Amith - Me Being Me

The Best of You..

2012-02-08T23:09:00.000-08:00

Paint another picture black and blue,
Take another moment, one or two,
Yet another etching on the wall,
Slipping through your grasp, watch it fall,
Into the ocean blue,
It took the best of you.

The best of you....

Dear Future, I'm ready now.

2011-12-23T21:43:00.000-08:00

This year, as it draws to a slow grinding halt, has been a lot of things for a lot of people. Some have seen immeasurable success, for some it has it has been a string of failures, others have rolled with the punches. For me, without a shadow of a doubt, it has been the worst year of the entirety of my life. In a way that’s funny because, the way the previous year ended, I thought it couldn’t get any worse. But then, the month I look forward to the most every year, May – my birthday month, took away my dad – the single most important person in my life. As much as I love my mom more than life itself, my dad, in many ways, encompassed the best facets of life for me– the ability to be so fearless and yet so vulnerable, so emotionally charged and yet absurdly arrogant, larger than life but oh so human. My dad defined optimism in my life and when he died, that fire did too.

I went back to school this year. One of the best MBA programs in the world welcomed me, embraced me and has so far loved me like I never thought would be possible. This was now my chance to live my dream of doing an MBA, to seize the moment, every moment and become the best I could. But everyday I walked to school a different person, an inner battle raged that just could not decide which me was actually me. The clown who laughed and made others laugh, the moody prick who remained unaware of the world around him or the rebel who just did not care at all – every day called for the real Amith S Menon to please stand up...but he wouldn’t, he couldn’t . In the last 12 months, I have lost the desire to communicate, the passion to live and the energy to realize what can be realized. I look at myself in the mirror and I see four seasons of Lost rolled into one. Everday day started with a new dawn but those intermittent spurts of belief died in their infancy. I have now become an amalgamation of everything that I wasn’t. This rabbit hole is now very deep.

Where is the out? Unlike in the movies where a cyanide pill is an immediate release into a world of all things wonderful, life is not that easy. Life is a bit too dreamy to not dream and a bit too wonderful to not live. The out lies in the love of a mother that will forever replenish a lost soul. The out lies in the trust of a sister, who believes that her brother can do no wrong. The out lies in the promise made to a father that one day, his son will make him proud. And as these words find meaning, I realize life does too. For there is love to be worshipped, belief to be respected and a promise to be kept.

And so I live to fight another day, but this time for the right reasons, for the right promises…

Dear future, I am ready now.

Finding Me.

2011-09-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

Starting off with the hustle-bustle of Delhi, waking up to the delectable treats of Zurich and finally, as dusk descents, immersing myself in the cultural amalgamation of Montreal, Canada. August 5, 2011 signaled a journey of discovery… and a whole lot more. It was a culmination of a year of constant thought, detailed analysis and intermittent hard work. It signed, sealed and delivered a decision, a way of life that promised to glorify my otherwise boisterous existence. It laid out in front of me, my MBA.

The Greater Good – that’s what I told myself, all of this was about. Leaving behind a family that still was just recovering from the most tragic of losses, a mother who knew no existence beyond her son and a sister who idolized her brother, deserved a lot more than just a 10 minute daily phone call. My conscience pricks every step of the way but my mind tries to convince me that the path I’m on is lit by an exuberant future of smiles and cheers beyond my own. And for that, one must in the words of Johnny Walker, keep walking.

Walk I do. And as I take in all that the MBA has to offer, I’m convinced, run I will. But before the strides gather pace, before even an inkling of effort will begin to bear fruit, there is a lesson to be learnt, a self to be found. As I watch, read and learn about the glorious business leaders of the past, one message always seems to stand out – “Be Yourself”. A simple yet so complicated task. Right now the self seems to be lost somewhere down the rabbit hole, doubting every step of the way, yet complacent and comfortable in abundant inner belief. An oxy-moron if there ever was one.

One thing this MBA has done with absolute certainty, is made me re-assess myself. The false grandeur has been shattered, the assumed persona of the one so AwSM has crashed and burned and left behind is, the very thing I’ve run away from all my life, normalcy. A regular, regular Joe ( just better looking J) who will strive for more but will always crave the simplest, more important things in life – family, football, pepperoni pizza. There clearly exists a lack of maturity, calm and sophisticated professionalism. But over the last month, I’ve realized that if I am true to this persona, true to this imagery, with abundant HARDWORK, the path I tread will be the making of me, the path I tread will be true to Dad. And in Him, I believe.

I believe, the beauty of a rose can only be savored after feeling the painful prick of the thorns. And for the next two years, beyond the artistic exuberance of this beautiful city of Montreal, beyond Finance, Marketing, Accounting and what not, I will walk this road less traversed, true to values, true to self, beyond AwSM, true to being - normally extraordinary, true to being Me.

Life goes Chuk Chuk

2011-07-08T23:29:00.000-07:00

Life is like a night on the Kochuveli express sans a confirmed ticket. You start of by fighting for a foothold to just survive the massive influx, you then choose to find satisfaction in small pleasures, like a place to hang your bag or an inch of space to rest your butt. Eventually, as time numbs all emotion, if you are lucky enough and the TTR obliges, you are granted a third AC compartment all to yourself, so that you can laze your worries away and enjoy the last legs of the journey.

To My Sethu

2011-05-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Dad,

Today, 15 days of rituals and prayers came to an end. So I guess, now that mom and Amru are finally asleep, its time for us to have our talk. Or atleast for me to blurt out emotions, that might’ve gone unsaid over the last 24 years.

I will never know if I have said it enough, but Dad, I love you. I know as men, we shouldn’t be professing our love for one another a lot but when will I ever get this chance again. The fact is, we will never enjoy another game of Cricket together, we’ll not be watching re-runs of Amitabh Bachchan movies again together and we will not be crooning “Kabhi Kabhi” again together. God decided to take you away but since when have you ever listened to anyone but yourself. I know you won’t be around physically anymore but I feel a strength within me everyday now and every inch of my being tells me that it’s you. Its warm and full of love. It has to be you.

Today, I want to tell you how proud and privileged I am to be your son, how lucky I am to have been your friend, your confidant and you mine. There a so many memories. Remember the first time we met? That airport terminal in Muscat where you came to receive us with your ugly beard and fabulous smile. I was dead scared but you, being the charmer that you are, tried to coax me by fixing my yo-yo. That really wasn’t necessary you know. Your eyes had me, the first time I actually met them. So kind and filled with so much love. And that’s what I will always remember of you dad, my every memory of you, will always revolve around the same theme, that love.

You made your world all about mom and me. And when the doctor handed you Amritha, and that bundle of joy nestled perfectly in your arms, you found your holy grail. I will never know love like the way you loved Amru and yet, you raised me like a prince. Your heart always was big enough for all three of us. Mom screamed at you when you bought the most unnecessary gifts home. Remember the look of death she gave us, when we bought that Cricket Bat for Rs 5000? I was just 13 you know, you really did not have to give in to my every whim. But you were never going to let your kids have the kind of sad upbringing you did. You made sure ours was about every desire fulfilled, every memory made worthwhile and every moment photographic. And through our smiles, you smiled.

If one word could describe you dad, it would be ubercool. You never answered to anyone, you didn’t let yourself get burdened by tradition or society and you lived life on your own terms. You called a spade a spade and you were absolutely comfortable in your own skin. These are traits, I hope, I can aspire to embody one day. I remember contemplating marriage when I was 21, and inspite of my immaturity, the only question you asked me was, “are you sure” and with my “yes”, we decided to give it a go. Not for once, did your “khaandaan” or its “parampara” cross your mind. It was all about your son’s happiness. It was all just love.

And that is why you will never be far away, never be gone. Because you will never be a picture on the wall or a passing thought. You ARE love. And as we smile, you will breathe. As we love, you will live. I want you to know that you are no longer just a dad or just a friend. Your responsibilities are now grander. Now, you are my strength, my prayer, my belief, my faith, and above all, my God. Because for the 24 years of my life, you’ve removed every obstacle, been all the answers and satisfied my every desire and now you are eternal. So for now and ever more, I will pray to you to look over us like you always have. And like always, I know you will.

My only regret is that I couldn’t be there to hold your hand and for one last time to look into your eyes to relive that bond between that 2 year old son and his hero, his dad. I wont say I’ll miss you because in my heart, in my life, you’ll never be gone. Rest well Dad. I’ll make you proud. I promise

Love you.

Your Ami.

PS : My Dad passed away on May the 2nd. I write because I want the world to know just how much I love him.

To The Blue Billion

2011-04-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to put into words, this feeling. Friends, passionate fans all over the world are setting firework displays alight, screaming their lungs out, jumping with joy, shedding tears and with it wiping away 28 years of nothingness. For most , its vindication for standing by their team, their nation. Its been achieved together. The finest moment of their young lives. I know dad will have watched these 8 hours and for that duration forgotten the tensions of the world and I thank the team for that, the man deserves happiness. But personally, it was hard to take, it did not mean a lot, if anything. It brought back memories that were buried deep under 12 years of brilliance. As M.S.Dhoni, fittingly slapped Kulasekara out of the ground, images of Aravinda De Silva, and Arjuna Ranatunga flashed before my eyes. It was 1996 all over again.

The 1996 loss was probably the worst moment of my life. I was 10 and I prayed and I prayed but God wouldn’t listen. It was torture watching my idol getting carted to all corners of the ground by a fat, obnoxious baboon. Warney deserved so much more. And the world, in time (1999), conspired to bless his brilliance. And in that I found happiness. For 12 years, the world remained my oyster. Come good or bad, night or day, Australia ruled and every dark cloud had a silver lining – Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, my boys in the baggy green. Every four years, I cleansed myself of all negativity, of all pain with a World Cup triumph. Gods gift to me for believing in myself, for ignoring the jibes, for absolute confidence inspite of the glaring flaws was the Presentation Ceremony.

And yet as I drag my feet through probably the worst phase of my life, I look at the signs and I begin to question my beliefs. Warney has walked away, Ricky is holding on strong but the World Cup is now no longer ours and 2011 is bitch slapping me. Obviously Cricket should have nothing to do with this but, at the end of the day, I m an Indian and though I don’t bleed blue, Cricket is still very much my religion. And so losing the World Cup, triggers a sense of numbness, a sense of nothingness. It combines itself with a feeling of helplessness and though, I want to be happy for you, my billion countrymen who absolutely deserve this moment, I just cant. This is more than just cricket, in a way, it is my sense of being.

A Champion lifted the trophy today, M S Dhoni deserves every bit of appreciation coming his way. And for 23 years of service, I guess Tendulkar is worthy of this moment, maybe even deserves it. As do the fans. You’ve waited long enough, You’ve been hurt enough, and by God, You’ve believed enough. Today, the streets of Mumbai will bleed more than blue, the colors will stand for more than just joy, the fireworks will represent more than just celebration. After all, its more than just a sport. Like I said, it’s hard to put in words.

Today, the sun shines bright on a billion. Today, you have my Holy Grail, my silver lining. Do me a favor and relish this moment, savor the experience, feel the happiness because for the best part of 12 years, your today was my everyday and God knows, I ll need it back soon. Congratulations Blue Billion. You are now Champions. Deservedly So.

Thank You Ricky

2011-03-25T01:50:00.000-07:00

As a fan, I've known only one way. To support my team passionately, to the very last ball, till my very last breath. For over 18 years, before the dominant displays, long before the “invincibles” tag, there was a love for a player which transformed into admiration for a team which embodied everything good about team sport. Shane Keith Warne led me to the Australian Cricket Team. A brotherhood that never gives in, fights hard, wins harder. The Australian Cricket Team gave me it’s very essence. Ricky Thomas Ponting.

We go a long way – Ricky and I. December 1995, I was up early at 4am to catch my idol Shane Warne kick Muralidharan’s butt. Richie Benaud was on air and he was hyping up this new Australian sensation from Tasmania. With the Lankans on the ropes, the 3^rd wicket fell and in walked Ricky Ponting. To me everything about that strut spoke Awesome. There were no first test nerves, this was a boy who knew he belonged, this was a batsman I wanted to emulate. Elegant flicks and magnificent straight drives ensued. He had the audacity to wear a cap, they pitched it short, he pulled. And HOW. 96 runs came and went. The arrogance excited me.

What followed was sheer carnage. The walls of the Menon household were pelted with short balls. The AC lost a knob, the pane lost glass, Mom lost her mind and 9 year old Amith had just learned to play the pull. The Ponting effect had begun. As years went by, Ricky went from strength to strength and one fine day, in 2003, 140 of the best runs ever seen on a cricket field in the biggest match of his career, gave Punter his place in history. The mantle of greatness was now his. And when I dared to speak of him in the same breath as Sachin Tendulkar, I became the next Nathuram Godse.

GEC, Thrissur was the next stop of this lifelong tourney. Everyday, inspite of rain, intense heat and worse, semester exams, the “Shockers” would be on the field playing any team we could and I‘d still be trying to Pull like Ponting, to field like Ponting. Night before semester exams would turn into India Vs Australia debates when in reality it was all just Ponting Vs Tendulkar, me vs 20. Rightly, the Electrical Machines paper went down the drain. Oh well, supplimentaries aint half that bad right? Wrong. Coz 434 happened. Power equations and Generator designs hardly mattered when Ponting was treating Kallis like Kalmadi post the CWG. Another big game, another century. And I watched in awe as every ball hit the middle of the bat. My hero was setting the world alight and I was bragging to my heart’s content. What followed was not for the weak of heart. As Boucher scythed Lee for the winning runs, I was unceremoniously dumped right out of the TV room. Yours truly became Public Enemy No 1 and the next day ETADEEE07 stared at his question paper, Blank.

Which brings us to today. Ricky Ponting in probably the last game of his World Cup career, played one of his grittiest knocks to date. Every ball was played on merit and with every shot, I was a step closer to redemption. And like clockwork, it happened, a trademark flick, a signature hundred in a big game, my moment. But for once, it wasn’t enough. The men in blue pulled through. Ricky clapped. Ignorant Boos followed. Possible tears streaked his face and my FB wall was bombarded. The war was now virtual.

We are what our beliefs make us to be. The easiest thing to do is to jump a sinking ship but where is the honor in that? Sports has always been my biggest passion in life. And every since Warney called it quits, there was just one idol remaining. And like idols are, he didn’t let me down. Ever. He made me proud. When Ponting drives, words begin to fail. When he pulls, its poetry in motion. At that moment, nothing else in life matters. The trials and tribulations are forgotten because in that fleeting second, there is a beauty to life that makes it worth living.

While the normal Indian Cricket fan will always see Ponting as the scourge of the Cricketing Seas, the sledger, the argumentative Aussie who dared to be compared with their “God” and very recently the Charlie Sheen of International Cricket, a look through my eyes will tell you a different story. For me Ricky Ponting was the epitome of Australian Cricket. The game’s ultimate winner. A true leader. A survivor. A legend who always let his bat do the talking, a phenom who stood out in every big game. Ricky Thomas Ponting is my hero and it ‘ll be a cold day in hell before that ll ever change. He doesn't need your love, but he sure as hell will have your admiration.

Till then the abuses are accepted, at times deserved even. But I remain unapologetic. Because every time Punter takes his typical leg stump guard, 18 years of love tells me, he is taking guard for me. Ricky Thomas Ponting, Thank you for the world cup memories, Thank you for the streak, Thank you for being my hero.

Blogsville - Livin It Large. Virtually!!

2011-03-17T16:49:00.000-07:00

Around 3 years ago with a whole lot of hustle and a lot more bustle, I decided to take my love for writing online. I coupled it with my love for myself, threw in a bit of music for the ears and pictures for the eyes ;) (girls you’re welcome) and “Me Being Me” was born. Though only 53 posts old, I d like to believe this blog has always represented what I am, who I am and that for me has always been the true essence of blogging . My world through my words.

But now I see blogs all around me and my gag reflex just automatically sets itself into motion. Most blogs just drip of so much fakeness that Rakhi Sawant’s breasts suddenly seem a whole lot natural. And then we have terms like “Blogsville”!! My definition - A land of lame ass people living very insignificant real lives that they need spectacular virtual existences that only flowery fake words and Picasa can give them. Blogsville – Livin it large. Virtually !!

I know the cynicism is overwhelming but over 3 years I‘ve seen enough to know I’m right. On one side we have the unlucky in love Juliet prototype, who because of a twist of fate has lost her Romeo and with every passing day withers away slightly. Through her blog, she tells you of how the air is unbearably heavy, the hours painfully long and death, her only salvation. And then, every desperate Tom, Dick and Harry devoid of a date on a Saturday night, pulls his man boobs into a tight bustier, slicks his virtual hair back and takes a virtual minute ( thats 2 hours in real life, not that it matters to them) to type out the most eloquently caring comment telling her that “Hey, I m there for you come what may. Add me on gtalk.” Game-On on both sides. A month later, Juliet of Long Lost Love fame is smitten by Virtual Tom Hanks and they share Photoshopped images, stories of trips to Mexican Mines and Antartican Eskimos and what not. Love is in the air and viola, Romeo is long forgotten and the first person to jump the turnstile is her Serendipitous love. The loop invariably repeats every couple of months across every couple of blogs.

The other side is manifested by Studly Studelson. Plays the Guitar like Joe Satriani on steroids (though unheard), looks like Arjun Rampal ( though the picture is always cropped above the gut) , runs like the wind, smiles like sunshine, smells like spring etc etc ..you get the drift. Pretty boy is angry with the world, hates women and is almost as cynical as this entry. Carefully Photographed princess pings on FB, Mr Desperate finds his salvation ( finally a girl pings me and its not regarding the code I m working on. Woo Hoo!! ) and soon enough they are humming Rob Thomas songs together and having virtual fairy tale dates while side by side tweeting away to glory. In time, their Adobe license expires, Calvin and Hobbs jokes get repetitive and they split and move on in search of more gullible prey. The infinite loop is now in shuffle mode.

So that’s “Blogsville”. A land where every girl is Scarlett Johansson and every guy Orlando Bloom. The ultimate pick-up joint. Every rule has its exceptions though. I know a few genuine bloggers who actually are as real as its gets. Their blogs reflect their ideologies and some of them, I proudly call friends. You know who you are.

So throughout all this I wonder, how hard must it be to be real? To be proud of yourself just enough to come across as yourself for long enough?

AwSMly yours,

PS : Not that I give a damn, but this post is not meant to hurt anyone's feelings in any which way. Young bloggers, new bloggers - Be Real. Be true to your words and your words will be true to you.

Life Happens

2011-01-28T04:24:00.000-08:00

‘Twas 2007, the beautiful month of June. The college amphitheatre was packed to the rafters. Gargantuan roars, fits of laughter, absolute decibel defining noise. The kind of noise that marked the EEE batch of 2003-2007. Loud and proud of it. The final lab exams had been done and the final thank you’s to a few deserving and others mostly undeserving teachers had been said. Now it was time. The classiest class of 2003-2007 were now engineers. There were no capes to flaunt, no caps to whirl, no sense of accomplishment. Engineering was always meant to happen in four years. It was a degree that defined academics and nothing much more.

Then the first eye glistened, the first tear kissed marble. It rained outside the creaky, concrete structure but it poured on the inside. And then the scenes that followed defined the four years. A definition beyond a slightly dodgy, easily reproducible degree certificate. A bunch of obnoxious, arrogant, egoistic men huddled together, unapologetically bawling their eyelids off because for four beautiful years, the beauty of life was an everyday experience. It wasn’t just friendship, that term was so passé. They were a band of brothers through thick and thin. Joined at the hip, for one last time, they strutted across the empire they ruled. They took it all in, one last time. Goodbyes were then said, keep in touch’s were unrequired. Separation was out of the question.

January 2010. As this entry finds formation, I continue to ignore a ping that I would’ve biked 20 kilometres in the rain, to answer in person. How life happens. The band has now been disbanded. The empire has fallen. While one brother is sky diving his way across America, a lot have found refuge in Amchi Mumbai. There are those trying to find their place in life, others on the verge of another life. Marriage. And then….there is ME. Aware but ill at ease. Facebook notifications keep me upto date, new web albums indicate the troops are still at it. Maybe, I just wasn’t strong enough or maybe I turned rogue. Sorry’s have been said but sometimes distance and time form just too potent a mixture that an apology cant overcome.

There still are chats that always revolve around the same topics. The girls we hit on, the girls who we assumed hit on us, the incidents – oh so many incidents, the copied papers, the 11 game winning streak, the innumerable dropped catches, the trips, the girls we hit on and again the girls who we assumed hit on us. Current affairs barely need mentioning. The job, the life unrequired minute details. And then we log out, back to work, back to post Engineeringdom.

Sometimes I wonder how some of us so easily at the slightest hint of inconvenience let go of those bonds which we assumed would last us a lifetime. I used to sneer at the non-keep-in-touchers. And voila, role reversal and how. A few years away in a far off land is my excuse in this day and age of Skype and Gtalk. Somewhere along the line did I just stop caring? Or is this how life happens?

The memories are inerasable. Etched in stone. They are from a period of time when ignorance and immaturity went hand in hand with arrogance and attitude on a journey to nowhere but happiness and excitement. And while that journey came to a premature end, the adventure of life has now taken centre stage. And its beautiful, its purposeful and its gorgeously responsible. There are now a million things to do, a gazillion people to meet and far off horizons to conquer. And as life happens, the chats will dwindle, voices will be forgotten and relationships will fade but the memories, the moments will always remain. It’s the very least I can do.

Doppelgangers.

2010-11-25T08:36:00.000-08:00

“Eventually, over time, we become our own Doppelgangers” – Ted Mosby.

He might not be a hit with the ladies, but with this statement Ted Mosby had me hook, line and sinker. Ever since that first shriek that deems us worthy of life, life’s journey becomes all about evolution. Survival of the fittest and the rest of the Darwinian hoopla associated with it. It begins with our enthusiastic attempt to carve a niche in this gorgeous world of cotton candy and Bugs Bunny but eventually life screws you over and just surviving it takes up all of our adulthood. As the day turns to night, the optimist adopts the religion of pessimism and the happy – that of despondence.

I remember at 8 years of age how beautiful life used to be. We weren’t on that dark staircase to hell but on a shiny escalator gliding through a path illuminated by the effervescent scent of hope. It used to be all about cricket bats and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back then. The dream was simple – replace Mark Waugh at first slip and Shane Warne as the ultimate tour de force. No worries, no problems.

Adolescence brought with it an arrogance that I adored. A self love that made every day seem like a blessing and every night a prelude to an even better day. Adidas said it right. Impossible was nothing. Anything and everything was achievable. Jason Mraz crooned “Life is Beautiful” and I believed him.

2010 saw the emergence of the latest doppelganger. One who saw more bad days than good. One who felt the prick of the thorn and forgot what it was like to smell the rose. Arrogance gave way, self doubt lingered and the illusion of the glass half full was now no more. Life was a struggle, living in the moment an unaffordable luxury & Hakuna Matata just another fancy line.

The difference a year makes has never been so apparent. False bravado continues to fight a losing battle while everything around deteriorates. The writing is on the wall, the attempt is not to let sight fall on it. Change has once again become the need of the hour. Another doppelganger, any doppelganger.

Today needs to be obscured by tomorrow, anxiety by hope.

Hope. Loss of which is the very final knot of the noose. But as life has it, every sunlit day brings with it new hope which speaks of how darkness will soon turn to light, how a new dawn will always break and if you look it in the eye long enough, how you will be blessed with an effusing of a million wet kisses that will be douse the darkness and purge your soul. And then Jason Mraz will sing “Life is beautiful” and you might, you just might believe again. That doppelganger, I await.

She Loves...So She Is

2010-08-19T00:41:00.000-07:00

Ever since she laid her eyes on him and his big dark pupils stared back at her, since the moment she held him in her hands and caressed the tuft of unruly hair off his face, she loved him. Unconditionally, Truly, Absolutely. His every word had her in raptures, his every gesture photo framed in her heart. Everytime he held her hand, she hoped it would last a lifetime. He was after all her world, her reason for being. But as the years passed, his grip slackened, lifes thrills enticed him, he became his own man but she still smiled, still she loved. Sudha was a mother after all and her baby boy was now growing up.

Clad in a white shirt and blue check shorts he left for school and she walked with him to the bus stop. While amma, mom and mamma were what kids called their moms, he took great pride in calling her by name. It gave him immense happiness and she allowed it. She was after all not just his mother but his dearest friend too. They watched Shane Warne bowl , Bret Hart wrestle, Shahrukh Khan stammer and Alladin ride around in his carpet together. While ladies her age spend time gossiping and discussing saas bahu serials, she spent her entire weekend watching GI Joe and playing Contra with him. A devout vegetarian, she learnt the art of Chicken Biriyanifying dinner to see a smile explode on his face. And with every smile, she reached seventh heaven. He was her Dev Anand, Amitabh Bachchan and Mohanlal all rolled into one. Her son defined her.

And then a whole lot of pampering later he walked into college. The hair grew longer & the attire scarier. While mothers feared for their kids during that confused phase of life, she had absolute confidence. She believed he never would stray…and he never did. He would be seen at bars and cigarette hubs but she knew he wouldn’t drink and the only smoke he ever had was after watching Don. Theirs was a trust based on absolute love that just would not break.

And he was aware. He knew he meant more to her than the rest of the world combined. He knew of the sacrifices she had made from a very young age just to see him happy, how her wardrobe remained the same, how she d never spend one dime on her but everytime he needed new sneakers, she d coax dad to get them. And for all this he loved his mother but maybe all he did was love.

24 years to their first meeting, grey has shaded her hair and glasses have adorned her pretty angelic face but not a lot else has changed. Her cupboards top shelf is still adorned with the letters he wrote to her, her stories still revolve around a 6 year old Ami’s crazy antics and whenever Chicken Biriyani is prepared in the household, an ISD call is still placed. 24 years have passed since the cutting of the umbilical cord but whenever he calls that middle aged angel from heaven, she turns into the 19 year old college girl who promised to love her son more than the rest of the world ever could and with every breath she takes, the promise holds firm.

PS : Its not her birthday but I guess everyday I smile is like a birthday to her. This is my tribute to the lady who taught me to love. I might not have learnt a lot in life. Still cant cook, cant tell good from bad, cant sing, cant appreciate Sachin Tendulkars batting but what I have learnt is to love life and everything about it and Sudha Lakshmi Sethumadhavan , Amma, I love you for that lesson.

I, Amith S Menon am my mammas boy and boy am I proud of it.!!

AwSMly Yours

Where Are You?

2010-08-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

As thunder roars and Lightning reigns,
And life's sieve tears in this torrential rain,
And darkness sets right on cue,
I'm left asking - where are you?

When I lose myself in this passing crowd,
And cant hear my thoughts or cry out loud.
As the reality of life hits me with its blinding hue,
I cant help but ask - where are you?

Don't write me a letter or sing me a song.
Don't even tell me about what went wrong.
All I need is merely one clue,
Tell me please, where are you?

As these sands of time tick-tock away,
And this shade of black turns to grey.
Life's answers will still ask questions few,
Here I am, Where are you?

When every breath weighs heavier still,
And the sights fix firmly on that cyanide pill.
Sweet release is all but due.
And these final words....where are you.....

Click!

2010-07-29T05:36:00.000-07:00

Hayden Christensen. Thats who I wanted to be. Not coz he was Anakin SkyWalker or coz he made women weak in their knees(a trait he shares with this modest writer) but because he was the one man teleport station - Jumper!. He could teleport from the top of fort knox to the depths of the Mariana trench before you could say Ra.1(SRK's latest jaw dropping venture!). And that for a long long time was my super power of choice. But now as life leads me a merry dance, I d give an arm and both of my left feet for one touch of Adam Sandlers remote and go CLICK!.

CLICK into the future and into the realm of my certain uncertainties. A peek into my path chosen, the repercussions of the wrong and the fruits borne out of the right. A glance at my life that is, in a time that will be. All through a simple, uncomplicated CLICK. The future scares me. The permutations and combinations are immense, the ifs and buts exponential, the goal essentially one but the perils associated infinite. And everyday as I sit to fill out college application after application, I cant help but be overawed by the enormity associated with every etched word. The heart flutters more than it should, the hand twitches more than it should.

The fear of the unknown is all too common but when its of something that in every which way will define your life henceforth, you cant help but hope for life to fast forward and for the present to become then and the then to become now. CLICK. Press a button and tell me how my life's going to be. Rub a lamp and show me a vision of my college to be. Spare me the nervous tension, spare me the anxiety.

But if life were that simple, it wouldve been meaningless. The beauty of a Rose can be appreciated best only by those who have felt the prick of the thorns. So maybe this waiting is to be savoured, to be oddly relished. A pot of gold awaits but only on the other side of the rainbow. You can either go through it or around it but a path needs treading. As nervous as I am, as confused as I ve been, this journey through pot holes and pitstops has been a thrill a minute - The glory I ve basked in and the hazards I ve whined about. But sometimes you ve just got to take the bull by the horns. Adversity introduces a man to himself. Guess its now finally time for me to meet me. After all, being AwSM is not a 9-5 job but a 24/7 responsibility.

AwSMly Yours

A Step Back - A Million Forward.

2010-05-25T02:39:00.000-07:00

Usually a journey back home to spend a few days with the family is one most youngsters look forward to. After all, home is where the heart is at. Meeting old friends whom you have known since your time in nappies usually takes your happiness quotient to the next level. But alas, this is not such a journey. This is no Karan Johar flick where everything is rosy and bright at the end of the road; this time the president is not met.!

Six months prior to today, such an event was never contemplated. The big risk would have paid unimaginable dividends or so one thought. But thats the thing about risk aint it - you win some, you lose some...and this time I was well and truly beat. Its hard to figure where it all went wrong. For the perpetual optimist in me, life was always black and white, the shades of grey - insignificant. But now, the grey was getting too bright to handle.

As life throws you curve ball after curve ball, you have always but only 2 choices. You either hit the ball out of the park or you blink and strike out. And so I struck out. But the beauty of life lies in the opportunities it offers ie if you wish to see them. For now I walk back dejectedly to the dug out, dragging my feet along the ground but every bit of me has seen enough of life to know, another opportunity waits just around the corner. Another chance to get that spring back in my step, to hold my chin up high and pump my chest out awaits me out there somewhere. Could be beyond the bushes, in the dark alley or near the trenches but lies there and it waits for me.

And this time when I find it, there will be no blinking. The ball will go and it will go far. This time it has got to count and it will. After all, the sacrifice made and every tear spilt hurts like a million daggers piercing the skin and that pain has got to be numbed. As the trodden path reaches a dead end, the path less trodden needs to be walked. After all, its not how you get there, its the fact that you do that counts. So this journey marks my one step back to take a million forward. And a million is just the beginning.....

Its My B'day

2010-05-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

So I ve finally turned 18..phew..wasn't that a long wait!! Anyways, so till I post a long loonggg post detailing these 18 + 6 wonderful years....here's Bebo's dedication to me :D

Be back soon !

What I Want To Be....

2010-05-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

Time, after time, day after day,

Rhyme after rhyme, i ve been trying to say.

A few lines or more, to tell you true,

what you mean to me and what i want to mean to you.

I want to be your north star, showing you the light.

I want to be your rockstar, whose songs you hum all night.

If Popeye you are, lemme be your spinach of might,

Or maybe just..maybe just..your love at first sight.

I long to be the sight that makes your pulses race,

At the bottom of the ninth, lemme be your home base.

Let mine be the eyes that reflect your face,

Love you so much, this is just me pleading my case.

Let mine be the arms that you snuggle into when cold,

Or maybe i d settle to be your dangling jewel, 24 carat gold.

For forever and more, truth be told,

Once down the aisle, let mine be the hands you hold.

For every wrong, lemme be your right.

For every song, let me hold you tight,

So this my dear is my plight,

Always will want to be your love at first sight...

What a Republic..

2010-02-02T05:53:00.001-08:00

Happy belated 61st republic day all. Is it just me or is republic day turning into just another holiday year by year. Yes you see a lot of flags and crappy versions of Phir Mile Sur thrown around but other than that, its just another day for school kids to spend playing cricket, corporate world employees to sleep away and mothers and grandmothers to sit in front of the tele and watch new release movies with intermittent displays of patriotism by the likes of Neha Dupia and the lovely, bleary eyed Ravi Kishen :|..

"a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them" - a very valid definition of a "republic". Well i m no patriot and nor do i claim to be one. But what i am is very significant to the fundamental setup of this country and that my friends is - a cricket enthusiast, a die hard one at that. Come on people, lets face facts, cricket runs our country. People dont have enough dough to pay their taxes but when it comes to gunning down paki cricketers at eden gardens-expect a houseful everytime. So obviously, anything that i ve got to say about our very republican nation would be from 1st slips perspective.

So you see i dont give a hoot about rising vegetable prices as indicated by MTV Ticker or that paki kasab dude in jail who supposedly needs an international hearing!! All of this is absurd enough but what takes the cake for me is..Bal Thackrey!!..who put him in charge?!! His beehive'ish sorry excuse for a beard coupled with sunglasses in the dark are bad enough on their own but he just had to take it a step too far didnt he. No i do not refer to his awful orange dress code(though how he maintains the colour amazes me!!) but his butting in on the IPL. The IPL is supposed to be our answer to the superbowl. Supremely talented international stars rubbing shoulders with our desi magicians. But when you take the Chicken out of the Chicken McGrill all we are left with is the Aloo Tikki. I refer to the "threatened to be pulverized" Aussie juggernaut.Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Matt Hayden..absolute legends of the game - bullied. How these individuals are to blame for the killing of innocent Indians in Australia i will never know. Some of em even run charities in Sena country for the underprivileged. But as is the norm, Lalit Modi reassuringly smiles away,our govt keeps shut and the Aussies are left scratching their larger than normal heads(in gilchrists case - ears).

The Republic day parade is carried out in quite some style with almost as much band baaja as the Abhi-Ash wedding but there is utter silence to one individual bullying everyone within one very important state. You mistakenly utter Bombay for Mumbai or have the guts to state"Mumbai belongs to India" (Tendulkar finally u showed balls!!) and you have to fear the wrath of the orange clad idiots. But that silence is nothing new. The World T20 champions dont have one representative in the IPL...the reason...silence.Supposedly we are no longer at loggerheads with our paki counterparts. They are "our loving neighbours" to quote one very sought after Gandhian son. So the very charismatic SRK tries to shed some light on this issue and .... here comes the Sena!!...where does one turn to??

When we decide to mix politics with sports, more than anyone else the loser always ends up being the common man. There are enough worries in ones life without having the entertainment factor taken out of it and for a cricket fanatic the IPL is almost as good as it gets. BUt for now.. No Aussies, no Pakis..just the aalo tikki!! Obviously this is a very biased, 22 yard run introspection of our republican nation but thats the fun bit of having ones own blog..my space..my views.

So the Rajasthan Royals supporter in me though a proud Indian and one who like everyone of you braved the heat, tapped a finger and paved the way for our much educated, articulated leaders as per the election procedure of our democratic republican setup, cant help but say.."what a republic".

2009 -Reminiscence

2010-01-06T03:33:00.000-08:00

“For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice.” - T.S Eliot

Every new year is the same. For a week or 2, you forget the past and revel in the newness of the year that lies ahead of you. As the fireworks display light up the night, it also helps you forget the horrendous year that has passed. One always sets foot into the new year HIGH. Most of the times its just alcohol and other times its the opportunity to swipe the slate clean and start anew.

Well after 22 such years and considering I don’t drink, Jan 1 in the year 09 for a change was just another day. It was cold, bitter and dry but on the bright side, it was also a holiday. A tone set for the year that followed.

The year like all the years before it had its ups and downs but the difference being, this time every downer always had a silver lining. I am right now being coaxed to write this entry and it is only now that I am actually seeing the year 09 for what it was. And what it was was a year unlike any other.

When I welcomed in 2009 with a post a year ago, I said I knew it d turn out to be good. After all everything is good compared to the disaster that was 2008. But year 09 went beyond good, beyond great to the dizzing heights of AwSM.

The year to begin with was just the same. Work was just as boring and life in many ways as always mundane and all I had to look forward to were my vacations which where a long while away. But somehow I was satisfied. Maybe it was that satisfaction in mediocrity or maybe just a relief that comes with life not turning volatile. But as weeks turned into months, people changed, life changed, I changed. A few so called friends exited stage left, new ones came along, some held firm and ONE broke through.

What was a year of few troughs and cliffs turned into one heckuva rollercoaster ride as of Aug 28’09. Life as I knew it turned on its head. The vision was clearer, the grass greener, the colours hi-def, the music poetic, the food delectable and life-perfect. Someone once said love is all we need, well that someone definitely knew he was talking about.

2009 on a different front was the year Manchester United became champions again, CR7 won world player of the year, Ricky Ponting and Australia won the ICC Champions trophy and Heath Ledger finally got the recognition he deserved. In 2009, Aiswarya got happily married(finally!) and Unni at the blink of an eye left for America and I..hmmm..i shifted to contacts :P.

In 2009, life became REAL. Towards the tail end of 2009, I finally saw life for what It was and people for what they were. Some two-faced, others hardly worth a face and a few diamonds in the rough. I realised that life is more cut throat than I was willing to believe and being nice all the time does not indeed take one far. REAL – definitely was the defining word for 2009.

And now having learnt my life lessons and seen all there is to see and having spent the most enjoyable vacation ever, I say hello to week one 2010. A New year filled with new resolutions and promises. A new year that promises to take one further than ever before. New hopes to cling onto and new mountains to conquer. That’s 2010. How its going to unravel itself, I don’t know. It could be the making of me or it could leave me stranded. But right now all of that doesn’t matter. After all its just week one. 51 more crazy turns before this baby comes to a halt. So hang on to your seatbelts people, coz 2010 is here and its goin to be LEGEN..wait for it…DARY!

Happy New Years Everyone. Have a blast.
AwSMly Yours,

You are my Absolutely.

2009-12-14T01:41:00.000-08:00

Life is strange. You meet people everyday. Some of whom you ve known for almost as long as you ve been on this planet. You see them, talk to them, walk with them, share coffee, jokes and what not but thats the thing about life, something always is amiss. Its that incomplete feeling that can be felt but not placed. And just like all of you out there, i had felt it too.

Had is a very important word in this statement. Had represents everything that was. Had represents the past. The past was dark, scary and confusing but the present is the brightest it has even been, the present is the clearest it has even been, the present is Bebo.

Bebo. What do i say about a person whos given me her all and more and stuck around inspite of me managing to screw up everytime? About a person whos smile sets my whole world alight? A person who took it upon herself to set me right, something no1 else even bothered to consider. I dunno when i grow old and bedridden what all i ll remember in life, but one things for sure, every second i spent with her, i ll remember, everytime she looked at me through those eyes, i ll remember, everytime she called me meeta and then giggled, i ll remember. Coz in 23 years, nothing has seemed so real, so right to me as Bebo.

She would frown at the smallest thing and then get angry and then walk away and when i got too upset, she d come back and smile again. And that smile believe you me sets everything right. Everything that has ever gone wrong in my life, that dimpled smile d take away. We ve had our differences. And lots of them. I ve made her cry more than she deserves. But maybe its coz she is born on the 25th of December or maybe bcoz God decided i deserved the best in life, but my angel always stuck around. I ve been blessed and i know that. But knowing aint everything.

Right now as things stand, i ve driven her away. Its not something i meant to do but being the dumb fuck that i am, i managed it somehow. There have been a lot of close calls but everytime i got forgiven but i guess i rode my luck a lil too much. Right now. I dont know where we stand. I m drowsy and desperate. My soul is running out on me and i dont know what to do to stop it.

I know its not a lack of love coz i know i ve loved her and she me more than humanly possibly. But Maybe love is not enough. I guess i m rambling now, i dunno what to say. All i know is and i know this with every inch of my being, that never ever have i felt a love so real, so right and i know whatever happens now, i ll cherish these months we ve had together more than anything else in life. Coz for me this was life. Love - Real, Right and Absolute.

Speaking of absolute..i remember a message i sent her once and its something i still believe. Bebo hear it again "You definitely are not my If Only, You are my absolutely, positively, completely." And i mean that with every breath i take. Right now I dont know what else to say.

This will be the last entry on my blog and this is the last bit i ll ever write. I dont know whether she will read this or not but even if there is the minutest chance of that happening, then i m giving it my all.

Bebo, Love you

Mi.

As You Sow....

2009-10-30T04:47:00.000-07:00

The catch phrase – old. The message of the entry even older. So watcha doin reading this?

I, like most of you out there, am one of those people who given the chance would blame someone else for my misgivings. The fact that I see it doesn’t mean I ve done anything about it. Y? Well I m very human..and not a great one at that.

I ve not been regular on my blog or any of yours in a long long while…oh hey how u doin?
Anyways..Have I been busy? Yeah..a lil bit. But could I have put in the extra effort and done something about it? Oh absolutely. This here blog has been extremely good to me. It got me through last year unscathed and a lotta of the time, the attention it gathered made me feel good about myself. But still I neglect it…y? well I m very human…and not a great one at that.

But the buck stops here. I m done blaming everyone else for how i tend to screw up life. There is so much more to it. The most important fact of life as far as I m concerned is – “its not over till its over”..where ever you stand at this moment in life – like me in my bed(obv not standing on it!!) – morose and sad or on a tightrope doing the balancing act somewhere in the deccan trails but still lost In thought – that’s just now. There is more – there’s always more- there is tomorrow and if we put our mind and all of our effort into it – that tomorrow need not be morose n sad, it could be everything you want it to be.

Y all this gyaan u ask? Well coz this is something I m learning and so should you. This is what I m gonna try to make of my life – everything I want it to be with all the pieces in place. Life’s good and in the last couple of months, its gotten even better. Someone’s made it better. That someones given me a whole lotta loving, direction, focus and drive to make something of myself. Its only when one sees that spark that utter realization that one finally grows up – oh I ve seen my spark, she s pretty, witty, loving and all that I ve ever wanted. She is my Bebo.

And the fact of the matter is I owe it to her to make life perfect. Coz that’s what I think she is – perfect. And the effort she puts in to help me with all of this is beyond something I could’ve ever done for someone else. So the least I can do right now is grow up and grab the bull by its horns coz its not everyday one get as lucky as I do.

The past is exactly that – the past. You cant do anything about it. So why ever loose sleep over it. What has happened has happened and you are still standing and that’s wat counts. What you can do though is not let your present and your future get haunted by your past. So step up, move forth and all that jazz.

Coz life awaits..life’s calling…pick up..pick up NOW.

Next Is Now

2009-10-01T13:30:00.001-07:00

No apologies...and no i dont ask for forgiveness either. Coz as friends you are expected to understand my one month long absence. Lets get into the reasons later, right now hear me out.

I m confused.

You know there comes a point in everyones life where the next step you take makes or breaks you. While normal people, prepare themselves for this scenario and have counter measures at hand whenst the day of reckoning comes around, others tend to dodge, shuffle, fake n move untill left with on other choice but to cry over spilt milk. Yours truly is definitely an "other".

Everyone has dreams in life. And the bigger you dream, the better your chances of making something out of yourself or so they say. For a normal 10 year old desi kid, nothing seemed bigger than Team India. To don the India Blue was something i like 90% of the boys and .001% of the girls(read madhuri iyer) dreamt of doing. And as years passed and i grew older and less maturer, careers ranging from archeology to journalism came and went from my peripheral vision. And as i turned 18 and no clear cut career options sprung to mind, i chose to be a jack of all trades, i chose to be an Engineer.

And 6 years later, today, i m back at the very place i started out. Sitting in my balcony confused about what i wanna do in life, with life. Laid back is a term everyone who knows me associates with me. Maybe its the fact that i ve had it good in life. Always been lucky and always happy with the dealt hand. But in life, there is only so far luck can take you. The rest you gotta actually DO for yourself. There are plenty of opinions flying around. "You only live once so might as well do what you love" sounds appealing to me but "Money drives the world, so get an MBA" sounds more sensible. Right now i m a cat on a hot tin roof. Option 1 suggests the world of writing. Sports Journalism to be specific. I know its something i love and can see myself doing 30 years hence. And i pretty much know my knowledge of the game is at par if not better than most sports journalists out there. But thats an option thats just not feasible right now. To have Coffee with Harsha and Pepsi (obv i dont drink) with Wasim Bhai, to carve my niche in their world is a dream i ve longed to turn into reality for as long as i can remember. But sadly, self obsessed sports journalists are not exactly in vogue right now.

That leaves us with whats behind door no 2. An attractive MBA from a world renowned college abroad is something i can sink my teeth into. Obviously a great G-MAT score will help. And that ll require a lot of effort. More effort to push me off my bed than actually clearing the test. But But what the heck, no pain no gain right.

Hmmm..now therz a bit of clarity.

Right now, for better or for worse, thats my path of choice. The dreams dreamt have been replaced with new ones . Ones i dont plan on letting slip through my fingers. I guess its time. Its time to get off the lazy chair, take a shower, dump FIFA09 and get going again.

Its finally time for this Sid to WAKE UP.

THE chapter

2009-08-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

Files in order, long drawn out goodbyes said, bags packed, ticket reconfirmed. Tick tock Tick tock – Next Stop – HOME.

How time flies. A year has almost come and gone and though not exactly in the blink of an eye, now that I look back at it, it seems like my time here has absolutely blitzed by. For a large part of this year I sulked my days away. Lost in thoughts and memories of home, I grieved over my supposed pitiful situation. But now that D-day is almost upon me, I realize Abu Dhabi hasn’t been all that bad to me after all. On the contrary, this year away has actually done me a world of good. Its taught me a lot of things I should’ve realized and come to terms with a long time ago. But hey better late than never right?

One very important fact of life that my mother has always tried to in still in me is that every dark cloud of despair has a silver lining. The cup is always half full. So for a change I ll heed her advice. For a change, herz a look at the silver linings in this much detested dark cloud of despair.

·Abu Dhabi has taught me quite a few things. The most prominent being that I can actually survive alone. Though the laundry still needs a launderer and my clothes need Brett’s Ironing, in many ways I ve learnt to live on my own two over sized flat feet. I still cant control my urge to spend but time has taught me to spend on stuff I can actually use. Though still very indecisive, now I at least remember to weigh in the different factors before giving into my indecision. Abu Dhabi has taught me how to live.

·Abu Dhabi gave me Hi speed internet and through it a lot of you friends. Though we ve never met and some of us never might, there is still a strong attachment that goes beyond the realms of bloggersville. I feel closer and more in touch with a lot of you friends than my real life buddies. People say this is a virtual world but why does this virtuality seem so much more clearer and likable than the supposed real world we live in?

·Abu Dhabi has gifted me Brett and Rohit – my flatmates, partners in crime, my brothers in arms. They spoil me silly and love me like they would a younger brother. I dunno how I would’ve survived this city if it weren’t for these two angels from heaven. My day starts with Rohit’s bed coffee and ends only after me and Brett have had our daily roundup discussions. Without a shadow of a doubt, they have been my pillars of strength and for their presence in my life, I am ever grateful to the big guy up there.

·Abu Dhabi afforded me time with myself. Lots of it. And as I look back at this year which in a few hours ll pass me by, every minute I spent with myself was much needed. Its given me more insight into myself. Its given me time to think about and find answers to a lot of questions I avoided thinking about, a lot of things I tried to lock away in some deep corner of my system. MY TIME has taught me where I stand and where I need to go.

·Abu Dhabi is for me what Bodhgaya was for the Buddha. Whilst he received divinity, I ve received AwSMness. Jokes aside, to suggest that the long haired, frail boy who arrived in Abu Dhabi last year was a miserable insecure, incomplete soul would be an understatement. I was as low as low could be and somehow this city has managed to pull me out of the mire and breath in me new life. This year away has helped me recharge my batteries and get back to a level I thought I d never reach again. The confidence, the belief and the strut are all back. The whiner is long gone. His AwSMness is here and for that more than anything else I thank Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi has taken a lot from me and also given me a lot back in return. It took away my friends and replaced them with new ones. It introduced me to hardship and suffering and in time helped me find a way past it and made me a better person for it. It took away “puttu-kadala” but granted me my beloved Chicken Shawarmas instead. Abu Dhabi took away me and gave me back ME.

Someone wise once said that life is a book with many chapters penned and innumerable others waiting to be etched in. In many ways this chapter has been the making of me. But life and me aint done yet.

Tomorrow is a new chapter, tomorrow is a new dawn, tomorrow i' m HOME.

Footy Fever

2009-08-10T21:57:00.000-07:00

Tis that time of the year again,
To get out and about in the summer rain.
In jam-packed stadiums ala white hart lane,
To cheer for your side and to go insane.

If confused you are of what I speak,
Its of “the love for football” that I reek.
And now that I have caught your intrigue,
Give it up give it up for the English Premier League

Contenders aplenty, champions - one,
So hang with me people, coz the poems just begun.

Contender No1 – The Merseyside Reds,
Liverpool FC – a bunch of scrawny Teds.
Their Main Man Alonso’s flown the coup
And left crazy Rafa in quite a soup.

Next on the charts are the men in blue.
Chelsea FC fly in at number two.
Ably led by good ol John Terry,
Is this the season the blues make merry?

Third in line and bringing up the rear,
Arsene’s Gunners, a far cry from their peers.
Fabulous Fab left to fight it out on his own,
But with no Ade and Toure, the burdens grown.

No list is complete without the Sheikh’s millions,
Tevez and Robinho – Man City’s South American Brilliance.
And how can one forget O’Neill and his Da Villa,
Who in Ashley Young have quite the killa.

So those are em freaks fighting it out for the crown,
With us the Red Devils, the toast of the town.

Manchester United’s the name, the most famous of em all.
Hell!! More people know us than they know asterix the gaul.
We don’t just beat our opponents, we batter and maul,
And leave em in a puff of dust too weak to even crawl.

The impregnable defence – Vida and Rio,
Calling the shots are Scholes, Carrick and Ando – the midfield trio.
With Berba and Rooney leaving defenders in a daze
For Macheda and Owen to set the goal trail ablaze.

So in a weeks time, we once again meet old foe’s
Minus CR7 but still with a whole lot to show
So all laced up are Sir Alex and Co
Coz we are Manutd and ere..we ..GO

PS : The English Premier League kicks off on the 15th of August. This is my tribute to an event which makes my weekend exciting again.

That Lovin' Feeling

2009-07-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

I m missing that loving feeling,
That feeling which is oh so healing.
That one touch that leaves you reeling,
Takes u so high, you can touch the ceiling.

Life’s no fun when you r single,
When there’s no one around to make your insides tingle,
When you are all alone and cant share that last pringle,
Hence this jingle, coz I m single.

One gets lonely without those midnight calls,
And those hand in hand walks down those long dark halls,
The moment when you jump into me after sighting one that crawls,
Aah..tis best to forget and not to recall.

I wonder when I ll find my Liz Hurley,
The one with the dazzling smile, all white and pearly,
And struts that strut – lissome and graceful – all girly,
With that mane of long dark hair – all bouncy and curly.

But how do I know miss wrong from miss right?
For a damsel in general, for sore eyes is quite the sight.
She makes your heart soar, makes it take flight,
The Lord’s resplendent creation – truly a delight.

So do you wine and dine the cool, smart meim,
The one cerebrally bright?
Or make out with the voluptuous dame,
The sight in dark jeans – ultra tight .
Now therein lies the conundrum,
A difficult choice, a perilous plight.

So back we are, to square one,
With lil miss elusive, still on the run.
But the hunt is on, its well and truly begun,
So if hide n seeks your game, accio hun.

Guess this should suffice till I find my muse,
Hope you r reading oh Penelope cruz.
Coz here I stand, all dazed and confused,
So come along running coz this poems come to an end and to wait... I refuse.

Close Encounter Of The 3rd Kind

2009-07-19T03:50:00.001-07:00

This here space is where I usually gloat about how AwSM I am and how truly spectacular it is to be me. But this time around its going to be a bit different, its not gonna be about me. Oh who am I kidding, of course its all about me but for a change a group of people will be sharing the spotlight with me. I was reading Mahesh’s blog last week and his latest entry brought back a very significant memory. A memory I had tucked away in a dark but prominent corner of my mind but one which needs to be told. It is a memory of an incident, quite odd but one which I think helped me big time in the long run.

This story takes us back 2 years to a time when I was just like any one of you, a mere normal mortal. Yes, as hard as it is to imagine, there indeed was such a time. I was on my final train ride to Bangalore to take care of some unfinished business and was going through the worst phase of my personal life – the earth shattering mother of all breakups. I had lost all belief in love and life, felt betrayed, broken and to an extend violated..all in all very unAwSM. During the ride, I was trying to lose myself in Mario Puzo’s “The Last Don” when a very lovey dovey couple occupied the Sleeper next to me and decided to get all hands on. Not exactly the kind of scenario I had signed up for. So all angry and upset, I chucked the book and stormed out of the compartment, to find an empty one. And as I finally settled into one such compartment and decided to cry my heart out there, the train made another stop. Luckily everyone gave my compartment a pass and left me to mop in peace.

But as soon as the train left the station again, another racket ensued. I was too busy mopping to be worried about who was doing what. But after a bit, their characteristic tone and their songs gave it away. They were a group…no actually a pack of 6. They raided every compartment, no one was spared. Those who parted with their money, got blessed, those who didn’t, got their unmentionables groped.…yep..the Hijras had made their way onto the train. One by one, compartment by compartment, they came they saw they looted and then…..they reached me.

As they very politely asked me for 5rs and I readily stretched my hand to hand over whatever change I had in my pocket, a funny thing happened. They didn’t take it. They down right refused to accept the money. All of them casually occupied the seats in my compartment. Three of em facing me and the other three along side me. I was wierded out, scared even coz the stories I had heard of them weren’t exactly the sleepy-by bedtime story kind. But then one of them asked me a question “kya hua chikne, itna udhaas kyun”? I was stunned. It was only then that I realised that I was still crying and unlike other people who noticed, passed and didn’t give a rats ass, these 6 people were the only ones who had the courtesy to enquire what actually was troubling me. And then as I took in their solemnly concerned faces, I told em my rather tragic story. They listened patiently, never disturbing, always quiet, rarely even batting an eye lid. After I had finished, I awaited their sympathetic response as was the norm. But the response I got surprised me. They spoke to me not about my predicament but about their life, about how they are condoned in society, how everyone discriminates against them just coz physically they are so called abnormal, about how impossible it is for them to live a normal life how much ever hard they try. And before leaving at the next station, they asked me one final question - whether I d rather switch places with them, them living my so called meaningless life and I living theirs.

I couldn’t give them an answer at that point in time. But later I realised how minor my issues really were, how the life I so hated was actually so blessed, how I was so damn lucky and yet so damn ungrateful. They in many ways set me straight, gave me a new lease on life. And all they took in return for all of their free counselling was their standard fee of 5 rs. I think I got an even better deal coz they even blessed me bigtime and I m quite sure it came from the bottom of their hearts.

Most people look at these physically deformed creations as a bane to society, a black mark on the face of the population. To a great extend, this reaction stems from the image that we have of them coz of what we ve heard from people around us. But when given the chance, they proved to me that if being human is about being compassionate to another beings problems, to aid when needed, to extend a helping hand when required then they are infact more human than most of us can ever claim to be.

I know I ll never see them again or hear their voices but their message I have always held close to my heart and as far as possible I ve tried to live by it. Today I m happy, satisfied and a have a desire to live life to its fullest and for that I thank you, the 6 most beautiful human beings I ve ever met. I m AwSM coz u were AwSM.

Cheers

The Tonsillitis Effect

2009-07-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

Tis a sad day in bloggersville today. His AwSMness’ AwSMness has been compromised. He was feeling on top of the world. Untouchable. No worries, no problems, perfect life and all. And being the smart ass that he is, he blogged about it, gloated about it. Even Wrote a poem about it. And right on cue, like clockwork, an old nemesis who was lurking in the shadows seemingly too weak to conjure an attack, STRUCK. Mr Tonsillitis Is Back. And he s better than ever. And now as a result, our hero’s singing career has come to an abrupt HALT.

Mr Tonsillitis’ return to power was a gradual, well-schemed, well-thought out process. He knew His AwsmNess inside out. Their past historic trysts saw to it. HIS tendency to consume cold elixirs to combat thirst and tiredness – the very elixirs which strengthened Tonsillitis with every gulp, HIS contempt for the medicine man and his spells (read doctor’s prescription) which ensured that though down Tonsillitis was never Out. And thus our main protagonist slowly but surely started tying the knot around his own neck.

It all started quite innocuously enough that fateful Tuesday night. HE was out and about with his comrades painting the town red, blue, purple…all the colours of the rainbow as only he could. And then out of the corner of his eye, HE caught a glimpse of his Kryptonite. A substance so dangerous yet so tempting that even His AwSMness couldn’t control himself. How was HE to know that the bright yellow tinge it radiated would soon be the glow taken up by his tonsils. Who could blame HIM, after all many an immortal has fallen victim to the temptation of the nectar of the Gods ie ButterScotch Ice Cream. All HE wished for was to merely taste that divine treat once. But one scoop lead to another and then another and after our hero had consumed 4 scoops of the scrumptious delicacy, HE regretfully decided to call it a night. All seemed well in AwSM land.

But the very next morn, the first of many tell tale signs surfaced. His Awsmness’ regular routine of a David Cook “Lie” rendition while showering had to be prematurely stopped coz HIS falsetto cracked up and gave way. Unusual but our lad was hardly perturbed. Too dense to realize the severity of the incident, our hero hummed his way to work. And there at work, whilst in conversation with his fellow mortal colleagues, a sudden severe surge lit his temple alight. Not one to show weakness, our brave knight simply brushed it aside and got back to HIS spellbound colleagues. Even though by dusk HIS whole being radiated heat, which would’ve put the human torch to shame, our hero soldiered on merely considering it as excessive AwSMness oozing out of HIS system. But when AwSMness started dripping its way out of his nose, HE got worried.

But by then it was too late, the pain of a thousand needles had pricked HIS being all over and as HE helplessly gazed into the mirror, he saw HIM. HIS foe, HIS nemesis – Mr Tonsillitis was staring right back at him, grinning from ear to ear, more powerful than HE last remembered HIM being. Trapped, Cornered and with nowhere to go, our hero walked slowly, tentatively to HIS royal chamber resigning himself to HIS fate. Alas the prophecy offered little hope anyways :-

“….either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...”.

OK OK…long dramatic story Short. I have tonsillitis. And as it is summer sale season, it comes along with a gift pack consisting of body pain, fever and severe headache. But then if I said it any other way, you wouldn’t have found it even remotely interesting. So there :D.

Now lets see some sympathy people. Oh btw writing in third person is fun :D

PS :HIS, HE refers to His AwSMness which refers to Urs Truly In 3rd Person. :D
HIM refers to Mr Tonsillitis.

AnnoyeD!!

2009-07-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

As a general rule, I don’t do tags. But as it is Sujata’s Birthday tomorrow and she I feel will continue to call me grandson if I don’t, I m gonna do her tag

The Annoyance Tag : Quite simply, I ve gotta list 10 things that annoy me. And since annoying me is the easiest thing in the world, this will most definitely go down as the easiest tag I ve ever done.

So here goes in no particular order :

1)Being Woken Up
See..i hardly ever sleep and nor do I feel the need for it. But in the rare scenario that I do, I hate and I mean HATE being woken up. All I ask for are 5 meaningful, blissful, uninterrupted preferably silent hours in bed. Is that too much to ask? Be it Mom, Sis, Best Friend, Worst enemy, random person on the street, Shane Warne even – u wanna get on my bad side and quick, this is THE way.

2)Misspelling my name
How hard is it to spell A-M-I-T-H. You don’t have to be a spelling bee champ to get it right. If that’s hard, there r the 2 alternatives Ami & AwSM :D. And if you find even that difficult to muster, call me whatever u want – Pappu, Ramu,…. Rakhi Sawant but if u call me Amith – SPELL IT RIGHT.

3)Paki Cab Drivers
I m not racist in any way or form. But Paki Cab Drivers – uffff. Firstly, they have no idea where they should be going. Its no fun circling around the same block 4-5 times while the meter keeps churning away at breakneck speed. Secondly, god forbid u enter the cab with a cell or a laptop. Coz if u do, they make it their business to know what different varieties of porn you have on your laptop/cell. Call me a prude but discussing porn with someone I dunno is not my cup of tea.

4)Bad Coffee
Food is one of my major loves. I ll eat anything and everything and am in no way picky about what I eat. BUT bring me bad coffee and I assure you I m not going to be smiling. Coffee is my elixir of life. I m addicted to it and I have to have a minimum of 5-6 cups a day. So if it turns out bad, my day turns out bad and if my day turns out bad, I get majorly pissed.

5)My N 85
When this baby found its way into my hands the first time, it was like that scene from “The Sorceror’s Stone” when Harry chooses his wand. The phone chose its master :D. But now 4 months down the line, the freaking keypad keeps locking up regularly and I end up spending more time at the Nokia Service Centre than I do at my launderer’s(where I spent quite a lot of time). Avada Kedavra N85.

6)Being Told To Grow Up.
I really don’t see what everyone’s problem is with me being the way I am. As of May, I m 23 and maybe a lil bit immature. So what!! 10 years down the line when I ll be married, have kids and numerous housing and educational installments to pay and with a slightly dodgy toupee over my head, I ll most definitely have matured. Till then DEAL WITH IT!

7)One thing that seriously annoys me is people fussing over me when I m upset. Sure I know they care but at the end of the day I know myself best and whatever decision I take, be it good or bad, I d rather take it myself and not hold anyone else responsible for it.

8)Saturdays
The singles most worst day of the week – Saturday. It signals the start of the Abu Dhabi weekday and so whilst you guys back home laze around or go for a movie or just sleep through the day, I work my ass off. Talk about Injustice!! Also if that weren’t bad enough, our Cafeteria serves only Veggies on Saturdays. Annoying to say the least.

9)Die Hard Tendulkar Fans ( Gavaskars as I prefer to call them)
I have absolutely no time for these idiots who cant see the douche for what he actually is – a bloke who wilts under pressure. Nuff said.

10)Rajnikanth Movies
I haven’t seen a whole lotta Rajnikanth movies and thank goodness for that, but what I ve seen, I ve not liked. There is something about a 700-800 year old man performing death defying stunts and chewing bullets that just annoys the crap outta me. When superman did it, I was ok with all the up up and away jingo but not some dude who should be getting himself checked up for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s on a regular basis.

So there you have it folks, the easiest tag I ve ever done. This list could go on and on and on but for your benefit, I m cutting it short. So go ahead read, lemme know what u think..

PS :Ramya : I ll do your tag also since your izzat is on the line. :D.

Life Is Beautiful

2009-07-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hey peeps. If u missed me, gimme a hell yeah. * “Hell Yeah” bellows the Stone Cold Steve Austin fan from the back row*. Thank u. Aaah..the love and affection you have for me – truly wondrous.

Speaking of wondrous, life’s wonderful aint it. Every second we live is such a blessing. Its truly AwSM(get used to it!!). It reminds me of Jason Mraz’s “life is wonderful”. Ok ok maybe I m getting a bit too happy here. But what am I to do? I just cant stop smiling. All of a sudden I m delirious with happiness. Australia are struggling with their Ashes preparations but I m still smiling. MJ is no longer with us, but I m still all beamish. I once again worked my ass off at work today on my day off but keeping with the trend, the smile is still very much on my face. Y u ask?

Well, if u ve been to my space (not myspace, but my space) long enough, u d know how much I hate Abu Dhabi and how badly I long to get back home. Everday I d try to find the silver lining and everytime it d seem like an exercise in futility. Now turn your attention to the right hand side of my template. Uff.. stop staring at the pic. No thats not Ranbir Kapoor :P. Lower. Yep stop right there. That my friend is my countdown clock. It counts down the no of days left for me to get back home. Its like counting down to your parole date. And as of day before yest, my parole date has been set. My vacation has been approved people. Come 27th August, yours truly will be back HOME.

HOME. Just saying it fills me up with warmth inside. And now I ve only got a mere 55 more days left to get there. And that moment when I get off the flight and pass through the arrivals lounge and set my sights on my beloved family looking back at me is THE moment I ve been waiting for, dying for since the day I got here. For a change watching mom cry and her nose turn red wont be as upsetting coz I know it ll immediately at the first crack of a corny one liner transform into her beautiful Cheshire cat like smile. Meeting dad again will be like watching a Masterclass in actings. He ll act all calm and composed inspite of missing me more than words can explain and he I know ll shake hands and refrain from a hug coz “men don’t show affection” though we all know its actually bcoz he ll struggle to keep his emotions in check. Wow… these are most definitely going to be Mastercard moments. But more than anything else, what I m looking forward to the most is the look on my sister’s face. Miss “I sooo don’t miss you” has no idea I m coming back and according to the plan the rest of us have formulated, that’s exactly how its gonna remain till D-day when they coax her to the airport to greet a long lost cousin (yep – urs truly). What I d give right now for a preview of what her reaction is going to be like. But I guess these are moments worth waiting for.

And then there is also the small matter of a nomadic odyssey across the whole of India to meet my buds again. It would’ve been so much easier if all of em would’ve been placed in one single company but nooo everyone’s so ambitious. Damn Ambition!! Now I have to travel to every nook and corner just to say Hi , Hello and a cup of coffee. That cup of coffee better be worth it. Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore (bengaluru doesn’t quite cut it for me), Delhi – quite a list right? The things I do for these idiots and bloody hell what appreciation do I get? Not one of em even reads my blog. But hey..i m still smiling :D.

Life seems complete right now. All the equations I desire are firmly in place. All the pieces that form my life, the various entities that complete me have miraculously slotted themselves into position. Right now, touchwood, life is perfect. The only think I d want from the big guy right now is the swift, speedy passing of these 55 days. Hey No..wait, I don’t even desire that.

I ve waited this long. I ve waged this arduous battle really well and held firm for really long inspite of all the adversities and self inflicted troubles. So I guess holding on for 55 more days shouldn’t be much of a problem. Coz after all, the pot of gold that awaits at the other end of the rainbow is definitely worth the wait.

Dorothy said it right in the The Wizard Of Oz “There is no place like home”, “There is no place like home”.

Cheers
Amith

And my Boy Turns 1

2009-06-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

A year has come n gone since that eventful first post.
Of college of buddies of those memories missed most.
A year has come n been since our first date,
It seems so perfect now, seems like it was just fate.

A whole year’s been spent side by side, just me n u
We ve taken in all the colours together..every possible hue.

U stood by me while I obsessed about kickin it like Wayne,
U kept at it whilst I relived old memories of walkin alone in the rain.
U concealed a giggle when I hopped to pepe and got myself groped,
U even held my hand when gymming didnt go down as well as I had hoped.

U endured my rants about valentines & friends moving on,
U bore with my dislike for tendulkar and pretty boy c ron.
U felt for me when I whined about missing life back home,
And put up with my madness for united and that win in good ol rome.

U let me be when I went cricket crazy and yelled Warney Warney,
And when I dumped u to the side to watch more of Ted n barney.
U stuck by my side even though I was obsessed with Bebo n King Khan,
Gosh I was such a jerk…God !! Hey Bhagwan :P

But I guess this blog is not about just u n me,
I thank U, yes U..coz to party it takes 3.
Thanx for not running off and reading what I write,
Thanx for tolerating this crap and not askin me to go fly a kite.

Thanx for putting up with my unnecessarily adjectivised diction,
And my mundane same routine, the lack of acrostics or 55 fiction.
Thanx for commenting and letting me in on what u think,
And never for an instant opiniating that I stink

But readers, the torture doesnt quite end here
The narcissism continues, there’s plenty more my dear.
We ve got tons more rhymes and posts to do,
And I expect u to be around, after all we r friends through n through…

PS : I guess our year spent together was worth the slog,
and now finally though a day late i wish u HAPPY BIRTHDAY Blog

Y i should be the new United 7.

2009-06-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

Confusing Heading eh. I write this post assuming that my readers, yes i refer to u - the millions and millions of dedicated souls who visit this humble page on a regular basis, are educated beings who follow the news(if not me atleast you) or atleast some form of it. And if my assumption holds good, then in between all the racist attacks in Australia, team India's dumping in England and SRK s grand IIFA felicitation you must ve come across a small matter which took up the whole of every sports page around the world.Even the Banga times dedicated a whole portion of thier highly profitable daily to a certain 80 mill worth footballer. We United fans refer to him as CR7 or Ronnie(not to be confused with Veronica Lodge of Archie fame) but the world knows him as the whinner, wanker, winker, cry-baby ron etc etc. But all the pleasantries aside, he is Cristiano Ronaldo, the best player on the planet.

Now when a player is valued at 80 million, it makes one wonder. Think about it. You can buy the whole of beautiful Tahiti including the bikini clad tahitians(females obv) with that kinda money. So 80 million suggests - CR7 is one special player! So now Sir Alex has the unenviable task of trying to get a player to replace the irreplaceable Ronaldo. Many have staked their claim - right from France's version of Al Pacino's scarface aka Franck Ribery to our former footballer turned captain MS Dhoni. From John Abraham ( "dhan dhana dhan goal" and all) to Bhaichung Bhuttia. And one by one all of em have been rejected. Whilst one aint pretty enough to wear a United shirt, the other walks out of press conferences, another has got acting committments to keep and poor ol Bhaichung is 30 - read OLD. So that leaves us with one resplendent fitting candidate - Urs Truly. This here is me presenting my case to follow in the steps of United Legends of the past - George Best, King Cantona, Pretty Boy Becks and now CR7...my case to don the holy NO7 Jersey.

1) Cristiano is not just a footballer. He is also the most marketable face on the planet. And obviously when he leaves United, he also takes with him a few million female fans. So ideally the player replacing him if not as good a footballer must be atleast as good looking. So considering SRK's chronic back problem and Hrithik's ever receding mane- that once again leaves.....ME. :)

2) As i am not currently under any contractual obligation to either AC Milan, Barcelona or Real Madrid and as i dont exactly deal with sports agents, Manutd inorder to sign me wont have to break the world football transfer record. I m sure something in the region of a very reasonable 1 Million (euro obviously!! the pound is waning) would suffice. The rest 79 million can be spent on so called more 'talented' footballers.

3) By signing urs truly(i like saying that), United get to make inroads into the untapped potential of the Indian Market. We are generally sports fanatics and if a player like Tendulkar is revered inspite of never winning a damn thing, consider the possibilites.!!Especially when one takes into account the lacklustre performance of the T20 team last week . :)

4) All major clubs have the ever recurring issue of players wanting more playing time. But when United sign me, they sign a new breed of footballer. One who is happy to occupy space in the dugout and cheer his team on as long as he gets paid weekly, gets medical insurance, yearly vacations and not to forget is included in team bonuses.

5) CR7 the brand is world renouned. Its almost as famous as the nike tick and the adidas stripes. But come on!! - doesnt Aw.S.M - the brand sound more catchy. :)

6)Cristiano the casanova has had his fair share of flings and with every chick he s dumped, he's brought disrepute to the club image. Now AwSM7 values the team image and is too conservative to be seen going around with slutty, two timing, mms scandal starring socilaties ala CR7's latest tryst with Paris Hilton. AwSM7 is too smitten by our Bebo to think of anyone else.

7) If United sign me, they wouldnt have to fear me ever getting linked to a Real Madrid or a Barcelona ala ronaldo. Sir Alex can sleep with the belief that he has signed a United player for life. (As long as i keep getting paid).

8) Unlike Cristiano Ronaldo, my Indian heritage implies i speak proper understandable English and not broken down Portugese. So rest assured when accepting Player Of The Match champagne's if i say 'confident' it would come out as 'confident' and not 'c**tfident'.

9)If ASM7 is signed, Sir Alex does not have to fear me getting injured during World Cup Games coz ....India never actually qualify . :).

10)Signing me would be the most logical solution considering i know more about United than Cristiano does about all his pink shirts, hairgel products, mascara, make-up kits and platinum ear studs.

11)Another problem faced by most top teams is that of players not liking to play out of positon but being the new breed of player that i am, i d play as GK,LB,RB,CB,RM,CM,LM,LF,CF,RF, Assistent Coach, Coach, CEO or even as "Fred The Red" - the club mascot at the drop of a hat! Talk about being committed to the club!!

So there you have it folks. 11 reasons why AwSM7 should replace CR7 at United. Now shoo.. Spread the word people. If you need pictures to start a campaign, feel free to use any of the 3 placed strategically on the right side of the blog. In case you need close ups, do feel free to contact me. Its in your hands people - i leave my destiny in your hands. Make me proud. :)

cheers

Blimey!! Ash is gettin Married

2009-06-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

Ash is getting married. No Mrs Rai isn’t secretly tying the knot with the Big B..YET. That d merely be gross and disgusting. The person I m talking about is someone significantly more important. Ash refers to Aishu(she calls herself ash!!) my friend..my oldest friend! The poor female who had to bear me all the way from school to college and now constantly over the phone.Such a sweet girl and She was doing so well - neat job with gtalk connectivity, great apartment, Aw.S.M(catchy aint it) friends (namely me!!) and then she decides to spoil all that by contemplating marriage. TRAITOR!!

The big deal about ash getting married is that now EVERYTHING changes. See when you are as self obsessed and sceptical of people as I am, its hard to make really close friends but I d like to believe that as I left home last year, I left behind a few people who i knew I d be incomplete without and them without me. But then life’s a bitch and times have changed.

The situation is hard as it is. Keerthy is extremely busy and pissed off with work and we hardly talk and somewhere along the line, distance started becoming a factor. Unni has changed from being the funny crazy partner in crime who devoured all my Archie comics to this serious s/w dude who discusses elections and is as of now reading Undercover Economist and some book written by Nehru!! WHO reads Undercover Economist.!! But then these 2 were always expected to be on their way after their GMAT exams(whenever they FINALLY decide to take it) but with Ash its different, she was expected to be around. Though she is annoyingly sensible and almost always right, she did have honourable traits too..like always looking out for me and getting my assignments done on time ;-). But now her knight in shining armour is here on his magnificent steed and has wooed her away from us lesser mortals. Hmmpphh!!

I dunno what frustrates me more, the fact that she s getting married or that everything around me has changed? Its kind of a sad situation when how much ever one tries to remain the same, freeze time and hold everything in place, it never really works out. Change always kicks you in the butt. Change always has the last laugh.

Right now with less than 80 days left for my long awaited vacation to kick off, for the first time ever i m not really looking forward to it as much as I had hoped I would be. I always imagined that with me coming back, everything would fall back in place, the missing piece would complete the jigsaw again but now I m not too sure..seems like with the pieces changing shape, the objets d’art” has lost its value.

But then again, I didn’t read Lance Armstrong’s autobiography for nothing. I aint quitting on em that easy. Yes Unni wants to bike ride his way to Leh but then again he still watches HOUSE so maybe there is hope for him after all. And Keerthy…well she aint getting married for the next 2 years..so we can work with that and slowly get her back to her crazy self(hypnosis is an option).

And that brings us back to Ash-our bride to be. Sometimes in life, there is absolutely nothing you can do other than walk away into the sunset with your overflowing cape and sombrero intact(been watching WAY too many cowboy movies lately). But one thing I can do is be happy for her. Actually be happy for her hubby coz he has no idea how unbelievably lucky he is. He s getting married to the smartest, sweetest and nicest person I know and though I d rather not let her go..as she gets married and does her 10th dakshina or whatever it is called, I ll be rooting for her, I ll be clapping the hardest, I ll be wishing her luck with all my heart…coz….that’s what friends do.

Happy Best Friends Day everyone :)

CHEERS

My Final Adieu

2009-05-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

With "Some Love Stories", i told you a story. But every story needs closure.....

There was a time i loved you, loved u more than life.
And then you walked away but left memories still very rife.
Spent every waking second lost in your thought.
Drunk in "if only"s, life began to rot.

Where ever i set my sights, you were all i saw.
Your scent, your touch every detail still seemed oh so raw.
How could i move on when i simply refused to let go.
When all i wanted was this life of bitterness, self pity and woe.

But then one day, i forgot all about you.
Dunno how but its not something i rue.
Was it the heart that decided to stop being a whiner
Or maybe destiny suggested there is someone out there finer.

Whatever it is, i dont think of you anymore.
Your are long forgotten, you ve been shown the door.
Your pic from my wallet - chucked in the trash.
Right now i dont even care if you think i m being brash.

Why wallow in your memory, you were never that fine.
Hell - when time came a calling, you didnt even stand to be mine.
When i needed straight answers, you wouldnt look me in the eye.
There are times when i wondered if the love wasnt a lie.

I thought i needed you, boy was i wrong.
I groove to a different tune now, i m singing a new song.
Its got harmony, melody rhythm and beat.
Its got my feet tapping again, its got me once again feeling complete.

So this here is me saying it like it should be said.
I m done living in the past, now i m gonna look ahead.
If there is love out there, this time i m going to let it find me.
Coz sugar..its not just you..there are plenty more fish out there in the sea.

So baby this is me bidding my final adieu,
Yes it took some time, but now..i m finally over you.

THIS is Closure....

Before You Walk Away

2009-05-22T15:25:00.000-07:00

“Don’t give up on Love Or Life”

A year or so back this message made its way into my inbox. A dear consoling friend’s attempt at an arm around the shoulder. And yesterday, yet again the very same lines though absolutely different circumstances waltz once again into my life.

2 weeks back, I saw the Ashton Kutcher starrer “ The Butterfly Effect”, though in essence the movie was brilliant, the way it ended with the male protagonist walking away from any chance of being with the love of his life didn’t appeal to me. I for one am very filmy at heart and live by SRK’s views on love and relationships, hence the conclusion of the movie stuck with me. And then followed this message and now this entry.

Love – the most noble and most passionate of all emotions. The very emotion that makes ones heart flutter and see seventh heaven leaves another shattered and in the depths of despair. Love – the inspiration behind many a beautiful verse, many a magnificent painting, many an awe inspiring masterpiece. Love – the be all and end all of LIFE.

So what does it take to walk away from love? Walk away from life? A question that has been eating away at me for quite a bit now and Mr Kutcher and the message just decided that I ll be asking you the same thing. How easy is it to walk away from the person you love?

A relationship is a beautiful thing. Just being with the other, holding hands makes the world seem like such a beautiful place. Watching the other smile, that tender loving kiss, that warm embrace, that completion of the others sentence, that “I get u” moment are all what one lives for. But why is it that at the slightest sign of trouble, the minutest problem, all of that is forgotten and the back door is the one most taken. How is it that one can just dust their hands clean, say adios and walk off knowing that what is being left behind could be the missing piece to your jigsaw? You see a thousand images of life when together. Kids – one or two. Their names. How they ll be brought up, do they take up French or Spanish for a fourth language. You seem to have answers to it all. But then when the ship gets rocked how many choose to patch up the hull rather than let it sink.

We live in a world of a million uncertainties, infinite permutations and combinations but why is it that we choose to fight those uncertainties whilst we let go of that perfect unison, that perfect perfect ONE without even throwing a jab. If it is LOVE isn’t it always worth the effort? Isnt it always worth the sacrifice? However great or small it maybe? Yes it might not work out but knowing that you tried, knowing that you gave it your all, knowing you tried to give it life, doesn’t that if nothing else help you move on in better spirit?

How easy is it to walk away from all of that? From what you know is perfect and from all the beautiful visions which you know could take shape if you could muster enough strength to fight the fight?

As far as I m concerned if it is love, you stand up to be counted. You give it your all and more. When one is weak there are always tons of excuses to fall back on - destiny, fate –CRAP, its always “ It wasn’t meant to be” but the stronger ones, the ones who fight, spend their 50th anniversary telling their grandchildren tales of their great escapades holding hands and with that lovey dovey expression on their face. Which side of the fence would you prefer to be on? To see a future together is one thing but to let it take shape is totally a different kettle of fish. It requires a lot of hardwork, brutal sacrifices but when everything is said and done and when one wakes up to that smiling face looking lovingly on at you, wont the sacrifice seem worthwhile?

Think about it.

GoodNight.

PS : To all my friends, NO this is not about THAT. Trust me.

P.S.S : Admist all of this, I wish to admire a friend who endured separation and what not for 900 odd days. But last week this real life heroine met her prince charming once again. I m sure as hell she ll agree it was worth the wait. Dipti – you have yourself a lifelong fan.

Birthday Blues

2009-05-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

"Hey…So wat plans for D-day?"

THIS is one question I m growing tired of answering. D-day comes once every year for any normal person. For me though it comes twice a year. The 19th and the 23rd of May. D-day is ME-day. D-day is my birthday.

This year away from home has been about a lot of firsts. First New Years not spent with the buds. First Lonely Valentines, First "hard earned" paycheck and now adding one more up to the list…first Lonely Birthday. Yes this could soon turn into another sad miserable cribbing post. So those people who cant handle all this emotional stress – this is where u say goodbye. There ll be a summarised PS at the end and that ll provide u with more than enough info to make it seem like you read the post and that way I ll get to ur post and I ll leave a comment.(How sweet am I !!)

So back to my cribbing. Birthday no 23 was never going to be really awesome anyways. Everyone I love and would like to spend this day with are back home. And my flatmates who I was now beginning to like are leaving to meet their fiances on the 18th - so i like them a lil less now. Toh its going to be yours truly alone in front of the tele watching some FRIENDS re run blowing the candles of this beautiful butterscotch cake (which my roomies considerately have already ordered and paid for and which now I cant refuse) and pondering over how this could’ve all been SO different if I were only home…sighhhh

My my my..how times change.. Last time around my birthday was about a lot of fun and a lot of tears. Fun coz DUH!! It was my birthday and tears coz I was leaving home the next day. Mom dad relatives sighhh…and PRESENTS PRESENTS PRESENTS…and this year..ughhh…the contrast is amazing. Its like Manchester United and Arsenal ( : )..just couldn’t resist the jibe)

But there is one thing I look forward to though. The first caller. Its fun to watch the guys fighting to become the first caller. The best part is…only my closest friends and now u folk know that my b’day is actually on the 19th coz if u were to go by my birth certificate, orkut or facebook the 23rd is when u d ring me up and I would then have to forsake my Taurean brotherhood membership. Oye I.B, Ash – I m still in k. So you see, I get a few calls on the 19th from my tightest buds and everyone else wishes me on the 23rd.And caller no1 is always one outta 3 people. Unni, Aish or Keerthy. Though I always manage to forget their birthdays, these sweethearts always remember mine. Lets see who hits the jackpot this time around though..woohoo. I envy the lucky devil..(sheesh..even my sarci is losing punch).

And to add insult to injury - May 19th is a Tuesday. My least favourite day of the week. The day of big drawn out hectic meetings at work and stupid vegetarian lunches in the cafeteria..sighhh. So in all likelyhood its going to be one looongggg day. And I ll be lucky if I m on time to collect the Cake before my super decides to just take it home with him. Greedy bugger that guy.! Oh well…seems like I ll have to invite him and Mr and Mrs Khanna, my old retired neighbours to cut the cake with. And now that the congress has blitzed the elections, that I feel will be the central discussion topic rather than adorable ol me turning 23. …whoopieee I m so looking forward to this!!

So just in case you read this blog. Please don’t ask me about D-day or else it really could be D-day for you. I ll let you all know how it actually pans out ok. Don’t get your hopes up though, Next one is NOT going to be a funny witty entry that ll have u rolling on the floor. Not for the faint hearted. Very tragic – almost as tragic as the BJP : )

Okies..its 2 am..i guess I ll call it a night. Work tomm…sighhh.

PS : Don’t forget to wish me ok. Forget and i wont talk to u.

P.P.S : For those who skipped to the end. SUMMARY : b’day – 19th – also 23rd – lame – tragic – mr and mrs Khanna coming – wish me else suffer.

P.P.P.S : SUJATA – I posted!!!

Some Love Stories....

2009-05-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

This is a story from seven years back,
Of a boy and a girl and a relationship lost track.
Every lil detail, etched in clear memory
Oh dont fret, all u have to bear with is a mere summary!!.

Taking you along to the summer of 2001,
The year of Potter Mania and the blistering sun.
Met a brown eyed damsel during summer tuition,
All dressed up in blue, seemingly a beautiful illusion.

Hi, how you doing as are normal introductions,
but for all to see was an apparent connection.
And for a year or so, random chit chat was shared
before one fine day those 3 words were declared

And then ensued years of bliss,
Of love, of romance , of meetings sealed with a kiss.
6 sets of seasons came and went
but the love grew stronger, it wouldnt relent.
Together forever, the intention was clear,
But a resolve so strong was beyond mortals mere.

Lil by lil everything went askew,
Problems aplenty, the separation grew.
And just like that, the spell was broken,
"tis not meant to be" - the last words were spoken.

And So lay the fabric of love, torn and tattered
whilst in its wake a feeble heart battered, bruised and shattered.
And amongst the rubble - 2 paths to choose,
One to move on, the other to look back and muse.

Fast forward to the present - the year 2009.
Though the memories still remain, the heart no longer pines.
Life's so much more, love merely a small part,
What else can one say, when ice cold has grown the heart.

Not all love stories are "qayamat se qayamat tak",
some just make us cringe, make us go "oh f**k!!"
Not all love stories have juliet and romeo,
some have mere mortals, some r mere cameos.

Not every love couple end up like rachel and ross,
Some have to move on and to live with the loss.
Tis easier to breathe when one accepts before getting dafter,
Not all love stories are "lived happily ever after".

Baby, I M Back!!

2009-05-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

Anddddddddd...he's backkk!!

You know whats the best thing about a self imposed exile ...you can call it off anytime you want to..and as of now..its OFF...boy wonder is back blogging again. The 'sabbatical' lasted all of 4 long, drawn out days. I guess if you are a regular here, you must be thinking something along the lines of "thats it??!!...already??"...well yeah...thats it. You see thats one of the great boons of being immature, you can choose to distort, contort or any other tort occurrences to suit your line of thought and in the end feel good again. You find enough reasons to believe why what you did is right. ;-).

I was a confused wreck when i wrote what i did last time around. Its never a fun feeling when you end up hurting a friend. Granted - unknowingly but in the end thats of lil consolation. Sometimes being truthful is simply over-rated. There was so much i couldve avoided if i wouldve just lied. But hey maybe the reason i m feeling better right now is down to the fact that i didnt. But Oh well everything turned out well in the end. So lets not dwell on it.

Now before i go anywhere further with this, there are a few people i d like to thank for getting me through the last week:-

1) Myself - for finally finding enough time to SLEEP and letting the confused mind relax. ( every over worked neuron thanx me immensely)
2) Manchester United - For whipping Tottenham and Arsenal in the space of 4 days. (The double is ON!!!)
3) ESPN - For broadcasting those matches and especially for that bloody lost look on Steve Mcmahon's face!! (bloody scouser!!)
4) P.J Tracy - For writing Dead Run. Truly amazing book.
5) Me again for reading Dead Run. ( Good on u mate!!)
6) Oh i thank you Warney for rolling that arm over again.
7) 2Oth Century Fox for the masterpiece that is Wolverine.
8) The UAE govt for finally opening that sports stadium opposite to my flat!!(fINALLY!!)
9) My gym people for refunding 2 months membership fee and being so cool about the fact that my gymming experience lasted only 3 weeks. ;-)
10) Finally i thank the both of YOU for being so cool about everything. Thank you.

Now that i ve been all goody goody and thanked all the people i wanted to thank, there are certain people i have an opinion on and it wouldnt be very me if i didnt let it out right?. So here goes :-

1) Fake IPL Blogger.
A feeble- minded imbecile who i m pretty sure is no way part of the now ever dwindling bunch of players on the KKR squad. I dont get why people even read what he writes. It doesnt take much to be a 'poison - pen' writer you know. A bit of sarcasm, a bit of wit, a lot of self-loathing, an acute knowledge of the game of cricket and anyone could do it. Geez..i m not gonna waste anymore space on that p****.

2)Sunil 'yap yap yap' Gavaskar
I really dont see who the hell "Mr 36 runs in 60 overs" is to tell SRK how to run his team. The jerk cant even run his own commentary box and he has the nerve to comment on a whole damn franchise. Sometimes people just have to realize on their own when they r barking up the wrong tree. Yapper should just limit his idiotism to the commentary box where we can just set him on mute or wait till the next pair of commentators take over.

Now..THAT felt nice!!

Therz quite a lot more i d like to say but right now I ve got a game to get to in like 30 mins so i m gonna cut this short. So till next time people.

Peace Out

P.S : For those, who d rather not read and just comment, Here's the summary : Urs Truly Is
BACK!..

P.P.S : This rather lame post sounds better if heard in conjunction with M.J's 'I m back'

HERE I AM, THIS IS ME...WELL AND TRULY ME

2009-04-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

Cutting to the chase, i m not going to tell you how wonderful this last week has been. No, its been anything but. Yes there are major parts of this week. i ll hold dearly close to myself and will i hope in due time think about and smile about. But as of now, i m seething. I m confused, i m dis oriented, i m disillusioned and bcoz i m disillusioned, i cant make head or tail of a lot of things i m feelings right now.

A blog is a wonderful way to portray your emotions and what you are and as far as i know, i ve always been true to my blog. Yes, i have inhibitions and a side of me i d rather keep away but who doesnt ? If there is something interesting that i feel needs to be written about, i write about it and if not, the blog stays redundant as it has for the last couple of weeks but i sure as hell dont try to come across as something i m not. ( Yes, this means u!)

I dont claim to be perfect. Far from it. There are times when i make George Bush look like a saint. But right here, i ve always been me. And very simply, me is just your average joe who loves his sports, who doesnt mind listening to the same songs over and over again, who doesnt think a lot about the decisions he makes, who makes friends and just as easily loses them, who's done enough changing for the people around him and right now is hell bent on being himself come what may.

I m just me. Confused and disillusioned. Setting myself straight again after what i ve been through has not been easy and as a result of it there is a lot i ve had to give up. I guess i can't do relationships, i can't do commitments, i will not break my routine, i guess i just wont do anything that ll change me from what i am. I guess my blog makes me seem real cool but if there is anything cool, unfortunately it comes with all of this baggage in tow. But hey, i m not apologizing for any of this. Why should i? I actually like what i am, love it more like. Right now i m just coming clean.

I need a break. I m going off the network for a bit. I dont know for how long. Maybe i ll be back at my system and lambasting Gavaskar about the SRK situation tomorrow or maybe i ll be back in a month. But rest assured, i will be back. Now, i m just taking a sabbatical. I thank you for reading my blog and i m sorry if i havent replied to yours.

Amith aka Dream'R signing off indefinitely.

PS : I m sorry ( to you - " the complex but fundamentally simple book i just couldnt finish reading")

P.P.S : Why cant life be as simple as football? Why not just pass and move, pass and move? Why does everyone have to be a Ronaldo and try to do it all on their own ?

Adios.

Busy Busy Busy

2009-04-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

Yes i know, i ve been away for a week.
The blogs been stagnant, no updates or so to speak.
Whilst everywhere around therz something fancy something new,
I ve been so tied up here ,not even left with time to visit the loo.

Works been real hectic,been keeping me quite busy
Documents piling higher and higher, so high its getting dizzy.
I m not to blame,Its not like i havent tried.
Tons and tons of paperwork at hand,Therz just no stemming the tide.

In the days of yore all was well,in my boss i could confide,
But as he left on leave yest,Lose i did -my mentor, my guide.
So all alone here i sit, missing JD and Turk,
whilst across the room roams Daniel, damn i hate that jerk!!.

My luxurious hour long lunches, never to be again.
If this goes on for any longer now, rest assured i ll pop a vein.
Missed so much in the last week - boy am i pissed,
U wanna know whats eating away at me, well.. herz a small list.

Been too busy to chit, too busy to chat,
No time for shru or the girl who loves cats.
Not even time for myself, its such a damn shame,
Its been so bad, even managed to miss the united game.

No hour and a half to watch 21 and Kevin Spacey,
Or to run through a few pages of that P.J Tracy.
No time to hang with friends, not even to go out and dine.
My hands r twitching so badly now, but alas no time for FIFA 09.

No time for memories, to look back and ponder.
Can no longer sit back, relax and gaze at the big blue yonder.
No time to even look around and at the pretty ladies gawk.
Or to muster a conversation with the relatives on G-talk.
No time to smell the roses, to dance in the rain.
Or even a minute to feel the footy, to kick it like Wayne. (Rooney ofcourse)

Now u know y i havent blogged in a week,
Just havent had the time, not even to give this a tweak.
So i m crossing my fingers and hoping this ll rhyme,
It better damnit coz to edit - i just dont have the time.

PS :

Agreed its not my best work, lacks the usual razzmatazz,
Poems just aint my game people, i m no Jason Mraz.

Rain On Me

2009-04-03T02:52:00.000-07:00

I woke up today to the sound of thunder. For once my alarm would have a good day’s rest. The room seemed gloomy even with all the lights switched on. My senses told me 6pm but the clock affirmed 6am. Up early and not in the least bit sleepy. The sound of the pitter patter on the balcony window attracted me. The tiny water globules suggested it, the smell of the freshly wet soil confirmed it. Yes it had rained. And it had rained for me.

I had missed the rains. Back home, It was always my favorite time of the year. Just sitting in our balcony, book in hand, sipping hot coffee watching the rain was my favorite feeling in the world. But this is not back home. Here the chances of rain were considered remote, Bleak. Bleaker than Federer's chances at the French, Tendulkar's with the World Cup, Liverpool's at the EPL Title. So I guess, the rains coming here meant they missed me too. It had been 6 months to our parting. I remember them accompanying me on my day of leaving, even suggesting to stay by delaying the flight by a couple of hours. But that was 6 months ago. 6 months of anguish, turmoil and solitude have passed but now everything would be set right. The rains were now here.

As I sat there coffee in hand sensing that slightest of comfortable chills which only the first rains could bring, memories – a surge of them came rushing to me faster than the now forming goose bumps on my skin. There were those from the days of yore. The days on the fields with the guys supposedly playing football though it always seemed and felt more like rugby, getting oneself drenched down to every piece of clothing only to return home and for mom to scream at the top of her voice and to chase me out of the house all coz of one ruined expensive carpet, to find the whole gang gathered under the banyan tree waiting for me, all set for a dip in the pond before the mothers decide otherwise and upon seeing them to scatter into the bushes knowing they wouldn’t dare follow us and to meet at the coffee shop for woh 2 rupee waala heart warming coffee and once done with our exploits to be bed ridden for the next week with the highest of temperatures berating ourselves for being so stupid but still smiling inwardly.

Then there were those ‘closest to the heart’ ones. Meeting that special someone in the rain. Bunking those hours of college, riding the bike to its utmost limit knowing that the slightest hiccup could be catastrophic but still the need to see her simply overwhelming all reasoning. And then coz of the inexorable traffic to reach late, dowsed from head to toe, my carefully combed hair now a complete mess but to still find her there with a scowl on her face but a twinkle in her eye knowing those months of separation where just as hard for her - you know it was all worth it. I thanked the umbrella for the intimacy it provided, for the chance to see her up close for the first time in months and to just lose myself in those eyes.

Thoughts of college and the unenviable task of fitting 4 – 5 jocks under a single umbrella immediately spring to mind. Unni pushing to the left, me to the right, Jijin & Abey jostling for position and lots of abusing in between as everyone bar Hari eventually get wet and all the assignments completely soaked. And then to call back home and suggest a sleep over at the hostel coz of the perennial rain and dangerous roads all the while dealing cards for the next round of 56 which would now go on to the early hours of the next day.

Memories, sweet memories.
But with the last sip of the now cold coffee, those memories slowly faded away and cold, harsh realization set in. Realization that the banyan tree is long gone and with it the roots of our bonds which we took great pride in. Realization that the fields have now been replaced by houses, the coffee shop with a supermarket and our carefree youth with worries. Realization that though the bike rides might still be to the same place and just as tedious, there no longer is a person waiting to make it all worthwhile, no longer are there eyes to lose thyself in. Realization that college life is over and will forever now only be a memory and to catch even a glimpse of those buddies for life, another long, grueling 6 months will have to slowly wear away.

The rains brought a lot of hope but they took them along their path to where they would eventually percolate – down the drain.

Why did it have to rain?? Y on me?

Note : Wrote this 6 days back. Had promised myself - "no more emotional posts" and hence avoided posting this. But right now - this seems right.

Knowing Me X 100

2009-03-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

I ve been tagged by Jinxie ma Lil Pixie, Arshi & Isha to let you in on a “100 TRUTHS”…so here goes –

1) Last Drink – What better way to start a day, evening or night than COFFEE.
2) Last Phone Call – A ‘buddy’ from work. I didn’t pick up. ;-)
3) Last Text Message – My service provider ‘etisalat’. Supposedly some new scheme to make calls to Hong Kong or Taiwan or somewhere!! ??
4) Last Song You Listened To – “Curbside Prophet” – Jason Mraz.
5) Last Time You Cried – For a guy, I cry a lot!!...i think it was 2 weeks back coz all of a sudden i just felt all alone and missed everyone back home. :-(

HAVE U EVER :

6) Dated Someone Twice : No...if only people were that interesting ;-)
7) Been Cheated On : Been Cheated - Yes... Been Cheated On - No
8) Kissed Someone & Regretted It : Nope...definitely not...
9) Lost Someone Special : Guess so...due to no fault of mine though!!
10) Been Depressed : You betta believe it..!!
11) Been Drunk And Threw Up : I dont drink....!! dont act shocked!!...i just choose not to!!

LIST FOUR FAVOURITE COLOURS :

12) Black (duh!!)
13) Red
14) White
15) Blue

FIRSTS :

16) Made New Friends : No!!The bane of my existence..i ve been here for 6 months now and i dont think there is a soul here i can call a new friend!!...
17) Fallen Outta Love : NEXTTTTT....
18) Laughed Untill You Cried : hehe..all throughout college..after that the laughing parts have been few and far between.
19) Met Someone Who Changed You : I would like to think not. Its a hard enough task aint it ?..improving upon perfection and all...!!...;-)
20) Found Out Who Your True Friends Were : I ve always known who my true friends are and i m pretty sure they know that i know.
21) Found Out Someone Was Talking About You : Only everyday!! With all the major things happening around the world - Obama, Elections, recession, etc etc if people would rather talk about me, shouldn't i feel honored?? ;-)

HAVE YOU:

22) Kissed Anyone On Your Friend's List : Which list are we talking about here?..lets clear that up first.
23) How Many People On Your Friends List Do U Know In Real Life : WHICH LIST!!
24) How Many Kids Do U Want To Have : 2. A boy - Aaryan & A girl - Diya ;-)
25) Do You Have Any Pets : HAD..Rocky passed away 2 years ago. No1 can take his place.
26) Do You Want To Change Your Name : NO. I love my name. That's one smart thing dad did.
27) What Did You Do For Your Last Birthday : Made my yearly visit to the temple. Said Hi to the big guy upstairs and coz it was also my last day at home, spent most of it saying tearful goodbyes to a lot of my best buds.(see..i told u i cry a lot)

28) What Time Did You Wake Up Today : 6:30 am(Mom would be so proud)!!..I m just as surprised as you are!!
29) What Were You Doing At Midnight Last Night : Technically, i dont think midnight qualifies as night but anyways i think i was playing football..oh thats FIFA 09.
30) Name Something You Cannot Wait For : If you' ve read my blog often enough u d know that every second of every day i think of August 28th - the day i come back home.
31) The Last Time You Saw Your Father : Gosh!!...dont remind me!! ...September 22nd..thats over 6 months ago.
32) What Is One Thing You Wish You Could Change About Your Life : Well...the only thing i d like to change is of how certain people have reacted to certain situations which have affected my life. With regards to me, i wouldn't want to change a thing. Oh..Maybe the fact that i cared so much that i got affected would be something i would wanna change.
33) Most Visited Web Page : obviously dashowstoppa.blogspot.com
manutd.com - a close second

34) Nicknames : Ami, Amsi, Ricky( i call myself that), Oscar and a new one - Prince Ali ( no clue why though!!) ;-)
35) Zodiac Sign : A typical Taurean - Stubborn, self-indulgent, Argumentative and Majorly Good Lookin ;-).

36) Male or Female or Transgender : Male.
37) Elementary : Indian School Darsait/Muscat
38) School : ISD,ISM & Chinmaya Vidyalaya ( yeah 3 schools!!)
39) College : Govt Engineering College ( Best four years ever!!)
40) Hair Color : Black
41) Long Or Short : Short (Bloody damn haircut!!)

42) Height : 6' 0
43) Do You Have A Crush On Someone : Nope....but if it ll make this tag even remotely interesting i m willing to.
44) Ever Been In Love : YES.....Haven't You Heard?? One love..One United....Manchester United ;-)
45) Piercing : Not now, not ever!!..
46) Tattoos : Sadly no..But i definitely see one in the near future. It would be of the most remote Persian dialect and it would say " Keep at it" or something.
47) Righty or Lefty : Righty ala Ricky Ponting..
48) First Surgery : Never had one...hopefully wont need one either.
49) First Piercing : Refer Pt 45.
50) First Best Friend : Faisal Butt. Building mates, Class mates & Battle Tank Mates.
51) First Sport You Loved : Without a doubt Cricket and the world has Shane Warne to thank for that.
52) First Pet : Rocky..my pet Dobermann. R.I.P Rocko.
53) First Vacation : I think it was Shimla..not too sure..
54) First Concert : Alisha Chinoy. " Made in Indiaaaa...." - damn she looked hot back then!!..
55) First Crush : Toughie. That's like finding a needle in a haystack. A small haystack mind you ;-)

RIGHT NOW :

56) Eating : What a coincidence!! I just finished lunch. So - a Tuna Sandwich.
57) Drinking : Pepsi. Kya kare....Yeh Pyaas Hai Badi.
58) I'm About To : Take a 5 minute break and act as if i m working coz the Project Lead is staring at me.
59) I m Listening To : "Somebody's Me" - Enrique Iglesias...bloody brilliant song.!!
60) Waiting For : The Clock to strike 5 so that i can get off work!!

YOUR FUTURE :

61) Want Kids : Like i said , YES.
62) Want to Get Married : No. I m all for live- in's though. Interested anyone??
63) Careers In Mind : ESPN-STAR Commentator, Sports Journalist, TV Show Host, Gaming God etc etc.

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX :

64) Lips or Eyes : Eyes..if you know how to look, they tell you all you need to know.
65) Hugs or Kisses : Hugs.
66) Shorter Or Taller : Shorter.
67) Older Or Younger : Never make the same mistake twice rite - so Younger.
68) Romantic Or Spontaneous : Spontaneous.
69) Nice Stomach Or Nice Arms : Obviously Nice Stomach.
70) Sensitive or Loud : I m Loud. So just to even things out- sensitive.
71) Hook Up or Relationship : I m a sucker for Relationships. A hook up now and again wont hurt though.
72) Trouble Maker or Hesitant : Trouble Maker

HAVE YOU EVER :

73) Kissed a Stranger : geez!! What kind of a decadent imbecile do u take me for?? ;-)
74) Lost Glasses/ Contacts : Well i ve broken a few while playing football and basketball & later claimed to have lost them.
75) Broken Someone's Heart : Not likely. I m actually quite a nice person ;-).
76) Had your own Heart Broken : Well not every1s as nice as i am - hence YEP.
77) Been Arrested : Nope. So i m definitely not qualified enough to run this country.
78) Turned Someone Down : Yep. And unlike anything Isha says, its not that hard.
79) Cried When Someone Died : My grandma died on the day of one of my 6th sem exams and it pained me that i was writing an exam while i shouldve been near her. I can safely say thats the wettest paper i ve ever submitted. She was one great lady.
80) Liked A Friend That Is A Guy : All of my guy friends i love but not in a DOSTANA way!!

DO YOU BELIEVE IN :

81) Yourself : U better believe it. Ricky Rules!!
82) Miracles : There was a time when i did. Not anymore.
83) God : Yes.
84) Love at First Sight : Not exactly. Maybe after a few many sights.
85) Heaven : Yes and i have first class tickets reserved.
86) Santa Claus : Contrary to common belief, I m no longer 10.
87) Kiss On The First Date : A kiss anytime is great. First dates are no exceptions.
88) Angels : No. This world is too malefic for Angels to exist.
89) Devils : Yeah i know of one who was born 7 years after i was and is still running amok in the family.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY :

90) Is There One Person You Want To Be With Right Now : Yes.
91) Had More Than One Girlfriend At A Time : No but I pay homage to anyone who has.
92) Wanted To Kill Someone : Hell Yeah!!.
93) Amongst Your Blogmates, Whom Would You Like To Kiss : Depends on who wants to get kissed!!...
94) Committed A Blunder And Later Regretted It : Oh yeah...getting this extremely short haircut. Now i cant update blog pictures till my hair grows back.!!
95) Wanted To Steal Your Friend's Girlfriend : No thank you.I love my buddies but their troubles are their own.

ASSOCIATE WITH SOMETHING YOU WEAR :

96) White : My first buy from Dubai, a super awesome WHITE Tommy Hilfiger Jacket which i have to date not worn!!.
97) Black : I always wear black. So i associate black with anything and everything me. That way i m impartial to all my black stuff.
98) Red : Easy one. My Manchester United Home Jersey.
99) Pink : rite!! How girly do you think i am??
100) Posting This As 100 Truths : Nope..its gonna be ..Knowing Me x 100!!

A round of applause for anyone who reached 100. Truly Admirable. ;-)

I now tag : Unni - coz his blog definitely needs updating
Ranji - Coz her gtalk status message says Tag Me.
Dip - Coz it was her Birthday Yesterday and this is my belated b'day present. ;-).
SRK - For the heck of it.
Som - Coz i believe his answers would be make a fun read &
Jaggu - Coz he's suffering from writers block

CHEERS

Pump It Harder!!

2009-03-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

What’s black and blue, moans a lot and limps??..answer..later on in the piece.

The day before was pretty bad. And that’s putting it mildly. I had a terrible headache at work to start off with. No, not my boss. This time it was the real deal. Then cricinfo.com kept telling me at the most inappropriate times of Australia’s perilous position in the test vs SA.To add to my misery, once I got back home from work I had to watch Manchester United get whipped by a very average Fulham side.. And if things weren’t bad enough, the crème de la crème of it all – GYM- My first day at it!!.

Out of the many funny things about me joining a gym, one of em was that though I had paid in advance for a 3 month course, the only part of the gym I had been to at that time was the reception. It didn’t occur to me that I should’ve had a look around at the facilities at hand. So expecting the worst, I entered through the poster clad huge white doors. And boy was I in for a surprise. What I bore witness to was something out of what a Yash Chopra movie set gym would’ve looked like. The only things missing were all the scantily clad models. The gym was huge with a major stress on 'HUGE', all white with loads and loads of LCD TV’s all around, awesome music playing in the background, numerous pool tables here and there and even a well stocked cafeteria in the corner. Oh and the facilities weren’t bad either. It was more like a hangout joint than a place where one d be sweating and toiling, moaning about the extra pound one has gained. And I knew then and there itself that 6 pack or no 6 pack, I was gonna enjoy myself here. This was gonna be LEGEN….DARY!

And then the Gym head introduced me to my trainer and all the lofty, happy images I had in my head came crashing down. Joseph was huge, bald, unbelievably scary looking and huger than how huge I initially thought he was. Wrestling fans - this is how the BIG SHOW would’ve looked if he were Dutch. And the guy wasn’t much of a talker either. Somehow, I had managed to rub him off the wrong way by simply saying Hi. Now, these are the kinda situations where Morse code or sign language would’ve come in handy. And boy did I have a sign in mind and all it required was one finger. The guy it seemed wasn’t gonna let me have it easy on my first day. He gave me a list of exercises to do and to my horror, it did not involve using any of the expensive equipmentry I had signed up for. And the look he gave me told I was either gonna do all the exercises or I was gonna die trying.

But to be fair to the guy, at the time the routines seemed like a walk in the park. Just a few extra sets of regular gym stuff. Well as clichés have it, appearances can be deceiving and I learned that the hard way. Marley and Me is what you call a really sad movie(highly recommended watch though!!), well watching me exercise would have the sadness equivalent of Marley and Me times 10 and if along with that you are watching Joseph (don’t they name Angels Joseph!!)glare at me for every technically incorrect squat I did then there you have the scary version of the movie. I believe people in Nazi concentration camps would’ve been treated better. Anne Frank – THIS is what should be written in a diary!!

After what seemed like a zillion years but infact was only an hour or so(Einstein’s relativity theory – somehow the hot stove seemed better), Joseph surprisingly said that would do for the day and helped me up. Obviously there was no other way I was getting up unless they had a lifting crane in the vicinity. And surprise surprise - He smiled….not a wicked Mugambo waala evil laugh but a huge wide grin. He even insisted on Apple Juice together and while at it explained to me why it was necessary to follow such a rigorous schedule and how it wouldn’t hurt as much tomorrow. Something about body resistance or so was also mentioned. I was preoccupied by the pain of a 1000 needles piercing my body so I couldn’t exactly get the gist of what he said but when he mentioned gym and tomorrow in the same sentence I almost passed out.

Then with a shake of the hands, we said goodbye. As I slowly limped my way to the exit, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the next victim, Joseph’s new trainee smiling the exact same smile I had on my face b4 I met the huge lump of lard. What I d have paid to see his expression in an hour or so!!..

Now, the answer to our million dollar question

Answer : ME. Battered and Bruised, Hurting all over after my first day at the gym!! :-)

Cheers

P.S - This entry was delayed coz of 2 excruciatingly painful days at the Gym

P.P.S – A few of the details might ve been slightly exaggerated coz of the mental torture inflicted that has distorted my memory beyond any point of repair.

P.P.P.S - I skipped gym today ;-) to finally get this entry done. (The sacrifices i make for you guys!!)

Pumping Up

2009-03-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

After hours and hours of serious deliberation and consideration, I ve finally reached at a decision…YES..i ll do it. There is just no avoiding it, no out maneuvering it…unfortunately there is just no way around it

Come Saturday, I m hitting the gym.

Trust me when I say this, this was not an easy decision to take, definitely not a prospect I m relishing. Ah Ah…lifting rounded metal scrap heaps half my body weight, risking the prospect of serious injuries, – torn quadraceps, ligament tears etc etc is not exactly a thought that has me jumping for joy . And if all of this lifting weights thingie is not bad enough, I ve heard that there are a bunch of inhumane exercises to be had before I can even get there. For a guy who hasn’t even done one minute push up in his entire life, having to do 3 cycles of it + squats + pull-ups + sit ups in 15 minute time periods is scarier than..hmmm…whats the analogy I m lookin for here…got it…scarier than Voldermort ( YES..Voldermort scares me..he has slits for eyes, scaly hands,he is bald and he can speak parseltongue (snake language)!!). And to boot, studies(google.com) tell me that it takes around 3 months of rigorous gymming for the effects of all that hard work to finally start showing and Me being committed to such a strenuous cause for 3 whole pain staking months is not something I d advice you to bet your life savings on. Even Himesh Reshammiya winning the Oscar for best background score is more of a possibility.!

And to boot to boot, its not even a unisex gym. Now that would’ve been more like it. The only thing that beats a gal in shape is watching a gal get in shape. Not that I ve ever had that chance(y god y!!), a super hot female gym partner with whom I could spent un interrupted hours and hours on the treadmill discussing the body at length( hers obviously!!) will forever remain a fantasy I guess. What I m most likely to be stuck up with day after is a room stinking of sweat, full of over sized, over grown apes(physically and mentally) – a large majority of whom I m pretty sure will be homosexuals, risking the prospect of shooting my mouth off to one of em and eventually getting punched in the face.

So why am I doing this u ask?? Its not like I m putting on weight or anything..nope..Mrs Menon raised a perfectly healthy boy. I ve decided to torture myself this way because :-

1) Its getting extremely hot & dusty here in AUH and so my highly enjoyable evening runs are now totally out of the question else I ll have to wake up real early which is…putting it simply...JUST NOT HAPPENING!!.

2) My neighbours are no longer interested in playing football. They say it takes a lot out of them and they cant give their all at work the next day. But the stony, infuriated "I ll rip u to pieces" glares I get from their wives suggest its something else they cant give their all at!!

3) I m bored once I get back home from work. I m done reading "Kane and Abel" and other than the P.J Tracy I ve set aside for a rainy day, I ve got nothing new to read.

4) My back is now seriously starting to hurt which is an excellent indication that its high time I got my lazy ass off the bed and did something useful for a change.

5) The only part of my body getting any exercise right now are my fingers coz of the hours and hours of FIFA 09 I seem to be playing.

6) I m crazy and I love torturing myself!!...

And torturous it is going to be!!...I ve even paid the fees in advance before I could once again change my mind. There is No looking back now.
D-Day – Saturday.

So wish me luck people. If I make it through this in one piece, I ll let you know how it went. So going against every lazy muscle in my body…I say …

Move aside Arnold Schwarzenegger - Amith is going…..gymming(gulp!!).

Cheers.

Still Me??

2009-03-15T05:14:00.000-07:00

Tis but another Sleepless Night,
As i sit here by the pale moonlight.
Immersed in thoughts, vivid a few,
Figured i d pen them down, making this an entry new : -

Gazing at an album from days of yore,
Sights set firmly on a pic of four.
In the centre of the piece, whirling a key,
Egotism personified for all to see.
Hair all ruffled, an arrogant gaze,
beaming back at me was my lopsided face

But that was then, this is now,
I ve changed a plenty - and how!!
Ami to few, Amith to thee,
The question I ask...the guy in the picture - is that still me??

The glasses long gone, replaced with ones with frame.
Cant blame me really - the old ones were pretty lame.
The stubble’s no more, clean shaven’s the look.
Supposedly a professional now, gotta go by the book.

The battered clothes are off, the wears more trendy,
Like the saying goes, as smooth as cotton candy.
The long sideburns, a thing of the past.
None at all, that way it lasts.

The trademark long locks, now cut a lot shorter,
And this they say is a lot damn hotter. :-)
The appearance has changed, I ll give you that,
But am I not me, am I not the same spoilt brat?

All dressed up, the look could be ‘cool’,
But deep inside, lies the same emotional fool.
Glasses anew, the sights they long for –the same,
Of family, of friends, of places where they know my name.

An independent existence, new sights to enjoy,
But come what may, will always remain mama’s boy.
At work, am the new guy, amongst incorrigible mules,
I know I m better, yeah the ego still rules.

The traits that define me, forever they ll remain,
Whats in a guise, tis but to get washed away with the summer rain.
So that’s how it is, time hasn’t changed me,
Amith I am, Amith I always will be.

Now that alls been said and alls been done,
Hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did hun.
If a smile it brought, you have my consent
To laugh out loud, to grin, to comment. :-)

As sleep comes a calling and the clock strikes 3,
I know for certain, I know…I m still ..me

25 Random Things

2009-03-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

ooooooooo...my first tag..and aquagurl - i wasnt in one of my 'inspired to blog' zones this week, so totally indebted to you for giving me something to work on.

I m rephrasing the tag as "25 Things about me" coz everything about me is as it is Random. So here goes : -

1) I m named Amith coz my dad is a bigtime Amitabh Bachchan(dunno how the name is spelt now after all the name changes) fan. Dad claims to have watched every 70's and 80's Big B movie first day first show. So if thats the theme to go by i should be naming my son Shahrukh.

2) I hate milk. Hate the smell of it. Hate the taste of it. So obviously i avoided Bournvita, Boost and the likes as a kid :-).

3) For me Shane Warne is GOD. My idol - my role model. If i were born again - thats the life i d want(except for all lewdness involved).

4) I love reading and i read oh so quick. Infact once i start reading, time stops being a factor. I can go 18-20 hours at a stretch just doing nothing but reading and i m yet to come across a book(study material excluded!!) i havent been able to finish in a day.

5) Sticking to the subject of books, my fav book is "THE GODFATHER" by Mario Puzo and i tend to read it atleast once a month and the week after, i m left with a Michael Corleone hangover and tend to start behaving like him - the icy cold stare, using sentences like "making an offer he cant refuse". Weird - I KNOW.

6) I m an excellent secret keeper but when it comes to my own problems, i prefer to keep them to myself.

7) I suck at money management but i guess its a genetic disorder thats been ever present in the male side of my family. So Dad - you are to blame!.

8) Sleep is my least essential requirement. I can go days on end without sleeping and i would still be just as chirpy as always. Maybe a bit cranky at the sides but nothing a cup of coffee couldnt fix.

9) Speaking of which, i m addicted to coffee. I just cant start a day without a cup filled with all that wonderful caffeine in my system.

10) A pet is something i ll never have again. The day Rocky, my pet Dobermann passed away, a part of me died with him. RIP ROCKO - Best Bud Ever.

11) I m brilliant at procastination. Infact, i must be one of the best procastinators ever. I ve now reached a point where i procastinate what to procastinate on.

12) As can be seen from the above point, sarcasm is my most prominent virtue. Infact, the only time i m not sarcastic is when i m sleeping but then again point 8 suggests i hardly sleep . so yeah u get the picture.

13) I have a confidence problem. The problem being - for a large majority of my life i was unbelievably over confident and then for a span of 2-3 years i had serious insecurity issues and now i m back to phase 1 and boy does that feel nice.

14) Points 11,12, 13 suggest the impressions i make on people are very strong. I m not the guy who ll be described as "oh he s ok" - its always either A) " really awesome guy " or B) "such a bastard".

15) I ve been eating non stop for 22 years now. The appetite of an elephant - maybe not but its not all that far off. But i dont think i ve put on a kilo of weight in the last 5 years. 68 kilos - constant. High metabolism - thats what my doctor says.

16) I suck at the arts. I cant sing and neither can i draw. My mom did all my artwork through school and my gal buddies did em through college. Infact, thats y i didnt take up Biology as a main subject coz i thought there was a lot of drawings involved.

17) Though i cant sing, music remains a major passion. Beautiful melodies always put me to sleep...uh let me rephrase that - When i hit the sack, i always have my favourite songs playing in the background. My fav songs being "eh ajnabi" and "she will be loved" though "just want you to know" is a song i identify with quite a bit.

18) My memory rocks when it comes to remembering faces and conversations i ve had with people from way past when but it absolutely fails me when it comes to remembering directions and birthdays. I dont think i ve ever wished a friend on their birthday but i love them for still expecting me to remember the next time.

19) I m great with kids. Maybe its coz i m so much of a kid myself but hey ..they aint complaining. BUT ......i refuse to carry babies. I have this fear of dropping them and hence thats a risk i m not willing to take.

20) Speaking of fears, my biggest fear is of going bald coz i just love my hair so much that i just cant imagine a day not being able to run my fingers through them.

21) I love F.R.I.E.N.D.S but i have no idea who my favourite F.R.I.E.N.D is. Its either Joey or Chandler. Joey is just unbelievably funny and Chandler is some1 i can identify with.

22) I live and breath Manchester United. If there ever was a Manchester United fanatic, you are reading his blog. I have not missed a United game in 5 years & if its Proof of my red devilry that u want - Cut my wrist and u ll know i bleed RED. :-)

23) Though i complain a lot about being alone, i like my alone time BUT it seems like i ve been getting a lot of it recently.

24) I always drink PEPSI and never Coke coz SRK advertises for PEPSI. ( i had serious second thoughts about writing this down!).

25) I hate Sachin Tendulkar from the bottom of my heart and believe he is the most over rated player to have ever played the game. He s never performed when its mattered, never won a world cup, never won a test series in Australia - and if like in football, a players greatness is quaintified by the no of team honours he has won, Tendulkar would never feature on any list.

phewww...so thats that. 25 random things about me. I know it seems kinda long and drawn out but if you ve reached as far as to read this conclusion, i thank you for your time.

I tag Unni, Jaggu, SRK(not the actor), Ranji, Jinxie, Ramya, Som and Yaz and anyone else who feels like writing 25 random things about themselves. Do lemme know if you do.

Cheers.

Of Green HotPants, HIMYM, Things I Shouldn't Be Doing & What Not

2009-03-01T13:57:00.000-08:00

I feel OLD. I guess at 1 20 in the morning, why I m not even remotely sleepy should be more of a major concern. I ve been twisting and turning in bed for around half an hour now and right now it doesn’t seem like I ll be catching a lotta z’s – so wat the heck , thought I d write a few lines and let u in a bit more into my crazy world of thoughts. So where was I – aah yes..i feel old. At the age of 22 & with no family to support(as in wife and kids!!) and not a care in the world – the obvious question to ask would be - y do I feel old? And the not so obvious answer to it all is - - - - Green hotpants!! Maybe even purple.

I m no observant Sherlock Holmes but any guy with half a myopic eye would notice that Abu Dhabi has a large population of teenagers. And bcoz of their highly nutritious diet comprising of monstrous helpings of MTV, VH1 and Channel V , suddenly all these gawdy Govinda colours are everywhere. And on my days off, they are all I see. Green and purple – here , there , everywhere!!(The dramatics are in keeping in line with the Sanjay Leela Bansali’ esque colourful effects I wish to portray). And what does all this have to do with me feeling old. Well....I just cant picture myself in them. Multi coloured tattered t –shirts, green hot pants, big, heavy chains with even bigger lockets, rocking to Akon music( that is if you can call it music!!)bling bling and all! Nope I just don’t see myself in that avatar even if were offered Kareena Kapoor in return. Agreed my fashion sense is not brilliant and I m game for most ridiculous piece of clothings but THIS RIDICULOUS!! No way!!

Like all major thinkers, scientists, critics and people with nothing important to do before me, I too have formed my own theory. Fear not, Albert( that’s Albert Einstein to u), Pascal and the rest of those fab bros don’t have anything to worry about. I m not contesting any of their hypothesis’s ( just don’t have the time!!), my theory is of a different nature. This is how it goes.

Amith’s theory states “Your mental age is inversely proportional to your ability to picture yourself in green hotpants”.

If you can - dude/dudette I envy u. Your mental teens invite you to party hard all night long.

If you cant…sigh!!...join the club. The table lamp is on, therz a book in the cupboard, coffee on the table. Enjoy the quiet night ahead!! Hurrah to us boring mental 40 year olds.

Hmmm… I m still not sleepy. And right now I feel like passing on advice. No, i haven’t all of a sudden been touched by GOD but advice is free( for now !!)rite and if your existence is as slow and irksome as mine , you could use it too - ‘HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER’. What about it u ask?? Well….Watch it( trust me Unni). I ve got all the seasons downloaded( perks of high speed internet at work(no worries…my network admin isn’t into literary masterpieces so I m pretty sure he s skipped my blog too) ) and I highly recommend if your weekly high involves a lonely dinner at some restaurant / a day spent in front of the tube, you give it a go. (Disclaimer – Money Back – Not Guaranteed). HIMYM is slowly replacing FRIENDS and SCRUBS as my fav cable network show. And if you know me, you ll know how much I love FRIENDS. My ex can vouch for that one.

Speaking of the devil. You know those things you know you shouldn’t be doing but you do anyways. Like that last drink that leaves you absolutely stoned and next morning you don’t remember a damn thing or drugs(KIDS!! DON’T DO DRUGS!!) for that matter, well speaking to her is right up there on that list. Actually she is marijuana, cocaine and hashish all rolled up into one for me( I ve only heard of these drugs and never used em – scouts honour!!). And so last week when she sent me offliners, I just couldn’t help but reply and then one thing lead to another and we ended up talking and as always nothing good came of it. Lets not go into the details. My ex and me – that’s another entry for another day. Actually, I don’t like referring to her as my ex, coz the SRK (read – die hard romantic) in me feels that one day ‘dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge’ but that’s only until the day she gets married and I roam the streets of Abu Dhabi, whiskey in hand clad in my white dhoti & kurta screaming her name out loud ala ‘DEVDAS’ doing SRK proud. But first, I gotta learn how to wear a dhoti without needing a belt for comfort and secondly gotta learn how to hold my booze without losing the lil ounce of coordination I have (wouldn’t want to get hit by a truck while re enacting the famous scene rite!!).

Anyways, sleep and now depression have caught up with me…so ciao guys and I admire your sheer tenacity to read through all this.

Notes :

1) I wasnt drunk when i wrote all this. Only very crazy and towards the end a bit sleep deprived.

2) I dont Drink. Period.

3) I used a bracket within a bracket and even closed them in the correct order. My math teachers would be so proud right now.!!

To Stick Or To Twist

2009-02-25T11:27:00.000-08:00

Recession’s hit and its hit big. Duh!! Old news right!! But come to think of it,I cant recall even one friend or colleague who’s lost a job or even missed a pay check bcoz of it. So, recession was not one topic I thought d be comin up on this here blog. That was until yesterday.

My daily mails usually consist of a lot of really mundane forwards and a daily status report from my sis. That’s the usual routine. However, yesterday amongst them was one other mail. An official company mail. And the content when abridged roughly meant 25 % of the staff would be sent on ‘long leave’ for a duration of 5 months. That’s a very novel way of saying ‘ YOU ARE FIRED’. Not exactly the news one d expect when just a week back, the company announced unprecedented profits and coronated itself as the numero uno in the Gulf Transformer Industry. Yeah these Arabs are full of themselves.!!

So…was I shocked?? Hmm..yep. Was I shocked for long…??hmmm..No, unless you consider 30 mins long. The news surprised me. But what surprised me even more was how well I took it. Yeah sure I freaked out at first. Shruthi can vouch for that. But 30 mins in, I was back to my sarcastic best. Shru can vouch for that too. There was no depression, no anxiety and no diffidence – signature signs of the old Amith. I dunno if its that I ve developed a new inner resolve or the news that the guy making the list was my benignant boss that left me so unperturbed while everyone around me were nervous wrecks. 25 % is 1 in 4 (incase your math sux)!! Obviously i cant get fired...can i?? After all, He keeps referring to me as the son he never had. But haven’t we heard of fathers strangling their sons too? But that’s not why I m so unfazed by all this. Sack or no Sack – I don’t mind either way.

If the boss’s paternal instincts take over and he decides that I should stay, then everything goes on as usual. The same boring routine repeats itself with me dawdling my way through to August and then my two month long vacation gives me time to either

a) recharge my batteries and lounge around for one more year at work or

b) Quit and seriously prepare for the MBA I ve been dilly-dallying with. That’s one scenario.

Now, if the boss turns son-slayer and boots me out –that’s fine too coz the only thing I d be leaving behind is a job I never truly loved and Abu Dhabi – boring lifeless Abu Dhabi. Uhh…on second thoughts, I d also be leaving behind a swell pay-check and a really awesome flat. But there would be so much more to look forward to – getting back to my loving, wonderful family, meeting up with my pals again, bed coffee in the morning, not having to do my own laundry…its so tempting, it almost daily entices me to quit. There is also the small matter of then having enough quality time to prepare for the CAT and also if I m brave enough it d give me an opportunity to chance my arm at professions I know I d be better at – journalism, ad writing for eg.

Although, whatever I ve penned suggests I d rather get fired(now therz something u dont hear often)!!, given the choice – I d stay. Yes Abu Dhabi is boring. It is lifeless. But I m used to this routine now. The weekends are lonely but hey I enjoy my own company. The grass is always greener on the other side rite. Yes, this tinge of green might be a bit dull but the bright fluorescent green I wish for could be so bright it hurts the eye.

The heart says go, the head says stay.

So do I stick or do I twist?? Not upto me is it!!

GROPED!!!

2009-02-20T04:40:00.000-08:00

Recession, Barack Obama, Terrorism, Cricket, Bollywood & Female Molestation ( includes rape, assault, eve teasing..etc etc) – The 6 entities which make Indian news channels tick. Every1s heard enough about the R word. When Mr President does something other than talk, I ll write about it. Terrorism is not my cup of tea either. Cricket – MSD (Dhoni-in case u didn’t know)is getting enuff praise as it is. Bollywood –hmm..lemme watch billu and then we ll make it an entry. Which brings us to molestation. We all hear about it everyday. About how it is no longer safe for females to be out about anymore. Trains, buses, shopping malls u name it. An assault occurs every minute of everyday.
But bear with me. This here is no ordinary story. Just like almost everything else on this blog, this is about……ME. Oh come on!! Don’t groan. If you had anything interesting to do right now, you wouldn’t be reading this anyway! Another 5-10 mins is not make a helluva difference. Comfy? OK..here goes..

It was another uneventful day at work. Same ol people, same ol tasks, same ol solutions. And all of my pent up restless energy was starting to get to me. So, I decided to do something about it. It was after all a glorious warm late evening with the half moon dazzling and shimmering in all its beauty. Ok ok!! It was just another cold, chilly moonless night!! Anyways I did decide to do something. I decided to pursue UAE’s favourite pastime. No not football - Shopping!! To be exact window shopping. It was only the middle of the month but I was almost penniless already(money management – not my strongest trait)!! And so I went from store to store looking on at the lovely sales gals and the lovely clothes with the not so lovely prices. And on my journey to particularly nowhere, there glowing before me on the fluorescent signboard was PEPE JEANS. For the uninformed, PEPE JEANS are a brand of exorbitantly high priced jeans but more importantly rumour had it that they hired only the prettiest, most attractive girls at their outlets. That for me was reason enough to be entering the store.

Once inside, I instantly concluded that rumour was indeed fact coz all around me were drop dead gorgeous females too busy with their work to even notice my entry. And as my eyes were taking in the sights(and what sights they were!!), I came eye to eye with the most exquisite set of green peepers I had ever seen. Eyes which would put Aishwarya Rai to shame. And the rest of the package wouldn’t have made her feel any better either. And as she(the sales gal NOT Aishwarya Rai) gracefully made her way towards me, I quickly went through my list of top 5 witty comments .(Scout Motto – Be Prepared). Hi, Hello, How are you, all the normal chit –chat….lets just say a conversation took-off. And then quick as a flash she had me trying on different pairs of jeans and eventually I loved a pair (Observant readers would remember that the plan was to window shop and not to shop!). Naturally, I was looking at myself in the mirror, turning, posing making sure the jeans fit perfectly. After all they were outrageously pricey and I had to get some value for the money I was destined to part with.

But what happened next wasn’t exactly ‘normal’. While in the process of making my umpteenth pose, our super hot sales gal saw that I was undecided and so naturally decided to ‘help’ me out with the denims coz she felt I was wearing them the wrong way( geez…how many diff ways are there to wear jeanz!!). And so she ran her hands through the jeans pockets along the inseams WHILE….I WAS STILL IN THEM!!.......yeah!! along the inseams while I wore em!! I was surprised more than shocked. Maybe that’s how It worked in these big, high-profile stores I reckoned. But almost instantantly all my doubts were dispelled when with a ‘aah ! isn’t that fitting you perfecttttlyy now’ she checks out my back pocket for ‘tightness’ and pats me on my ‘lower back’(a bit lower than that)!!!. Yes, I WAS GROPED. Well and truly groped. But all I could manage was a nervous smile and she smiled back as if it were the most normal thing in the world to do which I assure you –IT WAS NOT!!. And what did I do about it?? Well…I thanked her for helping me pick the jeans and as I was already almost bankrupt, paid using my already over worked credit card, Said my thank you and left.

Now why is it that all I could manage was a nervous smile?? Well, as it was my first and preferably last experience at getting groped and since us boys unlike girls are not taught in school how to react to such a situation – naturally I went brain dead. Moreover, I wasn’t exactly horrified. It was definitely more surprising than horrifying. What ran through my mind at that moment was that F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode with Joey and his Hands On Tailor (If you don’t watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S forget I ever said that). So naturally all I could manage was a chuckle.

I guess that’s the way it is. Its never as big a deal for a guy as it is for a gal. We don’t wake up in the middle of the night having frightful nightmares about it. It doesn’t cause us to have second thoughts about moving in a crowd. It definitely doesn’t affect our marriage prospects or plans. And we, unlike the gals can talk about it. But that doesn’t mean I m ever going back into that store. Ah – ah…not gonna happen!! That was definitely my last visit ever to a Pepe Jeans outlet. And its a shame really coz you gotta ‘hand’ it to her, she did get me a great pair of jeans.

Notes:

1) I guess this is the entry which takes my blog from a U rating to PG
2) I understand that I will be getting lesser female comments on the blog this time
around, so guys u r gonna have to make up for it.
3) You should watch that F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode even if u aren’t a regular viewer.
Highly recommended!!
4) The names Barack Obama, Dhoni(MSD) and Aishwarya Rai were mentioned purely for
blog hit purposes. ;-)

VALENTINE'S DAY - MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

2009-02-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

Love is in the air. Either I m sighting couples everywhere or I m suffering from an acute case of double vision. Aah yes, Bah Humbug-its Feb 14th. Valentines day. Its that day again when every Romeo is out and about scouring the land in search of Juliet…or Anne, Jane, Jessica or whoever it is that is available and single at the moment(nowadays you don’t even have to be single). It’s the day, florists look forward to every year. Its that day when recession has absolutely no impact on the price of a rose. For some it’s a day for professing their undying love, for some it’s a day for trying their luck and for some like me its just another day.

Valentine’s is the most unnerving day for any guy. Trust me. Picking gifts are difficult as it is and when its for the love of your life(chuckle) and that too on D-day its mission impossible all over again. And you know how it is with girls. Everyone wants something different. If earrings suffice for one, a good book will do for another(dork!!) and for someone else, it’s the thought that counts!! When they say just get me whatever you like, its not like you can gift them a pair of brand new soccer boots(u wear heels this definitely cant hurt more!). Trust me that’s a surefire way to the doghouse. So you see its not like there is a fixed pattern one can follow. Mixing and matching will just not do. You have to be on your A-game all the time. (unnerving-agreed??) I do see a way out of this though. Why don’t they just take the money, buy whatever it is that they keep hinting at that they want and just get on with things for Christ sake. It saves a lot of time and the serial drama is avoided.

Now that you have the perfect gift ( you better hope it is!!), next on the list is the unenviable task of picking the location. After all, what’s valentines day without a romantic dinner or lunch( preferably both). Heavy on the pocket-I know but that’s the price ones got to pay if he wishes to see the next sunrise in all its beauty. After dinner, as always you have got to be prepared with a very new untried way of saying those same old 3 words. That in itself is a daunting task. All the good ways of emoting it have already been used up in the movies and all that’s left was used for last years Valentine’s. The stress a guy endures on Valentines day. Uffff!! And do we raise a hue or cry? Noooooooo.

I m sure many of you feel this is a lot of undeserved sarcasm directed at a very special day. But I think Valentine’s day needs changing. Coz in very plain, simple terms, nowadays - it just plain stinks!. Hear me out. Valentine’s day gives you an insight into how serious people are with their relationships. Those in really serious ones are usually very secretive about it. Oh I wont be around on Saturday would be their coy remark rather than jumping on the rooftops and screaming for the whole world to hear. And they(the serious ones) chose to spend Valentine’s with their partners not because of the occasion but because its just like any other day- a day to spend loving the love of your life( atleast the present love of your life) for making your life so special and worth living. That’s all it is actually. Just another day to keep loving. All of this needless hype surrounding Valentines is just plain distasteful. Obviously, I am one of the cold, embittered persons who does not have a significant other. I don't even have an insignificant other. Valentine's Day, therefore, doesn't mean a rats ass to me, pardon the expression.

This Valentine’s day however is extra-special. Its unlike any other that’s been in all of my teenage years. This is the first in many a year which yours truly will be spending alone. Please, before anyone of you decide to ask me out, I m sorry but it’s a NO. This time around instead of wasting dough on some random female I m going to treat a very special someone instead. A one in a million personality. Namely….ME!! Its all been planned perfectly.

I work my ass off at work. Seriously – answering and maintaining decent conversation in 5 chat windows at a time requires a lot of hardwork and creativity. Hence I m going to let myself relax to begin with. Waking up at 1 in the afternoon after catching up on some well deserved z’s seems like a swell way to kick start this ‘special’ day. A quick shower and a not so quick grooming period later, its time to get going & chow down!. And loner here prefers his KFC’s to any fancy restaurant anyday. So good afternoon Colonel and bring on the fried chicken and don’t forget the extra fries. After a scrumptious lunch, next on the list is the small matter of ‘gifting’ myself a few presents . Getting to buy something for myself on valentines and that too a Manchester United jersey is something I never expected would happen. Will wonders never cease!! Me being a coffee addict, Baristas seems like the obvious next location and after dwelling on my 5 minute coffee for an hour or two over every damn newspaper and magazine known to man, its time to get back home for the highlight of the day. The 'creme de la creme' of this ‘glorious’ day is the FA cup fifth round clash starring yeah you guessed right Manchester United. And I get to lay back, munch on the leftovers, wash em down with my half drunk can of pepsi and marvel at the poetry in motion that is Manchester United in full flight. Seventh Heaven!! Cant think of a better way to spend the day………..

On second thoughts maybe I was a bit too harsh. This is not exactly the day to be spending alone. So girls – today is your lucky day – urs truly has reconsidered & after due deliberation is now ready to hit the town. Any takers?...anyone….anyone??(gulp!!)

Married To The System

2009-02-08T03:00:00.000-08:00

Amulya - check,
Ranji - check,
shruthi - check,
appu,varsha, pooja, nisha, - check check check check.

No..its not what your are thinking….i m not playing multiple chess. Just making a list of female friends who have either gotten married or on the verge of tying the knot( i e engaged) this year. And quite a list it truly is. In the next year, around 30-40 female friends are going to get married (not an exaggeration) and that is quite a lot considering i hardly know more than around 40 odd gals - give or take one or two( ok..maybe thats an exaggeration!!). Dont get me wrong, i am happy for them - cross my heart and hope to die if i m lying BUT in a way it does suck that a few of em have to get married so soon.

It s distressing when you have a lot of really good female friends. Seriously, I would know. Its all rosy and well when one is still in college. You guys hang out together, bitch about anything and everything, discuss real emo stuff( seriously! gals make the best shoulders to cry upon!) but once marriage comes into the picture everything goes haywire. The relationship as a whole takes a whole new dimension - one which is definitely not for the better. Who was once MY friend becomes SOMEONE else’s wife. Not that any of this happens knowingly but its just something that happens. Unwritten law of nature i guess.

Anyways what i m pondering over right now is - y do these females have to get married so soon? Most of them are not even 23 you see!! We say we live in the 21st century-A modern touch and a broader outlook but when it comes to things closest to the heart - like family, we are still so traditional. Its funny how our system works. We trust our females to live whatever little they have of their single lives respectfully but when it comes to the biggest decision of their lives most of them have little or no say in it. Very typical of our untypical system. Wait a second there - i m not here to vent on our system, i m here to vent on the gals instead.

The female most definitely is the more complex of the species. But at times like these-complex does not necessarily mean smart. Else why anyone in their right mind would want to end up waking up to the same face for the rest of their lives is beyond me. And in most cases, its a face they hardly even know. You let the parent pick the guy u end up with but the question is: on what basis?

The more i ask this question, the funnier the answers i get. A few of them tell me they ve just left it in their parents hands. They ll just marry whomever mamma wants them to marry. Which begs the question : who has to live with the guy? mamma or the girl? When everything turns sour no point in running all the way back to mamma is there?? Some of them tell me all they wish for is a good mother-in-law who would love them like their mother would. RIGHT!! Talk about low expectations..sheesh!! I ll tell you why all of this is so confusing to me. My earliest impressions about marriage have always been about marrying the prettiest, smartest and the funniest female(all three if need be necessary) i m likely to come across. And deciphering how smart or funny a female is would not be possible without actually knowing her. So obviously i would have to marry some1 i knew. Its strange how clearly a 14 year old boys thought process works at times. But thats not how the female psyche works or atleast thats not how Shruthi's (shru for short) works anyway. All that a girl looks for in a would be groom is some1 who is kind of smart, can hold a conversation and doesnt look all that bad - which actually means that any average joe would do!!. Who needs a hunk anyways - thats what she says. But then again, if everything ends up as planned, shru is in all probability going to end up in the land of Oz and when Mr AJ (read Average Joe) has the opera house and the great barrier reef to offer as vacation hotspots, the compromise doesnt seem like much of a compromise does it!! Now I know why I admire Ranji – love they say is the purest of all emotions and to consider your love criteria enough to marry your college sweetheart admist all the trials and tribulations takes a helluva lot of guts and girl for that I salute you.

This entry is almost done but the question still remains the same : Y GIRLS Y? there is so much to do, people to meet, places to see. Take your time, have a cup of coffee, smell the roses and THINK!!

Epilogue :

By the time i get back in August i m pretty sure i ll have 3 unmarried female friends left. Exactly 3.
1) Aishwarya - Not for a lack of trying(23 proposals and counting - its time she realises i m just not gonna marry her and moves on)
2) Keerthy - Hmmm..how do i put this in a nice way...lets just say recession or no recession..no one s that desperate.
3) Mamata - Living in aussie land gives you more leeway as far as marriage is concerned. So i m pretty sure even if i were to write this entry 10 years hence mams would still pretty much figure on this list.

OK that’s another entry off the editors table. By the time the ladies are done reading this entry, hopefully I ll have braced myself well enough for all the deserved abuse.

Cheers.

Note : Thank you Ranji for inspiring me to blog again…

rAndOm rAmBlinGs

2009-01-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

Serious hangovers, amazing fireworks displays & loads and loads of parties later -hey everyone - say hello to 2009. It’s the first post of the new year and look at me ..i ve got nothing specific to opinionate (I just realised this is not even a word coz my word 2003 has it underlined in red) on. So for a change lets just go with the flow…Random ramblings is the name and that’s exactly what the post is about. Very random thoughts…

First things first. I ve just got to say this. Surprise! Surprise! 2009 – all 13 days of it has been uncharacteristically good for me so far.Touchwood! The mauling of Chelsea is kind of a testament to that fact. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come…if not u ll definitely read about it.

Spending new years at my cousins was definitely one of my better ideas. Not that we did anything special or so ..it was just the usual hanging around the house stuff but just being around people i knew and could actually connect with made me feel a lot less lonelier for a change. And of course his son, my unbelievably handsome nephew Aravind always manages to bring a smile to my face even when he is rolling in my freshly ironed clothes or banging on my laptop.

And the icing on the cake was the 120 gbs worth of movies I managed to sneak out of his place. 120 GBs approx equals around 180 movies and if lets say I watch a movie a night that’s 5 months worth of movies…Whoopie!! So that’s more time spent watching the likes of Al Pacino, Hugh Grant and Johnny Depp and less time mourning . Win – Win aint it??.

Speaking of movies, i did manage to catch Ghajini a day before the multiplex decided to finally freshen things up. Maybe I should’ve just waited a day longer and watched “Marley & Me” instead. Yes, I know I m being unfair. The movie wasn’t all that bad but I definitely don’t see what all the hue and cry is about. It’s a remake of a remake for pete’s sake!! And its nowhere close to being as good as the original - Memento.
So taking everything into consideration – I still feel RNBDJ is the best movie of the year. Speaking of which, isn’t it hypocritical how everyone had a problem when the wife couldn’t recognise the husband in RNBDJ but when GHAJINI features the main protagonist with just 15 mins of memory at a stretch, its all A ok?? 15 mins of memory?? Seriously?? That’s like diet amnesia. Supposedly RNBDJ wasn’t real enough but the man with diet amnesia is?? Wasn’t Aamir Khan the guy who advocated REAL cinema??!!

Anyways, the new years been good so far. Oh! Have I already said that!! Well that’s how surprised I am too at the sudden turn of events. One thing that’s made life better is my manager’s engagement. Ah! How love changes everything! The all work, ever cranky pain in the ass Mr wise guy seems to have now suddenly metamorphed into
this playful, perennially smiling love struck fashionably dressed stud. The constant SMS tone ringing around his cabin confirms my suspicion that all the time he spent snooping around my cabin has been replaced with time on the phone. Though I feel sorry for her, Bless that girl and her constant SMS’s. The SMS I m certain is the antidote that keeps Dr Jekyll from turning into Mr Hyde.

And ofcourse, whats a new year without new year resolutions. So the following are my list of resolutions to break..i mean keep.

1) I ve done enough complaining about my friends not calling me – not keeping in touch. So I have finally decided to take matters into my own hands. As the saying goes “ if the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed will go to the mountain”. In this context – replace Mohammed with Amith and the mountain with the moleheads who make up my mountain of friends. InterViop of course being the modus operandi. Its not the clearest, but it is the cheapest(dont judge me!!). So guys, if you ever receive an unknown number with a weird code, do pick it up, it might just be me.

2)Getting 6 hours of sleep a day. This is not exactly a resolution but more of an attempt at normality. Sleep has never been high up on my priority list. As the baddie from Tomorrow Never Dies puts it “ therz plenty of time to sleep when one is dead”(cheeky grin follows). But if I don’t start sleeping properly now, I might just end up that way. Getting to work all groggy and irritated is not exactly the trait management looks for in an employee. So gotta get some sleep more outta necessity than desire.

3)Blog more regularly. This is another tough resolution to keep up with. Coz the way I see it, I d rather take my time posting something which is really good and does justice to my blog rather than just blog for the sake of it.

4)Finally reach a decision on what I want to do with my life. This is definitely something I need to get sorted out and that too in a hurry. I dunno if design parameter evaluation, impedance calculations and loss determination are the kinds of things I want to be doing when I m 40. They say “time and tide wait for no man” & this 22 year old confused fella definitely falls into that category.

As a finishing note, most of my closest friends complain that my blog is always very sad and miserable, they d rather read of the lovable fool they know and love rather the brooder who seems to always show up. So Guys, I hope you enjoy this one!
(The loveable fool returns…..briefly!!)..

Ciao

My Year In Review

2008-12-30T23:53:00.000-08:00

Tis that time again when one looks back at the year that’s been. With barely hours left to go, just like everyone else, I too am in reminiscence mode – reliving all the good episodes, cringing while jostling through the bad, all the hi’s – all the lows and a few bitter sweet incidents in between. And quite clearly, there is a lot to take in…..

I can quite safely say that out of all 22 years I ve known – 2008 will definitely go down as the very worst. It started of disastrously, didn’t get much better through the middle, gave a ray of light towards the end only to snatch it back at the close. Though the scars left were gruesome- some for life, there were intermittent bright spots too.

This here is me looking back at the year that’s passed : -

LOWS : -

1) It goes without saying. Hence I just wont say it.!!

2) BONDS DISTURBED
Lost contact with a lot of really good friends. 2008 saw a lot of us friends either get new jobs, quit our old ones and pursue our masters or just re locate. And naturally during this phase, we somehow managed to forget those near and dear friends who held our hands when we needed the support. I m guilty of it and so are you. Shouldve made a more decent effort to keep the camaraderie ticking. That’s definitely something to rectify in the new year( a resolution already!!)

3) COLLEGE MEMORIES
1 year after college and the void it left still remains. 4 of the best years of my life( not academically..!!). Every page of it forever etched in memory. It’s a major low coz come what may –those years aint coming back. Therz a saying "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened". Clearly whoever said it didn’t attend college with me - GEC – FOREVER IN UR DEBT

4) MOVING OUT
Leaving home is never a pleasant experience for anyone. I could go into detail but then again therz a whole post on it somewhere here- so be my guest –read through it.

5) RANDOM
No 5 would be everything else ranging from those months of extreme loneliness and insecurities, tendulkar’s return to form, rickys men losing their immortal status, really bad temper, etc etc

HIGHS :-

1) FIRST JOB
Though this doesn’t mean all that much to me, it did make mom really happy and dad really proud, Amritha on the other hand- well made no diff to her either- like bro like sis I guess! But come to think of it, the 30th (pay day) of every month does bring a big grin to my face.

2) MY BLOG
My blog for me is one of my highlights of the year. It’s the one creative thing(if u can call this creative!!) I ve done…unless you count the 2 different varieties of slower balls I perfected b/w august and september. My blog acts as an outlet for all my views, all my beliefs and sometimes all my frustrations. This here blog is a true reflection of my feelings some of which I felt at times hard to express but "ME BEING ME" gives me an outlet to express em. And for these very reasons, I m so glad i started blogging.

3) BOOKS GALORE
The Alchemist, Fountainhead, The Lazarus Project, Twilight,The Kite rider.. you name it -I must ve read it. Rushdie, Bhagat, Patterson, Hemon …the works. Books where my greatest allies last year – and through all the chaos that ensued- I feel all of the reading somehow enriched me.

4) A RED YEAR
Champions of England, Champions of Europe and now Club Champions of the world. It was definitely a top top year for Manchester United and for us Red Devil fans. Winning the champions league final is my highlight of the year and one moment I ll never ever forget.

6) FRIENDSHIPS RENEWED
Some people I thought I d never hear from decided to make sudden re-appearances in the year 2008. Sanam, Sean, Parth, Ranjith,Tabu – all of em came right outta the blue and in their very own ways though they don’t know it made parts of 2008 so much better. And Mamata - where do i begin ?. Oh the hours and hours of lil chit chat we managed in b/w work made my boring boring office hours so much more bearable.… Mams-thanks for being the dear that u r.

7) CRICKET FRENZY
The months August & September of 2008 will forever be remembered for the loads and loads of cricket that we played. The guys knew I was leaving and so it was game after game after game. Even Sreeju managed to take time off his CA classes to feature in a few – Thanx guys for those 60 days of mayhem.

So, there you have it folks, done and dusted - my year in review. Come to think of it, I did manage to find quite a few bright sparks didn’t i!!...But I d rather oh so forget 2008 as a really bad memory. One way to look at it would be that it cant possibly get any worse. 2009 is bound to be steadier and lesser of a rollercoaster ride than this one and hopefully my review in 2009 wont be as dull and wont cut such a sorry figure. So here’s wishing me and all of you a prosperous and totally awesome new year.

Cheers.

Mystery Lady....

2008-12-23T22:06:00.000-08:00

I ve been inspired!!...

Yesterday started of as just another normal day-foggy sky, bitterly cold weather-the works and i was as usual running late....cutting to the chase..after getting scorched by the manager yet again for something i didn't do which infact i should ve done, i spent the rest of the last hour browsing through whichever site i found browse-worthy(this is just another thing i do which i shouldn't be doing). But that last hour proved to be the highlight of what is on course to becoming yet another dull week.

The stimulant behind my inspiration is a person i dont even know. A person i ve never heard of, a person i ve never seen or spoken to but damn she writes an excellent blog!! I d give you the link to her blog but then again that would mean u would stop reading mine.So nope thats not gonna happen. I dont know how much time i spent reading her blog but after going through each and every entry she's ever written i felt invigorated and enlivened. I love my blog, every minute detail of it..every word..every shade of color of the template which took me over 4 days and 20 odd re revised templates to choose from. But the beauty of her words just make my blog pale in comparison(just stating the obvious!!). Well its pretty clear aint it that i m in awe of this lady(she's married and older than me..so dont worry gals) and right now my sole objective in life is to become at least half as good a blogger as her.

And that requires me to be as candid as is possible. It requires me to be REAL. Not that i m not real already but right now i pick and choose my subjects. There are aspects i consider taboo and choose not to write about.I m not sure i ll manage to be as REAL as i d like but i sure will make an attempt at it.And another thing i m going to have to be is - regular. What is now an entry a month will have to become an entry a week atleast. So guys -WATCH THIS SPACE.....

I hope the day comes when she after getting scorched by her boss and spending the last hour of her day browsing anything she finds browse-worthy comes across my blog and goes - "WOW"...

PS : Mystery Lady - thank You

RNBDJ - AN UNBIASED REVIEW

2008-12-21T03:21:00.000-08:00

Every now and then a movie comes along which transcends generations...which makes us sit up and take notice...which entertains and enlightens both at the same time...BUT..if thats what you expect RAB NE BANA DI JODI to be I m sorry but u are going to be disappointed..RNBDJ is no DDLJ..NO KKHH…but what it is is right from the heart and downright enjoyable…

One has to applaud Aditya Chopra for having the courage for opting to make such a movie which when stripped down to its bare essentials is nothing but a normal mans life. The brilliant filmmaker who gave us DDLJ and through it took us through picturesque Europe, this time picks out plain ol Amritsar as the locale for his newest venture. But, he makes it work!! From the very first scene with the Golden Temple sparkling in all its glory, simple ol Amritsar has you hooked.

As far as the movie goes, its all about the life of an ordinary government employee –Punjab Power’s Surinder Sahni who through some dramatic twist of fate ends up marrying his high school tutors vivacious daughter Taani at her fathers death bed. The movie revolves around how Surinder incapable of confessing his undying love for his wife undergoes a makeover with the help of his sympathizer cum well wisher buddy Bobby to whisk her of her feet and bring some sunshine into her life. The alter ego comes in the guise of Raj - skintight tee, spiked hair and ripped jeans. As luck would have it Raj and Taani become dance partners in a “Dancing Jodi” competition. In the end Taani is left contemplating whether to run off with brash, boisterous, larger than life Raj or stay with her dull office-going ordinary husband by chance Surinder (who are one and the same – in case you haven’t realized that already). Oh and as always the X factor –GOD!!

Anushka Sharma as Taani turns up as this years most prodigal find. Her performance belies her inexperience – carrying off every scene with aplomb – she stands toe to toe with SRK. As the traditional Indian beauty, Anushka looks divine and her smile lights up the entire movie. And as a dancer…boy o boy where do I begin!!

Vinay Pathak shows us just why he is so highly rated among his contemporaries. The “Bheja Fry” star is brilliant as Bobby the jigri dosth. He delivers yet another classy and insightful performance and is now slowly but surely carving a niche for himself in bollywood.

But the movie belongs in every which way to the man himself….Shahrukh Khan. Surinder Sahni will go down as one of SRK’s most loved performances. Plain khakis, over sized shirts, moustache and all SRK dons the role of the ordinary man but his performance is anything but ordinary. He emotes the ideologies of the simple man- the simplicity that considers a rose too bold a move but to be over the moon jumping for joy coz of that one dibba of lunch prepared by the wifey-with nonchalant ease. This time around SRK gives the normal boring person a chance and the masses are loving him for it. Surinder Sahni will definitely “light up your life ji”

As Raj SRK reprises the role which made him famous…a role he can play in his sleep and yet leave us all sleepless. And yet again as Raj SRK scores. This time around though, Raj brings out the comic in SRK…. very loud, cheeky and over the top but oh so funny.

All in all, RNBDJ is definite super hit - a family entertainer and definitely worth a watch. The average moviegoer will love it but there will always be those who just can’t get over the fact that the wife couldn’t recognize the husband. I for one definitely rate this movie and suggest you give it a try if for nothing else for SRK’s brilliant performance which binds the whole movie together. I promise you

“ haule haule ho jayega pyaar chaliya,
haule haule ho jayega pyaar”

RING...DAMNIT..RING!!!

2008-12-14T00:25:00.000-08:00

3 months into this mundane existance in this hebetudinous country..i m suprised how quickly so many equations in my life have changed...some of em..i can write about and for the others..words wont suffice...

TRING TRING...

TRING TRING...

TRING TRII....

me : Heylooo...(surprised tone!!)
caller : Amiii..
me : Oh...hi maa....how r u???how is every1??
mom : i m fine...dad's well...amru is havin xams......
...........................................................................................
............................................................................................
8 mins or so later.... ..
mom : u take care of urself ok..hope u arent having back pain again..dont forget to eat ur
vegetables...
me : yes maa..no maa..ok maa
mom : be nice to ur co workers ok
me : like i have a choice maa..!!
mom : ok then...we ll call u nxt week ok..call us whenever u want to talk ok...
me : yes maa..definitely maa..luv u..

click..................

That my friends is the ONE phone call i get everyweek....without fail..every sunday mom never forgets to call.... One aspect of life that has changed considerably now is the amount of action my phone gets...wat used to be a raging stream of messages and calls has now thinned out to such an extend that the river seems to have all but dried up..so much so that i m suprised my phone wasnt voted one of the 7 wonders of the world coz everytime it rings now..i wonder....

But hey its not all doom and gloom...i m glad i had the foresight to pick an "Xpress Music" coz call or no call...atleast i can listen to a few tunes right..yep..thats wat the phone has been reduced to..my very own bulky mp3 player with a 2MP camera attached to it...

But lets face facts here...when ISD calls are chargeable @ 9 rs per min...one cant really blame anyone for not calling ...after all..if i were in their shoes...would i??...hmm..lets not answer that question right now....also..every1s got a lotta work work work to do ..which keeps them busy busy busy...so busy that they forget to live their own lives let alone make one insignificant ISD call...and to an extend i d blame the people at ETISALAT(my service provider) too...whilst the people at AIRTEL cared enough to send me an offer once a week or call up and talk me through some new great scheme of theirs..the people at ETISALAT are satisfied charging high recharge prices, extreme call rates and squeezing the very last bit of call balance out of us poor customers...

aah..i miss u my AIRTEL IRIS sim...all the free calls u made possible, all the free sms's u gifted....the phone opened up so many various avenues of fun back then..some of which are missed more than others...namely..

1) All the awesome conferences we used to have...8-10 people talkin at a time...no1 knowing
what the other was talkin about..but still enjoying every bit of the chaos that followed..

2) Callin up the guys whenever one felt like it and just abusin each other for as long as one
deemed necessary..

3) Callin unni and hari up after sachin gets out for a duck or india loses a match and choriyalling
the living daylights out of em.

4) Not being able to use my"cometh the hour...cometh the man" sms everytime wayne rooney
scores...

5) Callin up aishu and keerthy and bitchin about anything and everything under the sun....

hmm...those were the days the phone wouldnt leave my side..every minute spent in my side pocket..at the ready to beep at the slightest hint of a miss call...and now whilst multitasking b/w lookin for my mobile and typing in here..i m not too sure where i left it last...but no matter..it ll be a cold day in hell b4 that phone rings again..!!

TRING TRING!!

TRING TRING!!...

me : oh hey maa...wat happened?

mom : ami..................................................
.......................................................
........................................................
me : yes maa, no maa...sure maa....

ciao people....cant keep my one frequent caller waiting...

00971-50-5795875 - try it out...it might ACTUALLY ring..!!

HOME -WHERE THE HEART'S AT..

2008-09-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

I knew it...i just knew it...every bit of me told me watching SWADES again wasnt a good idea..but then again once SRK comes a calling...therz just no saying no. And once again, the head was right & the heart wrong. Its not that the movie was crap...quite the contrary...swades is one of my alltime fav srk flicks..but the problem is ..the movie got me THINKING.

When your last binding memory of the people you love the most is that of your dad not meeting your eyes, your sister trying to smile through her tears & the image of your mom turning her head away coz she just cant bear to see you go ...a movie like swades is not exactly gonna gladden the heart. 3 hours and 15 mins of SRKian emotions later...i asked myself...wat am i doing HERE? If all of this sounds like gibberish to u...lets REWWWWWINDDDDDDDDDD.

What happened on September 22 2008 was a culmination of a few months of serious thought and deliberation. The occasion- yours truly finally decides to leave home in search of newer and supposedly greener pastures.But with every passing second of that 2 hour trip to the airport my heart kept beating faster & faster. The fact that i was leaving behind everything i love, a fact which i tried very hard to not think about, kept getting more & more vivid & glaring with every passing second. & it did not help that my partner in crime( my sis) was unsuccessfully trying very hard to hide a tear. But then i was at the point of no return. Changing my decision was no longer an option.

That was then & this is now - HERE is abu dhabi & 15 days down the line...the question remains...y am i here? The simple reasoning would be - i m here to make something of myself. I m here to set my mistakes of the last 4 years right. But couldnt all of that have been done without having to fly millions of miles north west. Leaving home is a big deal but for someone who s lived all of his life with his family in close attendance, leaving home is an enormous deal. Anyways for better or for worse..i m here & for now this is home. Home sans everything home stands for. Home sans all the familiar smiling faces one calls friends...home sans all the familiar sights one calls memories. Home sans that emotional blanket to fall back on when life takes a turn for the worse. Like it or not, these are just aspects i m gonna have to get accustomed to coz one way or the other this aint changing. But then again there are other aspects to which gettin accustomed is gonna be real tough...namely...WHO'S GONNA WAKE ME UP IN THE MORNING? HOW THE HELL AM I GONNA GET ALL THIS LAUNDRY DONE? WAT DOES ONE HAVE TO DO TO GET A CUP OF COFFEE AROUND HERE?...an endless list of tasks and chores which i managed to successfully avoid for the whole of my 22 years existence on this planet. & right now dodging them seems quite the impossible mission. But rest assured one day or the other i m gonna finally find a good damn laundry just like one day or the other i m finally gonna be back home..but till then these clothes are just gonna have to remain dumped in that corner...i meant till i find a good laundry...not till i m back home.

Home is definitely where the heart is at. And every passing day is just a reminder that u r one day closer to home. One thing i ve realized in my short stay here is that its easier to count down in weeks than in days coz 52 always seems a lot smaller no than 365. But be it 52 or 365, every day only makes u value everything you had around you even more, it just makes you realize what u had was so special. Do i hear "yeh jo desh hai mera" playing in the background??..

I know its gonna get harder before it gets easier. I know there are a lot of things i m going to have to let go of & a lotta sacrifices to be made. I even know that in the end all of this might actually hold me in good stead. But then again its extremely hard to even contemplate any of these presumptions coz when u weigh everythin u r loosing on one side, the other side does seem a lot lighter. But when everything is said & done...one year hence...next August...i know i m gonna be back amongst people i call my own , i know i m gonna be back admist places which bring back a thousand pleasant memories. I know ...in one years time...i m gonna be HOME. .....

BUT till then this SWADES dvd will have to be safely stashed away from where it once came...

NEW SEASON....NEW HORIZONS

2008-08-25T03:09:00.000-07:00

Generally the date August 16th is not meant to stand out, it’s not a red letter day on the calendar, it isn’t even a bank holiday…hell it aint even a day of a bandh, hartal or strike. So y mention it rite? Well the reasoning behind that would be the fact that August 16th is one day I have been counting down to from the end of May. Two & a half painstaking months later- it’s finally here…August 16th- The start of the new EPL season….the one reason life seems worth living for 9 months of the year. For the uninitiated, EPL stands for the ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE- the most watched & the most entertaining football league on the planet. More importantly, the EPL’s the league where the champions –MANCHESTER UNITED-my heart & soul- come out to play.

Before I get into my predictions for the new season…lemme tell u y this topic deserves an entry on my blog. My biggest passion in life is sport. When Roberto Baggio cried after the penalty miss in WC’94, I wept with him. I was so distraught that I stopped watching football. I was 8 then. 2 years came & went & then……………………..MANCHESTER UNITED happened. Back then, we didn’t have all this widespread football coverage we are so used to nowadays. Coverage was limited to matches of only the bigger clubs- The Juventus’s & Real Madrid’s of this world. I m not saying Manchester United were a small team but we weren’t right up there yet. United had the youngest squad of all the major teams but even so Manchester United oozed confidence & style. I m pretty sure that’s what initially attracted me to United. And when King Cantona decided to call Old Trafford (our home ground) his home, United had me hook, line & sinker. My love for United spread very rapidly to everything associated with the club-The reserves, the youth system even the background staff. Now not a day goes by when I m not logged into goal.com or football365 & checking out the latest transfer rumors or making head or tail over the latest club signings. I m pretty sure by now u have quite a clear idea about my love for MANUTD.
Ever since I remember watching Manchester United, we dominated all of club football. The unprecedented Treble season gave us our place in history. So other clubs & other fans were considered “less fortunate” to put it in a nice way. 4 years of engineering introduced me to the other kinds of fans. Through 4 years identifying them became easy. Here’s how:-

Liverpool Fan: Stuck in time…speaks only of football before 1990. Coz they ve won pretty much close to zilch after that.

Arsenal Fan: Claims to be a fan of “the best footballing side “on the planet – the fact that they ve gone trophyless the last 3 seasons seems to be forgotten.

& then we have the Chelsea fan: Basically comprises of glory hunters who don’t watch football or have only started watching from the past 2 years. Identifiable by their woeful knowledge of their club or just football in general.

You can see how having such opinions about the other big clubs can lead to problems right. And that was the case every Monday after an EPL weekend. We fans would get together during our lunch breaks or even b/w classes & if for some god forsaken reason your team ended up losing on the weekend, u r definitely in for it. There were times when the taunts would get so extreme that we d pick fights & stop talking to one another for weeks. All of this was a regular practice for 4 long years & even now though we are all separated & don’t keep in touch all that often, whenever we do call up- the EPL is always a prominent topic of discussion & even now the “discussion” gets just as heated as in the good old days.

Whatever shitty work we d have to do during the weekdays & how much ever unsatisfying it may be, the weekends always brought an end to those thoughts. Starting from “HERE WE GO” on ESPN at 9 PM on Friday right upto “FINAL SCORE” at 11PM on Sunday, sitting on the couch, LAYS in hand , watching the EPL, calling up & insulting your dearest of friends somehow made life seem oh so complete. With the end of the last season in May, once again a void was created in all of our lives. Weekends became once again just weekends. Yeah sure, we all had fun but then there was always something missing. But like all good things, the EPL is now back & better than ever.

And how do I see the new season unwinding?
1) Well as always I expect my team MANUTD to win, though I expect stiffer competition from Chelsea this time around.
2) I expect Unni to babble on before the season unwinds about how Liverpool is gonna win the EPL & after once again not even coming close to keep ranting about how the season after this is gonna be theirs.
3) I expect Balu to keep contesting every penalty decision going in our favor & conveniently forgetting all that goes in their favor.
4) I expect Unmu to be straight & on the spot as always & I also expect him to pick any club other than United to lift the title
5) I expect Jijin to be pessimistic about our chances as always & to call me after every loss that we endure.
6) I expect Hari to as always never watch football. Full stop!!
7) I expect Jins to continue being a Chelsea fan even though he doesn’t even know who the coach is.
8) And finally I expect Shanoob to one fine day call all of us eulogizing the great run that the Arsenal team is on & to go back into hibernation when that run comes to an abrupt end.

Wow seems like I finished this entry right on time. In about 5 mins, Rio Ferdinand is gonna be leading Manchester United out onto the field for our first home match against Newcastle. So it’s high time I took my place on the couch as is tradition. Here’s to another rollicking EPL season.

COME ON YE REDS, COME ON YE REDS.

LOSE THE BOTTLE & USE YOUR HEADS.

FOR 90 MINS WE LL LET EM KNOW,

WE R MANUTD, HERE WE GO!!!..............

CHEERS.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

2008-08-05T00:52:00.000-07:00

“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked” - Bernard Meltzer

August 3rd is termed Friendship day. Y we need to have a specific date to celebrate our Friendship is a different matter altogether. Anyways, going by the norm, today(I know its 2 days too late…but better late than never… right) I d like to thank my friends for simply…being my friends. Today I d like to express gratitude for a no of very specific reasons…so here goes in no specific order…

1) For instead of being sympathetic, giving me honest & sincere opinions ( even though it may hurt) no matter what the circumstance.
2) For still being around even though our fights would mean I wouldn’t talk to u for months.
3) For not letting my ridiculous reasons to squabble tarnish your opinion of me.
4) For bearing with my sarcasm & immaturity
5) Not For doing my assignments, my projects & what not but for doing them knowing that the lazy ass that I am, therz a high probability that those favours wouldn’t be reciprocated.
6) For still calling upon me even though I might as hari may put it be having "basic tuitions".
7) For picking up my calls in the wee hours of the morning & letting " i'm bored " be a good enough reason to talk.
8) For risking the prospect of a trip to Ashwini hospital & sitting on my bike.

Finally I thank you all for just being yourselves - i thank you for the times we ve laughed together, i thank you for the times we ve cried together.To put it simply, i thank you for all the wonderful memories of our times together.

The reason I haven’t named anyone Is coz, if any of these reasons do ring a bell…you ll know its meant for you…

Assigning Assignments

2008-06-26T22:59:00.000-07:00

Its 11 pm,
I ve got nothing much to do
Unni s written a poem,
Guess I ll write one too.

Wat to write abt,
That’s the predicament,
Could be tours, games or
Maybe just class assignments.

The stuff above, I hope was fun.
Coz if u didn’t like it baby, -I ve only just begun.
Wats to follow might not make a lotta sense,
But no point in waitin around…lets commence.

Am in class by 9,
To be submitted by noon,
With 60pages of crap to go,
Noon’s too soon.

Mission impossible
Or so it seems.
Maybe I haven’t woken up
& its just a bad dream.

Subhadra s out to get me,
That’s nothing new.
If this aint done in time,
Oh Damn…screw!!

First things first, I ve got to get a copy.
Kunju’s no doubt; else its gonna look sloppy
Sheets to write, a pen to boot
SKCL’s a min away by bike or 5 by foot.

Hours of writing, Fine by me.
Help me with these diagrams, that’s my plea..
The guys I ask,The NO’s r pretty vocal.
& when I ask the girls,everyone’s doin “LOCAL’S”

Problems a plenty,
I might end up senti
Even appu’s real buzy &
Giza s getting dizzy.

But as always, I ve my angel’s lookin over me,
Ammu, Aishu, Keeru –that’s them three.
They blitz the assign in 3 hours straight,
Wat can I say…..just GREAT.

1 page to go & that’s the introduction,
My name, my roll no & my section.
I could do that but then y bother,
Anju’l just make it look a lot damn hotter.

The assignments on the table,
In a file all Brown.
Oh…just 5 mins late Subbu,
Don’t frown

12:05’ the time & it’s the end of the rhyme.
So till next time, with something more sublime.

Cheers

JUST CRICKET

2008-06-25T01:38:00.000-07:00

Its been 2Whole days & I haven’t posted a damn thing !!!...definitely not the way I saw this going…anyways herz another attempt at another post…..take 32…

First Year was the best year of college. This is something most of us guys agree on. Maybe it’s the experience of meetin so many different personalities or just the newness of the environment we were in or maybe….it was JUST CRICKET.

India is a cricket crazy nation but for so many die hard cricket fanatics to end up in the same class was just unreal. Most of my fav memories of our first year had something or the other to do with our cricket matches. Everyday was either the day of a match, the day b4 a match or the day after a match. . If we had spent the amount of hours we did strategizing about an opponent, on the topics taken up in class the likes of kunju & nisha would’ve had stiff competition for top rank

It all started one fine day when we choriyalled sumoli into getting the chem. students into playing THE SHOCKERS(yep that’s the best we could come up with- had to be something related to electricity right!!) . Wat was to follow was nothing short of a massacre- we whipped em & there began our journey….

The look on our faces the next day was one that would put the world cup winning Australian team to shame. Before I dwell further lets have a look at the team in no particular order:-

K M MUNINDRA : Destructive opening bat & extremely destructive bowl if one of those beamers hits u on the face…but does have a hat trick to his credit.

UNNI : ehhh..hmmm… if all the talk were converted into runs, he d give bradman a run for his money…jokes aside brilliant fielder…just wish he d quit with the cut shot already…

PARI : Middle overs Specialist bowler…adept at picking up important wickets & self proclaimed hard hitter.

ANOOP…sorry…CHUL : King of the extra ordinary catches…how he ends up with them , even he doesn’t know…the ball just lands where he places his hand.

EMIL : A match officially begins when emil arrives from his hostel in his striped shirt & green shorts. Ever reliable deep cover fielder & lower order bat.

MANSOOR : A one man fielding team…claim to fame- never dropped a catch..which is saying a lot for the rest of us.

BRUCE : Scorer Supreme…never gets a score wrong…self proclaimed off spin legend & a sledger beyond comparison.

ABEY : One part of the best bowling partnership in GEC history.. him & ASM(more abt him later) always end up having to pull things back after the opening bowlers get thrashed…career was curtailed by a major foot injury.

JIJIN : Vice Captain of the team & a Brilliant opening bowler who had the misfortunate of having to put up with a mediocre bowling partner…3 down bat & claims to be a huge hitter

HARI : One of 2 mediocre players(Krisha Associates) in the side…Bribed the team into letting him bowl opening….bats 2 down & only scores against the Computer Science team…fields at slip & has a history of dropping sitters…hehe..also bowls a brilliant Yorker & hardly ever lets the team down.

Last But Not Least…

ASM : Talismanic Captain & the best batsman of the side…top run getter (3 fifties included) & the other half of the best bowling combination in GEC history…did I mention he s an excellent fielder too??

OK…back to our cricket crazy lives…Before every match, we d spend the earlier evening in Hari’s hostel discussing abt the opposition on the carroms table & the funny thing is all of this was very serious talk…noone took it as just a game…every1 wanted to win no matter wat. Next day in class, we d pass a team list asking who was available to play…the girls considered us crazy…when I look back now…I can see y…

As the year progressed, we played every department side….in fact we were so cocky, we enrolled our team combined with our B division for the college cricket fest..…we won our first match & a series of unfortunate events later, we were all in tears having lost our second. The disappointment was unreal & the fact that we went beyond any other first year team was of no consolation.

All the matches we played together were gr8 fun...the moments spent-gr8 memories…but certain incidents always stood out…Unni s stunning reflex catches… …jijin s 40 m running catch(which none of us saw)…hari s exquisite batting display against the CS team…Mansoor & Kadavan running 5…Munindra s awesome strokeplay…kadavan batting brilliantly without glasses even though he couldn’t see a damn thing(oh..that xplains it )… pari s catch that wasn’t a catch…confused ??so where we...the list just goes on & on…

I d like to believe that the time we spent together in the sun, in the rain on that field out of shoolappan s graphics class had a definite say in the unbreakable bonds of friendship we formed with one another in the years that followed. I just wish we could go down there one last time, forget all our worries & just PLAY…

PS: Thanx to all the girls for funding the cricket team….believe me every 1 rupee coin helped…Kunju & Pinky - special thanx(biggest sponsors)

College Ka Pehla Din

2008-06-22T02:12:00.000-07:00

As a first topic on my blog,i feel its appropriate that its abt my college coz the rollercoaster of emotions those 4 odd years took me through are uncompareable.Hopefully,this is gonna ignite a few memories & bring about a few smiles....

Having heard a great deal abt GEC, going there for college, i knew would be a gr8 xperience.But wat followed was beyond anything i had every imagined....

Even b4 joinin college i already knew 2 of ma classmates to be...Aiswarya (my oldest friend) & Unni (a punk who i detested back then but 4 years down the road the one person i couldnt have imagined college without).....So left to meet were 48 other newbies.Uhh...make that 47...coz my first new classmate i happen to meet at an uncle s place & boy oh boy did he fool me with his "paavam & neat" pretense-Meet Mr Arun R Nair (ends up always right).... we set of for college together & i tell his dad i ll take care of him...the irony...stunning !!

Once we enter college,we find our class coz we find the bearded man(our class tutor:every1s beloved Jayan Sir) with 47 other kids waiting outside a room with 2 doors at either end( those doors were to tell a lotta interestin stories later on)....as we wait to enter class every1 goes around gettin introduced to one another & there i meet this boy in a red check shirt & black pants...very quiet & very serious...appearances can be decieveing & Harikrishnan sure had me fooled....how was i to know i was shakin hands with the very soul who was to give me a nickname for life..as the introductions progressed i end up meeting a person who notices motorola phones b4 the person using em( our own Pari)...a hollow shirt & pant pair with glasses-Bruce....a very jovial & funny FORMER athlete..stress on former...Mr Kadavan..& a person whos views on god & politics r so unique that his name had to be just as unique...Jijin...i also happen to meet our effortless brainiac Emil,our crazy manipuri Munindra & how would any introduction be complete without Muhammad Mansoor...the inspiration behind every1 one of our brilliant class tours....the rest of the day was taken up by mundane teachers & boring classes...parts of our life which didnt concern us then or for years to come...so lets just avoid that part eh....

I know i havent mentioned any of the girls but the reason i feel is that all of the guys me included were quite shy to get introduced to any of the girls on the first day...but just like everything else that too was to get a major overhaul....

As the day progressed me & nair meet a few of my seniors from school & me being the smart ass that i am ,i shoot my mouth off & end up getting myself & nair ragged...so now u see the irony!!...end of day...nair goes to his new hostel & i go home....

As years passed people changed,relationships changed but the excitement of going back to college i d like to believe always remained.......

So thats that...my first post done & dusted....so guys do lemme know if u liked it..& if u didnt lemme know anyways.....

2008-06-22T01:59:00.000-07:00