Rock Climbing!

It took an aussie to let me know that there are some fun things to do in and around Bangalore! One such thing that I did attempt to do was boulder climbing at a place called hoskote...but honestly the real reason why I did attempt this one was the drive all the way to hoskote in my car...had never taken it for a long drive...

As it turned out...the drive was fantastic...and so was the climbing...whatever I watched the others do! A lot of things in life look rather simple and easy...this one surely belongs to that list...anyway...whenever I get back to Bangalore...this is surely on the to-do list...! Hopefully I shall be a better climber whenever I do get back...

the male ego & the female valentino rossi fans!

alright...this one has been long overdue...nearly 45 days...ever since I started driving full time in the beautiful city of bangalore...

the men on the road seem to demonstrate extremely creative ways of letting fellow users of the road know that....they not only own their vehicle but also the road itself...by being totally ruthless...

on the other hand...the women just keep trying their best to practice their salsa lessons while riding their bikes...all in all top notch entertainment for the full 50 minutes that it takes to reach the work location from home!

things to learn...(or rather not...)

1. compliment with caveats...
2. conditional acceptance...
3. abilty to read minds...
4. abilty to completely ignore the relevant...

oh yes! I definitely am starting to feel wonderful about myself...

tears! (correction)

friend 2 - pain + disappointment + anger (back in country + believes PS3 should have been lent to him/her)

:)

tears!

people cry for a lot of reasons - joy, pain, guilt, loss....

some people around me cried for the following reasons in the recent past -

ma - joy

pa - mostly joy (on learning that PS3 plays blue ray disks)

brother - loss of shelf space

friend 1 - joy (cos I bought the PS3)

friend 1 - more joy (cos I left it at his place...)

friend 2 - pain (cos I am back in the country)

land lord - pain (cos now I am paying rent for actually living there...additonal water consumption)

ex-boss - relief 

new boss - pain + anxiety

team mate 1 - joy (PS3 plays blue ray disks)

old friend 1 - joy (tired of PS2)

team mate 2 - mostly joy (I let him borrow my DVDs)

alright...later!

a critical analysis...

well...it is my opinion that the need/reason to change or improve something that already does the job is very simple...

MAKE THINGS MORE COMFORTABLE FOR YOURSELF!!

lets analyse this for just a moment...one of the reasons for making the play station 3 is that play station 2 was not a reason good enough for guys to get out of the following -

1. mow the lawn

2. take out the trash

3. change nappies on the new born

4. pay the bills

alright you know what I am talking about!

Now, with the play station 3, men all over the world can breathe easy about trying to come out with believable lies for excuses to their better halves!

"Sweetheart! can you find a full time job as I want to add four more trophies to my NFS collection?"

"Oh...sorry I am playing GTA now...can you please take out the trash today?" 

and the lady WILL understand whole heartedly and go "Oh sorry, I forgot you exchanged the old PS2 for the PS3...what is your new record for the day? "

ofcorse when you have the PS3 hooked up to a 53" flat screen with a yamaha home theater system...your actions are fully understood and may be even condoned like say for example...you forget to call the fire men when the kitchen is on fire or you forget to breathe and may be even die!!

is it time to run??

well...when you travel to work everyday on the same train...have coffee from the same place...that I guess means you are starting to get into a very very comfortable routine!

As with most 'routine' activities, you are going to be seeing other people whose comfortable routine  matches your own. Ofcorse, I see a lot of same faces everywhere everyday. There is this unspoken acknowledgement of the other person's presence. It is sometimes a little nod of the head or a raise of the eyebrows or rarely a little smile!

Few days back, I saw one such comfortable routine road/train person. Both of us were late for our train by a few minutes than our usual time. This person started to walk faster and faster. I followed at the same increasing pace. All of sudden the walk turned into a run. We were almost moving beside each other and clearly I believed there was no need to run as we were going to make it to our train on time. So, well I do not know why I asked but I did..."is it time to run??" 

We were both laughing after I asked this question.

"Well...dont you think its time to run?" 

"No, we will be alright. Its always late by a minute anyway"

"Yes. Ofcorse"

"Have a great day"

"Thank you. You too have a wonderful day"

Well, I do not have the slightest of clues where this person is from, work place, nothing...I know this person as 'Flemington to Townhall - 0735 AM' and we greet each other every morning!

predicament..

when you really really want something 'great' but deep down you know that you dont deserve something that great...there is very little to do other than feel a little sad and indulge in a little bit of 'Oh what if...' and playfully entertain yourself...
:(
and then quickly try to snap out of it and make the full use of the offer available to watch movies at half price!

...to be continued

Melbourne...

well...I am at melbourne for this extended weekend...for two reasons...meet this sister of mine and her husband and hopefully watch a game of tennis with federer playing at rod laver!!

the first thing has happened...and am extremely happy about that...and about the second...it knew from the beginning that it was a game of chance...NO NO I am not referring to federer being in the fourth round...but me getting the tickets for the session that he was going to play was!!

anyway...well...I managed to get a t-shirt which has 'belgrade' written in serbian from a friend/colleague at work and as luck would have it...djokovic is playing tonite's session at rod laver for which I have the ticket!!

how I got this t-shirt from him defnitely calls for another entry in this stupid blog of mine which noone reads!! :)

feelin' ALIVE!!

ok...yesterday was a crazy day..

woke up and realized that there was really nothing to do...and then decided that why not score off one item on my bucket list!!

so...made a few calls...and was on my way to a suburb called picton...oh it was soo beautiful...just peace and quiet...all the way...until the moment of truth!!

should I just call it off...I mean this was too crazy...but then just thought to myself...will I ever get this opportunity again...I simply blew away my time at singapore...doing nothing!! (am not considering the countless number of times I watched raymond and shawshank!!)

so...well...I jumped off a plane...and damn it felt good!!

why...

why are we sometimes...nicer to strangers than we are to our 'supposed' close ones...??

why is it that at times we ARE required to stomp on others just to look better...?? is that the only way we know to impress people...??

obviously...this is a morning with mixed emotions...reasons for which are better left undocumented and forgotten...

I see the world...feel the chill...

which way to go...I do not know...

I see the verse in the rain...

And now...somehow cant seem to hold the pain....

Oh dear LORD, can you not see me now...

I am myself, like YOU somehow...

I'll ride the wave where it takes me....

I'll hold the pain...

I'll wait up for you to speak to me...

Release me...Release me!!

my bucket list…amongst other things…

I have been in Sydney now for five nites…and honestly did not think much of the place…at first sight…I mean…I had to wait at immigration for nearly two hours….and then there was elaborate quarantine checks…and you are not allowed to turn your fone on till this whole laborious process is completed….which honestly kind of upset me!! All the numerous occasions that I have flown back and forth to Singapore…I think the maximum time I have had to spend on immigration was about 15 minutes...

Anyway…it was raining till the end of Friday and I was like…is this the famed Australian summer?!?!?!…and Saturday morning the sun was out and the city just transformed itself into something surreal…

I came to know that an old friend/room mate/colleague works here and got in touch with him…and well…I am gonna have to type out a separate post about this guy…he exemplifies “LAID BACK”…that’s all I am gonna type now…

Watched a couple of movies with him…quantum of solace…I thought was very nice…and twi-light was really just one of those city of angels…meet joe black kinda movie…I mean…yes…it was ok…

Have been totally into play station 3…and the list of things that I am gonna have to take back home just keeps increasing!!

A very senior person from work sent in response to my mail to him which basically said I have reached safe and settled in well…was to shop during Christmas, watch the boxing day cricket match and lastly not to forget to skydive and if time permits get some work done...ofcourse he was just kidding…well… so…I am thinking I am going to make up for all the lost time at Singapore…during this trip…

Singapore Airlines…you are a beauty…

I had thoroughly enjoyed my previous two journeys on Singapore airlines earlier…ofcourse…it was not my first choice…but I flew because I wanted to be home at any cost…and obviously I did not regret spending the extra moolah!!

This time too it was not the first choice for obvious reasons but the very idea that I could be at work the very next day early for work just felt right to the seniors and yes....was at Singapore once again…for a little while…just about over an hour…and am not proud of it…but the damage within that hour which was mostly spent getting from terminal 2 to terminal 3 was around 200 bucks!!

Saw three movies totally…all personal favorites and of which I have copies back home…food was very nice…had a vegetarian meal specially prepared for the journey between Singapore and Sydney…even without my requesting for it…and not to mention I was impressed…and we reached about 15 minutes early…that was something never heard of with any of the Indian airlines!!

miracle...

when you expect to be taken for a ride...and you are not...I suppose that can be called a miracle...

after extended weekend with family...returned home...and as always had the early morning face-off with the auto guys!!  

just kept walking until finally one old man agreed to take me home for the rountine metered fare...plus the additonal early morning charge...on the way he missed a turn and I told him that he missed it...and he apologized and turned around...finally reached home...and I gave him the fare...and he returned 10 bucks extra!! I said his calculation was incorrect and his reply was 'No No...I missed a turn...so I have to deduct 10 rupees from the fare for it' 

you have got to be kiddin' !!

sub prime mortgage crisis...recession...pink slips...yeah yeah yeah...

well...the reason for this post is not all that...saw the news after a real long time...indian americans seek divine intervention to save their jobs...some temple there (Baltimore...I think...not sure...) is getting so crowded...that they have started accepting new applications for priests!!! the only organization that seems to be recruiting there....well...now thats not a bad career option...considering the current situation...

and...more and more indian americans have started to believe that it is safer to 'invest' in the temple hundis than anywhere else...

and yes...when you invite a guy who is so quick on his feet as russell peters is...I mean...come on...you cant have him in the house...and then start to think as to what to ask him!!! and you run out of topics that you end up asking him to dance on the floor...very very sad...

then there is always this character as part of the crowd...who is like...'how many proposals have you received so far on your trip to India...???'

lastly...the bucket list...is a movie very well made...must see...if you are a fan of morgan freeman and his brilliant narrating skills...

yet another futile attempt begins...

yes...I have started to work out yet again !! this must be like the 100th time I have started and just like every other previous time I hope this will last a really long time...well atleast this time around I aint spending a bomb...

there is a modest gym at the office...the way I see it is that it is a place filled with sweaty exhausted obese IT professionals...so you see I fit right in !!

the last episode of working out was at singapore in one of the best health clubs in the country...when I say best...I mean...work out attire...towels...steam room...free DVD rental...yes...FREE movies for members...well...these are the benefits...but the down side was the terrible complex developed as a result of directly interacting with super fit men and women !!

entertainment...

well...finally someone told it the way it really was...last evening...our team had the chance to meet the CEO of the company...his entrance was something like that of bon jovi's on one of the numbers from the album slippery when wet...(forgot which one...cant believe I did...there was a time I was obsessed with the band's music...speaking of which...just got reminded of another incident from the bon jovi listening days...which I shall save for another post here!!)

yes...coming back...the entrance...was like that...lights turned down...loud thumping music...and then suddenly...a loud scream 'heeeeeeeellllooooooooooooo bangaloreeeeeeeeee' and ofcourse...the audience was expecting him...to make a docile entrance...considering the circumstances...well...economic slowdown...pink slips all around...but here he was...lights turned down...loud music...dancing his way to the center!! impressive dance...considering his body mass!!

well...anyway...in simple words...I get to keep my job...no one is going to be 'eased' out like the other companies...but ofcorse...a lot of flexibility will be expected !!

there was everything in the meeting...vedanta...philosophy...management lessons...video...music...dance...some brilliant questions...some not so brilliant questions...wonderful display of wit and humor by the CEO...all in all total entertainment for the scared & dehydrated mind !!

resplendent effort...

from my past experiences...I can say most things are not worth the effort and wait...but this book certainly proved to be an exception...

most of the material used in the book were previously used in bits and pieces on ELR or his stand-up routines...but there were some really funny formulae in the book on sleep deprivation and other post-marital rituals...

all in all...total entertainment for two hours....thats all it takes to finish the book...not to mention it took nearly four months for me to get my hands on it !!

romano's ability to portray himself as a complete loser...in writing... in such a dignified, sincere and yes...funny way really amazes me...

everything and a kite - part 2

after months of extreme probing...the book has finally arrived home (madras)...and honestly...for some strange reason...I truly believe...that my entire outlook towards everything will change for the better...after I complete reading it !!

well...this outlook is the cognition of a series of events from my life and the lives of a few close friends...but...as 'Andy' from shawshank says...hope is a good thing...probably the best of things...

from...'what is the point really..??' to...'hope'...I must admit...its a good start for someone who is usually described as an avatar of pessimism...besides 'pyscho' and 'loser' !!

what is the point really...??

yet another week at work flies by...in less than 24 hrs...the weekend would be over...this really has been the 'business' for some time now...

friends getting married...friends becoming parents...friends eager to make more money....friends buying new cars...friends travelling overseas....friends returning home...friends setting themselves 'targets' on the bank balance when they retire...

honestly...hats off to them...for being so inspired in life...well...honestly...with each passing week...am finding it extremely difficult to find inspiration...

'what is the point really..??' has been the favorite question over the past fortnight or so...

anyway...I aint sure...if anyone is reading this...but whoever is...sincere apologies...cos..'what is the point really...??'