pack of the front runners pits. Rest to follow. Massa’s driving a perfectly Flawless Race. Seriously awesome stuff from the young Brazilian.
Massa, Alonso, Raikonnen, Hamilton and Vettel.
And 15 laps left, Rain Expected!!! Will this change the whole race?? I hope so! And Vettel is menacing behind Hamilton.
“Could rain in 10 mins, could rain in 10 mins” say Kubica’s Engineer.
12 laps left, if rain falls as expected, that gives us 5 or 6 laps of spinning and crashing (Hamilton will be one of them! :P)
“Few Spots falling down” says Alonso over the Radio to his Engineer. Awesome Stuff.
I love this! :D
Heidfeld pits and switches into Intermeds! That’s some Gamble! Aaaaaand, we have Rain.
Kimi and Alonso in the pits. Huge huge Gamble. Hamilton pits too. Vettel pits. WOW! Massa stays out, biggest Gamble ever! Massa pits. Damn! Clean as a Whistle. Massa LEADS. Ferrari is back on the Pit Strategy!!! Hamilton is in 5th. 4 laps left. Vettel is the Pivot now. On him rests the Championship! Brilliant stuff. YESSSSSS YES YESYE EYEYEYEYEYSYEHOIVHF.KG BAWEGAERG ASELK GH
Hamilton is down to 6th. THIS IS AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. Kubica does the Damage for Hamilton. Kubica just overtook both Hamilton and Vettel and in that confusion, Vettel overtakes Hamilton. This is Kubica unlapping himself remember, he is getting his revenge. Hamilton’s gotta overtake Vettel if he wants to win the title.
1 lap left, vettel still leads Hamilton, this is awesome. GO MASSA!!!! 2 corners left for Massa. He can do it. Vettel runs into some traffic, but gets past them cleanly. Massa wins the race and is seconds away from clinching the title. This is unbelievably awesome. This is Legendary.
THAT’S IT. MASSA WINS, Alonso 2nd, Raikonnen 3rd, Glock 4th, Vettel 5th and Hamilton 6th. The Championship is Massa’s. This is just brilliant. Massa WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
But wait. No. Glock slows down. Karun Chandok is the Only one who notices that. Glock slows down and I think he’s run out of fuel!!! He had last pitted on lap 36, he’s run out of FUEL! Would you believe that??? That puts Hamilton in P5 and he wins the title!! I do NOT believe this. Karun Chandok seems to be the only person in the whole world to notice this!
Massa celebrates for just 15 seconds, he thought he won the title. I thought he won the title. My bro thought he had won the title. We had just woken up the whole neighbourhood by Hooting to Glory The Whole of Brazil thought Massa had won the title. But Timo Glock, the person who had absolutely nothing to do with the championship just cost Massa the title.
My mind isn’t equipped to take this in. Massa WON and yet , he Lost. I just don’t know what to say. I mean, this is unbelievable. If anything, Massa had just raced one of the Perfectly flawless races in the History, he did everything right. He had rightly said before the race started that he would be pushing for the race win and he’ll leave the rest to fate. But I am sure that when he said “rest”, he definitely didn’t expect this to happen!
Unbelievable.
That’s the Only word that comes out of my head now.
Lewis Hamilton is the New Formula 1 World Champion.
Did he deserve it? That’s a totally different question. Did Massa deserve it? That’s a completely different question altogether. If you ask me, it was anybody’s taking. Both of them made lots of mistakes all throughout the season. Running into each other, getting penalties. If either Massa or Hamilton reflects back to the season as a whole, they’d obviously remember the last 20 secs of the Brazilian GP, but apart from that, they’d singularly be thinking of all the Mistakes and the Penalties that they could’ve so easily avoided. But that’s Racing, that’s Formula 1.
At the Press Conference, Massa says : “This is Racing. I know how to Win, I know how to Lose”
That says it all folks. One of the Best seasons Formula 1 has ever produced. I am totally famished and out of words and My Brain has just stopped working. As Steve Slater so aptly put it “Those were the best 15 seconds of Formula 1 in the past 20 years”.
6 Mins to Lights Out...
Well, just when people thought this Brazilian GP couldn’t get any more dramatic, the Rain Gods start to dance. Rain, with just 4 mins left for the Warm-Up Lap. This is gonna be awesome I tell you.
The question that’s killing every Race Team Head: Slicks or Intermediates?
Delayed Start thanks to Rain. Delayed by 10 minutes.
Some facts about a Formula 1 car. ½ a ton, 700-800 Hp, 0-200 Mph in, wait for it, 2 seconds! Even better, 200-0 in 3 seconds! We kinda take it for granted, how much of an awesome piece of Technological Brilliance a Formula 1 car really is.
Oh, and I just remembered that this is David Coulthard’s final Race. DC’s retiring after this race. We are gonna miss that Square Jawed Scot!
2 mins:
Warm Up lap starts. With water on the track, it’s going to be tough getting the tires up to temperature.
START!!!
Amazing start, Massa clean as usual. Nakajima and Piquet jnr tangle into each other and the Yellow Flags and the Safety Car are out. DC crashes out too. Pity. That’s not the way he would’ve wanted to end his final GP ever. As the safety car comes out, the top 4 stay just the same. Vettel creeps up behind Kovailenen and is on 5th at present.
Rains stop to pour and the Track is pretty much dry.
First fastest lap from Massa, still 6 seconds off the Qualifying pace, but given the rain, that is Still pretty quick! And I don’t think even Steve Slater noticed, but Sutil is up on to 13th after starting from 19th!!
Massa in the Pits! 6.5 seconds, clean stop and he joins in behind Hamilton. Not a biggie, Hamilton’s gotta hit the pits too. Now, pitting are Kimi and Lewis! Massa takes back the lead. Trulli does an awesome job of denying Lewis the opportunity to overtake him in the pits. And what do we have here, Fisichella is in P 5!!!!! We have Cars spinning all over the place, Massa leads and Hamilton is on P 6. Fisichella is racing bloody awesome, as fast as the Ferraris and the McLarens and he is denying Hamilton the Championship as of now!!! Vijay Mallya must be having a Heart Attack!
16 laps over.
Massa does another fastest lap as the race moves into what should’ve been the normal pit window, but given the Rain, the pit schedule has gone for a total toss. And race control says, rain expected in 20 mins. And Hamilton overtakes Fisichella. Clean Sling Shot thanks to the massively long home straight. Vettel sets the Fastest Lap Now from P 2 and his engineer says “No More rain expected!” Contradictory, but let’s see what happens. Fisichella down to 8th as everybody overtakes him, nothing surprising there. Vettel does an awesome job of tailing Massa. He’s pushing him, that is good for both of them as Massa will be able to pull away from Hamilton.
24 laps done. 47 left.
27 laps done as Vettel goes into the Pits. Strange, cuz he was there on lap 9, a 4 stop strategy?? Vettel rejoins at P6 as Hamilton moves to P 4 and Fisichella down to P 8. Glock sets a Fastest lap, he’s surprisingly light on fuel, dry tank! :P Massa sets the fastest lap again, that’s more like it. The commentators go silent as Massa’s Ferrari takes on the Home straight. Silence, except for the gorgeous V8 revving at the 7th gear, 320 kmph and 19000 rpm! Bliss!!
Next round of Pits, lap 36. Glock first in. A pitiful pit for him, 14 secs. He was seriously about to challenge Hamilton for P 4 but the mistakes in the pit cost him that place. The Ferrari pit crew get ready for Massa. No mistakes there, 9.8 secs, he rejoins at P 4 and Alonso leads, only for a short period of time though, he’s still gotta pit. Hamilton and Alonso into the pits. Please let it flop for Lewis! :P Damn, 9 secs, fine pit and he rejoins at P 6. After the front runners pit, he’ll be back to P 4 I guess. Sad stuff.
29 laps left. Raikonnen pits. 8.3 secs for Raikonnen. Clean for him and he rejoins the race in P 4. P 5 is Hamilton, awesome stuff. Pressure is back on Hamilton. As they stand, Hamilton will win it by a point, but that isn’t gonna happen as Massa is going to be the Championship. :D Don’t ask me how! :P
23 laps left as Vettel is back on 2nd and Alonso is on 3rd. Some problems for Fisichella as he slows down miserably and goes back to P 15. Gearbox problems say the Commentators. 2nd place Vettel pits as he leads the pack of the front runners pits. Rest to follow. Massa’s driving a perfectly Flawless Race. Seriously awesome stuff from the young Brazilian.
Massa, Alonso, Raikonnen, Hamilton and Vettel.
And 15 laps left, Rain Expected!!! Will this change the whole race?? I hope so! And Vettel is menacing behind Hamilton.
“Could rain in 10 mins, could rain in 10 mins” say Kubica’s Engineer.
12 laps left, if rain falls as expected, that gives us 5 or 6 laps of spinning and crashing (Hamilton will be one of them! :P)
“Few Spots falling down” says Alonso over the Radio to his Engineer. Awesome Stuff.
I love this! :D
Heidfeld pits and switches into Intermeds! That’s some Gamble! Aaaaaand, we have Rain.
Kimi and Alonso in the pits. Huge huge Gamble. Hamilton pits too. Vettel pits. WOW! Massa stays out, biggest Gamble ever! Massa pits. Damn! Clean as a Whistle. Massa LEADS. Ferrari is back on the Pit Strategy!!! Hamilton is in 5th. 4 laps left. Vettel is the Pivot now. On him rests the Championship! Brilliant stuff. YESSSSSS YES YESYE EYEYEYEYEYSYEHOIVHF.KG BAWEGAERG ASELK GH
Hamilton is down to 6th. THIS IS AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. Kubica does the Damage for Hamilton. Kubica just overtook both Hamilton and Vettel and in that confusion, Vettel overtakes Hamilton. This is Kubica unlapping himself remember, he is getting his revenge. Hamilton’s gotta overtake Vettel if he wants to win the title.
1 lap left, vettel still leads Hamilton, this is awesome. GO MASSA!!!! 2 corners left for Massa. He can do it. Vettel runs into some traffic, but gets past them cleanly. Massa wins the race and is seconds away from clinching the title. This is unbelievably awesome. This is Legendary.
THAT’S IT. MASSA WINS, Alonso 2nd, Raikonnen 3rd, Glock 4th, Vettel 5th and Hamilton 6th. The Championship is Massa’s. This is just brilliant. Massa WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
But wait. No. Glock slows down. Karun Chandok is the Only one who notices that. Glock slows down and I think he’s run out of fuel!!! He had last pitted on lap 36, he’s run out of FUEL! Would you believe that??? That puts Hamilton in P5 and he wins the title!! I do NOT believe this. Karun Chandok seems to be the only person in the whole world to notice this!
Massa celebrates for just 15 seconds, he thought he won the title. I thought he won the title. My bro thought he had won the title. We had just woken up the whole neighbourhood by Hooting to Glory The Whole of Brazil thought Massa had won the title. But Timo Glock, the person who had absolutely nothing to do with the championship just cost Massa the title.
My mind isn’t equipped to take this in. Massa WON and yet , he Lost. I just don’t know what to say. I mean, this is unbelievable. If anything, Massa had just raced one of the Perfectly flawless races in the History, he did everything right. He had rightly said before the race started that he would be pushing for the race win and he’ll leave the rest to fate. But I am sure that when he said “rest”, he definitely didn’t expect this to happen!
Unbelievable.
That’s the Only word that comes out of my head now.
Lewis Hamilton is the New Formula 1 World Champion.
Did he deserve it? That’s a totally different question. Did Massa deserve it? That’s a completely different question altogether. If you ask me, it was anybody’s taking. Both of them made lots of mistakes all throughout the season. Running into each other, getting penalties. If either Massa or Hamilton reflects back to the season as a whole, they’d obviously remember the last 20 secs of the Brazilian GP, but apart from that, they’d singularly be thinking of all the Mistakes and the Penalties that they could’ve so easily avoided. But that’s Racing, that’s Formula 1.
At the Press Conference, Massa says : “This is Racing. I know how to Win, I know how to Lose”
That says it all folks. One of the Best seasons Formula 1 has ever produced. I am totally famished and out of words and My Brain has just stopped working. As Steve Slater so aptly put it “Those were the best 15 seconds of Formula 1 in the past 20 years”.
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Massa or Hamilton??
Well, it's that time of the year again when the Formula 1 championship title is up for grabs. This time around it is a One on One Battle among Hamilton and Massa.
Here's how it stands. 1 race left. Brazil, Massa's home race. He's already won this race in 2006 for Ferrari and he won it the last year too, well, technically speaking, He let Kimi pass him in the last lap so that Kimi could win the Title. But this time around, Kimi is not in Contention and its just Massa against Hamilton. Massa needs to win this race, nothing else. Just the victory. And pray that luck will favour him and Hamilton finishes less than 6th place.
In my opinion, this is one of the worst seasons ever. Ferrari has never ever raced this poorly. They've won just 10 of the 17 races. But it's not the numbers I'm concerned about. They lacked quality. Pit stops are THE best forte of Ferrari. They screwed that up So many times in this season. Driver's mistakes, team mistakes, seriously disappointing. As a Ferrari fan, it's very disturbing to watch the best team perform like some 2nd grade amateurs.
But Mclaren haven't been all perfect either. I mean, as a team, their cars have been awesome, perfect set up for every race and decent pit stops. But they lack quality too. The quality it takes to be the World Champions. It's not some 20rs cake that you can buy at a bakery outside your home, its Formula 1. The Epitome of racing and if Mclaren manages to win the Constructors this time, I'd be flabbergasted.
Comparing Driver to Driver, both of them have made enough mistakes to last them a life time. Nigel Mansell once said "Each driver's allowed 1 mistake in the season if they are in pursuit of the Championship". That's so true, they are humans after all, they need to learn from their mistakes. But these 2, Massa and Hamilton have made so many mistakes, it makes me wonder how they are even in contention for the title! They crash into each other, miss braking points, get penalties, be stupid in the Pits. That's nonsensical, especially when you know you are going for the title.
If Hamilton wins the Championship, Ferrari and Massa have no body to blame other than themselves. They've raced like Amateurs and need to learn a lesson. Massa needs to handle pressure, he was fine till Michael was his team mate. The problem is exactly that. Massa isn't used to being the Number 1 of the team mates. When he was with Michael, there wasn't even a question as to who the Number 1 was. Last year, he was good, but Raikonnen was the better of the two. This year too, it started off well for Raikonnen, but half way through the season, the mantle was on Massa to go for the win. He isn't accustomed to the whole team banking on him to bring the title home, he's been happy playing second fiddle.
And if Hamilton wins indeed, he's got nothing to be proud of. Winning a Championship riding on the back of some team's faults and knowing that the way you've raced is pretty poor for a "Champion" will definitely haunt him.
Massa needs more than just luck on Sunday. He needs to make sure he grabs the Pole. Ferrari needs to make sure that Raikonnen joins him in the front row. There's nothing else they can do. Massa victory, Raikonnen 2nd for the Maximum points in Constructors'. Meanwhile, Raikonnen has to make sure that he bunches up the others well behind Massa to allow for Massa's usual mistakes. But keeping in mind Ferrari's awesome record in Sao Paulo and Mclaren's lack of one, we can safely assume that it's a Red 1 and 2 all the way.
The point is, where will Hamilton land up in all this. That's exactly why Saturday counts. If Hamilton manages to qualify in the 2nd or 3rd rows, its doubtful he'll finish less than 6th. Meanwhile, Hamilton's foolish too. No matter how calm and composed he claims to be, while driving the race, his thoughts are going to be fixed on the title and that should make room for some mistakes.
Both Massa and Hamilton Will surely make some mistake or the other. I bet my life on it. But, what matters is the effect of those mistakes.
Whatever happens, being the True Tifosi that I am, I'm hoping for the best. Ferrari 1 and 2. Massa win. And Hamilton crashing out. This could be a perfect time for Alonso to grab Ferrari's attention. If he wants to race for Ferrari, helping Massa win the Championship this time around will definitely help.
But Alonso in the same Reds as Michael? That'll be the day I stop watching F1.
Here's how it stands. 1 race left. Brazil, Massa's home race. He's already won this race in 2006 for Ferrari and he won it the last year too, well, technically speaking, He let Kimi pass him in the last lap so that Kimi could win the Title. But this time around, Kimi is not in Contention and its just Massa against Hamilton. Massa needs to win this race, nothing else. Just the victory. And pray that luck will favour him and Hamilton finishes less than 6th place.
In my opinion, this is one of the worst seasons ever. Ferrari has never ever raced this poorly. They've won just 10 of the 17 races. But it's not the numbers I'm concerned about. They lacked quality. Pit stops are THE best forte of Ferrari. They screwed that up So many times in this season. Driver's mistakes, team mistakes, seriously disappointing. As a Ferrari fan, it's very disturbing to watch the best team perform like some 2nd grade amateurs.
But Mclaren haven't been all perfect either. I mean, as a team, their cars have been awesome, perfect set up for every race and decent pit stops. But they lack quality too. The quality it takes to be the World Champions. It's not some 20rs cake that you can buy at a bakery outside your home, its Formula 1. The Epitome of racing and if Mclaren manages to win the Constructors this time, I'd be flabbergasted.
Comparing Driver to Driver, both of them have made enough mistakes to last them a life time. Nigel Mansell once said "Each driver's allowed 1 mistake in the season if they are in pursuit of the Championship". That's so true, they are humans after all, they need to learn from their mistakes. But these 2, Massa and Hamilton have made so many mistakes, it makes me wonder how they are even in contention for the title! They crash into each other, miss braking points, get penalties, be stupid in the Pits. That's nonsensical, especially when you know you are going for the title.
If Hamilton wins the Championship, Ferrari and Massa have no body to blame other than themselves. They've raced like Amateurs and need to learn a lesson. Massa needs to handle pressure, he was fine till Michael was his team mate. The problem is exactly that. Massa isn't used to being the Number 1 of the team mates. When he was with Michael, there wasn't even a question as to who the Number 1 was. Last year, he was good, but Raikonnen was the better of the two. This year too, it started off well for Raikonnen, but half way through the season, the mantle was on Massa to go for the win. He isn't accustomed to the whole team banking on him to bring the title home, he's been happy playing second fiddle.
And if Hamilton wins indeed, he's got nothing to be proud of. Winning a Championship riding on the back of some team's faults and knowing that the way you've raced is pretty poor for a "Champion" will definitely haunt him.
Massa needs more than just luck on Sunday. He needs to make sure he grabs the Pole. Ferrari needs to make sure that Raikonnen joins him in the front row. There's nothing else they can do. Massa victory, Raikonnen 2nd for the Maximum points in Constructors'. Meanwhile, Raikonnen has to make sure that he bunches up the others well behind Massa to allow for Massa's usual mistakes. But keeping in mind Ferrari's awesome record in Sao Paulo and Mclaren's lack of one, we can safely assume that it's a Red 1 and 2 all the way.
The point is, where will Hamilton land up in all this. That's exactly why Saturday counts. If Hamilton manages to qualify in the 2nd or 3rd rows, its doubtful he'll finish less than 6th. Meanwhile, Hamilton's foolish too. No matter how calm and composed he claims to be, while driving the race, his thoughts are going to be fixed on the title and that should make room for some mistakes.
Both Massa and Hamilton Will surely make some mistake or the other. I bet my life on it. But, what matters is the effect of those mistakes.
Whatever happens, being the True Tifosi that I am, I'm hoping for the best. Ferrari 1 and 2. Massa win. And Hamilton crashing out. This could be a perfect time for Alonso to grab Ferrari's attention. If he wants to race for Ferrari, helping Massa win the Championship this time around will definitely help.
But Alonso in the same Reds as Michael? That'll be the day I stop watching F1.
Monday, 27 October 2008
Sister 2.5
Yes, I have an elder sister. And she's back home now after a 4 year escape to Delhi and later to Mumbai. She's got a Job in Madras and here forever. She came here last friday and she has Changed!
The first legit things she told me:
(1am) "This time yesterday I had my First Tequila Shot, damn I miss Mumbai already!"
I didn't know how to react, that's my Sister, talking about tequila shots and she went on to describe how it is done complete with telling me that the Lemon tastes better than the tequila, thinking that I didn't know that already!
Anyways, I had noticed this when my Bro and I went to stay with her at Hong Kong for a week. She has most definitely changed. She isn't the sister I knew. Not that I knew much about her. She's now more fun and takes that mocking talking kinda accent more often, spends like crazy, teases my Dad like crazy and talks like NON STOP. Even before she left home for her PG she used to talk a lot, but that seems like ages ago and now she's got all the Office Gossip to update us with!
So, she's different. Actually speaking, my whole family's changed. Everybody's earning, except me of course. So, what I basically do is hand out everybody's wallet to them!
A scene at my place yesterday:
Me: I need some money for petrol
Mom, Dad, Bro and Sis: Take my Purse.
Me: !!!!!
The first legit things she told me:
(1am) "This time yesterday I had my First Tequila Shot, damn I miss Mumbai already!"
I didn't know how to react, that's my Sister, talking about tequila shots and she went on to describe how it is done complete with telling me that the Lemon tastes better than the tequila, thinking that I didn't know that already!
Anyways, I had noticed this when my Bro and I went to stay with her at Hong Kong for a week. She has most definitely changed. She isn't the sister I knew. Not that I knew much about her. She's now more fun and takes that mocking talking kinda accent more often, spends like crazy, teases my Dad like crazy and talks like NON STOP. Even before she left home for her PG she used to talk a lot, but that seems like ages ago and now she's got all the Office Gossip to update us with!
So, she's different. Actually speaking, my whole family's changed. Everybody's earning, except me of course. So, what I basically do is hand out everybody's wallet to them!
A scene at my place yesterday:
Me: I need some money for petrol
Mom, Dad, Bro and Sis: Take my Purse.
Me: !!!!!
Sunday, 19 October 2008
The Results of a Golti's Bday!
Today's Golti J's birthday. Well, that's one Nickname that I came up with that has stuck. Anyways, Happy Birthday Golti!!
He had just one request for his Bday. Rakesh talking to some Random Girl. The History goes like this. Rakesh is one Gutless bugger. He just can't go talk to some random chick. I am not sure if he's afraid of being turned down or its the lack of simple guts. Anyways, Golti and I have been dedicated to get him to talk to a girl, in the best interest of Rape of course! Golti came up with idea of terming it as his "Birthday Gift" just to push Rape more. Well, it worked. Kinda...
We finished our Sim Cat and came to the entrance of Stella Maris and from that time onwards, Golti and I were pushing Rape to talk to someone. He just didn't budge. We then moved to Spencer's to have some food. Eating was done, then later at Fruit Shop, Golt and I engaged in some Cell Phone fighting (ala Pen Fight) and I lost bitterly each time. After all the taunting about my apparent "malluness" and some Table Graffitti later, we walked outta the place. All this while, Golti was pushing Rape to talk to a girl. At one point of time, he even refused to move from a certain spot until Rape did the talking. I finally convinced them that Landmark would be a better spot to hit on some girl.
At Landmark happened the Comedy. Golti, Rape and I were trying hard to spot someone who was single, not with any other guy or with her parents or in a gang. That proved pretty hard actually. Finally, there was this girl who looked pretty, standing all alone reading some random book from the Discounts Section. She was our target, Rape's target to be precise.
He summoned up his guts, smelt his breath and marched towards her. I was behind another row of books, checking a book and looking at Rape and Golti was nowhere to be seen. He slowly approached her and spoke something and turned on his heels immediately and came right back to me saying "I think I just made her Day!". I was like, what the hell??
From my view it looked like this. Rape marched towards her, literally Marched towards her, tight shoulders, hands tucked to his waist. He approached her, bent a bit forward to kinda force her to notice him, lifted his hands and said something. I saw her say "Thank you" with THE Most Wierdest Smile on her face and she went back to her book, waiting for Rape to say something more actually. But when he turned his back on her and walked away, she looked at him, kinda dejected and went back to her book, slowly smiling. I still feel he had a good chance with her if he had just lingered to talk more with her.
Anyways, this was a good enough Start. Rape was thinking he had made that girl's day. But instead, he had made his day. That was something very courageous of him. He being one of the most Shyest (I know that's not even a word) persons around.
After we came outta that place, I quietly asked him what he had told her. This is what he said : "I think you should know this. You look very pretty"
*blown to pieces by his and her lameness*
He had just one request for his Bday. Rakesh talking to some Random Girl. The History goes like this. Rakesh is one Gutless bugger. He just can't go talk to some random chick. I am not sure if he's afraid of being turned down or its the lack of simple guts. Anyways, Golti and I have been dedicated to get him to talk to a girl, in the best interest of Rape of course! Golti came up with idea of terming it as his "Birthday Gift" just to push Rape more. Well, it worked. Kinda...
We finished our Sim Cat and came to the entrance of Stella Maris and from that time onwards, Golti and I were pushing Rape to talk to someone. He just didn't budge. We then moved to Spencer's to have some food. Eating was done, then later at Fruit Shop, Golt and I engaged in some Cell Phone fighting (ala Pen Fight) and I lost bitterly each time. After all the taunting about my apparent "malluness" and some Table Graffitti later, we walked outta the place. All this while, Golti was pushing Rape to talk to a girl. At one point of time, he even refused to move from a certain spot until Rape did the talking. I finally convinced them that Landmark would be a better spot to hit on some girl.
At Landmark happened the Comedy. Golti, Rape and I were trying hard to spot someone who was single, not with any other guy or with her parents or in a gang. That proved pretty hard actually. Finally, there was this girl who looked pretty, standing all alone reading some random book from the Discounts Section. She was our target, Rape's target to be precise.
He summoned up his guts, smelt his breath and marched towards her. I was behind another row of books, checking a book and looking at Rape and Golti was nowhere to be seen. He slowly approached her and spoke something and turned on his heels immediately and came right back to me saying "I think I just made her Day!". I was like, what the hell??
From my view it looked like this. Rape marched towards her, literally Marched towards her, tight shoulders, hands tucked to his waist. He approached her, bent a bit forward to kinda force her to notice him, lifted his hands and said something. I saw her say "Thank you" with THE Most Wierdest Smile on her face and she went back to her book, waiting for Rape to say something more actually. But when he turned his back on her and walked away, she looked at him, kinda dejected and went back to her book, slowly smiling. I still feel he had a good chance with her if he had just lingered to talk more with her.
Anyways, this was a good enough Start. Rape was thinking he had made that girl's day. But instead, he had made his day. That was something very courageous of him. He being one of the most Shyest (I know that's not even a word) persons around.
After we came outta that place, I quietly asked him what he had told her. This is what he said : "I think you should know this. You look very pretty"
*blown to pieces by his and her lameness*
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
To the Good Times...
Well, today my Model Exams started. Rape and I had this devious plan of smuggling in a Mock CAT into the hall and taking that test, but as usual, plans never work out (Esp when it is even remotely connected to me), we walked out of the hall in an hour and thanks to Golti's snap brains, we were on our way to the Beach within the next 15 mins.
And Out of the blue, the hard working brain of Golti J had this brainwave while he was driving Rape's car to the beach. He suggested hanging out at a Pub rather than looking at the same boring women at the beach. Well, the weather was brilliant, I was hyper, good Combination. We all agreed, pooled in some money, bought cigarettes and headed out to Rape's place to get more cash. But then, we didn't really have much on us. 4 people, Rape, Golti A (Adithya), Golti J and Me had a very poor total of around 600 with us. That wasn't gna be enough for a Pub.
So we changed plans once again and decided to get some Beers and camp out at Rape's awesome Terrace. Now, this terrace holds fond memories for me. More about that later. So yeah, Both the Goltis went out and bought the Booze, while I forced Rape to listen to another Beatles song. Close to an hour later, around 6ish, the 4 of us went up to the terrace, lighted up and just had a fun time. Of course, I hate beer, it sucks, So I just stuck to smoking.
Now, about Rape's Terrace. His terrace has 2 levels. One with an attached room and an Attached Bathroom! The next level is the actual terrace, complete with staircase, ladder and an overhead tank.
Getting back, As soon as they started tipping the Drinks, God Cried, or peed, whatever. It Rained.
We took shelter under the overhead tank and waited till our Bottoms got wet before we decided to head back to the bottom terrace where they all finished their drinks. After that, I bored both the Goltis with the Bunny on the Moon. Taking care to dispose the bottles carefully, we headed out to Besant, the awesome Kaiyendhi Bhavan in that area. After some good food, Rape was generous enough to drop us back in college where Golti's Bike was. I finally got back home at 830 with Golti.
So, In short, a fun evening with the college guys. The whole gang wasn't there, but I'm glad it was just 4 people. It was the perfect number. I've always wanted to do something like this. Impulsively decide on something, hang out with some friends, have a laugh and head back home. Oh, and the Rain was an added Incentive.
And Out of the blue, the hard working brain of Golti J had this brainwave while he was driving Rape's car to the beach. He suggested hanging out at a Pub rather than looking at the same boring women at the beach. Well, the weather was brilliant, I was hyper, good Combination. We all agreed, pooled in some money, bought cigarettes and headed out to Rape's place to get more cash. But then, we didn't really have much on us. 4 people, Rape, Golti A (Adithya), Golti J and Me had a very poor total of around 600 with us. That wasn't gna be enough for a Pub.
So we changed plans once again and decided to get some Beers and camp out at Rape's awesome Terrace. Now, this terrace holds fond memories for me. More about that later. So yeah, Both the Goltis went out and bought the Booze, while I forced Rape to listen to another Beatles song. Close to an hour later, around 6ish, the 4 of us went up to the terrace, lighted up and just had a fun time. Of course, I hate beer, it sucks, So I just stuck to smoking.
Now, about Rape's Terrace. His terrace has 2 levels. One with an attached room and an Attached Bathroom! The next level is the actual terrace, complete with staircase, ladder and an overhead tank.
Getting back, As soon as they started tipping the Drinks, God Cried, or peed, whatever. It Rained.
We took shelter under the overhead tank and waited till our Bottoms got wet before we decided to head back to the bottom terrace where they all finished their drinks. After that, I bored both the Goltis with the Bunny on the Moon. Taking care to dispose the bottles carefully, we headed out to Besant, the awesome Kaiyendhi Bhavan in that area. After some good food, Rape was generous enough to drop us back in college where Golti's Bike was. I finally got back home at 830 with Golti.
So, In short, a fun evening with the college guys. The whole gang wasn't there, but I'm glad it was just 4 people. It was the perfect number. I've always wanted to do something like this. Impulsively decide on something, hang out with some friends, have a laugh and head back home. Oh, and the Rain was an added Incentive.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
The Shout!
I just Shouted. It wasn't at anyone. I just shouted.
It was the Shout of Disgust, Contentment, Frustration, Happiness, Boredom, Callousness, Unsocialness, Existentialism, Fulfillment, Mourning, Depression, I-Don't-Care, Wondering what to do next and Uncanniness.
It was basically the Shout of My Life!
It was the Shout of Disgust, Contentment, Frustration, Happiness, Boredom, Callousness, Unsocialness, Existentialism, Fulfillment, Mourning, Depression, I-Don't-Care, Wondering what to do next and Uncanniness.
It was basically the Shout of My Life!
Saturday, 4 October 2008
Table Graffiti..
The tables in my class at college are very very Inviting. With existing Graffiti stating things like "I Love India", "Call 9961661681, call me" and stuff like that, It really needed some nice lines.
Rape's Contribution - "I am you and what I see is Me" (Echoes - Pink Floyd)
Oh, and mentioning rape, it's his Birthday Today (Oct 4th). Happy Birthday da bum dawg! May this year give you more guts! :P
My Contribution - "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make" (The End - The Beatles)
His gets no response. Mine gets a response right underneath saying this:
"so is the org*sm that you fake"
!!!!
Enna Koduma Saar Idhu!!!!
Rape's Contribution - "I am you and what I see is Me" (Echoes - Pink Floyd)
Oh, and mentioning rape, it's his Birthday Today (Oct 4th). Happy Birthday da bum dawg! May this year give you more guts! :P
My Contribution - "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make" (The End - The Beatles)
His gets no response. Mine gets a response right underneath saying this:
"so is the org*sm that you fake"
!!!!
Enna Koduma Saar Idhu!!!!
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Sunday, 28 September 2008
Worst Birthday...
If I am dumped by my Girlfriend after a 5 year relationship, I'd be disappointed.
If my Dad says I've disappointed him, I'd be disappointed.
But that "disappointed" is nothing compared to how I am feeling right now. I don't think anything else in the world can possibly make me more disappointed. Tomorrow is my Birthday. I'll be turning 20. The best possible gift would've been a Ferrari 1 & 2 finish in the Singapore GP. That wasn't actually being too optimistic, Massa started 1st and Kimi started 3rd. If things went normally, I would've got what I wanted. Even if Kimi had finished 3rd. But NO.
Never have I ever "wanted" something for my Birthday this Badly.
When I sat to watch the Singapore GP at 530 in the evening, I had no idea what was in store. I couldn't have possibly guessed. Not even in my wildest dreams would I have dreamt of a Ferrari no finish. Both of them. Not finishing (Massa finished, but that doesn't count. A Non-Point finish is No Finish).
It started off brilliantly, Massa was flying on 1st, Hamilton tucking in behind him and Raikonnen in 3rd, silently eating away Hamilton's lead on him. Regulation pit stop for Massa. And that's where everything went wrong. The lights which are supposed to co-ordinate with the fuel rig went off even before the mechanics pulled the fuel rig off the car. So when Massa saw the green light (indicating him to leave), he stepped on the gas pedal and he zoomed off with the fuel rig still stuck to his car. That turned out to be disastrous. Obviously. He had to wait at the end of the pit lane for his mechanics to run and come to him to take off the rig. 2-3 mins easily. Gone. That scripted the end.
I couldn't have been more disappointed. No way, atleast I thought so. Raikonnen was running strong on 5th, nearing the end of the race and then he crashed out trying to overtake a Williams. That was the epitaph. Just when I thought there couldn't have been any more disappointment, this had to happen. Now I feel like dying.
It may sound like I'm exaggerating. It's just a game you might say. But I value Formula 1 more than Cricket. To me, a Ferrari Driver winning the World Championship brings more content and happiness than India winning the World Cup. Honest. I started watching Cricket since I remember watching TV. Sachin Tendulkar is God. But Formula 1 came only in 1997. Ever since then, It has slowly eclipsed Cricket. A Pulsating F1 race is much better than a last ball victory for India against even Australia.
The technical details, the fast over-takings, the brilliant driving scenarios, the technology, the mechanical brilliance, the unforgettable duo's commentary, the fine details, the physics, the amazing driver-team relationship, the camaradarie, the awesome sweeping tracks, fast straights, picture perfect pit stops, the aggression of Michael Schumacher. All this is enough for me to last a life time.
I could die watching the Spanish Gp of 2000 again, the Belgian Gp of 1992, Schumacher's Godly driving in Brazil 2006. At the same time, I could die watching those 3 awesome innings of Sachin Tendulkar at Sharjah against Australia, that awesome match saving 98 against Pakistan during the 99 world cup, that mind boggling 243 against Australia in Sydney in 2001, which had 0 runs in the Covers area.
But to me, Formula 1 stands above Cricket. Anytime. I wouldn't mind robbing my family to go watch the Indian Gp in 2011. I am THAT crazy about F1.
So when I sat to watch the race today, I was asking God for something simple. A simple, no frills race. That would've definitely been the best ever birthday gift. Honestly. All those presents from my dear friends, sorry, this would've ranked much higher than those. But that wasn't to happen. Never have I asked for something, so blatantly. And I don't get that. Expect me to feel anything other than Disappointment??
I've discovered that when I'm morbidly disappointed, I am fickle minded like crazy.
But even after Ferrari racing like total rookies for the past 3 races, I'm still a die-hard Tifosi at heart. That will never change. Everywhere I see Red, I'm reminded of Ferrari.
My Life's Purpose is to own a Ferrari and drive it down the auto-bahns of Germany. My Life's Dream is to have "tifosi" tattooed on my body.
My Life's Achievement would be to watch every race of a Ferrari Championship winning season at the Track screaming my lungs out.
Enough Said.
If my Dad says I've disappointed him, I'd be disappointed.
But that "disappointed" is nothing compared to how I am feeling right now. I don't think anything else in the world can possibly make me more disappointed. Tomorrow is my Birthday. I'll be turning 20. The best possible gift would've been a Ferrari 1 & 2 finish in the Singapore GP. That wasn't actually being too optimistic, Massa started 1st and Kimi started 3rd. If things went normally, I would've got what I wanted. Even if Kimi had finished 3rd. But NO.
Never have I ever "wanted" something for my Birthday this Badly.
When I sat to watch the Singapore GP at 530 in the evening, I had no idea what was in store. I couldn't have possibly guessed. Not even in my wildest dreams would I have dreamt of a Ferrari no finish. Both of them. Not finishing (Massa finished, but that doesn't count. A Non-Point finish is No Finish).
It started off brilliantly, Massa was flying on 1st, Hamilton tucking in behind him and Raikonnen in 3rd, silently eating away Hamilton's lead on him. Regulation pit stop for Massa. And that's where everything went wrong. The lights which are supposed to co-ordinate with the fuel rig went off even before the mechanics pulled the fuel rig off the car. So when Massa saw the green light (indicating him to leave), he stepped on the gas pedal and he zoomed off with the fuel rig still stuck to his car. That turned out to be disastrous. Obviously. He had to wait at the end of the pit lane for his mechanics to run and come to him to take off the rig. 2-3 mins easily. Gone. That scripted the end.
I couldn't have been more disappointed. No way, atleast I thought so. Raikonnen was running strong on 5th, nearing the end of the race and then he crashed out trying to overtake a Williams. That was the epitaph. Just when I thought there couldn't have been any more disappointment, this had to happen. Now I feel like dying.
It may sound like I'm exaggerating. It's just a game you might say. But I value Formula 1 more than Cricket. To me, a Ferrari Driver winning the World Championship brings more content and happiness than India winning the World Cup. Honest. I started watching Cricket since I remember watching TV. Sachin Tendulkar is God. But Formula 1 came only in 1997. Ever since then, It has slowly eclipsed Cricket. A Pulsating F1 race is much better than a last ball victory for India against even Australia.
The technical details, the fast over-takings, the brilliant driving scenarios, the technology, the mechanical brilliance, the unforgettable duo's commentary, the fine details, the physics, the amazing driver-team relationship, the camaradarie, the awesome sweeping tracks, fast straights, picture perfect pit stops, the aggression of Michael Schumacher. All this is enough for me to last a life time.
I could die watching the Spanish Gp of 2000 again, the Belgian Gp of 1992, Schumacher's Godly driving in Brazil 2006. At the same time, I could die watching those 3 awesome innings of Sachin Tendulkar at Sharjah against Australia, that awesome match saving 98 against Pakistan during the 99 world cup, that mind boggling 243 against Australia in Sydney in 2001, which had 0 runs in the Covers area.
But to me, Formula 1 stands above Cricket. Anytime. I wouldn't mind robbing my family to go watch the Indian Gp in 2011. I am THAT crazy about F1.
So when I sat to watch the race today, I was asking God for something simple. A simple, no frills race. That would've definitely been the best ever birthday gift. Honestly. All those presents from my dear friends, sorry, this would've ranked much higher than those. But that wasn't to happen. Never have I asked for something, so blatantly. And I don't get that. Expect me to feel anything other than Disappointment??
I've discovered that when I'm morbidly disappointed, I am fickle minded like crazy.
But even after Ferrari racing like total rookies for the past 3 races, I'm still a die-hard Tifosi at heart. That will never change. Everywhere I see Red, I'm reminded of Ferrari.
My Life's Purpose is to own a Ferrari and drive it down the auto-bahns of Germany. My Life's Dream is to have "tifosi" tattooed on my body.
My Life's Achievement would be to watch every race of a Ferrari Championship winning season at the Track screaming my lungs out.
Enough Said.
Friday, 26 September 2008
Monday, 22 September 2008
People around me...
Well, I just realized, on a more conscious level, that there is just SO much to learn just by studying people around you.
There's this guy in college. He's got 15 arrear papers, paid close to 7k for CA Classes but attended less than 5, paid another 19k for CAT classes but attended less than 10 there. But yet, he looks happy. If I ask him if he's genuinely happy, surprisingly, he says yes. He is genuinely happy about how his life is going. He's got a girl friend, good set of friends and all he does is enjoy life a lot. I so envy him. Here I am, cramming my mind with mindless formulae for the CAT, leading a social life that is more stale than a rat on the streets, limited friends, and obviously I am not happy, complaining about everything, reeling under a bloody monotony, ever edgy, bursting at the wrong moments and to the wrong people. Why can't I be like that guy?
Closer, even at home. My Mom. She's got the same crummy old bank job for the past 30 years. She's not even tired of the job. 30 Years! It's the atmosphere that's got to her off late. Bugging bosses apparently. But when she gets outta office and gets back home, she complains, yes, but as soon as her ranting session for the day is done, she gets back to her normal monotony of cooking and eating and the usual stuff. I wonder what keeps her going. I complain, but I don't want to keep doing the same thing. I mean, it's too immature to say that, but come on. I want a change. I deserve a change. Why can't I be like my mom?
At my CAT class, there's this English Prof. Female prof. When I look at her, all I see is how Independent she is. Independent, smart and someone who has control over her life (atleast she looks like that). And that is so awesome. She must be around 40 or something and she's got her life by the scruff of her neck.
I can draw so much from each of these people, but what do I do? Sit on my lazy ass and complain about how life sucks and how I didn't get a fair deal. Someone KICK me!
There's this guy in college. He's got 15 arrear papers, paid close to 7k for CA Classes but attended less than 5, paid another 19k for CAT classes but attended less than 10 there. But yet, he looks happy. If I ask him if he's genuinely happy, surprisingly, he says yes. He is genuinely happy about how his life is going. He's got a girl friend, good set of friends and all he does is enjoy life a lot. I so envy him. Here I am, cramming my mind with mindless formulae for the CAT, leading a social life that is more stale than a rat on the streets, limited friends, and obviously I am not happy, complaining about everything, reeling under a bloody monotony, ever edgy, bursting at the wrong moments and to the wrong people. Why can't I be like that guy?
Closer, even at home. My Mom. She's got the same crummy old bank job for the past 30 years. She's not even tired of the job. 30 Years! It's the atmosphere that's got to her off late. Bugging bosses apparently. But when she gets outta office and gets back home, she complains, yes, but as soon as her ranting session for the day is done, she gets back to her normal monotony of cooking and eating and the usual stuff. I wonder what keeps her going. I complain, but I don't want to keep doing the same thing. I mean, it's too immature to say that, but come on. I want a change. I deserve a change. Why can't I be like my mom?
At my CAT class, there's this English Prof. Female prof. When I look at her, all I see is how Independent she is. Independent, smart and someone who has control over her life (atleast she looks like that). And that is so awesome. She must be around 40 or something and she's got her life by the scruff of her neck.
I can draw so much from each of these people, but what do I do? Sit on my lazy ass and complain about how life sucks and how I didn't get a fair deal. Someone KICK me!
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Well?
Well, ever since Rape sent me that sms saying Richard Wright died, I've been wondering if there's a separate heaven up there for the Talented ones. Like you know, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, George Harrison, Syd Barret, Richard Wright, Duane and Greg Allman, Kurt Kobain, Jason Newstead, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Chopin and their likes.
Obviously, these are people who are some of God's Most Talented Kids, he sure wouldn't want them to live amidst screaming fans and stuff even in heaven, so I Do think there is a separate Heaven for these people. Or I want it to be. Well, I guess I'll know only when I die. Or would I?
This isn't a tribute post for Richard Wright, He isn't dead yet, he still lives, in Millions of radio sets across the world and billions of CDs. And more Importantly, Billions of Hearts.
It's even more sad that he died, cuz I read somewhere that Nick Mason said that Pink Floyd might do a reunion gig for a Charity sometime in December at London. I sincerely hope they carry on, it can couple up as a Memorial Concert too.
Obviously, these are people who are some of God's Most Talented Kids, he sure wouldn't want them to live amidst screaming fans and stuff even in heaven, so I Do think there is a separate Heaven for these people. Or I want it to be. Well, I guess I'll know only when I die. Or would I?
This isn't a tribute post for Richard Wright, He isn't dead yet, he still lives, in Millions of radio sets across the world and billions of CDs. And more Importantly, Billions of Hearts.
It's even more sad that he died, cuz I read somewhere that Nick Mason said that Pink Floyd might do a reunion gig for a Charity sometime in December at London. I sincerely hope they carry on, it can couple up as a Memorial Concert too.
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Is it even worth it?
Is it even worth comparing Lewis Hamilton with Michael Schumacher?
Well, let me break it down for you. Any Formula 1 fan would say Michael is the best, irrespective of them being his fan or not. Even if you're born Australian and follow Cricket, you'd still agree Sachin is the best. It's something similar. Hate his arrogance, his bull-shitting when it comes to being beaten, but you gotta hand it to Schumi. He undoubtedly is one of the best there ever was/will be.
Let me tell you why. Schumi made his debut in a pretty popular Jordan team back in 1991. That was the year of Ayrton Senna's finest. He produced some mind-blowing drives which hasn't been bettered by anyone yet. Well, when the season moved on to 1992, Schumi won his first ever race at Belgium's Spa Francorchamps. Senna commented saying Michael is a "Prodigy" waiting to happen. Well, he was right but he wasn't alive to see it happen. Senna sadly died in a tragic Imola GP in 1994. That was the year when MIchael won his first of his Championship titles. Again in 1995, he won his 2nd Consecutive title with the Benetton Racing team.
In 1996, Michael made the "Most Stupidest Move" ever according to Damon Hill, who eventually won the Championship Title in 1996. Michael moved from a perfectly dominating team to a mid-level lost Ferrari. Ferrari had had its dominant years, but that was in the 80s. So when Michael moved there, he was in a hapless team resting on its past glories. Well, he did the unthinkable. Just in his 2nd season with Ferrari, in 1997, Michael was competing with Jacques Villeneuve for the Title once again. Well, to be frank, Michael pulled a Senna there. Senna in 88, had deliberately crashed into Alain Prost to prevent him from winning the title, both the drivers were disqualified, thus handing the title to Senna. That was aggression at its best. But when Michael did the same to Villeneuve, FIA had learnt its lesson and it disqualified only Michael handing the title to Villeneuve.
2 years of denial again but those 2 years brought out the best of MSC. His competition with Mika Hakinnen resulted in a Classic Rivalry to the likes of Senna and Prost. Hakinnen beat him both the times, though in 1999, Michael crashed in Silverstone and didn't race for the rest of the season. But in 2000, MSC came back with vengeance in his blood and speed in his car. He won the Championship, that title was long overdue and he proved it with complete dominance for 5 continous seasons. 2000-2004 was the best of Ferrari, technically brilliant. An easy 2 seconds faster than any other team on any track. In 2001, Schumi dominated so much, that just to stop him from being successful, the FIA changed the whole points scheme. 51 years of GP History was changed just for one man. It's like saying "Sachin will get only 2 runs for hitting over the ropes"!! Yet, Schumi went on to win 4 more.
Let's get to Hamilton now. He's inexperienced, but young and restless at the same time. But get this, he came in to McLaren in his first ever season. McLaren weren't at their best, but they sure were pretty good. He's skilled, agreed. But he is too agitated and over zealous. He doesn't know how to handle fame. He's young and it'll take some time for him to come to terms with being a successful F1 driver.
I am fed up with people comparing him with Schumi. He had a freaking brilliant car in his debut season for Christ's sake. He's got skill, I ain't denying it. I'm not saying he got lucky with his driving either. He rode on the back of an awesome car and his talent to get where he is right now. But that doesn't mean you can compare him with one of the Sport's greatest. It's like saying, "Yay, Suresh Raina's got 1000 runs in ODIs in his debut season, so he is as good as Ganguly"!!! Nonsense isn't it?
But today, at the Italian GP, better known as Monza for us Tifosis (who are pure breed ferrari fans btw), when I saw Hamilton race, I was reminded of MSC. Well, I'm not saying he's as good as MSC. He can never be, No one can be. But the way he overtook everyone in his path. It was pouring like crazy there and the rooster tails made it Impossible to judge the overtaking manoeuvres. But the way he overtook everybody, the way he made them give him their position, not take it from them. This is very important in F1. Overtaking says a lot about a Driver's skills. MSC is great at it, he is extremely aggressive, brakes when the Corner is almost over, locks his wheels, but still ends up overtaking the other person. He closes the door when someone tries to overtake him, shifts from the Inside line to the Outside line as easily as licking an Ice Cream. He isn't someone who gives away his Position that easily. One's gotta be as good as MSC himself, if not better, to overtake him successfully. Hamilton showed shades of that aggression today. He was able to close the lines and deny the other driver an opportunity to get back his position.
This was awesome indeed, the way he made his way from 15th to 7th by the end of the race. His overtaking methods remind me of MSC, nostalgia, nothing else. Whenever he overtakes someone, I imagine how easily MSC would've done that.
Well, in short, Hamilton is talented, agreed, no denying. But it's just WAY too early to compare him with Schumacher. If, probably, he goes on to win this year's title (which isn't happening by the way, mark my words, this is Massa's season), or probably the next one, then we may start talking about it.
Well, let me break it down for you. Any Formula 1 fan would say Michael is the best, irrespective of them being his fan or not. Even if you're born Australian and follow Cricket, you'd still agree Sachin is the best. It's something similar. Hate his arrogance, his bull-shitting when it comes to being beaten, but you gotta hand it to Schumi. He undoubtedly is one of the best there ever was/will be.
Let me tell you why. Schumi made his debut in a pretty popular Jordan team back in 1991. That was the year of Ayrton Senna's finest. He produced some mind-blowing drives which hasn't been bettered by anyone yet. Well, when the season moved on to 1992, Schumi won his first ever race at Belgium's Spa Francorchamps. Senna commented saying Michael is a "Prodigy" waiting to happen. Well, he was right but he wasn't alive to see it happen. Senna sadly died in a tragic Imola GP in 1994. That was the year when MIchael won his first of his Championship titles. Again in 1995, he won his 2nd Consecutive title with the Benetton Racing team.
In 1996, Michael made the "Most Stupidest Move" ever according to Damon Hill, who eventually won the Championship Title in 1996. Michael moved from a perfectly dominating team to a mid-level lost Ferrari. Ferrari had had its dominant years, but that was in the 80s. So when Michael moved there, he was in a hapless team resting on its past glories. Well, he did the unthinkable. Just in his 2nd season with Ferrari, in 1997, Michael was competing with Jacques Villeneuve for the Title once again. Well, to be frank, Michael pulled a Senna there. Senna in 88, had deliberately crashed into Alain Prost to prevent him from winning the title, both the drivers were disqualified, thus handing the title to Senna. That was aggression at its best. But when Michael did the same to Villeneuve, FIA had learnt its lesson and it disqualified only Michael handing the title to Villeneuve.
2 years of denial again but those 2 years brought out the best of MSC. His competition with Mika Hakinnen resulted in a Classic Rivalry to the likes of Senna and Prost. Hakinnen beat him both the times, though in 1999, Michael crashed in Silverstone and didn't race for the rest of the season. But in 2000, MSC came back with vengeance in his blood and speed in his car. He won the Championship, that title was long overdue and he proved it with complete dominance for 5 continous seasons. 2000-2004 was the best of Ferrari, technically brilliant. An easy 2 seconds faster than any other team on any track. In 2001, Schumi dominated so much, that just to stop him from being successful, the FIA changed the whole points scheme. 51 years of GP History was changed just for one man. It's like saying "Sachin will get only 2 runs for hitting over the ropes"!! Yet, Schumi went on to win 4 more.
Let's get to Hamilton now. He's inexperienced, but young and restless at the same time. But get this, he came in to McLaren in his first ever season. McLaren weren't at their best, but they sure were pretty good. He's skilled, agreed. But he is too agitated and over zealous. He doesn't know how to handle fame. He's young and it'll take some time for him to come to terms with being a successful F1 driver.
I am fed up with people comparing him with Schumi. He had a freaking brilliant car in his debut season for Christ's sake. He's got skill, I ain't denying it. I'm not saying he got lucky with his driving either. He rode on the back of an awesome car and his talent to get where he is right now. But that doesn't mean you can compare him with one of the Sport's greatest. It's like saying, "Yay, Suresh Raina's got 1000 runs in ODIs in his debut season, so he is as good as Ganguly"!!! Nonsense isn't it?
But today, at the Italian GP, better known as Monza for us Tifosis (who are pure breed ferrari fans btw), when I saw Hamilton race, I was reminded of MSC. Well, I'm not saying he's as good as MSC. He can never be, No one can be. But the way he overtook everyone in his path. It was pouring like crazy there and the rooster tails made it Impossible to judge the overtaking manoeuvres. But the way he overtook everybody, the way he made them give him their position, not take it from them. This is very important in F1. Overtaking says a lot about a Driver's skills. MSC is great at it, he is extremely aggressive, brakes when the Corner is almost over, locks his wheels, but still ends up overtaking the other person. He closes the door when someone tries to overtake him, shifts from the Inside line to the Outside line as easily as licking an Ice Cream. He isn't someone who gives away his Position that easily. One's gotta be as good as MSC himself, if not better, to overtake him successfully. Hamilton showed shades of that aggression today. He was able to close the lines and deny the other driver an opportunity to get back his position.
This was awesome indeed, the way he made his way from 15th to 7th by the end of the race. His overtaking methods remind me of MSC, nostalgia, nothing else. Whenever he overtakes someone, I imagine how easily MSC would've done that.
Well, in short, Hamilton is talented, agreed, no denying. But it's just WAY too early to compare him with Schumacher. If, probably, he goes on to win this year's title (which isn't happening by the way, mark my words, this is Massa's season), or probably the next one, then we may start talking about it.
Saturday, 6 September 2008
Sunday, 31 August 2008
A Rat's reason to want a Time Machine...
There was once this small rat. A very self-centered, non-expectant rat who was leading his own desolate life. No one to give him company, no one to listen to him or no one he could go to when he was feeling sad/happy/disappointed/content/gleeful etc. Then suddenly, this big Daddu kinda rat moved into the next hole. He was this very friendly, overtly extroverted rat who wanted to be friends with every other rat. And once Daddu laid his eyes on our small rat, he immediately wanted to befriend him.
What he didn't realize was that this was new for our small rat. Small rat was totally opposite when compared to Daddu. Small Rat was introverted, shy and unfriendly to strangers. But yet, small rat was not closed to Daddu. He would still entertain him whenever he dropped by and would listen to him talk and talk and blah even more. It's not like he hated him, but there was something in Daddu that prevented small rat from kicking him out of him hole. Not knowing what to do, small rat chose to try and actually befriend Daddu. When he started to look at the issue in this way, it proved easier to move along with Daddu and he was pretty happy to spend time with Daddu, doing very un-small-rat-ish things.
Days, probably weeks, probably years passed by and Daddu and Small Rat were inseparable. And suddenly, just when small rat thought everything was going well in his life, there came about another rat. This rat was similar to Daddu but was different at the same time. Not as extroverted, but still extroverted, not as humourous, but still humourous. Small rat was surprised to find himself attracted to this female rat with such vigour that he couldn't prevent himself from talking to female rat as often as he could. But at the same time, small rat was taking enough effort to keep this female rat from Daddu. Daddu never even knew female rat existed.
Small rat was not sure of what he was doing. He was still brothers in spirit with Daddu, but he had to come up with some excuse or the other in order to spend time with female rat. He felt like he was betraying Daddu, he didn't know what to do. He was not sure what he was doing, he was not sure if he was doing justice to his friendship with Daddu and he started to wonder if he should tell Daddu. But what if he didn't understand? What if he took it the wrong way and stopped interacting with small rat? Could Small rat take it? Was female rat worth all this in the first place?
Small Rat felt like slapping himself everytime these questions came to his mind... But he couldn't put it any other way... He wanted to get out the trap that he had created for himself... He wanted to be that desolate, unknown creature all over again... Even though he hated it then, he missed it after all the happenings... He could appreciate the freedom he had then... He wanted that care-free times back... But at the same moment, he realized that there was nothing that he could possibly do to get back to that phase in his life which he so yearned for... Retrospectively...
What he didn't realize was that this was new for our small rat. Small rat was totally opposite when compared to Daddu. Small Rat was introverted, shy and unfriendly to strangers. But yet, small rat was not closed to Daddu. He would still entertain him whenever he dropped by and would listen to him talk and talk and blah even more. It's not like he hated him, but there was something in Daddu that prevented small rat from kicking him out of him hole. Not knowing what to do, small rat chose to try and actually befriend Daddu. When he started to look at the issue in this way, it proved easier to move along with Daddu and he was pretty happy to spend time with Daddu, doing very un-small-rat-ish things.
Days, probably weeks, probably years passed by and Daddu and Small Rat were inseparable. And suddenly, just when small rat thought everything was going well in his life, there came about another rat. This rat was similar to Daddu but was different at the same time. Not as extroverted, but still extroverted, not as humourous, but still humourous. Small rat was surprised to find himself attracted to this female rat with such vigour that he couldn't prevent himself from talking to female rat as often as he could. But at the same time, small rat was taking enough effort to keep this female rat from Daddu. Daddu never even knew female rat existed.
Small rat was not sure of what he was doing. He was still brothers in spirit with Daddu, but he had to come up with some excuse or the other in order to spend time with female rat. He felt like he was betraying Daddu, he didn't know what to do. He was not sure what he was doing, he was not sure if he was doing justice to his friendship with Daddu and he started to wonder if he should tell Daddu. But what if he didn't understand? What if he took it the wrong way and stopped interacting with small rat? Could Small rat take it? Was female rat worth all this in the first place?
Small Rat felt like slapping himself everytime these questions came to his mind... But he couldn't put it any other way... He wanted to get out the trap that he had created for himself... He wanted to be that desolate, unknown creature all over again... Even though he hated it then, he missed it after all the happenings... He could appreciate the freedom he had then... He wanted that care-free times back... But at the same moment, he realized that there was nothing that he could possibly do to get back to that phase in his life which he so yearned for... Retrospectively...
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Thursday, 21 August 2008
It's like they know me!
The last time I went into Seasons was for Ocean's Thirteen and it was a freaking Hot Usual Madras Day. From the Moment I went in, I didn't want to get out. The Air Con was just perfectly set and It felt like they knew I was getting in from a very Hot place. By the time I got out, I was shivering.
And today, when I entered in there for Dark Knight (finally!!), the Air Con was perfect again. Now, the difference was, I have a cold. A freaking troublesome one too, so when I say perfect, the Air Con wasn't too hot to make me feel my body heat and it was not cold enough for me to pull my sleeves down either. I was feeling perfectly comfortable in there for the whole 2hrs and 45 mins.
And this is normal to me now. Satyam has been "under construction" ever since the first time I went there and I guess it's not really gonna change!
And today, when I entered in there for Dark Knight (finally!!), the Air Con was perfect again. Now, the difference was, I have a cold. A freaking troublesome one too, so when I say perfect, the Air Con wasn't too hot to make me feel my body heat and it was not cold enough for me to pull my sleeves down either. I was feeling perfectly comfortable in there for the whole 2hrs and 45 mins.
And this is normal to me now. Satyam has been "under construction" ever since the first time I went there and I guess it's not really gonna change!
Thursday, 7 August 2008
Title this... Somebody!
Ever experienced a Pain that has made you want to shoot yourself just to get rid of it?
Ever experienced a Joy that has made you want to shoot yourself just so that you can Freeze it?
Ever experienced a moment in which you've undergone both the above mentioned?
Let me rephrase
Ever experienced a Joy that has made you want to shoot yourself just so that you can Freeze it?
Let me rephrase
Ever experienced a moment in which you've undergone both the above mentioned?
Monday, 28 July 2008
The Dog with an Attitude!
Golti and I were coming back home on his bike from college after leaving at 530 itself. While treading our usual route, there was this Dog, not a puppy, lets say an Adoloscent which was lying in the Middle of G.N.Chetty Road, right opposite the Gurudwara.
It was not moving, but it was alive. Both of us thought it was hurt and that we should move it to the platform. Golti halted the Bike, I walked to the middle of the road and lifted the Dog by it's neck, like lifting a Cat (which has become second nature to me) and it didn't resist at all. Happily Obliged.
As soon as I placed it on the Platform, it yawned and walked a few paces, curled up and Slept off...
Conned.. By an Adoloscent dog...
It was not moving, but it was alive. Both of us thought it was hurt and that we should move it to the platform. Golti halted the Bike, I walked to the middle of the road and lifted the Dog by it's neck, like lifting a Cat (which has become second nature to me) and it didn't resist at all. Happily Obliged.
As soon as I placed it on the Platform, it yawned and walked a few paces, curled up and Slept off...
Conned.. By an Adoloscent dog...
Sunday, 20 July 2008
My Grand Ma...
My Grandma passed away this friday. My Mom's mother. She was 73. She was a bit Schizophrenic and thankfully didn't suffer much when it happened.
She was a Grandmother I never had. She was barely able to recognize anyone other than her 3 daughters. Her recognizing range was just about 10 people and that didn't include me. I had to introduce myself to her everytime I visited her.
It's one thing not to have a Grandmother at all, its totally another thing to have a Grandmother who sits with you and narrates stories and advices you and things. But it's a different thing altogether to have a Grandmother who can't even recognise you. It aches. I hear my friends tell me tales about their Grandmas, I see Grandmas of my friends and it aches. My dad's mom died when I was in the 3rd Grade. Didn't know much of her either. Both my Grand dads died when my parents were young themselves. So I've never had Grand Parents at all.
It was pretty difficult for me to see my Mom all teary eyed. I almost burst out myself. Grandma was kinda not talking to anyone and bed ridden for the past 10 years, but it obviously affects my mom that her Mom is no more...
I was just talking to my mom about grandma and my mom told me that she drinks her Milk hours after it's kept out for her. She wants it to be absolutely cold and not hot at all. That's how I drink mine!
I wonder if I would've been a different person if my Grand Parents were there for me when I was growing up.
I hope her soul rests in Peace, she was a good Mother, my Mom turned out alright. She must have been a nice person, I'm sure. I was just unlucky not to know her at all.
She was a Grandmother I never had. She was barely able to recognize anyone other than her 3 daughters. Her recognizing range was just about 10 people and that didn't include me. I had to introduce myself to her everytime I visited her.
It's one thing not to have a Grandmother at all, its totally another thing to have a Grandmother who sits with you and narrates stories and advices you and things. But it's a different thing altogether to have a Grandmother who can't even recognise you. It aches. I hear my friends tell me tales about their Grandmas, I see Grandmas of my friends and it aches. My dad's mom died when I was in the 3rd Grade. Didn't know much of her either. Both my Grand dads died when my parents were young themselves. So I've never had Grand Parents at all.
It was pretty difficult for me to see my Mom all teary eyed. I almost burst out myself. Grandma was kinda not talking to anyone and bed ridden for the past 10 years, but it obviously affects my mom that her Mom is no more...
I was just talking to my mom about grandma and my mom told me that she drinks her Milk hours after it's kept out for her. She wants it to be absolutely cold and not hot at all. That's how I drink mine!
I wonder if I would've been a different person if my Grand Parents were there for me when I was growing up.
I hope her soul rests in Peace, she was a good Mother, my Mom turned out alright. She must have been a nice person, I'm sure. I was just unlucky not to know her at all.
Friday, 18 July 2008
I've Lost It!
It 's been 2 years since I played for my School at Kalpakkam for the Regional Level Badminton Meet. The experience I gained there as a player is immeasurable. I probably played alongside some of the best talent among students of my batch and I won against some. It was a pleasure actually.
Compare that experience with what happened on Monday. Selections for the College Badminton team started at 930. I had given away my racket to one of my friends from school and never got it back. So I thought I should get one before I go to college. Trust me, I searched for a Sports Shop at 9 in the morning starting from Kodambakkam right till Santhome covering Alwarpet, Mylapore and Mandaveli, as my luck would have it, none of them were open!!
So I went in to college, not knowing what to do, the Only Person who had come to the Badminton Selections without a Racket to play with. Thankfully, some kind souls lent me one and I practiced a few shots after 2 1/2 years. After waiting anxiously for an hour, the man called my name and I was supposed to be playing against one of my class mates.
It couldn't have been more Pathetic. He was a decent player, could've defeated him easily when I was in school. But now, I had lost all my moves, all my thinking abilities, my strategies weren't working, the Cock was badly damaged (No Replacement until the 2nd round of selections, 30 matches with the same Cock!!) and I didn't have my racket. I had borrowed a Yonex from one of my friends, it was a brilliant piece, but the Chemistry just wasn't there.
A Racket with which you play isn't just something you use to hit the cock to the other end. It is an extension of your arm, you must feel it like your own piece of flesh and blood and bones and use it with utmost ease. The racket I used in School was a Silver's which I had bought with my own money. It was heavy by many standards, the grip was poor and the guts were a bit weak. But it was MY own. Whenever I lifted it, I knew I could whack a few shots with it. It was powerful and most importantly, it felt freaking good to play with it. But today wasn't that kinda day where I had luck. So i lost bad, 2-9 to be precise.
Humiliating! :(
Compare that experience with what happened on Monday. Selections for the College Badminton team started at 930. I had given away my racket to one of my friends from school and never got it back. So I thought I should get one before I go to college. Trust me, I searched for a Sports Shop at 9 in the morning starting from Kodambakkam right till Santhome covering Alwarpet, Mylapore and Mandaveli, as my luck would have it, none of them were open!!
So I went in to college, not knowing what to do, the Only Person who had come to the Badminton Selections without a Racket to play with. Thankfully, some kind souls lent me one and I practiced a few shots after 2 1/2 years. After waiting anxiously for an hour, the man called my name and I was supposed to be playing against one of my class mates.
It couldn't have been more Pathetic. He was a decent player, could've defeated him easily when I was in school. But now, I had lost all my moves, all my thinking abilities, my strategies weren't working, the Cock was badly damaged (No Replacement until the 2nd round of selections, 30 matches with the same Cock!!) and I didn't have my racket. I had borrowed a Yonex from one of my friends, it was a brilliant piece, but the Chemistry just wasn't there.
A Racket with which you play isn't just something you use to hit the cock to the other end. It is an extension of your arm, you must feel it like your own piece of flesh and blood and bones and use it with utmost ease. The racket I used in School was a Silver's which I had bought with my own money. It was heavy by many standards, the grip was poor and the guts were a bit weak. But it was MY own. Whenever I lifted it, I knew I could whack a few shots with it. It was powerful and most importantly, it felt freaking good to play with it. But today wasn't that kinda day where I had luck. So i lost bad, 2-9 to be precise.
Humiliating! :(
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Irritant No 3
On my list of things that Irritate me, People arguing without understanding what the opposite party says completes the podium.
When two people argue without realising that they both are talking about the same thing, it's not only hilarious, but quite irritating. They tend to increase their volumes when they stress on something and this I hate.
My Bro is one of the worst when it comes to this. He will have 1 point, just that one and keep on repeating the SAME thing again and again and again and again.. and in order to make this clear to everyone in the room, he will increase his volume Proportionally with frequent hand swings and power grunts.
It gets even more irritating when the other person is my Dad. He is someone who just Has to keep his volume up and not much of an arguer.
So tonight was one of those times when I had to walk out of the room when there was an "Important" family decision to be made. Heck, they both were saying the same things with different words. If they weren't wise enough to realise that, there really isn't any use being in the same room is there?!
When two people argue without realising that they both are talking about the same thing, it's not only hilarious, but quite irritating. They tend to increase their volumes when they stress on something and this I hate.
My Bro is one of the worst when it comes to this. He will have 1 point, just that one and keep on repeating the SAME thing again and again and again and again.. and in order to make this clear to everyone in the room, he will increase his volume Proportionally with frequent hand swings and power grunts.
It gets even more irritating when the other person is my Dad. He is someone who just Has to keep his volume up and not much of an arguer.
So tonight was one of those times when I had to walk out of the room when there was an "Important" family decision to be made. Heck, they both were saying the same things with different words. If they weren't wise enough to realise that, there really isn't any use being in the same room is there?!
Saturday, 12 July 2008
#143
"So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin
You're waiting for someone to perform with
And don't you know that it's just you, hey Jude, you'll do
The movement you need is on your shoulder"
...
You're waiting for someone to perform with
And don't you know that it's just you, hey Jude, you'll do
The movement you need is on your shoulder"
...
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Dad re-discovering his roots!
My Dad's a Mallu. He was born in Kerala and his whole family shifted to Madras (Lloyd's road to be specific) sometime in the late 60s. Since he spent most of his Childhood in Kerala, he kinda knows Malayalam.
Usually, his TV time-table was pretty monotonous. News at 7,730,8,9,930 pm every night. Thanks to him, the rest of our family has the same schedule kinda imposed upon us. But off late, the 930 news slot has been sacrificed for a couple of serials, 2 serials concerning "Krishna/Guruvayoorappan" to be precise. Now these two are aired on Surya TV and Asianet at the same time. Kinda like some 2 high profile serials being aired at the same time on Sun TV and Jaya TV.
Now, what my dad does is pretty tickling. He sees one of the serials, waits for the break in that and watches the other one till there's a break in that and so on. This may not be new for the serial Serial Watchers, but he adds his own Mallu Touch to this.
Deviating a bit, I learnt some basic French at school and whenever I watch a French movie, I am able to pick up 1 word in each sentence.
My Dad, similarly, seems to have forgotten his Malayalam (Constant Exposure to Madras Tamil can do that I am told) and picks up a single word from each sentence. This can get pretty irritating when he picks it up, says it, translates it to Tamil and waits for the next word. Accompanied by frequent "tsk tsks" and Singing along with Jesudas, who sings the title track for both serials, this habit has started to get on my nerves.
But what the heck? If he can derive pleasure from doing this, if he can keep himself happy for that 1/2 hr, who cares? Why would I want to break his Happy Little Bubble?? Sigh, My Dad!!!
Usually, his TV time-table was pretty monotonous. News at 7,730,8,9,930 pm every night. Thanks to him, the rest of our family has the same schedule kinda imposed upon us. But off late, the 930 news slot has been sacrificed for a couple of serials, 2 serials concerning "Krishna/Guruvayoorappan" to be precise. Now these two are aired on Surya TV and Asianet at the same time. Kinda like some 2 high profile serials being aired at the same time on Sun TV and Jaya TV.
Now, what my dad does is pretty tickling. He sees one of the serials, waits for the break in that and watches the other one till there's a break in that and so on. This may not be new for the serial Serial Watchers, but he adds his own Mallu Touch to this.
Deviating a bit, I learnt some basic French at school and whenever I watch a French movie, I am able to pick up 1 word in each sentence.
My Dad, similarly, seems to have forgotten his Malayalam (Constant Exposure to Madras Tamil can do that I am told) and picks up a single word from each sentence. This can get pretty irritating when he picks it up, says it, translates it to Tamil and waits for the next word. Accompanied by frequent "tsk tsks" and Singing along with Jesudas, who sings the title track for both serials, this habit has started to get on my nerves.
But what the heck? If he can derive pleasure from doing this, if he can keep himself happy for that 1/2 hr, who cares? Why would I want to break his Happy Little Bubble?? Sigh, My Dad!!!
Monday, 30 June 2008
#141
Your Mind's Guaranteed
It's all you ever need
So what do you want with me?
- She has Funny Cars by Jefferson Airplane
It's all you ever need
So what do you want with me?
- She has Funny Cars by Jefferson Airplane
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
It's a freakishly Small World!
Back to Blogging after a hiatus. Vacation was pretty good. After losing my Camera and almost being deported back home, I'm back in one piece, atleast physically. The Guilt is absolutely killing me.
Anyways, this Sunday I had to attend my Cousin's Engagement. After being appointed the Photographer for the evening, just as I was shooting the arrival of the Groom's parents, my bro spotted Maams.
Maams aka Dheeraj has been my classmate since 8th std, for 3 whole years. He's this guy from South Africa who knows a lot about everything! And he's one of THE loudest laughers I've come across. GS and Maams compete for that title . He's been part of "the gang" for a while and he's sema funny.
Bro: What's Dheeraj doing here?
Me: huh?
Bro: Has he come to the temple?
Me: LMAO, him and temples???
Bro: Then he must be headed here!
Me: Now that's wierd...
After finally concluding that he Was infact headed for the Engagement, I shouted out...
Me: Dei, Maams, what on earth are you doing here?
( A Couple of his relatives turn around to see me all normal. Did that short boy just shout out "Maams"??)
Maams: Dei, Van. The guy is my Aunt's son and don't call me Maams.
Me: Yeah, realised. The Girl is my Uncle's daughter!
Maams: Wokay, this is romba wierd. We are relatives now.
Me: Ada, dog. Yeah!!!
Amidst this conversation, I obviously missed the All Important Arrival of the Parents, but what the Heck!
And throughout the function, I had to call him Dheeraj, which is quite wierd for me after 7 years of Maams!!!
Anyways, this Sunday I had to attend my Cousin's Engagement. After being appointed the Photographer for the evening, just as I was shooting the arrival of the Groom's parents, my bro spotted Maams.
Maams aka Dheeraj has been my classmate since 8th std, for 3 whole years. He's this guy from South Africa who knows a lot about everything! And he's one of THE loudest laughers I've come across. GS and Maams compete for that title . He's been part of "the gang" for a while and he's sema funny.
Bro: What's Dheeraj doing here?
Me: huh?
Bro: Has he come to the temple?
Me: LMAO, him and temples???
Bro: Then he must be headed here!
Me: Now that's wierd...
After finally concluding that he Was infact headed for the Engagement, I shouted out...
Me: Dei, Maams, what on earth are you doing here?
( A Couple of his relatives turn around to see me all normal. Did that short boy just shout out "Maams"??)
Maams: Dei, Van. The guy is my Aunt's son and don't call me Maams.
Me: Yeah, realised. The Girl is my Uncle's daughter!
Maams: Wokay, this is romba wierd. We are relatives now.
Me: Ada, dog. Yeah!!!
Amidst this conversation, I obviously missed the All Important Arrival of the Parents, but what the Heck!
And throughout the function, I had to call him Dheeraj, which is quite wierd for me after 7 years of Maams!!!
Thursday, 19 June 2008
Shit Happens!
Ever felt like you want to savour every moment of what is going to happen, it happens and you barely have a feeling that it happened? And you feel Extremely Disconnected and Lost and Pathetically Hopeless?
That's where I am right now...
That's where I am right now...
Friday, 6 June 2008
Vacation!
You know you're all excited about a trip when there's nothing else running in your mind other than the small things you have to pack. The Drafts in your cell phone is filled with small reminders to pack a few stuff. There's an alarm set to remind you to view the reminders. And you know you are getting on the nerves of your Dad, who's freakishly tensed when it comes to packing and has absolutely no confidence in you when it comes to finding a terminal in an Airport, when he asks you if you've packed your Tooth Brush and you tell him Can't I buy a new one there? You know you are totally relaxed about the trip when a person asks you to bring an empty suitcase, just to fill it up with stuff that you can buy!
My brother and I are off to Hong Kong to spend a 12 day vacation with my sister. Yes, Sibling Bondings at it's best. Whilst my Bro is a bit tensed since he gets to take care of the Passport and the Ticks and stuff, I can't be more relaxed. All I have to do is keep him sane, which isn't a big deal since He barely bothers about the surroundings, and keep myself sane, which might be difficult.
I'm leaving today at 1130 and returning on the 17th. A short trip which I hope to cherish. I'm planning to maintain a small travelouge ala Motorcyle Diaries. I don't intend to learn Life's lessons in this trip, but lets see what it can teach me. Very Very excited about the prospects of totally freaking out in the absence of both my parents. :D
My brother and I are off to Hong Kong to spend a 12 day vacation with my sister. Yes, Sibling Bondings at it's best. Whilst my Bro is a bit tensed since he gets to take care of the Passport and the Ticks and stuff, I can't be more relaxed. All I have to do is keep him sane, which isn't a big deal since He barely bothers about the surroundings, and keep myself sane, which might be difficult.
I'm leaving today at 1130 and returning on the 17th. A short trip which I hope to cherish. I'm planning to maintain a small travelouge ala Motorcyle Diaries. I don't intend to learn Life's lessons in this trip, but lets see what it can teach me. Very Very excited about the prospects of totally freaking out in the absence of both my parents. :D
Monday, 2 June 2008
Beatles Night Aftermath!
As a Hardcore Beatles fan, I really was expecting a bad concert. Technically speaking, the Beatles probably had the simplest of music to reproduce, they didn't have all the present technologies, they freaking recorded their songs on 4 track machines (that's when the Song has just 4 layers of Music, say Vocals, backing vocals, drums and the guitars). Only in their last 2 or 3 albums did they move to 8 track machines and this is nothing compared to what the Musicians have today. And I agree that I'm a pessimistic Perfectionist, if I come to know that something I love is going to be reproduced, I want it to sound exactly the same. I was prepared to drop this principle for that Beatles Concert that happened on 31st.
It was awfully, depressingly, boringly, badly and amateurishly orchestrated. Don't even get me started on the Singing, except for one guy and another dude on Crutches, the Vocals basically Sucked. There were GIRLS singing some of the famous songs. GIRLS!!!! Nothing against girls, I love listening to women singing, but this was really bad. I mean, The Beatles are famous for their voices and the simplicity of their songs and these people had girls singing, guitar solos that went on longer than the Song. THIS IS FREAKING BEATLES. It wasn't supposed to be a Metal Concert but that's what it sounded like.
Some of the Audience got really frustrated and started shouting stuff like "You Suck!", "Please DONT play Strawberry Fields Forever" (That was me).
And what the hell was an American Accent doing on stage! The Beatles are freaking British!!! You dumb Idiots. To be Frank with you, it sounded like a rendition of the Beatles by people working in an Indian Call Center...
It ended with "Hey Jude", which is more of a Crowd song, so it went ok. Even though the show was entirely forgettable, here are some of the stuff that I just can't digest...
* Girls Singing
* The Accent
* I wanna hold your hand was sang by a Girl like it was a Testament to some retired soldiers. *Sigh*
* The Guitar on Blackbird was really good, sticking to the Original, but the Girl singing it...
* They didn't play "Yellow Submarine" or "Ticket to Ride" in spite of SO many requests
And the Article by DC woke me up sharply this morning. I mildly remember reading "a Success" "crowd favourites were played" *&%^^$&$#%$
It was awfully, depressingly, boringly, badly and amateurishly orchestrated. Don't even get me started on the Singing, except for one guy and another dude on Crutches, the Vocals basically Sucked. There were GIRLS singing some of the famous songs. GIRLS!!!! Nothing against girls, I love listening to women singing, but this was really bad. I mean, The Beatles are famous for their voices and the simplicity of their songs and these people had girls singing, guitar solos that went on longer than the Song. THIS IS FREAKING BEATLES. It wasn't supposed to be a Metal Concert but that's what it sounded like.
Some of the Audience got really frustrated and started shouting stuff like "You Suck!", "Please DONT play Strawberry Fields Forever" (That was me).
And what the hell was an American Accent doing on stage! The Beatles are freaking British!!! You dumb Idiots. To be Frank with you, it sounded like a rendition of the Beatles by people working in an Indian Call Center...
It ended with "Hey Jude", which is more of a Crowd song, so it went ok. Even though the show was entirely forgettable, here are some of the stuff that I just can't digest...
* Girls Singing
* The Accent
* I wanna hold your hand was sang by a Girl like it was a Testament to some retired soldiers. *Sigh*
* The Guitar on Blackbird was really good, sticking to the Original, but the Girl singing it...
* They didn't play "Yellow Submarine" or "Ticket to Ride" in spite of SO many requests
And the Article by DC woke me up sharply this morning. I mildly remember reading "a Success" "crowd favourites were played" *&%^^$&$#%$
Sunday, 1 June 2008
#136
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Thursday, 29 May 2008
Beatles Night!
There'll be No Head Banging, No Mosh Piting and definitely no Screaming at the top of their voices onto the mics.
Yes, finally there's going to be a whole night dedicated to the Beatles. There's this concert being held by the Rolling Stones Magazine (Which the Beatles as the Greatest Artists of All Time) and the Band Association of Chennai at the YMCA, Nandanam on 31st of May.
This is huge. There are posters everywhere and tickets are being sold like crazy. I'm there. Obviously. Despite the Chennai Super Kings' semi-final on the 31st, I'm there.
When it comes to Cricket or The Beatles, with me, there's no question At all..
The only problem is, I'm terribly excited and terribly scared. I can't bare to watch a bad performance of a song from the Beatles. That would leave me depressed for ages. But at the same time, I'm not keeping my hopes very high either. Let's hope it goes well.
And on a totally different note, I was browsing thru the Rolling Stones Magazine's website when I found this List of top 100 songs of 2006. Not surprisingly, I've heard just 7 of those 100. That just proves my lack of Contemporary music knowledge.
Anyways, see you at the Beatles Night, tickets are available at Landmark priced at Rs.100. That's a 100 rupees well spent. Definitely!
Yes, finally there's going to be a whole night dedicated to the Beatles. There's this concert being held by the Rolling Stones Magazine (Which the Beatles as the Greatest Artists of All Time) and the Band Association of Chennai at the YMCA, Nandanam on 31st of May.
This is huge. There are posters everywhere and tickets are being sold like crazy. I'm there. Obviously. Despite the Chennai Super Kings' semi-final on the 31st, I'm there.
When it comes to Cricket or The Beatles, with me, there's no question At all..
The only problem is, I'm terribly excited and terribly scared. I can't bare to watch a bad performance of a song from the Beatles. That would leave me depressed for ages. But at the same time, I'm not keeping my hopes very high either. Let's hope it goes well.
And on a totally different note, I was browsing thru the Rolling Stones Magazine's website when I found this List of top 100 songs of 2006. Not surprisingly, I've heard just 7 of those 100. That just proves my lack of Contemporary music knowledge.
Anyways, see you at the Beatles Night, tickets are available at Landmark priced at Rs.100. That's a 100 rupees well spent. Definitely!
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Crash! Bang! Rain! News and Frustration!!
It was an awesome start to the Monaco Grand Prix. Raining like crazy and crashes and stops all over. Frequent place shifts and amazing pit stop speed. An amazing dream-run for Force India running in 4th. Behing Mclaren, BMW and Ferrari. Vijay Mallya must've fainted.
Just when I thought a Ferrari 3, 5 was ok as long as 4th was Force India's, My dad as usual steps in, grabs the remote and changes to Sun TV. Apparently, the same news that he saw in the 130 telecast is waaaay more important than the Race I was watching. I swear by God that it was the same news. You know how those things work, make different news readers read the same stuff and successfully fool people into believing that its fresh news.
I don't know who to pity more. Raikonnen crashed into the 4th running Force India car at the Chicane out of the tunnel and they both went way back. Raikonnen had to pit and change his front nose and Sutil (The Force India Driver) retired. Raikonnen finished 9th and out of the points and Sutil retired.
Obviously, I pity my poor life. I had to watch this on Live Timing and commentary from some unknown fellow, when my dad was happily watching the same old "news".
I feel SO frustrated that I feel like Ripping off a few heads. I HATE MY LIFE!!!!! If not being able to watch a program that's been telecast once in 2 weeks in peace, why the hell should I like what's going on?????
Just when I thought a Ferrari 3, 5 was ok as long as 4th was Force India's, My dad as usual steps in, grabs the remote and changes to Sun TV. Apparently, the same news that he saw in the 130 telecast is waaaay more important than the Race I was watching. I swear by God that it was the same news. You know how those things work, make different news readers read the same stuff and successfully fool people into believing that its fresh news.
I don't know who to pity more. Raikonnen crashed into the 4th running Force India car at the Chicane out of the tunnel and they both went way back. Raikonnen had to pit and change his front nose and Sutil (The Force India Driver) retired. Raikonnen finished 9th and out of the points and Sutil retired.
Obviously, I pity my poor life. I had to watch this on Live Timing and commentary from some unknown fellow, when my dad was happily watching the same old "news".
I feel SO frustrated that I feel like Ripping off a few heads. I HATE MY LIFE!!!!! If not being able to watch a program that's been telecast once in 2 weeks in peace, why the hell should I like what's going on?????
Monday, 19 May 2008
Scaring People with an Advert!
You would've definitely seen that Insurance Company Advert where the woman goes around the Home screaming "sanju..sanju". That ad from the Max New York Life Insurance company is a brilliant case study.
What's so special about this ad? Well, for one, its got just 2 people. It doesn't have any animations and it doesn't show an Old Man with glasses! What it shows is something negative. It potrays the wife to be scared, shocked and surprised. This is something new cuz most of the ads for Insurance companies we've seen so far shows someone dreaming about some danger or something like that. But this ad is negative deep down.
And funnily, in this Sadistic world, Negativity sells. Max New York's business has trebled since the ad's been telecast. The prime time slot on one of the most watched channels (Set Max during IPL matches) definitely helps.
What's so special about this ad? Well, for one, its got just 2 people. It doesn't have any animations and it doesn't show an Old Man with glasses! What it shows is something negative. It potrays the wife to be scared, shocked and surprised. This is something new cuz most of the ads for Insurance companies we've seen so far shows someone dreaming about some danger or something like that. But this ad is negative deep down.
And funnily, in this Sadistic world, Negativity sells. Max New York's business has trebled since the ad's been telecast. The prime time slot on one of the most watched channels (Set Max during IPL matches) definitely helps.
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Bro the Clown!
Being the Geek my Brother is, he started working for a Networking Company while he's waiting for his MS Admissions to arrive.
First day of work, goes to office wearing a Half-Sleeve Shirt, Ironed Pants and Sports Shoes!!! LMAO!!!
First day of work, goes to office wearing a Half-Sleeve Shirt, Ironed Pants and Sports Shoes!!! LMAO!!!
Monday, 12 May 2008
Sunday, 11 May 2008
Spoiling the Fun, Dad Style...
You know how Dad's can Spoil your fun? Well, my Dad just spoiled the thing I was looking forward to for the past 4 years!
I've been wanting to watch a Formula 1 Race at home ever since the CAS was introduced and Star Sports became a Pay Channel. Well, thanks to my sister, Set Top Box was installed at home and I was really excited about the Turkish Grand Prix which is going on as I type this. I watched the Qualifying last evening and it was all set for an amazing race. Woke up this morning, wondering how awesome it would be to enjoy a Ferrari Victory sitting in the Comforts of Home. Waited a long while from the time I woke up till around 515 in the evening when the race was all set to start. The men were on the Grid. Warm up lap over and everything was perfectly lined up for the 5 lights to go off.
Enter DAD (Villain of the Piece)
Him: Change the channel, I want to watch the match, last 2 overs.
Me: Just a minute, I'll watch the start and the first lap, it'll take just 2 minutes (It really will, the lap takes around a 1min 30 secs, from standstill, around 2 mins)
Him: Formula 1 is crap, stupid guys sutthi sutthi coming around the same track. Boring. Keep Cricket.
Me: I will, just gimme 2 mins.
Him: NO! Change NOW.
Not wanting to spoil my moment of fun, I changed the channel and Immediately a Wicket fell. I waited for the replay to be shown and Immediately switched back to F1.
Him: How dare you? Keep Cricket itself. I don't want to watch Formula 1.
Me: A wicket fell, You saw the Replay, they'll put ads now and I'll change back to that after the ads.
Him: NO. KEEP CRICKET NOW.
I lost it, banged the remote on the coffee table, threw a few choice words at my dad and stormed out of the room.
4 years of wait, gone in a poof. Dads must Have their way. ALWAYS.
All that talk about "we are working for your future, your happiness..." is Total Crap. Take it from a Disgruntled Teenager.
I've been wanting to watch a Formula 1 Race at home ever since the CAS was introduced and Star Sports became a Pay Channel. Well, thanks to my sister, Set Top Box was installed at home and I was really excited about the Turkish Grand Prix which is going on as I type this. I watched the Qualifying last evening and it was all set for an amazing race. Woke up this morning, wondering how awesome it would be to enjoy a Ferrari Victory sitting in the Comforts of Home. Waited a long while from the time I woke up till around 515 in the evening when the race was all set to start. The men were on the Grid. Warm up lap over and everything was perfectly lined up for the 5 lights to go off.
Enter DAD (Villain of the Piece)
Him: Change the channel, I want to watch the match, last 2 overs.
Me: Just a minute, I'll watch the start and the first lap, it'll take just 2 minutes (It really will, the lap takes around a 1min 30 secs, from standstill, around 2 mins)
Him: Formula 1 is crap, stupid guys sutthi sutthi coming around the same track. Boring. Keep Cricket.
Me: I will, just gimme 2 mins.
Him: NO! Change NOW.
Not wanting to spoil my moment of fun, I changed the channel and Immediately a Wicket fell. I waited for the replay to be shown and Immediately switched back to F1.
Him: How dare you? Keep Cricket itself. I don't want to watch Formula 1.
Me: A wicket fell, You saw the Replay, they'll put ads now and I'll change back to that after the ads.
Him: NO. KEEP CRICKET NOW.
I lost it, banged the remote on the coffee table, threw a few choice words at my dad and stormed out of the room.
4 years of wait, gone in a poof. Dads must Have their way. ALWAYS.
All that talk about "we are working for your future, your happiness..." is Total Crap. Take it from a Disgruntled Teenager.
Friday, 9 May 2008
How My Potato Wedges almost became Plastic Potato Wedges!
It was day before yesterday that this debacle happened. I was really hungry at around 5 in the evening and could find nothing in the Fridge worth eating. I thought that if I could get something from the nearby Supermarket, I could prepare something quickly and have a good eat. But I really couldn't find anything interesting other than those frozen foods. I thought French fries would be a serious waste of money when I found these Potato Wedges.
"Delicious Wedges with a Sprinkling of herbs" Easy to make were the words I was looking for and sure enough, they were printed in huge bold red letters.
I got back home and sat to read the Instructions on it. "Pre-heat oven to 230C...". I had never done something like that on the Oven and was rather scared. I knew following the Instructions to the tee would result in a pretty bad tasting dish, so I pre-heated it to 200C and it said "12 minutes, turn around the wedges and 8 more minutes". Going by my lack of Culinary expertise, I baked it at 200C for around 10 minutes. Here's where It all went wrong.
I really couldn't spend 10 minutes staring at the rotating "Microwave Oven safe" plastic vessel that came along with our oven. So I just rushed to take a shower. Soon as I got back and got dressed, the timer said 30 seconds remaining, everything looked fine. The wedges seemed to be brown and looked crisp. Just when it reached the 20 seconds mark, there was a slight tap kinda sound, figuring this would be nothing, I was just walking around in the Kitchen when I smelt a rather Plasticky smell. I just took a glance at the Oven and there was 10 seconds remaining, the Vessel had bent out of shape and looked as if it was ready to melt away.
I definitely didn't want this to happen. Things happened in quite a rush. I turned the timer off, opened the door to leave the Kitchen smelling wholly of Plastic. I put on the glove and pulled out the vessel hastily, while I did this in a hurry, the vessel touched the side-wall of the Oven and it just stuck on there. I tried pulling it, but it left a thin long plastic thread from the side-wall to the vessel. Cutting it with a Knife, I took out the vessel and it felt a bit wobbly. I placed it on the counter, took out the wedges and washed the vessel immediately. BAD MISTAKE. Ever seen those perfectly shaped Kites, imagine how the shape would change if the Centre Wood piece broke in two, that's exactly how it my vessel was. The water made it hard and now it sits on just 2 ends, ever-wobbly.
Thanks to my Presence of mind (??!!), I was able to change the shape of a perfectly melting vessel. But I guess if I had let it carry on for those remaining 10 seconds, it would've definitely been Yellow Plastic Potato Wedges!!!
Oh and for those concerned souls, I did manage to eat some of the Wedges, not the partly done ones, the remaining looked good to be fried in oil. :)
"Delicious Wedges with a Sprinkling of herbs" Easy to make were the words I was looking for and sure enough, they were printed in huge bold red letters.
I got back home and sat to read the Instructions on it. "Pre-heat oven to 230C...". I had never done something like that on the Oven and was rather scared. I knew following the Instructions to the tee would result in a pretty bad tasting dish, so I pre-heated it to 200C and it said "12 minutes, turn around the wedges and 8 more minutes". Going by my lack of Culinary expertise, I baked it at 200C for around 10 minutes. Here's where It all went wrong.
I really couldn't spend 10 minutes staring at the rotating "Microwave Oven safe" plastic vessel that came along with our oven. So I just rushed to take a shower. Soon as I got back and got dressed, the timer said 30 seconds remaining, everything looked fine. The wedges seemed to be brown and looked crisp. Just when it reached the 20 seconds mark, there was a slight tap kinda sound, figuring this would be nothing, I was just walking around in the Kitchen when I smelt a rather Plasticky smell. I just took a glance at the Oven and there was 10 seconds remaining, the Vessel had bent out of shape and looked as if it was ready to melt away.
I definitely didn't want this to happen. Things happened in quite a rush. I turned the timer off, opened the door to leave the Kitchen smelling wholly of Plastic. I put on the glove and pulled out the vessel hastily, while I did this in a hurry, the vessel touched the side-wall of the Oven and it just stuck on there. I tried pulling it, but it left a thin long plastic thread from the side-wall to the vessel. Cutting it with a Knife, I took out the vessel and it felt a bit wobbly. I placed it on the counter, took out the wedges and washed the vessel immediately. BAD MISTAKE. Ever seen those perfectly shaped Kites, imagine how the shape would change if the Centre Wood piece broke in two, that's exactly how it my vessel was. The water made it hard and now it sits on just 2 ends, ever-wobbly.
Thanks to my Presence of mind (??!!), I was able to change the shape of a perfectly melting vessel. But I guess if I had let it carry on for those remaining 10 seconds, it would've definitely been Yellow Plastic Potato Wedges!!!
Oh and for those concerned souls, I did manage to eat some of the Wedges, not the partly done ones, the remaining looked good to be fried in oil. :)
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Things that have Happened...with me, without me!
A long break from Blogging thanks to my wretched exams. Those things are finally over and I'm now in the 3rd and final year of college. I still can't believe that I made it through this far! I've always seen myself as this small short boy who just refuses to grow (may be because of the people around me) and there are still people who treat me like I'm 5. That's fun, all the pampering is kinda nice as long as it doesn't get to your head and for me it has.
Anyways, Here are some of the things that have happened, some are of my doing, some of them not even close to me...
* Exams over, 3rd year now.
* Went to a Class mate's Sister's wedding reception which took place in Velachery. Man that place is FAR away. I never realized that Chennai was this big. There are a lot of places in Chennai that I haven't seen/visited. I feel ashamed...
* CAT preparations came to a grinding halt when Sem Exams started. Now to continue with those...
* Some of my College friends and I are planning a Bike Trip to Yelagiri. The weather's supposed to be awesome there and the Bike Trip will help me lose a bit of the tension that's been building up in my head, thanks to numerous things.
* My bro's done with his College. 4 Years of gruelling struggle at SSN college and he's done with it. The worst part is, his Project got delayed and so his MS Admissions are getting a bit delayed too. Meanwhile, my dad wants him to work, understandable, the thing is that, My dad wants him to join work from this Monday!! I was shocked, why can't he be let free for a while. I was telling my dad that It'd be better if he joined from the 1st of June and surprisingly, My bro says he's got No Problems going to work on Monday. Crazy Bugger!
* As CAT is steadily approaching, my dreams of Enrolling myself into a Drums Class and resume Karate Classes seems to be pretty far fetched...
* Narain Karthikeyan winning the final A1 GP was an amazing achievement. 3rd season in and we're 10th out of 20 teams in the final tally. Brilliant progress seeing that we managed to get No points in the 1st season!
* Formula 1's moved to the Europe and this season promises another Thrilling Season. Ferrari dominating the points tally! Awesome.
On a totally different note, My sister's coming home for a few days. I gotta go pick her up from the Airport in the Morning since my parents are in Bangalore attending some wedding. Excited... And I just realized that it's 1230 am and her flight lands at 645 here. I gotta get some sleep!
Anyways, Here are some of the things that have happened, some are of my doing, some of them not even close to me...
* Exams over, 3rd year now.
* Went to a Class mate's Sister's wedding reception which took place in Velachery. Man that place is FAR away. I never realized that Chennai was this big. There are a lot of places in Chennai that I haven't seen/visited. I feel ashamed...
* CAT preparations came to a grinding halt when Sem Exams started. Now to continue with those...
* Some of my College friends and I are planning a Bike Trip to Yelagiri. The weather's supposed to be awesome there and the Bike Trip will help me lose a bit of the tension that's been building up in my head, thanks to numerous things.
* My bro's done with his College. 4 Years of gruelling struggle at SSN college and he's done with it. The worst part is, his Project got delayed and so his MS Admissions are getting a bit delayed too. Meanwhile, my dad wants him to work, understandable, the thing is that, My dad wants him to join work from this Monday!! I was shocked, why can't he be let free for a while. I was telling my dad that It'd be better if he joined from the 1st of June and surprisingly, My bro says he's got No Problems going to work on Monday. Crazy Bugger!
* As CAT is steadily approaching, my dreams of Enrolling myself into a Drums Class and resume Karate Classes seems to be pretty far fetched...
* Narain Karthikeyan winning the final A1 GP was an amazing achievement. 3rd season in and we're 10th out of 20 teams in the final tally. Brilliant progress seeing that we managed to get No points in the 1st season!
* Formula 1's moved to the Europe and this season promises another Thrilling Season. Ferrari dominating the points tally! Awesome.
On a totally different note, My sister's coming home for a few days. I gotta go pick her up from the Airport in the Morning since my parents are in Bangalore attending some wedding. Excited... And I just realized that it's 1230 am and her flight lands at 645 here. I gotta get some sleep!
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Match # 1 CSK Vs MI
Day 1 of the IPL action in Chennai and I was hesitant to actually go to the match as Sem exams just started today!
Here's the pic, I was gorging on freshly made Ghee Roast at Bakya's when Rakesh called:
Him: Dude, I've got tickets for the match, coming?
Me: Er...
Him: Varaya illiya? (Are you coming or not?)-I actually dunno why I translate into English, I wonder if anybody even reads my blog!
Me: Yeah, ok. Count me in.
5 Mins later
Him: Dude, make sure You are they by 7pm.
Me: Yeah ok man. And how much should I pay?
Him: It's Pavillion Terrace, 4000 bucks, you gonna pay??
Me: he he, ok man. See you there!
Elated that I was gonna watch the match in such High Funda seats, I borrowed my friend's bike and made it back home and reached there by 710. As usual, he was late and he finally reached there at around 730. After numerous checks, we were finally shown our seats. I wanted to make a Blog Post out of the match and so typed a few messages and stored them in my Draft, here they are:
* Ok, match just started. Brilliant hitting by Hayden and Parthiv.
* Parthiv out, Hussey enters, a few shots and he's gone!
* Everybody in the Pavillion Terrace is stunned, not because of the wicket but because Simran Just Entered! She JUST Passed me, brushed past my knees, bliss! (cheap or whatever, its Simran and I get cheap there!)
* Raina Enters, 11 overs up
* Hayden and Raina hit half centuries. Hayden's playing some awesome shots. He Actually Reverse Sweeped Pollock! Wow!
* They're playing the Cliched "We will rock you". Oh wait, Freddie Mercury has some connection to Chennai! Good Thinking...
* Simran news again. Rakesh just said he's now got something to keep him happy and occupied for the night!!!
* Hayden's out! Standing ovation. Awesome Innings. Oram comes in. Last Over
* Dhoni hits a 6 and the DJ plays "Madurai Veeran thaaney". Good timing. Orey the situation songs!
* 209 to win for them. Lets see if they can do it. If Jayasuriya gets going, they sure can.
* Jayasuriya walks in. With another unknown guy. Wronki I'm told, Aussie.
* Simran's left. HUGE Disappointment! :(((((
* Jaysuriya out. Brilliant bowling. Pollock comes in, lets see what He can do. Last of the recognised big hitters actually.
* Good Batting from Pollock and Uthappa. Good Bowling by Goni!
* It's wonderful to listen to the Ball hitting the Middle of the bat even amidst the crowd noises. Whoever said Cricket is not beautiful. These sounds definitely are!
* Uthappa walks out. Bowled. Brilliant Bowling. "Cup la name a podu" quips in Rakesh. "Whenever there's a bowling change, a wicket falls, good captaincy" says his dad. Good thinking.
* Sachin (GOD) not playing. Kinda good in a way, cuz there would be supporting issues then. :-| But I wanna see him bat!!!
* Worstu bowling by Murali, numerous wides even before his actual over. City groom flopping.
* Brilliant catch by Oram to send Bravo back! Awesome stuff
* 79 from 5 overs. Sounds Impossible
* Murali finally takes a wicket.
* Awesome Drumming by Sivamani!!!
* 62 from 4 overs. Muahahahahahaaahhh!
* Bhajji hurt, play resumes 10 mins later.
* 41 from 3 overs. Hmmmmm....
* If they can manage a 20 run over, it can be really close. But they're running outta quality batsmen.
* 2 Continous 6s from Murali's over. Bajji taking it close. 29 from 2 overs. Very close.
* Bajji making it happen here. Murali's bad bowling helps him. 20 from 8 balls.
* Murali pathetically dodging bajji. Now, bajji retaliates. Wait, is this a trick from Murali? He got him out the very next ball he actually bowled. Awesome stuff. Mind games. Who said T20 is just bam boosh whissh???
* 19 from last over. Still possible. Jog Sharma bowling. This is real Close. 4-4-1 (No ball) Free hit. This is NOT good. 9 required. Yorker as a free hit ball, no run from that. 9 from 3 balls. 2 shots can do it. Nehra on strike and just a single. 8 from 2. Still achievable. No run of the penultimate ball. WE WINN!!!!!! Win by 6 runs. That was bloody close!
While coming back home in the borrowed vehicle, I was just cruising along the beach road at 30kmph, enjoying the beach by night, and the brilliantly illuminated Beach Road. Took a right to Radhakrishnan Salai and again a smooth road. Bike was pretty nice. Enjoyed the city by night. Never seen the Gemini Junction THAT empty!!! I almost reached my home, it took me almost 30 mins at 30kmph. It was awesome. But then, I was like "what the hell? Let's break loose!". Went past my home, and reached an empty road. Came to a standstill and decided to touch 100kmph! :D
Reached it twice, starting from 0. Once in the 100 feet road, from the Senthil Towers signal till the Ashok Nagar Signal. Had to stop to take the turn. Bike was awesome. Apache RTR 160. Very smooth gear shifts and the balance was impeccable. Ride position was comfortable, the revs were easy to reach and the Digital Speedometer definitely helps at high speed. Took a left turn at the signal to reach the Ashok Nagar main road. Broke loose all over again, went past a usually trafficed signal at a 110kmph. Touched 115 kmph at one point. That was the maximum cuz I ran outta road. And I had to actually crouch in the bike. It was superb and the Adrenaline Jolt was cool. :D Now I know how those guys racing around the city feel like. I wna do this often, but not when the roads are crowded, I wna do it at 1am when the beggar's sleeping peacefully on the Platform and the Kaiyendhi Bhavans are shut down! :)
Here's the pic, I was gorging on freshly made Ghee Roast at Bakya's when Rakesh called:
Him: Dude, I've got tickets for the match, coming?
Me: Er...
Him: Varaya illiya? (Are you coming or not?)-I actually dunno why I translate into English, I wonder if anybody even reads my blog!
Me: Yeah, ok. Count me in.
5 Mins later
Him: Dude, make sure You are they by 7pm.
Me: Yeah ok man. And how much should I pay?
Him: It's Pavillion Terrace, 4000 bucks, you gonna pay??
Me: he he, ok man. See you there!
Elated that I was gonna watch the match in such High Funda seats, I borrowed my friend's bike and made it back home and reached there by 710. As usual, he was late and he finally reached there at around 730. After numerous checks, we were finally shown our seats. I wanted to make a Blog Post out of the match and so typed a few messages and stored them in my Draft, here they are:
* Ok, match just started. Brilliant hitting by Hayden and Parthiv.
* Parthiv out, Hussey enters, a few shots and he's gone!
* Everybody in the Pavillion Terrace is stunned, not because of the wicket but because Simran Just Entered! She JUST Passed me, brushed past my knees, bliss! (cheap or whatever, its Simran and I get cheap there!)
* Raina Enters, 11 overs up
* Hayden and Raina hit half centuries. Hayden's playing some awesome shots. He Actually Reverse Sweeped Pollock! Wow!
* They're playing the Cliched "We will rock you". Oh wait, Freddie Mercury has some connection to Chennai! Good Thinking...
* Simran news again. Rakesh just said he's now got something to keep him happy and occupied for the night!!!
* Hayden's out! Standing ovation. Awesome Innings. Oram comes in. Last Over
* Dhoni hits a 6 and the DJ plays "Madurai Veeran thaaney". Good timing. Orey the situation songs!
* 209 to win for them. Lets see if they can do it. If Jayasuriya gets going, they sure can.
* Jayasuriya walks in. With another unknown guy. Wronki I'm told, Aussie.
* Simran's left. HUGE Disappointment! :(((((
* Jaysuriya out. Brilliant bowling. Pollock comes in, lets see what He can do. Last of the recognised big hitters actually.
* Good Batting from Pollock and Uthappa. Good Bowling by Goni!
* It's wonderful to listen to the Ball hitting the Middle of the bat even amidst the crowd noises. Whoever said Cricket is not beautiful. These sounds definitely are!
* Uthappa walks out. Bowled. Brilliant Bowling. "Cup la name a podu" quips in Rakesh. "Whenever there's a bowling change, a wicket falls, good captaincy" says his dad. Good thinking.
* Sachin (GOD) not playing. Kinda good in a way, cuz there would be supporting issues then. :-| But I wanna see him bat!!!
* Worstu bowling by Murali, numerous wides even before his actual over. City groom flopping.
* Brilliant catch by Oram to send Bravo back! Awesome stuff
* 79 from 5 overs. Sounds Impossible
* Murali finally takes a wicket.
* Awesome Drumming by Sivamani!!!
* 62 from 4 overs. Muahahahahahaaahhh!
* Bhajji hurt, play resumes 10 mins later.
* 41 from 3 overs. Hmmmmm....
* If they can manage a 20 run over, it can be really close. But they're running outta quality batsmen.
* 2 Continous 6s from Murali's over. Bajji taking it close. 29 from 2 overs. Very close.
* Bajji making it happen here. Murali's bad bowling helps him. 20 from 8 balls.
* Murali pathetically dodging bajji. Now, bajji retaliates. Wait, is this a trick from Murali? He got him out the very next ball he actually bowled. Awesome stuff. Mind games. Who said T20 is just bam boosh whissh???
* 19 from last over. Still possible. Jog Sharma bowling. This is real Close. 4-4-1 (No ball) Free hit. This is NOT good. 9 required. Yorker as a free hit ball, no run from that. 9 from 3 balls. 2 shots can do it. Nehra on strike and just a single. 8 from 2. Still achievable. No run of the penultimate ball. WE WINN!!!!!! Win by 6 runs. That was bloody close!
While coming back home in the borrowed vehicle, I was just cruising along the beach road at 30kmph, enjoying the beach by night, and the brilliantly illuminated Beach Road. Took a right to Radhakrishnan Salai and again a smooth road. Bike was pretty nice. Enjoyed the city by night. Never seen the Gemini Junction THAT empty!!! I almost reached my home, it took me almost 30 mins at 30kmph. It was awesome. But then, I was like "what the hell? Let's break loose!". Went past my home, and reached an empty road. Came to a standstill and decided to touch 100kmph! :D
Reached it twice, starting from 0. Once in the 100 feet road, from the Senthil Towers signal till the Ashok Nagar Signal. Had to stop to take the turn. Bike was awesome. Apache RTR 160. Very smooth gear shifts and the balance was impeccable. Ride position was comfortable, the revs were easy to reach and the Digital Speedometer definitely helps at high speed. Took a left turn at the signal to reach the Ashok Nagar main road. Broke loose all over again, went past a usually trafficed signal at a 110kmph. Touched 115 kmph at one point. That was the maximum cuz I ran outta road. And I had to actually crouch in the bike. It was superb and the Adrenaline Jolt was cool. :D Now I know how those guys racing around the city feel like. I wna do this often, but not when the roads are crowded, I wna do it at 1am when the beggar's sleeping peacefully on the Platform and the Kaiyendhi Bhavans are shut down! :)
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Almost Arrear!
This is a tale about how I Almost got an Arrear in my Computer Exam!
Something in my mind was telling me that the exam was from 4-7 in the evening. I worked out some math last night and slept by around 1 am. I woke up to attend Nature's call, thanks to a dream, at 830am and checked my cell before hitting the bed again. There was a sms from one of my friends (who has been detained and will write the exams for the next sem) wishing Luck and all. I was like "why on earth is he wishing me at 8 in the morn for an exam that starts at 4 in the eve??". Just to be sure, I checked my hall ticket and there it was, written in badly printed Computer Sheet, smudged "10am - 1pm"!!!! All hell broke loose at home as I took bath in a hurry and rushed out to coll!.
Erm, for those who are interested as to what the dream might be: It was a dream about a couple of Monkeys relieving themselves from the top of a tree on humans below. That was the cause for the Nature's Call, which in turn saved my day! So there, Thanks to my brain for dreaming about Peeing Monkeys!!! :P
Something in my mind was telling me that the exam was from 4-7 in the evening. I worked out some math last night and slept by around 1 am. I woke up to attend Nature's call, thanks to a dream, at 830am and checked my cell before hitting the bed again. There was a sms from one of my friends (who has been detained and will write the exams for the next sem) wishing Luck and all. I was like "why on earth is he wishing me at 8 in the morn for an exam that starts at 4 in the eve??". Just to be sure, I checked my hall ticket and there it was, written in badly printed Computer Sheet, smudged "10am - 1pm"!!!! All hell broke loose at home as I took bath in a hurry and rushed out to coll!.
Erm, for those who are interested as to what the dream might be: It was a dream about a couple of Monkeys relieving themselves from the top of a tree on humans below. That was the cause for the Nature's Call, which in turn saved my day! So there, Thanks to my brain for dreaming about Peeing Monkeys!!! :P
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Olympic Torch Relay!
Yeah, the Olympic Torch Relay happened place in Delhi today, our precious Capital. One thing was that there was no violence, with all the talk about India being geographically close to China and Tibet, the security we were to provide for the whole thing was a attention-grabber all over. Thankfully, nothing happened.
If London, Paris and San Francisco embarrassed themselves by letting protestors close to the Torch, India embarrassed itself by a simple act. 2.3 kms distance, 70 people carrying the Torch. Some greats like Dhanraj Pillay, Milkha Singh and other Gold Medal winning Hockey Team Captains, shooters and Weight Lifters and obviously Bollywood Fellows. HOW can people like Saif Ali Khan bear the guilt of actually carrying the Torch when it was being carried by Sporting Legends of our own Nation? HOW??? I just can't understand India's obsession with letting Film Stars lift these torches, If I remember right, last time for the Athens Olympics, Aishwarya Rai was part of the relay team!!!!! How crappy is that???
Well, to compensate for all of this obvious acts of lunacy, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi carried the torch Together as the last people and lit the Big Flame. It was really good to see some deserving people carry it and Paes and Bhupathi put away their differences and carry the Torch together. That was a good gesture.
If London, Paris and San Francisco embarrassed themselves by letting protestors close to the Torch, India embarrassed itself by a simple act. 2.3 kms distance, 70 people carrying the Torch. Some greats like Dhanraj Pillay, Milkha Singh and other Gold Medal winning Hockey Team Captains, shooters and Weight Lifters and obviously Bollywood Fellows. HOW can people like Saif Ali Khan bear the guilt of actually carrying the Torch when it was being carried by Sporting Legends of our own Nation? HOW??? I just can't understand India's obsession with letting Film Stars lift these torches, If I remember right, last time for the Athens Olympics, Aishwarya Rai was part of the relay team!!!!! How crappy is that???
Well, to compensate for all of this obvious acts of lunacy, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi carried the torch Together as the last people and lit the Big Flame. It was really good to see some deserving people carry it and Paes and Bhupathi put away their differences and carry the Torch together. That was a good gesture.
Monday, 14 April 2008
Times of India!
Yes! Finally the Times of India is here in Madras. My earliest memories of TOI is when my cousin from Bombay stayed with us for 2 years, he used to buy the Sunday Times for a whopping 6rs. That's when I got a taste of the Bollywood Gossips and the relatively unrelated section dedicated to Bollywood "Beauties"!
The Times of India, Chennai seems to be no different, the first day might be just to Capture the Audience and hence had very little Kollywood Drama stuff. We get enough of that from Matter Chronicle thank you very much.
The eds were ok, the font seems a bit small and the sports page was swallowed by a huge Dhoni Pic. I'm pretty surprised to see news about Chennai in almost all pages, instead of just page 3 or 4. This can be another initial step. The paper quality is kinda decent, not as good as The Hindu (the taste is what I'm talking about, yes I ate a bit! What's the big deal?) Overall, I remember the Times being a more bold and drastic kinda Paper, without taking sides on the Political front, but the Chennai Times didn't make any bold statements, waiting for that. And, the supplement kinda sucks, the usual ads (Satyam, Inox and Mayajaal) and as usual lots of Ladies! Unwanted. Overall, a let down on the whole Times feel and name. Sorry mates!
The Times of India, Chennai seems to be no different, the first day might be just to Capture the Audience and hence had very little Kollywood Drama stuff. We get enough of that from Matter Chronicle thank you very much.
The eds were ok, the font seems a bit small and the sports page was swallowed by a huge Dhoni Pic. I'm pretty surprised to see news about Chennai in almost all pages, instead of just page 3 or 4. This can be another initial step. The paper quality is kinda decent, not as good as The Hindu (the taste is what I'm talking about, yes I ate a bit! What's the big deal?) Overall, I remember the Times being a more bold and drastic kinda Paper, without taking sides on the Political front, but the Chennai Times didn't make any bold statements, waiting for that. And, the supplement kinda sucks, the usual ads (Satyam, Inox and Mayajaal) and as usual lots of Ladies! Unwanted. Overall, a let down on the whole Times feel and name. Sorry mates!
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Sunday, 6 April 2008
Taste...
It's all a Question of taste. I liked the colour of Cranberries for the Living Room, my parents and bro agreed when they looked at it in the Palette. I simply Loved it. When the Painter finally got the Can of Paint and started painting it, bro gave a weak eye. Parents returned from work in the evening and were just short of Puking looking at the walls. I love it.
The house is kinda set now, just the main bedroom and the main bathroom remain to be tiled and the walls are yet to be painted. Bro had chosen a goldish brown for his room's walls and the end color ("romba dark a irukkum thambi-it'll be too dark" and adds bucket loads of water) is Saamiyaar Orange. It looks sick, but goes well with the creamish tiles, bro is furious, parents are still short of Puking and I am ok with it.
My Brother is the laziest ass in the world, its not a compliment. He knew there was cleaning and moving going on (mom and I were cleaning the computer table and moving it back into the room), so he pretended to sleep through it. I knew what he was doing, so I cleaned everything and just refused to move it back in. Bro woke up thinking it was all over, first thing mom says to him "you have to move it to the room by yourself". Now I give him the evil eye!
On a totally different note, I'm looking forward to the Trip and testing my new Camera there.
Sem exams start on 23rd.
Complete Rowdyism during the Model Exams. The guys from my class are a hugely reluctant lot, we went into the exams room 15 mins past the start time, collected our papers and blinked away to glory. I don't know about the others, but what I did would definitely make a lot of professors shake their head in disbelief. I would walk in coolly 15 mins late. Get my sheets and faithfully write the first side of the main sheet and then go to sleep! I woke up after a cool 1 hr sleep and go out for "toilet" and go to the Juice Shop and the Bakery and on my way back, relieve myself. 20 mins after I left to the "toilet", I would walk in to the exam hall, sit and stare at the ceiling, advise the Juniors that they're gna sell the papers for cash at the Kayaalan Kadai and then submit the paper and walk out happily. This, I swear, is what I did for most of the Exams. Fun!! :D
Update: I googled Cranberry Ice (the name of the Colour I chose from the Palette) and as it turns out, Cranberry Ice is Pink In colour (Thanks to Rape for that alert). My Colour, apparently is Blueberry Ice! Screw Asian Paints, not my bad! :D
The house is kinda set now, just the main bedroom and the main bathroom remain to be tiled and the walls are yet to be painted. Bro had chosen a goldish brown for his room's walls and the end color ("romba dark a irukkum thambi-it'll be too dark" and adds bucket loads of water) is Saamiyaar Orange. It looks sick, but goes well with the creamish tiles, bro is furious, parents are still short of Puking and I am ok with it.
My Brother is the laziest ass in the world, its not a compliment. He knew there was cleaning and moving going on (mom and I were cleaning the computer table and moving it back into the room), so he pretended to sleep through it. I knew what he was doing, so I cleaned everything and just refused to move it back in. Bro woke up thinking it was all over, first thing mom says to him "you have to move it to the room by yourself". Now I give him the evil eye!
On a totally different note, I'm looking forward to the Trip and testing my new Camera there.
Sem exams start on 23rd.
Complete Rowdyism during the Model Exams. The guys from my class are a hugely reluctant lot, we went into the exams room 15 mins past the start time, collected our papers and blinked away to glory. I don't know about the others, but what I did would definitely make a lot of professors shake their head in disbelief. I would walk in coolly 15 mins late. Get my sheets and faithfully write the first side of the main sheet and then go to sleep! I woke up after a cool 1 hr sleep and go out for "toilet" and go to the Juice Shop and the Bakery and on my way back, relieve myself. 20 mins after I left to the "toilet", I would walk in to the exam hall, sit and stare at the ceiling, advise the Juniors that they're gna sell the papers for cash at the Kayaalan Kadai and then submit the paper and walk out happily. This, I swear, is what I did for most of the Exams. Fun!! :D
Update: I googled Cranberry Ice (the name of the Colour I chose from the Palette) and as it turns out, Cranberry Ice is Pink In colour (Thanks to Rape for that alert). My Colour, apparently is Blueberry Ice! Screw Asian Paints, not my bad! :D
Monday, 31 March 2008
The Match and It's Aftermath!!
I went to watch the Final Day of the Test Match. It was a boring day of Cricket with just some 4 wickets falling, but as an Experience, it was awesome. I got my face Painted, a pus-filled boil on my Thumb and a Lot of Gyaan on Bottle Hitting! Here are a few Pics!
The remnants of the Bottle that was used for the Beat Keeping! :D. Battered Soldier indeed!
And the boil in my finger thanks to all that Bottle Banging...Not paining, but wasn't able to handle a Spoon..
At the Match, From the Left: Murali, Rape, Me, Sappe, Vinu, Vatsan
A very tired me with the Bottle on the way back...
On the Topic of my fingers, Notice the lack of Finger Prints! :O
The remnants of the Bottle that was used for the Beat Keeping! :D. Battered Soldier indeed!
And the boil in my finger thanks to all that Bottle Banging...Not paining, but wasn't able to handle a Spoon..
At the Match, From the Left: Murali, Rape, Me, Sappe, Vinu, Vatsan
A very tired me with the Bottle on the way back...
On the Topic of my fingers, Notice the lack of Finger Prints! :O
Saturday, 29 March 2008
An Adventure Nonetheless!!
I was really really excited when I woke up at 5am this morning. In an hour, I was supposed to be at the Chepauk Stadium to stand in queue for the Daily Tickets. I knew this would be a pretty long wait and I wasn't wrong when I landed up there at 620ish. There were atleast a 100 people in front of Rapecase. I joined him and his friends there and to my surprise, Auditor Sir was also standing there along with Streekanth and Bottle. After some really unneeded Intervention by the Police, we were about 10 places behind where we were standing in the first place. A bit later I told to Rape- "Dude, I'll paint my face if you paint yours, I'll sponsor yours too!" He was game enough. 15 mins later our faces were painted with the Tricolour and we were Very proud to have it on. Unfortunately, in the chaos that followed, we couldn't take any pics. The counters were supposed to Open at 8am. It was around 820 when we all realized the counters weren't yet open and that it wasn't moving either. Asking the Policemen there didn't help. Finally around 830ish, Another Policeman Drove up to where the queue was and Announced "Tickets will not be issued here in this counter. If you need tickets, you have to go to the Counter at Bells Road". Wtf? We just spent 2 hours standing in a queue that was apparently useless!
It was a mad rush to the other counter and by the time we had finished cursing the Police for the Absolutely Crappy Organising, the queue disappeared and reformed at the Counter in Bells Road and we had no idea where the other guys were. There was just Rape, a friend of his and me. Some calls and SMSs later, we came to know that each person was in a different queue! There were atleast 500 people in the Bells Road queue and it was atleast a 1km long. We knew that there was absolutely no way we could get tickets if we were to wait in that Counter. So we made up our minds and walked all the way around the Stadium to get to the 300 Rs counter. We stood behind a really Optimistic Man who started belting out stats about the availability of tickets and the number of people and with some really complex equation, he was sure that he and his son were gonna be inside the Stadium in no less than 45 mins. To his disappointment and definitely to ours, this counter was Closed Too!!! We decided that we had had enough of this and we rushed back to Rape's place all the way in Besant Nagar to watch Sehwag belt the bowlers.
As soon as we reached there, He got Out. Out for 318. Mammoth score. Wickets started to tumble and we were really not interested in watching the match after Sachin got out. We had heard the Policeman say that the Counters will be open for the next day's tickets at 5 in the evening. So we planned to watch a movie at Satyam and then head back to the Stadium for the Tickets. But I was feeling really really sleepy and post lunch, I headed back home. Rape, Siva and me went for a short drive and he dropped me at Madhya Kailash Bus Stop at around 1145.
I was waiting for a 5E when I saw a 47A. I knew this would go to Valluvar Kottam and boarded it and bought the Ticket and settled myself in those Cushion Seats. Come Anna Univ and I dozed off. I woke up I don't know how much later to Comfortably Numb (was listening to music) and I noticed that I was in South Boag Road and that I can afford to nap for another 5 mins. I finally woke up 30 mins later to find myself in a totally different place. It looked nothing like Valluvar Kottam. Thanks to the Advertised Cell Phone shop name boards, I came to know that I was in Anna Nagar 3rd Main Road!!!!! I had never been outside the city that far. So I got out of the bus still very sleepy in the next stop. I crossed the road and stood in the Opposite Bus Stop (Aminjikarai Police Station).
I used some Common Sense and decided to wait for 47A itself, so that I could get to Valluvar Kottam finally. 3 mins later, one of the famous Share Autos of Anna Nagar came up and there was a board that said T Nagar Terminus in it. I flagged it down and asked him if he went to Valluvar Kottam (I was so tired of asking people if I could go there that I was actually thinking of Hanging a Sign on myself and pointing to it). Thankfully, 15 mins later, I found myself at, yes, Valluvar Kottam. Yay!!!! And ten mins later, I was resting on the Couch with a bottle of water, under the fan!.
Phew, I'm positively tired!!
It was a mad rush to the other counter and by the time we had finished cursing the Police for the Absolutely Crappy Organising, the queue disappeared and reformed at the Counter in Bells Road and we had no idea where the other guys were. There was just Rape, a friend of his and me. Some calls and SMSs later, we came to know that each person was in a different queue! There were atleast 500 people in the Bells Road queue and it was atleast a 1km long. We knew that there was absolutely no way we could get tickets if we were to wait in that Counter. So we made up our minds and walked all the way around the Stadium to get to the 300 Rs counter. We stood behind a really Optimistic Man who started belting out stats about the availability of tickets and the number of people and with some really complex equation, he was sure that he and his son were gonna be inside the Stadium in no less than 45 mins. To his disappointment and definitely to ours, this counter was Closed Too!!! We decided that we had had enough of this and we rushed back to Rape's place all the way in Besant Nagar to watch Sehwag belt the bowlers.
As soon as we reached there, He got Out. Out for 318. Mammoth score. Wickets started to tumble and we were really not interested in watching the match after Sachin got out. We had heard the Policeman say that the Counters will be open for the next day's tickets at 5 in the evening. So we planned to watch a movie at Satyam and then head back to the Stadium for the Tickets. But I was feeling really really sleepy and post lunch, I headed back home. Rape, Siva and me went for a short drive and he dropped me at Madhya Kailash Bus Stop at around 1145.
I was waiting for a 5E when I saw a 47A. I knew this would go to Valluvar Kottam and boarded it and bought the Ticket and settled myself in those Cushion Seats. Come Anna Univ and I dozed off. I woke up I don't know how much later to Comfortably Numb (was listening to music) and I noticed that I was in South Boag Road and that I can afford to nap for another 5 mins. I finally woke up 30 mins later to find myself in a totally different place. It looked nothing like Valluvar Kottam. Thanks to the Advertised Cell Phone shop name boards, I came to know that I was in Anna Nagar 3rd Main Road!!!!! I had never been outside the city that far. So I got out of the bus still very sleepy in the next stop. I crossed the road and stood in the Opposite Bus Stop (Aminjikarai Police Station).
I used some Common Sense and decided to wait for 47A itself, so that I could get to Valluvar Kottam finally. 3 mins later, one of the famous Share Autos of Anna Nagar came up and there was a board that said T Nagar Terminus in it. I flagged it down and asked him if he went to Valluvar Kottam (I was so tired of asking people if I could go there that I was actually thinking of Hanging a Sign on myself and pointing to it). Thankfully, 15 mins later, I found myself at, yes, Valluvar Kottam. Yay!!!! And ten mins later, I was resting on the Couch with a bottle of water, under the fan!.
Phew, I'm positively tired!!
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Cars, Cricket and Flyovers....
TATA has officially taken over Jaguar and The Rover Group. Bare with the technicalities, but what this means for the consumers is a study of its own.
For Indian customers, they can finally have Jaguar's arsenal launched here. The powerful X-Type, the Legendary S-Type and the sporty XKRs and XSs. This is awesome. Those babies have a minimum of 5ltr V6s. That's a huge leap considering the 3ltr 6 cylinder Engines that we have at present here. V6s and V8s are some of the most powerful engines that civil cars can have, while V10s and V12s are Mercedes's Stuff and it strays into the likes of Ferrari, Lambo and Porsche. For the British/European Customers sadly, it is the loss of some very important history. Jaguar and Rover have been Britain's answer to Germany's Merc, Audi, VW and BMW and France's Renault and Citroen (I'm blindly ignoring Peugeot here :D). It's more than just cars for them. Jaguar and Rover are 2 of Britain's finest contributions to the world.
On the rough side though, there are always the Idiots who go about saying India is already cluttered and can't take any more cars and that kinda crap, also exist people who say these cars are too expensive for Indians. Find a Corner and Screw yourself! While they lose their History, The British will lay their hopes on yet another Party to keep their History alive. Some numbers here... Ford had purchased Jaguar way back in the 80s for $2 Billion and Rover in late 90s for around the same amount. And now, after holding the conglomerate for around 8 years, they're selling it to TATA for around $2.3 Billion!! That must give you an Idea of how badly troubled this whole thing is. But what I'm really looking forward to is Top Gear's take on this whole issue. They had already called the Indica a catastrophic tragedy when it was launched under Rover's Badge in 2004 and that definitely leaves them with a bad image about TATA.
Cricket. And SA's mauling India here in Chennai. Unfortunately, I'm not able to go watch the Match as the renovation work in my place is Still going on. But the main news in Cricket this time is Stephen Fleming. New Zealand's most remembered Captain after Martin Crowe is this man who has led the Black Caps to many a famous wins. Critics reckon him to be the Best Captain of recent times. But ill-fated that he is, he was never backed by a team that could execute his Brilliance on the Field. He did have very good players in Cairns, Astle, Harris, McMillan and Parore to name a few, but he needs a whole team, a performing unit. Tactful and Shrewd he might be, he does need his players to take matters into their own hands and do the needy when time questions. Cricket has lost yet another Great to age and He will definitely be Remembered.
The Kodambakkam flyover is Done With!!! Yes, the workmen from AP, Bihar and our own fellows have finished constructing the Kodambakkam Flyover. This is the one that connects Mahalingapuram with North Usman Road and its both ways. Theoretically speaking this Should ease the Horrendous Traffic in that Area. Hopefully that theory should work in reality or else its gna be another useless flyover like the one in front of the Museum. Open date's tentatively fixed as the 30th of this Month provided Mr. Yellow Shawl has the time!
Phew, that was my longest post ever I think!!
For Indian customers, they can finally have Jaguar's arsenal launched here. The powerful X-Type, the Legendary S-Type and the sporty XKRs and XSs. This is awesome. Those babies have a minimum of 5ltr V6s. That's a huge leap considering the 3ltr 6 cylinder Engines that we have at present here. V6s and V8s are some of the most powerful engines that civil cars can have, while V10s and V12s are Mercedes's Stuff and it strays into the likes of Ferrari, Lambo and Porsche. For the British/European Customers sadly, it is the loss of some very important history. Jaguar and Rover have been Britain's answer to Germany's Merc, Audi, VW and BMW and France's Renault and Citroen (I'm blindly ignoring Peugeot here :D). It's more than just cars for them. Jaguar and Rover are 2 of Britain's finest contributions to the world.
On the rough side though, there are always the Idiots who go about saying India is already cluttered and can't take any more cars and that kinda crap, also exist people who say these cars are too expensive for Indians. Find a Corner and Screw yourself! While they lose their History, The British will lay their hopes on yet another Party to keep their History alive. Some numbers here... Ford had purchased Jaguar way back in the 80s for $2 Billion and Rover in late 90s for around the same amount. And now, after holding the conglomerate for around 8 years, they're selling it to TATA for around $2.3 Billion!! That must give you an Idea of how badly troubled this whole thing is. But what I'm really looking forward to is Top Gear's take on this whole issue. They had already called the Indica a catastrophic tragedy when it was launched under Rover's Badge in 2004 and that definitely leaves them with a bad image about TATA.
Cricket. And SA's mauling India here in Chennai. Unfortunately, I'm not able to go watch the Match as the renovation work in my place is Still going on. But the main news in Cricket this time is Stephen Fleming. New Zealand's most remembered Captain after Martin Crowe is this man who has led the Black Caps to many a famous wins. Critics reckon him to be the Best Captain of recent times. But ill-fated that he is, he was never backed by a team that could execute his Brilliance on the Field. He did have very good players in Cairns, Astle, Harris, McMillan and Parore to name a few, but he needs a whole team, a performing unit. Tactful and Shrewd he might be, he does need his players to take matters into their own hands and do the needy when time questions. Cricket has lost yet another Great to age and He will definitely be Remembered.
The Kodambakkam flyover is Done With!!! Yes, the workmen from AP, Bihar and our own fellows have finished constructing the Kodambakkam Flyover. This is the one that connects Mahalingapuram with North Usman Road and its both ways. Theoretically speaking this Should ease the Horrendous Traffic in that Area. Hopefully that theory should work in reality or else its gna be another useless flyover like the one in front of the Museum. Open date's tentatively fixed as the 30th of this Month provided Mr. Yellow Shawl has the time!
Phew, that was my longest post ever I think!!
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