By a spate of comments, how many of you insist on calling people by their last names? Who are you people? I can emphatize with your cause if its your luck to have drawn and met people with such first names as Bartholomew or Sambasivam, but on your average day and when meeting with the average Colin Fitzwilliam, you dont have to go "Oh, i dont know, Mr. Fitzwilliam, but that was how i was addressed when i was brought up and that is how i will you."
To explain things easier, i pick the thing that comes to mind readily.
Cricket commentators already suffer when referring to Waugh... if it is slip catching and lazy grace and elegance, we know they are on the "Mark" and if it is about steely grit, it sure is "Steve". Otherwise, it is difficult. Why cant they just say Steve and Mark?
Calling Anil and Mukesh, "Ambani" would do disservice to Dhirubhai. And why should a certain Patrick cash in on the surname "McEnroe"???
However, regards "Bush", both father and son have the same traits, ie, the world hates them, and it makes little difference anyway, so it is ok. And both wives must be livid, when called "Ms Bush" (joke intended)
First names are cool and easy, and moreover, its urs, so that way you know they are addressing you.
Most of the world except perhaps some places in south india emphasise on surnames. For instance, Ramesh Nihalani would definitely respond if someone calls him Nihalani, but I would look elswehere if someone calls me "Ramanan"!!
If south indians were addressed by surnames, it would be comical. Maharajapuram and Seerkazahi are accepted because the 2 men probably were the only known guys from these 2 villages in Tamilnadu. But think of Conjeevaram (Ramaswamy?) and Pondicherry (Sivasankaran?)..
There are also plentya personal experiences that tag along where i experienced this particlar problem, some pretty comical.
I kinda received a letter some 2 years ago from a US University confirming my admission. It read "Mr. Kripa Ramanan. Congrats" and so forth. And my dad is like " Wow.. You write the exams, apply and stuff, and i get an admit. Thats cool".
And we should all have 1 last name man.. Not 2 last names..like mine, Kripa Ramanan... I know!!!! Blame my grandfather.
I remember applying for a credit card when i told my first and last names to a dood that was typin stuff to enter my details. And i got a letter in the mail addressing me as "R Kripa Space Ramanan".
Of course, if you are a Telugu guy, all laws and restrictions, basically anything that makes sense do not apply to you and dont join my tirade. You better respond to whichever part of your name manages to escape out of others mouths. What the fuck are you people thinking, huh " Thirumala Venkateshwara SivaSubramanya Aditya Devarakonda", is without exaggeration, the name of a good friend of mine. We didnt remain friends for long becuase he didnt find my takes on his namessss funny. "Srinivas NagaVenkata Gundapathula" or " Vangipurappu VenkataSai Laxman" maybe easier comparitively but drive the person thats listening/ calling your name crazy. By a certain oddity, have you observed 'Venkat' figures prominently in every Telugu name. Its no coincidence. Thats their beleif. Every good name should have one. "Srini or Venkat". Hearsay has it they wanted to rename " Andhra Pradesh" into "Venkatesh". Thats it, just that, like Bangladesh, and people outside of AP shouldnt be allowed to use it.
And the auto process of having ur dad's name as ur last name sucks. I really say that. I had a neighbour who got married to one " Madhu Thyagarajan" and ppl call her " Mrs. Thyagarajan" -Thyagarajan who is her dead pop-in-law she's never met in life. That screws relationships all over man. People should ban that.
My friend writes his name as Rohan Arjun Karthik, and sometimes as Karthik Rohan Arjun. He bet me 50 bucks i cant guess his first name, ( not that he was gonna admit if i did). Rohan is his name and Karthik is his dad's name and Arjun it seems is his family name. Can it BE more confusing?
This acquaintance of mine Vijay Immanuel, who originally sent me a hilarious piece on a conversation between an Indian and American data collector, had this to say when i asked him about it. He seconds my opinion and recollects the problem he had in getting his details - the spelling and stuff - through. And i thought it was pretty funny.
Vijay says " It is not only u..Even I (Who does not have my father's name nor my house name) have to go thru it very often.
IMMANUEL.....spelt as Imman vel (As in Vel Murugan)
Apparently, this dint work, and i try another angle "Manual...Immanuel with an E, i.e
Emmanuel...etc .and so on."
People do not seem to be giving respect to ones names!...no matter what it is."
Right on mark, Manny.
January 28, 2005
January 15, 2005
Swell fable...
Apparently, the fable(of all fables!) goes thus:
God created man, but was soon disillusioned with his creation and
swore... rather, exclaimed "Ah, Damn".
The poor man asked "What" and God quickly composed himself and said "Yeah, Ah-Damn..er.. Adam is your name."
God was still giving finishing touches to man and had a rib left, not
knowing what to do with it.
By now, Adam was fidgeting and wanted to get away from God.
So Adam cried out "I wanna leave."
God heard it as "eve" instead of "leave" (This is b'cos God, like any boss, has no record being a good listener.)
Quickly latching onto the idea, God created Eve out of the rib, and
cautioned Adam, "But, I want you together always" (meaning he wanted
both Adam and Eve to be "together" at all times).
Adam replied "No, problem".
And since then, Adam's biggest mission has been "to-get-her" !!!!!
God created man, but was soon disillusioned with his creation and
swore... rather, exclaimed "Ah, Damn".
The poor man asked "What" and God quickly composed himself and said "Yeah, Ah-Damn..er.. Adam is your name."
God was still giving finishing touches to man and had a rib left, not
knowing what to do with it.
By now, Adam was fidgeting and wanted to get away from God.
So Adam cried out "I wanna leave."
God heard it as "eve" instead of "leave" (This is b'cos God, like any boss, has no record being a good listener.)
Quickly latching onto the idea, God created Eve out of the rib, and
cautioned Adam, "But, I want you together always" (meaning he wanted
both Adam and Eve to be "together" at all times).
Adam replied "No, problem".
And since then, Adam's biggest mission has been "to-get-her" !!!!!
January 06, 2005
Tsunami aftermath...
Dont know if this a joke out of place but apparently appeared in the Colombo Times - which is quoted below :
Quote
On 26th Dec '04 early morning several hrs before the catastrophy happened, Honolulu Tsunami Monitoring center have been trying to call our Meteorological Dept. monitoring center in Palekelle and Colombo but failed. They also got in touch with presidents' office however it was informed that she's out of the island on a private vacation.
Finally they called the Prime minister's secretariat, but the Prime minister was out on his morning walk. Thinking at least it's best to keep him vigilant on this, the Honolulu officials left the message with the person who picked up the phone to inform the Prime minister that there's a Tsunami coming from Indonesia .
On the prime minister's return, the operator told the prime minister about the call, and said T. Sunami from Indonesia is arriving in 2 hrs. The Prime minister promptly took action to send a delegation to Katunayake Airport in Colombo with name boards ' Welcome Mr. T. Sunami - Indonesia'.
The trouble is we never know if these reports can be true. Yes, we can trace back and ask the operator if he did leave the message, but then " Yes buddy" is gonna be the obvious answer.
Then, you trace the dood that got the message and fry him why he didnt report to the right authorities.
Okay, but then do you expect a peon in the PM's office to know what a tsunami is, when the PM sneds a convoy to the airport ??
And no, i wudnt blame the PM either. How can he know what a tsunami is? Very few did before it happened. Frankly, I knew very little of Tsunami (before this thing happened), except for it had something to do with Japanese earthquakes..
We all paid a pretty big price to find the actual meaning of that word which most werent even aware existed.
Thanks to the current era, people of today are aware of things which are not vital parts of our vocabulary eg. SAARS, AIDS, Bofors, Tsunami, Rogue-state, Regime-change etc.. And what a price has been paid to know the meanings of those words too..
There are more stories to go along with this, one of them being this....
" Apparently, an ex-IIT Chennai student who had worked on a communications project
(during his course) in a village near Cuddalore, had called the village people from Singapore where he is working now and warned them of the disaster a few hours before it struck. All the villagers moved to safety with their children and vital belongings... and there was not a single casualty in that village!!"
I cannot fathom, why this piece of 'providing information' could not be escalated at the highest levels (if PM/Presedent of SL is not available, inform the BBC/CNN and other news channels all over globe, which will have the fastest reach).
Particularly, the IIT case, to be frank, is difficult to digest. When he can warn and save successfuly a village, he could have done it to the whole state if he had informed the State Govt machinery and the media.
To be frank, i do not know if i would have informed anybody had i had this piece of information. So, whoever did their bit to pass it along is to be applauded. But when you have that amount of foresight to inform a village, you are expected to have the intelligence to pass it to more effective/ more reach sources too.
May be I have the benefit of hindsight. What the hell... I do have the benefit of hindsight and i have admitted i totally lack foresight, who am i to complain and point fingers at?
Quote
On 26th Dec '04 early morning several hrs before the catastrophy happened, Honolulu Tsunami Monitoring center have been trying to call our Meteorological Dept. monitoring center in Palekelle and Colombo but failed. They also got in touch with presidents' office however it was informed that she's out of the island on a private vacation.
Finally they called the Prime minister's secretariat, but the Prime minister was out on his morning walk. Thinking at least it's best to keep him vigilant on this, the Honolulu officials left the message with the person who picked up the phone to inform the Prime minister that there's a Tsunami coming from Indonesia .
On the prime minister's return, the operator told the prime minister about the call, and said T. Sunami from Indonesia is arriving in 2 hrs. The Prime minister promptly took action to send a delegation to Katunayake Airport in Colombo with name boards ' Welcome Mr. T. Sunami - Indonesia'.
The trouble is we never know if these reports can be true. Yes, we can trace back and ask the operator if he did leave the message, but then " Yes buddy" is gonna be the obvious answer.
Then, you trace the dood that got the message and fry him why he didnt report to the right authorities.
Okay, but then do you expect a peon in the PM's office to know what a tsunami is, when the PM sneds a convoy to the airport ??
And no, i wudnt blame the PM either. How can he know what a tsunami is? Very few did before it happened. Frankly, I knew very little of Tsunami (before this thing happened), except for it had something to do with Japanese earthquakes..
We all paid a pretty big price to find the actual meaning of that word which most werent even aware existed.
Thanks to the current era, people of today are aware of things which are not vital parts of our vocabulary eg. SAARS, AIDS, Bofors, Tsunami, Rogue-state, Regime-change etc.. And what a price has been paid to know the meanings of those words too..
There are more stories to go along with this, one of them being this....
" Apparently, an ex-IIT Chennai student who had worked on a communications project
(during his course) in a village near Cuddalore, had called the village people from Singapore where he is working now and warned them of the disaster a few hours before it struck. All the villagers moved to safety with their children and vital belongings... and there was not a single casualty in that village!!"
I cannot fathom, why this piece of 'providing information' could not be escalated at the highest levels (if PM/Presedent of SL is not available, inform the BBC/CNN and other news channels all over globe, which will have the fastest reach).
Particularly, the IIT case, to be frank, is difficult to digest. When he can warn and save successfuly a village, he could have done it to the whole state if he had informed the State Govt machinery and the media.
To be frank, i do not know if i would have informed anybody had i had this piece of information. So, whoever did their bit to pass it along is to be applauded. But when you have that amount of foresight to inform a village, you are expected to have the intelligence to pass it to more effective/ more reach sources too.
May be I have the benefit of hindsight. What the hell... I do have the benefit of hindsight and i have admitted i totally lack foresight, who am i to complain and point fingers at?
December 29, 2004
Random Reflections....
I am distressed to say the least, reading and watching the calamity caused by the monster Tsunami. Before i go any further, my heart goes out to people affected by Tsunami. No words can offer soalce, and the poor ones affected are not going to hook up the net and read my condolence, but for what they are worth, here they are. The ones reading this, say a prayer, observe a minute's silence or do what you can to help them out.
I wonder.. Recently earth has been witnessing more unexpected and strange natural destruction than ever before. Last year, we had high summers killing people in Europe. With all the "tsunami", earthquake, et al (and I am not even talking about Bush and Osama as yet- those are artificial destructors anyway), one begins to wonder if there's going to be normal life again?
On Sunday 26th Dec, at about 6.30 am in the morning, whole batches of small children playing cricket on our very own Marina beach and old people jogging harmlessly.... were washed away by tides measuring upto 10 feet. The waves reached the famous beach road and well into Santhome and Triplicane. And this news is nothing when compared to the destruction in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Colombo and Thailand.
Is earth ageing? Is it too old for any more "normal" life? Is it time we looked for life on another planet and scrambled for spaces there? Who knows? Is this the beginning of the end of "this phase" of earth? I continue to wonder, some thousands of years later from now, newly evolved cave men will dig earth and discover Taj Mahal, Statue of Liberty, Petronax towers etc. (like we did on Mohenjadaro and Harappa) and based on where they will strike first and unearth, new religions will be born!
The wise men then who will be able to decipher what they unearth will be the new messiahs or sons of God!
Today's kids are learning general knowledge and vocabulary more practically than we did when we were young. They have literally seen and read about Bofors, AK47, Kalashnikov, rogue-state, prisoner abuse, AIDS, SAARS and now, the latest: TSUNAMI !!
Did we know these words say, some 20 years ago??
Anyways, Here's wishing all of you a tsunami-free, Bush-free, Osama-free.. 2005!
Sod all that, lets raise our glasses to a swell 2005.
I wonder.. Recently earth has been witnessing more unexpected and strange natural destruction than ever before. Last year, we had high summers killing people in Europe. With all the "tsunami", earthquake, et al (and I am not even talking about Bush and Osama as yet- those are artificial destructors anyway), one begins to wonder if there's going to be normal life again?
On Sunday 26th Dec, at about 6.30 am in the morning, whole batches of small children playing cricket on our very own Marina beach and old people jogging harmlessly.... were washed away by tides measuring upto 10 feet. The waves reached the famous beach road and well into Santhome and Triplicane. And this news is nothing when compared to the destruction in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Colombo and Thailand.
Is earth ageing? Is it too old for any more "normal" life? Is it time we looked for life on another planet and scrambled for spaces there? Who knows? Is this the beginning of the end of "this phase" of earth? I continue to wonder, some thousands of years later from now, newly evolved cave men will dig earth and discover Taj Mahal, Statue of Liberty, Petronax towers etc. (like we did on Mohenjadaro and Harappa) and based on where they will strike first and unearth, new religions will be born!
The wise men then who will be able to decipher what they unearth will be the new messiahs or sons of God!
Today's kids are learning general knowledge and vocabulary more practically than we did when we were young. They have literally seen and read about Bofors, AK47, Kalashnikov, rogue-state, prisoner abuse, AIDS, SAARS and now, the latest: TSUNAMI !!
Did we know these words say, some 20 years ago??
Anyways, Here's wishing all of you a tsunami-free, Bush-free, Osama-free.. 2005!
Sod all that, lets raise our glasses to a swell 2005.
December 25, 2004
The Larry Darrell in me
Within one paragraph it explains life......
Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon champion was dying of CANCER.
From world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: "Why does GOD have to select you for such a bad disease"?
To this Arthur Ashe replied" The world over -- 5 crore children start playing tennis, 50 lakh learn to play tennis, 5 lakh learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, When I was holding a cup I never asked GOD "Why me?".
And today in pain I should not be asking GOD "Why me?" Happiness keeps u Sweet, Trials keep u Strong, Sorrow keeps u Human, Failure Keeps u Humble, Success keeps u glowing, but only God Keeps u going."
Indeed, twas a heart rendering quote from Arthur Ashe(about him being selected
by God for the AIDS infection as well as the Grand Slam trophies he
won).
But thinking a little more along these lines, you start wondering...
Who selected the 3,000+ to die at Pearl Harbour?
Who selected the 3,500+ to perish at the WTC on 9/11?
Who selected the 10,000+(still counting) to suffocate and die at Bhopal when the gas leaked?
Who selected the thousands (couldn't count) who were burnt alive at Hiroshima and Nagasaki when US dropped the Bomb?
Who selects the Iraqi civilians, US Soldiers, Palestinian babies to die every day?
Who selects the Millions of jews to be traumatized ever since and prior to WW2?
Did God intend to punish all these victims? Were all their prayers insufficient to save them?
Most importantly, there may have been some/many survivors in each of those incidents and it is easy to attribute their stories to the good God.
Is there really a god? Its a perfectly safe question to explore, talk pro and con about, but which can never really be answered.
Thats the stupidest thing really you know. Let us, just for arguement sake, say there is no god. Which means, no religion. That eliminates all the fights/war going on in the name of religion from Gujarat to Gaza strip. There wudnt have been a bombing of the towers. America wudnt have got a reason to goto war, so no war in Irag either. That, i say saves half the problems the world is facing with.
Like they say, explore both sides of the coin. Would the starters/instigators of war made peace and drank from each others cups had they not been supplied with a reason not to war? Wouldnt they find some other reason to goto war? Do you think and beleive Hitler wudnta attacked people of Poland had there been just one/no religion, i,e if he dint have the readymade excuse as the flagbearer to eradicate all jews. And then you biol down to people from the same land/religion. What is their basis? If there aint no basis, would the men of the land wager against the women? Thats how stupid it all is.
Science has shown that evolution is a much more credible basis for mankind than creation. So much for the credibility of religion.
Just one of these days, you kinda feel some science freak gets fed up with all this shit and impersonates god by simulating a ray of light to appear divine in fronta religous seers and say " I AM NOT TRUE. AND, SO ARENT THE OTHERS. SO GO THE FARM AND DO A HONEST DAY'S JOB".The seer wud claim " I have seen the light, and its a lie." How funny would that be? And think abt it, some of them seers would be seeing the action in some prison cell and people wud stone his retarded self to death thinking he's gone crazy when he utters sumthing like that, when actually he is making sense for the first time in his life. The fault lies with the masses too. They just cant beleieve and buy the truth, bcos lies are less complicated and change is not easy to accept.
Why shud such thoughts occur on christmas day?
It really is time to say my prayer to god on the gospel...
" This new year, and every new year on, may all wars be closed and bars kept open".
Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon champion was dying of CANCER.
From world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: "Why does GOD have to select you for such a bad disease"?
To this Arthur Ashe replied" The world over -- 5 crore children start playing tennis, 50 lakh learn to play tennis, 5 lakh learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, When I was holding a cup I never asked GOD "Why me?".
And today in pain I should not be asking GOD "Why me?" Happiness keeps u Sweet, Trials keep u Strong, Sorrow keeps u Human, Failure Keeps u Humble, Success keeps u glowing, but only God Keeps u going."
Indeed, twas a heart rendering quote from Arthur Ashe(about him being selected
by God for the AIDS infection as well as the Grand Slam trophies he
won).
But thinking a little more along these lines, you start wondering...
Who selected the 3,000+ to die at Pearl Harbour?
Who selected the 3,500+ to perish at the WTC on 9/11?
Who selected the 10,000+(still counting) to suffocate and die at Bhopal when the gas leaked?
Who selected the thousands (couldn't count) who were burnt alive at Hiroshima and Nagasaki when US dropped the Bomb?
Who selects the Iraqi civilians, US Soldiers, Palestinian babies to die every day?
Who selects the Millions of jews to be traumatized ever since and prior to WW2?
Did God intend to punish all these victims? Were all their prayers insufficient to save them?
Most importantly, there may have been some/many survivors in each of those incidents and it is easy to attribute their stories to the good God.
Is there really a god? Its a perfectly safe question to explore, talk pro and con about, but which can never really be answered.
Thats the stupidest thing really you know. Let us, just for arguement sake, say there is no god. Which means, no religion. That eliminates all the fights/war going on in the name of religion from Gujarat to Gaza strip. There wudnt have been a bombing of the towers. America wudnt have got a reason to goto war, so no war in Irag either. That, i say saves half the problems the world is facing with.
Like they say, explore both sides of the coin. Would the starters/instigators of war made peace and drank from each others cups had they not been supplied with a reason not to war? Wouldnt they find some other reason to goto war? Do you think and beleive Hitler wudnta attacked people of Poland had there been just one/no religion, i,e if he dint have the readymade excuse as the flagbearer to eradicate all jews. And then you biol down to people from the same land/religion. What is their basis? If there aint no basis, would the men of the land wager against the women? Thats how stupid it all is.
Science has shown that evolution is a much more credible basis for mankind than creation. So much for the credibility of religion.
Just one of these days, you kinda feel some science freak gets fed up with all this shit and impersonates god by simulating a ray of light to appear divine in fronta religous seers and say " I AM NOT TRUE. AND, SO ARENT THE OTHERS. SO GO THE FARM AND DO A HONEST DAY'S JOB".The seer wud claim " I have seen the light, and its a lie." How funny would that be? And think abt it, some of them seers would be seeing the action in some prison cell and people wud stone his retarded self to death thinking he's gone crazy when he utters sumthing like that, when actually he is making sense for the first time in his life. The fault lies with the masses too. They just cant beleieve and buy the truth, bcos lies are less complicated and change is not easy to accept.
Why shud such thoughts occur on christmas day?
It really is time to say my prayer to god on the gospel...
" This new year, and every new year on, may all wars be closed and bars kept open".
December 15, 2004
Just for the heck of it...
I am reading a collected works of Wodehouse focussed with short stuff on the various female characters that appear in his novels.
Like you say Wodehouse, i say Jeeves, but u say female characters in Wodehouse , and i start scratching my head and whats 'the girl in blue's name..she is supposed to patch up with Jerry, the cartoonist, right?
So, i pick this book hoping it wud refresh me on most of Wodehouse stuff.
As i open the book, the foreword catches my eye and it goes like " Just to show that dangers are relative, and vice versa".
Quite right. Now how could i ever forget Aunt Agatha?
Like you say Wodehouse, i say Jeeves, but u say female characters in Wodehouse , and i start scratching my head and whats 'the girl in blue's name..she is supposed to patch up with Jerry, the cartoonist, right?
So, i pick this book hoping it wud refresh me on most of Wodehouse stuff.
As i open the book, the foreword catches my eye and it goes like " Just to show that dangers are relative, and vice versa".
Quite right. Now how could i ever forget Aunt Agatha?
December 09, 2004
Jay Jay Shiv Shankar #2..
I was talking to my dad yestday and i bring the Shankaracharya arrest episode up, although painfully aware in the back of my mind, its gonna kill my daytime minutes.
My dad goes like " We have to pray that he comes out unscathed with his reputation untarnished". I retort saying " He made a mistake. He has to pay for that".
He goes " Now dont you start acting all American all over. He's a spiritual guru. He prays for the welfare of all the people day in and day out. The govt. is generally oppresive of brahmins, and what better way to haunt/bug them than to reach out for the leader/guru."
I am thinking " This is no India- Aussie cricket series. And the Govt. is no Steve Waugh trying to intimidate the Indian team by trying to get onto Sourav's nerves. The dood is surely connected."
More of dad's " He prays everyday for everybody. No way would he stoop to the levels of an ordinary guy."
I cant take it anymore and say " I am an ordinary guy. And am not gonna plan/conspire to kill another guy some day. He stooped to the level of a criminal to save his skin. Only it backfired, because having been unaccustomed to stuff like this, he dint do a good job of covering his ass."
I ended up alopogizing to dad, for the sake of it and all, but i dint really mean it. I feel he's involved and guilty and deserves his due.
Remember the old saying - No smoke without fire. Exactly.
The Dream on lyrics by Aerosmith readily come to mind...
Every time that I look in the mirror
all these lines on my face getting clearer
the past is gone
it went by like dusk to dawn
Isn't that the way
everybody's got their dues in life to pay
yeah, I know nobody knows
where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
you got to lose to know how to win
Half my life's in books' written pages
ive and learn from fools and from sages
you know it's true
all the things come back to you
Only the sage took a double role as a fool too.
My dad goes like " We have to pray that he comes out unscathed with his reputation untarnished". I retort saying " He made a mistake. He has to pay for that".
He goes " Now dont you start acting all American all over. He's a spiritual guru. He prays for the welfare of all the people day in and day out. The govt. is generally oppresive of brahmins, and what better way to haunt/bug them than to reach out for the leader/guru."
I am thinking " This is no India- Aussie cricket series. And the Govt. is no Steve Waugh trying to intimidate the Indian team by trying to get onto Sourav's nerves. The dood is surely connected."
More of dad's " He prays everyday for everybody. No way would he stoop to the levels of an ordinary guy."
I cant take it anymore and say " I am an ordinary guy. And am not gonna plan/conspire to kill another guy some day. He stooped to the level of a criminal to save his skin. Only it backfired, because having been unaccustomed to stuff like this, he dint do a good job of covering his ass."
I ended up alopogizing to dad, for the sake of it and all, but i dint really mean it. I feel he's involved and guilty and deserves his due.
Remember the old saying - No smoke without fire. Exactly.
The Dream on lyrics by Aerosmith readily come to mind...
Every time that I look in the mirror
all these lines on my face getting clearer
the past is gone
it went by like dusk to dawn
Isn't that the way
everybody's got their dues in life to pay
yeah, I know nobody knows
where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
you got to lose to know how to win
Half my life's in books' written pages
ive and learn from fools and from sages
you know it's true
all the things come back to you
Only the sage took a double role as a fool too.
November 15, 2004
I dun think - Proof #1
So Shank sends an email addressing me as " machchaan".
I reply asking him to spell " machan" correctly.
I reply asking him to spell " machan" correctly.
November 09, 2004
Just saved $100
A totally stupid line of thinking goes here..
I was bang-ho-malibu-rum upon going to the Metallica concert in SLC on 22nd.
So, i just sit down and figure out how much it would take/cost.
The tickets are priced at $75.
Up and down travel = $ 20 ( Even if i hitched a drive with Shounak- he wud ask for sharing gas).
The necessary beers to get high prior to the concert = 8 = $6.
So, even if u look at it from the most economical point of view, it wud take a minimum 100 bucks.
And since i dun have $100 to blow away in my account right now, i kinda drop the whole idea off.
What gives me solcae is this new line o thinking. I just saved 100 bucks.
What a pity: Had i made plans to attend a Eminem concert priced at $100 in Detroit or something for which travel + lodgings+ food would take another $500, i could have saved $600 by dropping the whole idea away.
So, any of you guys wanna save some money, plan a extravaganza and then drop it.
P.S : Taking this a lil far to make it into an Ad for Mastercard:
Metallica concert = $75.
Beer and travel = $ 25
The satisfaction of having saved a 100 bucks by dropping the whole idea : Priceless.
There are some things that money can't buy. For everything else, there's MASTERCARD
How crazier can ya get, hey?
I was bang-ho-malibu-rum upon going to the Metallica concert in SLC on 22nd.
So, i just sit down and figure out how much it would take/cost.
The tickets are priced at $75.
Up and down travel = $ 20 ( Even if i hitched a drive with Shounak- he wud ask for sharing gas).
The necessary beers to get high prior to the concert = 8 = $6.
So, even if u look at it from the most economical point of view, it wud take a minimum 100 bucks.
And since i dun have $100 to blow away in my account right now, i kinda drop the whole idea off.
What gives me solcae is this new line o thinking. I just saved 100 bucks.
What a pity: Had i made plans to attend a Eminem concert priced at $100 in Detroit or something for which travel + lodgings+ food would take another $500, i could have saved $600 by dropping the whole idea away.
So, any of you guys wanna save some money, plan a extravaganza and then drop it.
P.S : Taking this a lil far to make it into an Ad for Mastercard:
Metallica concert = $75.
Beer and travel = $ 25
The satisfaction of having saved a 100 bucks by dropping the whole idea : Priceless.
There are some things that money can't buy. For everything else, there's MASTERCARD
How crazier can ya get, hey?
November 05, 2004
Right and wrong places....
So, like this yesterday, i catch up with Paul on the bus on the way back home..
After the usual " What's ups?" and " Howzzit goings?", Paul like draws close to me and says something. ( This scares me first. because the grapewine has it that Paul is gay, and although aware of it, i dint know for real..And i hav no intention of finding out for real by myself. Its his life man, and he is just a good friend- as long as he doesnt make advances and all).
SO, coming back....
Paul: Yesterday, i realized by myself what they mean by saying " You were in the wrong place in the right time".
This scares me rightaway, and i thot " Ah, man...so this guy is into drugs, and yesterday, he was just lucky not to be fooling ard. when the cops came busting. I hav to help him kick it off". - That was my thot, random thot, the moment he said those words, these very thots occured to me. Tryin to wrtite novels does that to be people.
I check myself in the nick of time when i was abt to ask " Did the cops bust you ?" and substitued that with a polite, dignified " What happened?" . I was darn proud of it, i really was.
Paul: Dont tell it to anyone. But yesterday, in the NFS building, i had this sudden, intense urge to discharge immediately and i without reading the signs i walked into the ladies restroom.
Me: Wow...Cool! So, what happened. Anybody home?
Paul: No man. I was darn lucky. There wasnt nobody in there. I dint realize it first. Then there were all those sanitary diaper dispensers with a coin slot for 25 c all over the place. I just checked to make sure i was unseen, prayed nobody would watch me coming out and burst off.
I was like " What does he mean by burst off? Does he intend the pun? "
Paul: When i walked out, thats when i realized ' I was in the wrong place in the right time'.
Me: Paul..Man. I would say you were at the 'Right place inthe wrong time'.
Paul: Are you crazy? I wuda been finished if smebody had seen and reported.
I dont like reality, and this logic, i definitely dint like. It seemed so reality.
Me: Hey, ok, so tell me, did you do it or not? (Read - did you take a leak at the ladies restroom?)
I was damn suave and clever at changin the topic and i asked this in a very clever way...No way you can question what the qusetion's about, but straying and flirting dangerously with the limits of pretended innocence...like that guy asks the old lady in "Titanic"...That suave..Suave as hell.
Paul: No man. I just barge out. I just had to get out of there, you know what i'm saying...
Me: Ah..man. If you had just checke and read the signs, you wudnt have been thro the trauma man, and you cuda hit off faster.
While i was thinking " That confirms it. he is gay. He is sure gay!"
After the usual " What's ups?" and " Howzzit goings?", Paul like draws close to me and says something. ( This scares me first. because the grapewine has it that Paul is gay, and although aware of it, i dint know for real..And i hav no intention of finding out for real by myself. Its his life man, and he is just a good friend- as long as he doesnt make advances and all).
SO, coming back....
Paul: Yesterday, i realized by myself what they mean by saying " You were in the wrong place in the right time".
This scares me rightaway, and i thot " Ah, man...so this guy is into drugs, and yesterday, he was just lucky not to be fooling ard. when the cops came busting. I hav to help him kick it off". - That was my thot, random thot, the moment he said those words, these very thots occured to me. Tryin to wrtite novels does that to be people.
I check myself in the nick of time when i was abt to ask " Did the cops bust you ?" and substitued that with a polite, dignified " What happened?" . I was darn proud of it, i really was.
Paul: Dont tell it to anyone. But yesterday, in the NFS building, i had this sudden, intense urge to discharge immediately and i without reading the signs i walked into the ladies restroom.
Me: Wow...Cool! So, what happened. Anybody home?
Paul: No man. I was darn lucky. There wasnt nobody in there. I dint realize it first. Then there were all those sanitary diaper dispensers with a coin slot for 25 c all over the place. I just checked to make sure i was unseen, prayed nobody would watch me coming out and burst off.
I was like " What does he mean by burst off? Does he intend the pun? "
Paul: When i walked out, thats when i realized ' I was in the wrong place in the right time'.
Me: Paul..Man. I would say you were at the 'Right place inthe wrong time'.
Paul: Are you crazy? I wuda been finished if smebody had seen and reported.
I dont like reality, and this logic, i definitely dint like. It seemed so reality.
Me: Hey, ok, so tell me, did you do it or not? (Read - did you take a leak at the ladies restroom?)
I was damn suave and clever at changin the topic and i asked this in a very clever way...No way you can question what the qusetion's about, but straying and flirting dangerously with the limits of pretended innocence...like that guy asks the old lady in "Titanic"...That suave..Suave as hell.
Paul: No man. I just barge out. I just had to get out of there, you know what i'm saying...
Me: Ah..man. If you had just checke and read the signs, you wudnt have been thro the trauma man, and you cuda hit off faster.
While i was thinking " That confirms it. he is gay. He is sure gay!"
November 04, 2004
Russell Peters..
Was watching Russell Peters stand up comedy last night.
He is an ABCD and he is very good.
So, like this show gets intresting and he talks a jib at everyone he cud think abt.
Immigrant indians/chinks/mexicans/blacks/whites..the whole lot.
The best part was when he addressed the ladies to take a few chances, explore and sleep ard a little, to overlook color of skin/nativity issues and just go sleep if you want to.
Like he says" India and China are the two largest populations in the world, and there is no space for more of them in their own country. So, all you other guys, you may hide now, but sooner or later, we are gonna hunt you down and hump you".
So " I say we take it in the right spirit and start humping each other now. Kinda prepare for the eventual mass-humpin".
There's this Spanish gal im eyein . Should i show the show to her?..
He is an ABCD and he is very good.
So, like this show gets intresting and he talks a jib at everyone he cud think abt.
Immigrant indians/chinks/mexicans/blacks/whites..the whole lot.
The best part was when he addressed the ladies to take a few chances, explore and sleep ard a little, to overlook color of skin/nativity issues and just go sleep if you want to.
Like he says" India and China are the two largest populations in the world, and there is no space for more of them in their own country. So, all you other guys, you may hide now, but sooner or later, we are gonna hunt you down and hump you".
So " I say we take it in the right spirit and start humping each other now. Kinda prepare for the eventual mass-humpin".
There's this Spanish gal im eyein . Should i show the show to her?..
October 29, 2004
Talking the walk..
PD says...
"What ???????
You don't have a cell-phone..!
What do you do with your mouth when u walk?"
"What ???????
You don't have a cell-phone..!
What do you do with your mouth when u walk?"
October 22, 2004
The curse of the bambino..
The longest choke up streak ever witnessed in history by a vastly over-rated team might be the reason for the 84 year old drought. But, fans and beleivers take an entirely different line and buy a completely different version. The story of the curse has saturated to the point of The Red Sox bullpen claiming " Its finally time to reverse the curse" .
So, everyone, including players, beleive in the curse.
Anybody ever heard of fans supplying the team with an excuse for failure!It's got more to do with hapless players who refused to beleive in themselves but chose to beleive the existence of a curse indeed...Anyway, what was the curse all about and how it originated?
1918: The Red Sox beat the Chicago Cubs in six games to win the World Series for the fifth time since the event began in 1903. A young Boston pitcher named Babe Ruth throws a shutout in Game 1.
1920: Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sells Ruth to the Yankees for $100,000, plus a $300,000 loan. Legend has it Frazee needed cash to finance shows at his Broadway theater.
Ever since: The Red sox have never won the world series after that.
Reason: Ruth wasn't taking the sale hands tied and cursed Red Sox.
The phrase "Curse of the Bambino" originated with Boston Globe sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy, whose book by the same name was published in 1990. It blames the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920 for Boston's 85-year World Series title drought.
Can you buy that?
Cmon Red Sox/nation, there was never no curse. Get into gear and get that title this year and every year now on.!
So, everyone, including players, beleive in the curse.
Anybody ever heard of fans supplying the team with an excuse for failure!It's got more to do with hapless players who refused to beleive in themselves but chose to beleive the existence of a curse indeed...Anyway, what was the curse all about and how it originated?
1918: The Red Sox beat the Chicago Cubs in six games to win the World Series for the fifth time since the event began in 1903. A young Boston pitcher named Babe Ruth throws a shutout in Game 1.
1920: Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sells Ruth to the Yankees for $100,000, plus a $300,000 loan. Legend has it Frazee needed cash to finance shows at his Broadway theater.
Ever since: The Red sox have never won the world series after that.
Reason: Ruth wasn't taking the sale hands tied and cursed Red Sox.
The phrase "Curse of the Bambino" originated with Boston Globe sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy, whose book by the same name was published in 1990. It blames the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920 for Boston's 85-year World Series title drought.
Can you buy that?
Cmon Red Sox/nation, there was never no curse. Get into gear and get that title this year and every year now on.!
October 21, 2004
Go Red Sox...
Well well well...
Its just one of those moments when sport makes you realize there's reason to believe.
Last Friday, drowned in a cold and fresh Budweiser (It was indeed game time), I was drawn into the Yankee-Red sox ALCS league playoffs.
Game 1 was a good encounter and apparently gave me a lot of excuse to suck myself into watching game 2 ( not to mention the cold and fresh Buds too). 2-0 Yanks.
The ballgame changed bases to Boston's Fenway Park - home of the Red sox, and along with the hapless home fans, I watched the brutal rout of the Red Sox at home 19-8. Down 0-3 in a 7 game series, and there was the firm reason to believe there was no more belief and 2004 still won't be the year when the course would be reversed.
Just when everyone was firmly believing Red Sox were just going through their motions down by 2 outs and trailing 3-4 in the bottom of the 9th in Game 4, Kevin Millar ties it with a RBI to make it a tie. Ortiz slams a homer in the bottom of the 12th to see Red Sox home and ensure a game 5.
Ortiz scores a RBI to allow Johny Damon finish a run in the bottom of the 15 th to see Red Sox home in what was the best ball game ever in Baseball history.
Inning after enthralling, nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat inning in overtime, and the Sox just scamper home.
The commentator summed up the moment beautifully with a " David ortiz drives, Johny Damon runs and the Sox can run all the way to New York".
The Sox, definitely beleiving in themselves now and charged/pepped up with their recent come from behind overtime victories and no Pedro Martinez playing so the Yankee crowd couldn't hoot " who's ur daddy ? " turned the tables on a Yankee ball team that looked woefully lost and din't give an impression they were in the game at all.
Curt schilling just pitched his way to glory after having turned villain in Game 1.
This set up a "expected to be keenly contested" series decider between 2 of the most intense rivals in the ALCS. The Yanks were expectin a repeat of 2003 when a Boone homer in the bottom of the 11th in Game 7 took them home to the world series.
However Derek Lowe and the Sox had other ideas. Lowe pitched away striking one Yankee bat after the next, totally drying up the runs. On the other hand, Johny Damon wreaked havoc with the Yankee pitching with 2 Homers- 1, a grand slam and a 2-runner. Innings, Match, Series to Red Sox, and yeah...All the hearts too.
Never before have a team seem to have placed that much faith as did the Sox in Schilling in G6 and Lowe in G7 and never before have 2 players pulled their team through with greater heroic exploits as did these two.
How fortunes change in sport? Schilling fell from hero to villain to rise up as the savior hero once again within 2 games. The forgotten and neglected Lowe who is still unsure of his contract the next year pitched the Sox to victory when they were down and out, and twice in the space of 4 games. That's a special effort man.
2004 might after all be the year when the curse gets reversed and where all the belief of the 84 years might eventually pull through to pave the way for a Red Sox World Series title. Believe.
Lets Go Red Sox! We have reason to believe.
Its just one of those moments when sport makes you realize there's reason to believe.
Last Friday, drowned in a cold and fresh Budweiser (It was indeed game time), I was drawn into the Yankee-Red sox ALCS league playoffs.
Game 1 was a good encounter and apparently gave me a lot of excuse to suck myself into watching game 2 ( not to mention the cold and fresh Buds too). 2-0 Yanks.
The ballgame changed bases to Boston's Fenway Park - home of the Red sox, and along with the hapless home fans, I watched the brutal rout of the Red Sox at home 19-8. Down 0-3 in a 7 game series, and there was the firm reason to believe there was no more belief and 2004 still won't be the year when the course would be reversed.
Just when everyone was firmly believing Red Sox were just going through their motions down by 2 outs and trailing 3-4 in the bottom of the 9th in Game 4, Kevin Millar ties it with a RBI to make it a tie. Ortiz slams a homer in the bottom of the 12th to see Red Sox home and ensure a game 5.
Ortiz scores a RBI to allow Johny Damon finish a run in the bottom of the 15 th to see Red Sox home in what was the best ball game ever in Baseball history.
Inning after enthralling, nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat inning in overtime, and the Sox just scamper home.
The commentator summed up the moment beautifully with a " David ortiz drives, Johny Damon runs and the Sox can run all the way to New York".
The Sox, definitely beleiving in themselves now and charged/pepped up with their recent come from behind overtime victories and no Pedro Martinez playing so the Yankee crowd couldn't hoot " who's ur daddy ? " turned the tables on a Yankee ball team that looked woefully lost and din't give an impression they were in the game at all.
Curt schilling just pitched his way to glory after having turned villain in Game 1.
This set up a "expected to be keenly contested" series decider between 2 of the most intense rivals in the ALCS. The Yanks were expectin a repeat of 2003 when a Boone homer in the bottom of the 11th in Game 7 took them home to the world series.
However Derek Lowe and the Sox had other ideas. Lowe pitched away striking one Yankee bat after the next, totally drying up the runs. On the other hand, Johny Damon wreaked havoc with the Yankee pitching with 2 Homers- 1, a grand slam and a 2-runner. Innings, Match, Series to Red Sox, and yeah...All the hearts too.
Never before have a team seem to have placed that much faith as did the Sox in Schilling in G6 and Lowe in G7 and never before have 2 players pulled their team through with greater heroic exploits as did these two.
How fortunes change in sport? Schilling fell from hero to villain to rise up as the savior hero once again within 2 games. The forgotten and neglected Lowe who is still unsure of his contract the next year pitched the Sox to victory when they were down and out, and twice in the space of 4 games. That's a special effort man.
2004 might after all be the year when the curse gets reversed and where all the belief of the 84 years might eventually pull through to pave the way for a Red Sox World Series title. Believe.
Lets Go Red Sox! We have reason to believe.
October 16, 2004
Im here for the free beer...
Its Friday and late-evening, which means i was probably doing something which i dun remember.
And the reason why i dun remember is every late Friday evening, i sit with my beer.
Its a rule and rule #1 if you wanna better know me.
Its a little like what they say in the Asterix novels " We don't fight on Sundays " A little that way. I dont do anything constructive ( like work/Homework) on Friday evenings and i follow it as my own testament.
That is like one of the very few moments that i allow for myself.
Sometimes i reflect, sometimes i go nostalgic, sometimes i am just downright funny and cheerful, sometimes i watch a movie while most times i just go into a shell of my own, which none can penetrate with sum music humming in the BG, or am all of the above at the same time..
And it was one of those Friday evenings and Jason barges in ( he knows i drink a few beers most Fridays). He makes straight for the fridge and helps himself to one. Usually, i am cool with it, but i was running a ration that day, and i am like " Hey Jason. I need it".
He just turns and faces me and says " Look fella. I dont care. Ok, just read what my T-shirt hasta say".
Its a black round-neck with the words written in dark gold.
I glance and read it out loud ( which was a bad mistake) and it goes
" I'M HERE JUST FOR THE FREE BEER "
This drives me nuts. I get real crazy but it was pretty funny and i start laughing and don't stop Jason from guzzling on the beer.
And then like 20 minutes later, we run outta beers. I am like " Ok man, lets go get some more. I am in a mood for a long night of drinking".
And Jason is like " No pal. I aint gettin you any, man. U shuda stocked it up knowing it was Friday nights and knowin u were in a mood."
I go " Hey, cut it out pal. I need some and i am broke. Get me some dude, hey".
Jason goes " So, u really want one, huh? Ok !".
And then he does this thing which totally takes me by surprise. He fishes into his bag, and he's like " Dude. Take it. Wear this, and we'll both go hunting".
I am like " Hey, what? I ask you for beer and you give me a t-shirt. Common man. I will take the T-shirt but fetch me me beers, will ya?"
He is like " Just shut up and wear the shirt Ram. Wear it, and i know a place that is running a open house tonight. We go there and drink all we want, okay."
I like this idea and i take the shirt and it reads
" I AM HERE TOO JUST FOR THE FREE BEERS "
I am thoroughly touched and i start thanking him all over the place and all.
He's like " Ok, buddy. Get into it. Lets go. We are now like this pair of beer hunters, ok. We break into every party in town, start downing them beers and if anybody ever asks a question, we have 3 words for them " READ MY SHIRT". Howdee like it?"
"That is like the greatest plan Buddy. Hard to think you thot of this urself. Did it put a hole in that already pea-sized brain of urs and all, man? Ok, we go"
We hit that open house and have a thoroughly smashin time, playin poker, guzzling swigs and all, and around 2 at night, Jason drops me home and he is like " You can keep it man. We'll use it all the time now on. We wear it together. I got it for you. Gnite buddy. U r chick."
That was outta the blue. That was pretty moving. Swell pal, he really is. Nice T-shirt and free beers to boot too.
I hafta return the favour sumtime. Should i give him a T-shirt which reads
" Hey, could i borrow ur brain? I just used mine.. "
Something along those lines.
He wud really think I am asking for his brains indirectly. He is really random twerp, but a splendid guy.
And the reason why i dun remember is every late Friday evening, i sit with my beer.
Its a rule and rule #1 if you wanna better know me.
Its a little like what they say in the Asterix novels " We don't fight on Sundays " A little that way. I dont do anything constructive ( like work/Homework) on Friday evenings and i follow it as my own testament.
That is like one of the very few moments that i allow for myself.
Sometimes i reflect, sometimes i go nostalgic, sometimes i am just downright funny and cheerful, sometimes i watch a movie while most times i just go into a shell of my own, which none can penetrate with sum music humming in the BG, or am all of the above at the same time..
And it was one of those Friday evenings and Jason barges in ( he knows i drink a few beers most Fridays). He makes straight for the fridge and helps himself to one. Usually, i am cool with it, but i was running a ration that day, and i am like " Hey Jason. I need it".
He just turns and faces me and says " Look fella. I dont care. Ok, just read what my T-shirt hasta say".
Its a black round-neck with the words written in dark gold.
I glance and read it out loud ( which was a bad mistake) and it goes
" I'M HERE JUST FOR THE FREE BEER "
This drives me nuts. I get real crazy but it was pretty funny and i start laughing and don't stop Jason from guzzling on the beer.
And then like 20 minutes later, we run outta beers. I am like " Ok man, lets go get some more. I am in a mood for a long night of drinking".
And Jason is like " No pal. I aint gettin you any, man. U shuda stocked it up knowing it was Friday nights and knowin u were in a mood."
I go " Hey, cut it out pal. I need some and i am broke. Get me some dude, hey".
Jason goes " So, u really want one, huh? Ok !".
And then he does this thing which totally takes me by surprise. He fishes into his bag, and he's like " Dude. Take it. Wear this, and we'll both go hunting".
I am like " Hey, what? I ask you for beer and you give me a t-shirt. Common man. I will take the T-shirt but fetch me me beers, will ya?"
He is like " Just shut up and wear the shirt Ram. Wear it, and i know a place that is running a open house tonight. We go there and drink all we want, okay."
I like this idea and i take the shirt and it reads
" I AM HERE TOO JUST FOR THE FREE BEERS "
I am thoroughly touched and i start thanking him all over the place and all.
He's like " Ok, buddy. Get into it. Lets go. We are now like this pair of beer hunters, ok. We break into every party in town, start downing them beers and if anybody ever asks a question, we have 3 words for them " READ MY SHIRT". Howdee like it?"
"That is like the greatest plan Buddy. Hard to think you thot of this urself. Did it put a hole in that already pea-sized brain of urs and all, man? Ok, we go"
We hit that open house and have a thoroughly smashin time, playin poker, guzzling swigs and all, and around 2 at night, Jason drops me home and he is like " You can keep it man. We'll use it all the time now on. We wear it together. I got it for you. Gnite buddy. U r chick."
That was outta the blue. That was pretty moving. Swell pal, he really is. Nice T-shirt and free beers to boot too.
I hafta return the favour sumtime. Should i give him a T-shirt which reads
" Hey, could i borrow ur brain? I just used mine.. "
Something along those lines.
He wud really think I am asking for his brains indirectly. He is really random twerp, but a splendid guy.
October 14, 2004
Anything but " A beautiful letdown"
The Switchfoot were in town today.
Switchfoot is this rock band from SanDiego, Cal.
Their album " A beautiful letdown" apparently is a platinum, and they have a decent fan following, who actually follow them, and swear by them.
Im not here to pitch a market/ad for switchfoot, and frankly i haven't heard of them before.
But its been real long since i've been to a rock concert.Lemme think, the last i had been to were the ones by "Euphoria", " Junoon", " Mokasha" and " Parikrama"...all Indian and Pak bands, and that was when i was in Chennai attending the " shaastras". Sure been more than a year.
Not much of a rock concert freak, but i like the atmosphere there. People freak out and be themselves, thats what i like abt rock concerts.
So, i get the chance and at $6, its indeed a steal.Like any good concert should and will, this one too started about an hour late."The honorary title", a band from NewYork and "The format" from Arizona opened up for the Switchfoot.
The hon. title played good and fast self-composed numbers, but the energy was missing. The format were stunning. The energy, verve and enthu the lead singer brought into the " not the party type Utah crowd" was remarkable.People were actually banging their heads, which i have never seen with a Utah crowd.
I was left thinking " If switchfoot are even gonna bring even half the energy these guys did, it might just be worth it!".
After 20 minutes, switchfoot make an appearance, simple and straight forward, no dazzle and frills and all and with a " Whats's up Utah?" get to work. They start with a high energy chart topper " Dare you to move" followed by the top 10 single " Meant to live". Jon and his sibling, Tim Foreman, the lead guitarist let themselves go on these 2, totally freaking the crowd out and driving them nuts. They follow this up with two absolutely never heard before new numbers, one of which is this total drum thing ( dedicated to losers and weirdos-which was what actually caught my attention), which actually sidelined the guitars and vocals. That was the one which i liked the most.
They kinda lost energy a little after that and thats when all the sing-alongs like " Happy is aYuppy word" dedicated to Jon Cash (Walk the Line and Ring Fire) got played.
They close the night with another terrific drum number, the name of the track which i forget totally. But thats the song thats been playing in my mind ever since.
A thoroughly cool outing which i watch sittting from the gallery ( would you beleive that?- you save the worst for the last).
I actually like the concert from my seat, just standing up and swayin rather than get within a extended arm from the platform and bang ur head away to a headache. I alter my stance. Watching from the gallery still gave me a splitting headache.
Ouch, it does hurt, but i dont regret it!
P.S - Hmm...Metallica are playing in SLC on Nov 22. Cant wait for it.
Switchfoot is this rock band from SanDiego, Cal.
Their album " A beautiful letdown" apparently is a platinum, and they have a decent fan following, who actually follow them, and swear by them.
Im not here to pitch a market/ad for switchfoot, and frankly i haven't heard of them before.
But its been real long since i've been to a rock concert.Lemme think, the last i had been to were the ones by "Euphoria", " Junoon", " Mokasha" and " Parikrama"...all Indian and Pak bands, and that was when i was in Chennai attending the " shaastras". Sure been more than a year.
Not much of a rock concert freak, but i like the atmosphere there. People freak out and be themselves, thats what i like abt rock concerts.
So, i get the chance and at $6, its indeed a steal.Like any good concert should and will, this one too started about an hour late."The honorary title", a band from NewYork and "The format" from Arizona opened up for the Switchfoot.
The hon. title played good and fast self-composed numbers, but the energy was missing. The format were stunning. The energy, verve and enthu the lead singer brought into the " not the party type Utah crowd" was remarkable.People were actually banging their heads, which i have never seen with a Utah crowd.
I was left thinking " If switchfoot are even gonna bring even half the energy these guys did, it might just be worth it!".
After 20 minutes, switchfoot make an appearance, simple and straight forward, no dazzle and frills and all and with a " Whats's up Utah?" get to work. They start with a high energy chart topper " Dare you to move" followed by the top 10 single " Meant to live". Jon and his sibling, Tim Foreman, the lead guitarist let themselves go on these 2, totally freaking the crowd out and driving them nuts. They follow this up with two absolutely never heard before new numbers, one of which is this total drum thing ( dedicated to losers and weirdos-which was what actually caught my attention), which actually sidelined the guitars and vocals. That was the one which i liked the most.
They kinda lost energy a little after that and thats when all the sing-alongs like " Happy is aYuppy word" dedicated to Jon Cash (Walk the Line and Ring Fire) got played.
They close the night with another terrific drum number, the name of the track which i forget totally. But thats the song thats been playing in my mind ever since.
A thoroughly cool outing which i watch sittting from the gallery ( would you beleive that?- you save the worst for the last).
I actually like the concert from my seat, just standing up and swayin rather than get within a extended arm from the platform and bang ur head away to a headache. I alter my stance. Watching from the gallery still gave me a splitting headache.
Ouch, it does hurt, but i dont regret it!
P.S - Hmm...Metallica are playing in SLC on Nov 22. Cant wait for it.
September 24, 2004
Waking up PD...
Check the " sleeping in class" blog for background about this one.
Pd dozes 5 minutes into class Monday. I nudge him and he wakes up and thanks me.
5 minutes later, he is asleep again. I whisper his name by his ear and he wakes up and pretends to have woken up.
10 minutes later, he is once again, fast asleep. I bang him against his left shoulder with mighty force ( which gave me mighty satisfaction). That kept him awake for 15 minutes and he falls into a deep slumber once again.
Adele Checks out if PD is still asleep every 2 minutes and i can swear she just flashed the slightest non-noticable smile toward my direction for all too brief a moment. Slightly embaressed for Pd, i nudge his leg to wake him up, which actually caught Adele's glare, and this time there was no hint of non-transperancy. She openly smiled at me, which i returned, slightly bewildered.
Pd is nuts with me by this time and swears " Now, cant you see im sleeping?" and falls to slepp promptly within 2 minutes.
I ignore him, and toward the end of class gaze towards his side to see him sleep heavily mouth wide open with salive hangin out and spilling into his clothes. I realise my needless exercise is worthless and let him have his beauty sleep.
After class, he is still cross with me for banging on his shoulder and complains he went to bed at 3 Am the previous night. I am in no mood to argue and leave it at that.
Before class today, i challenge him to not fall asleep in class. He agrees and retorts " I had a sound sleep last night. No way i will slumber off today in class". We bet over a beer and enter class. I start to worry as 30 minutes into class, Pd appeared to be strong in his resolution and dint even give a hint of dozin off. However, with 5 minutes for class to get over, he just closes his eyes for a moment and i bang him across his shoulder. He claims he dint doze off, but was concentrating on the lecture too seriously, and was forming a mental picture over his mind. Bullocks, total bullocks.Naturally, i dun buy it and we decide over it by the toss of a coin...which i win.
I dun care if he fell asleep or not. I won me beer and im more than happy with it. After all, i deserve it for all the trouble i went through in class tryina wake him up without gettin caught by Adele. In a class of 5, it can be darn difficult.
Pd dozes 5 minutes into class Monday. I nudge him and he wakes up and thanks me.
5 minutes later, he is asleep again. I whisper his name by his ear and he wakes up and pretends to have woken up.
10 minutes later, he is once again, fast asleep. I bang him against his left shoulder with mighty force ( which gave me mighty satisfaction). That kept him awake for 15 minutes and he falls into a deep slumber once again.
Adele Checks out if PD is still asleep every 2 minutes and i can swear she just flashed the slightest non-noticable smile toward my direction for all too brief a moment. Slightly embaressed for Pd, i nudge his leg to wake him up, which actually caught Adele's glare, and this time there was no hint of non-transperancy. She openly smiled at me, which i returned, slightly bewildered.
Pd is nuts with me by this time and swears " Now, cant you see im sleeping?" and falls to slepp promptly within 2 minutes.
I ignore him, and toward the end of class gaze towards his side to see him sleep heavily mouth wide open with salive hangin out and spilling into his clothes. I realise my needless exercise is worthless and let him have his beauty sleep.
After class, he is still cross with me for banging on his shoulder and complains he went to bed at 3 Am the previous night. I am in no mood to argue and leave it at that.
Before class today, i challenge him to not fall asleep in class. He agrees and retorts " I had a sound sleep last night. No way i will slumber off today in class". We bet over a beer and enter class. I start to worry as 30 minutes into class, Pd appeared to be strong in his resolution and dint even give a hint of dozin off. However, with 5 minutes for class to get over, he just closes his eyes for a moment and i bang him across his shoulder. He claims he dint doze off, but was concentrating on the lecture too seriously, and was forming a mental picture over his mind. Bullocks, total bullocks.Naturally, i dun buy it and we decide over it by the toss of a coin...which i win.
I dun care if he fell asleep or not. I won me beer and im more than happy with it. After all, i deserve it for all the trouble i went through in class tryina wake him up without gettin caught by Adele. In a class of 5, it can be darn difficult.
September 21, 2004
My idea of a poem- Beer, we love you!
To celebrate the Poms victory o'er the Aussies
And to mourn our loss to the Pakis,
Did me and me girl write a poem, wearing our khakees,
By the completion of which i hope to get us both out of our jockeys!
Its on our passion by name Beer,
By which my life is centered i swear,
And helps me take life in the 5th gear.
Here goes!
As our love grows, my little dear,
I behold u as memory flows; beside u, my sweetest beer
I kiss ur head, as the magics flow,
A KISS long indeed, yet slow u make the stars glow.
So many nights we spend together,
In freakin' Logan's god-damn weather,
U got me pals with great endeavor,
And courage to fight one without a shiver!
Getting tastier at night if ur a Draft,
Like a woman's touch on a man's shaft,
U put me in Fantasy Island with no raft,
Where I shamelessly explore my craft!
Through relationships, and uncomfortable
Get-togethers, i knew u were ther,
And thanks, I and U make an excellent pair!
If anyone dares to take u my dear,
I swear I'll cut his #$#$# to a hemisphere,
And if u leave, breaking my heart with a tear,
Dun do that, feels like a Spear
Stuffed into my rear.....
Get on me BUDdy and play it right,
Be worth the money i spend every Friday night.
Sit beside me to watch the mock fight,
Between Henry, Miller and their Bud 'Lite'!
Fosters, Kingfisher and Red stripe,
The Irish Red makes me reach out for my pipe,
Dearest Guinness,Without you, my life would be a major fright,
Fosters, Zingaro, Heineken...I love you allright.
I know you are cheaper by the dozen,
I meet you all in my haven,
Such is our bond, very intricately woven,
And without doubt, you are better than any lousy women.
ITss getting late as i stare at u Honey.....
I gotta crash as ive got no more money...
Standing beside me is the biggest bunny...
Worth no more then a red penny!
The drafts are lovely dark and deep....
As i go downtown, i remeber the promises to keep,
And gulps to go before i sleep...And gulps to go before i sleep...
And gulps to go before i sleep...
Grab the nearest beer and celebrate the Poms victory. A toast to
Vaughan and his men.
Cheers.
And to mourn our loss to the Pakis,
Did me and me girl write a poem, wearing our khakees,
By the completion of which i hope to get us both out of our jockeys!
Its on our passion by name Beer,
By which my life is centered i swear,
And helps me take life in the 5th gear.
Here goes!
As our love grows, my little dear,
I behold u as memory flows; beside u, my sweetest beer
I kiss ur head, as the magics flow,
A KISS long indeed, yet slow u make the stars glow.
So many nights we spend together,
In freakin' Logan's god-damn weather,
U got me pals with great endeavor,
And courage to fight one without a shiver!
Getting tastier at night if ur a Draft,
Like a woman's touch on a man's shaft,
U put me in Fantasy Island with no raft,
Where I shamelessly explore my craft!
Through relationships, and uncomfortable
Get-togethers, i knew u were ther,
And thanks, I and U make an excellent pair!
If anyone dares to take u my dear,
I swear I'll cut his #$#$# to a hemisphere,
And if u leave, breaking my heart with a tear,
Dun do that, feels like a Spear
Stuffed into my rear.....
Get on me BUDdy and play it right,
Be worth the money i spend every Friday night.
Sit beside me to watch the mock fight,
Between Henry, Miller and their Bud 'Lite'!
Fosters, Kingfisher and Red stripe,
The Irish Red makes me reach out for my pipe,
Dearest Guinness,Without you, my life would be a major fright,
Fosters, Zingaro, Heineken...I love you allright.
I know you are cheaper by the dozen,
I meet you all in my haven,
Such is our bond, very intricately woven,
And without doubt, you are better than any lousy women.
ITss getting late as i stare at u Honey.....
I gotta crash as ive got no more money...
Standing beside me is the biggest bunny...
Worth no more then a red penny!
The drafts are lovely dark and deep....
As i go downtown, i remeber the promises to keep,
And gulps to go before i sleep...And gulps to go before i sleep...
And gulps to go before i sleep...
Grab the nearest beer and celebrate the Poms victory. A toast to
Vaughan and his men.
Cheers.
Sleeping in class...
Me and PD attend this seminar by Adele today.
Since its a prez loaded with bizzare microarray images, and for the "effect" to hit home, the lights are turned off.
Its a pretty dark conference room in there and Adele is drooling along in her " please goto sleep" monotone.
And yeah, i have also had almost 3 next to sleepless nights in addition to the stupid dance practice.
Plus, as if these arent enuff, i had a light lunch.
So, 10 minutes into the seminar, i promptly slumber off.
That aint no big deal. I regularly sleep in class when i do not even have half of the above reasons..Im here trying to justify my sleeping in class today, not everyday.
Coming to the story, me and PD have this arrangement to wake up each other when we happen to doze off.
PD usually sleeps off in Adele's class and i try my best to wake him up by nudging his leg or slwoly whispering into his ear, but have never had success.
So, today he gets his chance to wake me up, and he does that to great effect.
He gives me a tight slap across my shoulder and looks elsewhere, as if he aint knows nuthin abt it after causing people listening/sleeping in front to recover from the slumber and turn back.
I mean, that was a hard slap. And i wake up and think " Ok, so this is the way you wake people up!".
Just you doze off, u bastard, i'll chance my arm, and you'll never know what hit you. My time will come. Just you wait.
Since its a prez loaded with bizzare microarray images, and for the "effect" to hit home, the lights are turned off.
Its a pretty dark conference room in there and Adele is drooling along in her " please goto sleep" monotone.
And yeah, i have also had almost 3 next to sleepless nights in addition to the stupid dance practice.
Plus, as if these arent enuff, i had a light lunch.
So, 10 minutes into the seminar, i promptly slumber off.
That aint no big deal. I regularly sleep in class when i do not even have half of the above reasons..Im here trying to justify my sleeping in class today, not everyday.
Coming to the story, me and PD have this arrangement to wake up each other when we happen to doze off.
PD usually sleeps off in Adele's class and i try my best to wake him up by nudging his leg or slwoly whispering into his ear, but have never had success.
So, today he gets his chance to wake me up, and he does that to great effect.
He gives me a tight slap across my shoulder and looks elsewhere, as if he aint knows nuthin abt it after causing people listening/sleeping in front to recover from the slumber and turn back.
I mean, that was a hard slap. And i wake up and think " Ok, so this is the way you wake people up!".
Just you doze off, u bastard, i'll chance my arm, and you'll never know what hit you. My time will come. Just you wait.
September 03, 2004
Back again...
Back to blogging after a breif hiatus (almost a month actually) spending time in the sidelines, or refrained to the backbenches as politicians luv to say.
I guess spending time in the sidelines really meant putting time on my research, doing experiments in the lab, analysing data, writing reports, working on my paper and such stuff.
And i cannot pretend for a moment i really like it.
I go through a moronic/robotic existence over the last 3 weeks, and my roomies even complain i stank of Nitrogen gas, from time to time.
All that really doesnt matter now, since the long spell of uncertainity, anguish and anxiety have come to an end.
My advisor agrees to retain me in her lab, so i get to finish this thing i am doing pretty soon, and move in some other direction which i "take" to.
I get pretty surprised by my own reaction when i hear i have been retained.
Of course, although i have been hoping that i would get retained ( who wants to get dumped off ?) , it did not really take me sky-high and what not.
That basically i guess is due to the reason that i am not really liking what i did, am doing now, and what i am going to have to do over the next 2 sems.
But it pays, takes care of my tuition, so i really need not fry my mind on who i need to touch for a fiver for my next weekend beers.
I guess i have to accept it as a part of life, and carry on with this meaningless existence. Kinda like lay low and hang on till the next path opens up.
At this point, i would like to elaborate im in such a situation because i let my life take its course.
Had i sat down, paused for a moment, thought deep, counted to ten , and/or even took a practical, pragmatic outlook, approach towards life,what i want to do, i dun think i wuda landed in the soup i am in right now. ( Things are better now, i was swimming in a worse soup a few weeks ago, and i was forced to drink it too..Me and my sense of humour. Doesnt even extract a grin outta me, and its damn frustrating, when sumthing you intend as a joke, atleast just to urself, backfires and makes u more somber and frown).
Where was i?...Oh yeah, The soup,... i really love tomato soup. No, that wasnt it, was it?
Its all fine to hang low, but what i am afraid of is, if it ( the so-called hanging low and waiting for oppotunity to knock on ur door) gets me back to such inactivity as i have been through before, which i am infamous for, life will just continue to take its own course, and it will just take a huge toll on me, and i cud just as easily enter as a worthy competitor for the " Worst sucker that ever lived" competion, and i cud even make the final 100.
What i really want to do is open up a new pathway , wherein "I" get to control my life, so that it doesnt control me. And "I" want to do that.
I realise i have to got to get a little outward, ambitious, active and enthusiastic ( im still not getting the word i want, is it DRIVE ?) and charter and design and decide the course now on. And basically be my own boss, and stay happy.
If ever i happen to become somebody else's boss, i swear i wud make life a living hell for him/her ( i really do not mean that, and its a pathetic joke, but you must have ur moments too, sometimes, and i really enjoyed it).
But i think i can actually feel proud of what i have done over the last one month.
I prove to myself and my boss ( why shud i keep dragging her everytime?) that i am good at whatever i do, if i decide to work hard on it.
My whole life the whole of last month was like work, work, work, work, work ,work, and more work. No TV, No olympics, No movies, No cricket, No binges, No parties, No vacations, No time-offs, Not even internet.
It was a fucking pathetic way to live, and i do not intend to live that way anymore.
Why do i start crying all over it once again, when what i really wanted to say was i was proud of myself.
Yeah, i am proud of what i have done, and i think i will take it as a big plus, and work in that direction, in terms of the amount of work and application i have had to put in.
If at all, there comes a time in the future, where i becum insipid and lacking in interest/involvement to work, i think the experience i gained over the last 3 weeks shud really stand me in good stead to work my ass off.
Thats enuff of it for the moment i think.
Now that school is back in full swing, i really get some time off, pretending to be busy with my studies, and hence taking it easy off the lab.
Classes are pretty cool this sem. None of them seem to be really tough, and i dont have to slog to make top grades.
Now, that definitely more optimistic, and the way to be.
Am off for a quiet smoke, and a short sleep.
If i see through this Friday and weekend pretty good, i shud be coasting the next 3 weeks.
Just a very optimistic quote to finish the day with .....
" Never worry about the world coming to an end today.Its already tomorrow in Australia"
Australia, a land full of prisoners/ convicts, and they already have a brighter tomorrow.
I guess spending time in the sidelines really meant putting time on my research, doing experiments in the lab, analysing data, writing reports, working on my paper and such stuff.
And i cannot pretend for a moment i really like it.
I go through a moronic/robotic existence over the last 3 weeks, and my roomies even complain i stank of Nitrogen gas, from time to time.
All that really doesnt matter now, since the long spell of uncertainity, anguish and anxiety have come to an end.
My advisor agrees to retain me in her lab, so i get to finish this thing i am doing pretty soon, and move in some other direction which i "take" to.
I get pretty surprised by my own reaction when i hear i have been retained.
Of course, although i have been hoping that i would get retained ( who wants to get dumped off ?) , it did not really take me sky-high and what not.
That basically i guess is due to the reason that i am not really liking what i did, am doing now, and what i am going to have to do over the next 2 sems.
But it pays, takes care of my tuition, so i really need not fry my mind on who i need to touch for a fiver for my next weekend beers.
I guess i have to accept it as a part of life, and carry on with this meaningless existence. Kinda like lay low and hang on till the next path opens up.
At this point, i would like to elaborate im in such a situation because i let my life take its course.
Had i sat down, paused for a moment, thought deep, counted to ten , and/or even took a practical, pragmatic outlook, approach towards life,what i want to do, i dun think i wuda landed in the soup i am in right now. ( Things are better now, i was swimming in a worse soup a few weeks ago, and i was forced to drink it too..Me and my sense of humour. Doesnt even extract a grin outta me, and its damn frustrating, when sumthing you intend as a joke, atleast just to urself, backfires and makes u more somber and frown).
Where was i?...Oh yeah, The soup,... i really love tomato soup. No, that wasnt it, was it?
Its all fine to hang low, but what i am afraid of is, if it ( the so-called hanging low and waiting for oppotunity to knock on ur door) gets me back to such inactivity as i have been through before, which i am infamous for, life will just continue to take its own course, and it will just take a huge toll on me, and i cud just as easily enter as a worthy competitor for the " Worst sucker that ever lived" competion, and i cud even make the final 100.
What i really want to do is open up a new pathway , wherein "I" get to control my life, so that it doesnt control me. And "I" want to do that.
I realise i have to got to get a little outward, ambitious, active and enthusiastic ( im still not getting the word i want, is it DRIVE ?) and charter and design and decide the course now on. And basically be my own boss, and stay happy.
If ever i happen to become somebody else's boss, i swear i wud make life a living hell for him/her ( i really do not mean that, and its a pathetic joke, but you must have ur moments too, sometimes, and i really enjoyed it).
But i think i can actually feel proud of what i have done over the last one month.
I prove to myself and my boss ( why shud i keep dragging her everytime?) that i am good at whatever i do, if i decide to work hard on it.
My whole life the whole of last month was like work, work, work, work, work ,work, and more work. No TV, No olympics, No movies, No cricket, No binges, No parties, No vacations, No time-offs, Not even internet.
It was a fucking pathetic way to live, and i do not intend to live that way anymore.
Why do i start crying all over it once again, when what i really wanted to say was i was proud of myself.
Yeah, i am proud of what i have done, and i think i will take it as a big plus, and work in that direction, in terms of the amount of work and application i have had to put in.
If at all, there comes a time in the future, where i becum insipid and lacking in interest/involvement to work, i think the experience i gained over the last 3 weeks shud really stand me in good stead to work my ass off.
Thats enuff of it for the moment i think.
Now that school is back in full swing, i really get some time off, pretending to be busy with my studies, and hence taking it easy off the lab.
Classes are pretty cool this sem. None of them seem to be really tough, and i dont have to slog to make top grades.
Now, that definitely more optimistic, and the way to be.
Am off for a quiet smoke, and a short sleep.
If i see through this Friday and weekend pretty good, i shud be coasting the next 3 weeks.
Just a very optimistic quote to finish the day with .....
" Never worry about the world coming to an end today.Its already tomorrow in Australia"
Australia, a land full of prisoners/ convicts, and they already have a brighter tomorrow.
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