Dummy Diwali...

Yo,
So another Diwali season has come and almost gone. I haven't lit a single lamp, ate a sausage and pepperoni pizza, downed more than a couple of Heineken's at Laura's farewell party. My friend in NC has meanwhile invited a guruji to his place for Satyanarayanachi pooja, another buddy in Boston is celebrating with full gusto in true desi style while my roomie is doing the same in Chicago. In the meanwhile, here I am, stuck all alone for 4 days of the biggest Hindu festival working my tail off at work under unimaginable pressure.Last Diwali, Nerlya, Joshya and me made ourselves proud by running up a bill of almost 150 bucks in a bar that serves $5 pitchers. So now the trend continues. Funny thing is I am almost not missing it. You do not miss something that you do not expect. If I do not miss Diwali and do not miss Ganapati, something is going terribly wrong. Very wrong.This is a warning signal, a flag raiser. I think before that *almost* vanishes I need to head back home for good.
Happy Diwali everyone !!
PS: When I opened Winamp this am there were only 2 songs in my playlist "Aisa des hai mera" & "Ye jo des hai mera". Two of my favorite songs. Get the irony anyone?

I was wondering why the human mind was built in such a way that to do things right and to do the right things is such a difficult task. Consider the issue of going regularly to the gym. I set myself a target of 4 days and consistently for the last 3 weeks I have managed no more than 3 a week. I set myself, rather ambitiously, inspired by my buddy; an objective of eating a diet of boiled potatoes,eggs and chicken for food during workout days. Was never able to kick start it, leave alone follow it. Determination, perseverance, focus,single-mindedness, these virtues are so hard to inculcate and implement in your daily regimen. When I am successful with my gym schedule, I end up feeling like god.For what ? For achieving what I expected in the first place. Doesn't that tell the story ?
Been at soccer for the past 3 months or so. It's incredible how your game improves simply by regular at it. My sense of touch and timing has been getting better as is my ability to make runs and prepare for crosses headed my way at the front of the goal. We played with a bunch of high school kids last month and they smashed us to a pulp.
Work stress just keeps on increasing. I have been reading "GOAL" by Eliyahu Goldratt and find so many similarities between what he writes and what I see everyday. Manufacturing floor is a live animal, a wild one, that needs to be petted and comforted everyday, lest it get unleashed and throw a nasty bite and spoil the weekend.
My friend Ryan's girlfriend Annie says that she loves me so much, that she ever left him, she would head straight for me. Ryan and I work at the same place, have lived together, partied together, and play soccer together. I think it's time to get those shin guards I always wanted to buy.

i-NerT-IA

Yo

Ahh,,,,Finally forced myself out of my inertia to tap out a few words. Turns out quite a few folks read my blogs and have asked me why I dont write more frequently. Nice little fan club forming there eh ?(*Grins from ear to ear*). I have no answer really. Lazy/changing priorities/ lack of time are good excuses.

Work is a new experience every single day. Manufacturing is designed to keep me on my toes during the day and awake at nights. In just a span of a few months I have been given a crash course in the intricacies of polymer chemistry and induction heating ! When I choose to study BioInstrumentation in Engg I had thought more along the lines of running or managing a fancy RandD center where men in white coats work all day and night with coffee mugs by their side and fancy computers making fancier analyses. The real world is so different. Reacting to live problems on the floor and keeping your head while doing that is incredibly challenging. So far so good.

The goings been good lately. Work hard,party harder cant go wrong !

Good night and good luck !!

Team India's pathetic performance in WC2007 was enough to draw me out of hibernation. The fact that we were knocked out early was worsened by the fact that it was our Asian neighbors who were responsible. Honestly, I was pretty hopeful of our teams chances this WC. A mix of age and experience, a balanced bowling lineup, tons of class......what went wrong ? Perhaps-and this only a psycho-analyst can tell-is the fact that the WC didnt really mean much. Sure its the biggest event in the game, but coming as it did after tons of faceless onedayers meant we had jaded and flat players, instead of zest and verve. Compared to Aussies of the Lankans we look like a bunch of oldies out for a stroll rather than teenagers on a sprint.
I hope Sachin now quits ODIs. He has been a part of 5 campaigns and has served India with more distinction and honor than anyone else. But after 300 plus games the biggest prize in cricket still eludes him and while that is no reflection on the man himself, it is a fair commentary on his and his teammates inability to rise over the ocassion when required. In 96' SL knocked us out on a that treacherous track in Eden Gardens, in 2000 Aussies showed us the door in the SuperSixes and in 2003 we couldnt even start the chase. All do-or-die games where we came up short. Its time seniors give way to some young blood and Sachin will hopefully recognise that. He had one thing left to prove and now that chance is lost. While that will not diminish him, hanging around for another season and scoring in meaningless ODI's will surely not add to his luster. Karl Malone doesnt own a NBA ring, Pete Sampras never won the French though tennis is an individual sport.
A revamp at the domestic level is required. Ranji cricket is now more competitive, but top teams and players need to play against more often rather than once or twice a season on fair tracks. BCCI needs to stop treating ODIs as a cash cow. A look into the season schedule is required. The amount of cricket needs to be cut down to less ~30 ODI's per season along.

India trip and all that

Yo
Some random thoughts/musings/achievements/observations from Swades yatra just concluded

1. Stayed true to my stated aim of coming back single. A tip: Wadeshwar is way better than Vaishali for these rendezvous'es. Its more peaceful,people dont stare over your shoulder waiting for you to finish your food and you dont see all your friends parked there. In contrast you enter Vaishali and at least 3-4 folks show up with a "Are kadhi alas parat ?..Kiti diwas ahes leka ?" All that is fine and dandy but I was left with a hefty restaurant bill to pay.

2.Speaking of hefty restaurant bills and expenses - turns out, I am the only guy who thinks that a bill of 1300 bucks for a group of 4 for a beer+soup+dinner at a medium-classy rest is exorbitant. Luckily I have some nice friends and overcome with nostalgia on seeing me they wouldnt allow me to pay a dime !!

3.Traffic has gone from bad to worse but the tremendous adaptability that we as humans are blessed with ensures that you join the crowd in less than a day. In no time, I was driving like them (or like us),cutting signals,overtaking on the wrong side and all the good stuff.

4.Everyone has a LOT OF MONEY. I mean A LOT OF MONEY. Why do folks spend 15 grand on a cell phone beats me. Really !!

5.Visited all the eat-outs. Wadapav,Vaishali,Mayoor,Butterchicken,Pav-bhaji,Ganesh Bhel,Durga etc etc. Had an upset tummy for a day or two. But I didnt let that bother me. Just popped a lomotil and I was back in business.

6.The TV news channels are pathetic. If every news is a breaking news than what is news? In fact I found DD news to be more streamlined compared to the satellite channels stuff

7. "Garv nahin to kuch nahin". The Premiers Hockey Leaugue, now in its 3rd year is now being marketed more aggressively than ever. Good for them. I am a being fan of hockey and for the sake of the game I hope the leaugue does something good for the game.

8. Kaloo is getting F-A-T. The lazy dog needs to start getting back in shape. When the big dawg was around things were different. Amazingly he recognised me and let out a ecstatic audible sound that I do not have a vocabulary to describe.

9. I was missing Miami when I was in India.

10. I am missing India now that I am in Miami.
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Ever wondered ?

Random Thoughts that keep creeping into my mind:
Ever wondered
Why all production emergencies hit you at precisely 4-30 on a Friday afternoon ?
Why at the grocery store, the cash register gives a problem just as you are about to get billed?
Why your progress report at work is anything but ? It reflects only the stuff you did not finish and not vice verca ?
If Peyton Manning, Sachin Tendulkar, Lara, will always be the greatest who never won the bigggest ?
How much energy and resources we waste in the US while on the other side of the planet people are just happy to receive drinking water for 3 hours a day ?
Why the car/watch/shirt/anything you like is just a wee bit above your budget?

BCCI-The Board of Chaos and Confusion in India

YoYo,

I was following with some interest the sparring between Lalit Modi and ICC chief Malcolm Speed regarding the MPA and TV rights issue. Everyone likes to hail India as the center of world cricket and beleives it is the unofficial HQ of cricket. Perhaps so, but I am always wondering if that is really true. Yes, its our #1 game. Cricket games draw crowds, the players have multi-million contracts and are role models and all that. But perhaps before claiming ourselves the HQ its time to look at a few questions from the other side of the fence.

From the spectators point of view, the engine that drives the commerce behind cricket.

What does the average fan get in return ? Woeful facilities at stadiums where you loose your seat if you go for a leak. Baking in the 100 F sun or in temp shamianas, sitting on cement-concrete seats for 7 hrs post which you have lost all feeling in your bottom, Exorbitantly charged for refreshments (I can kind of understand this one.) I have now been to a few sports events. Two times at the Nasdaq-100 Open, a Miami Heat basketball game and a U of M college football game with 60000 wild college fans as the audience. What strikes me is how smooth things work. You can actually get to sit relax and enjoy the game. And this wasnt even the premium tickets. In fact the cheapest ones. When I watched the India-NZ game way back in 96, it was worse than a stampede. I cant imagine anyone in the right frame of mind wanting to bring his family over for a day of cricket at the Nehru Stadium.

What peeves me most is the utter discontempt shown for audience confort. Basically they are treated as shit. There is no concern for the well being. It is just assumed that they will show up and put up irrespective of what is dished out. And such is the passion that we actualy do!

Another thing that drives me nuts is the merchandising. I guess this is deviating a little bit but I had a hard time buying a India jersey a few years ago. I finally found one in Colaba on the street stalls for 250 bucks. I recently had my buddy ship one to me-the original one for 1800 bucks. (My mom things I have way too much money on me). Here it is so easily accessible. These guys have found a way to market their game in such a way that the fam feels a part of the team.Jerseys,hats,apparel,pens,keychains every damn thing you can think of. Whay hasn't anyone thought of doing this for our team ? Imagine what sort of response and revenue it would generate. And perhaps then the BCCI would invest some of it in Upgrading stadiums and allow the fans to have some fun.