Saturday, March 31, 2007

The Namesake

No, I am not writing again about the novel. Now it is about the movie Namesake. Just watched it. I loved it as I expected. Somehow it is one of those stories that is so close to what's happening in lives of so many Indians in the US. It is good to identify yourself with people like you going through the struggles that you go through.

The thought of family in the US is scary in itself. After watching the movie you feel even more scarier. Some people are born in a way that they have limited capabilities to adapt. They can change only to some extent. Some others adapt quickly and naturally. The former need to return to their roots to live a peaceful life. I hope I belong to the former group and would go back someday soon!!

Good movie. Must watch if you liked the book. Some things on screen make you feel pleasant and good.

For today it is going to be NAMESAKE!!!

Friday, March 30, 2007

Like many of

the other philosophical discussions I am involved in with him this one is also fruitless. I admire his intellect and work ethic, but there are issues that I do not know what to say. We just are not like one another and we have diametrically opposite views.

But Life has to move on

Never understand what their motives are

Terrorists kill in J&K

I don't know how they can talk of reducing military amidst such incidents

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Dont know what to say

A school mate of mine, in US, calls up (I haven't talked to him for like 4-5 years)..

here is how it goes
Friend: Hi
Me: Hi ra
Friend: So, which department are you in?
Me: Civil
Friend: Civil?? I thought you were in Computers
Me: hmmm
Friend: So you in Austin?
Me: yes
Friend: Is it a city?
Me: Well, it is a big city . Capital of Texas!!
Friend: Are you doing a Phd?
Me: Yes
Friend: Laughs (I dont know whats so funny!!) and asks why man, how many years will you study?
Me: Hmmm
Friend: So how do they pay you for Phd?
Me: same as a student for MS
Friend: then why the hell are you not working?
Me: (I really did not want to continue any more.. but absent mindedly said) There are other things that matter too!
Friend: So, you from IIT and all why are you studying there?
Me: (What can I say!!) i told UT is a decent university
and eventually ended the conversation!!

Dont know what to make of it!!
But Life moves on

Hmmm

Orkut fortune:Your winsome smile will be your sure protection

If only I could find reasons to smile!!

With Females

Lots of females around you is not a blessing. It is very difficult to understand what happens in a group with more females than guys. At least I feel very out of place.
However life moves on!!

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Being alone

Of late I am spending a lot of time alone. May be it is because of my dwindling ability to spend time in a group without taking notice of things that make me unhappy. May be it is because of the way I am working and the amount of work I have. May be it could be the fact that I am happy being on the phone with friends from IIT M and others who have left Austin. I spend a lot of time on the internet, a little amount on phones and some more on reading books. It was not the same earlier.

My first year I vividly remember spending a lot of time with friends. Then during second year I started spending time alone and it increased across the year n half. Then again i started spending time with friends for about an year and now i am at a period where I am spending time alone. Dont know if this it will change again. I do not want it to change. I think i am at an age where i enjoy being alone and like it.

Moreover, I am not good at talking in a group. I dont make friends with people in a group, i make acquaintance. For me without spending time alone with a person I do not treat him/her as a friend. But I guess that is not the case with everybody. This i feel weird about. But of course that is a personal choice. I am happy with mine and others with theirs. So life moves on

Why do i worry

Why do I observe people so keenly? Why do I come up with my analysis and get pained? Its upto them to do what they want. But i guess my problem is when it is so damn obvious to me how can the others choose to ignore. Well, I guess I am the only one who has a problem with such behavior.

Whatever

nice article

by dileep premachandran

i can feel it

There is no possibility of me forgetting that I played volleyball. Every part in my body is reminding me of the games and the dives I made today. But some of those ones where I jumped full stretch (may be flat in the air :P) were too much fun!!

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Volley Ball

We have been regularly playing volley ball in austin. There are a few of us who really like it and want to play. Typically we play every saturday. So was the same today. It was a long, grueling and well fought match. And as happens so many times, i lost my temper with many people. This is one thing thats been bothering me for a while. I enjoy playing the game and I play it really hard. I play as if my life depends on it and I try to put everything into it. So if there is someone who is not putting in what he/she is capable of i get irritated. I want people to try 100%. If they do that I am happy because I out in 100% and thats not enough to win. I dont mind loosing but loosing because of lack of effort hurts me. I know people are angry with me because of the way I play my game. I am trying to control the temper but i know it is not possible always for me. anyway i will keep trying

About todays game, I dived 4/5 times and played well on my part. I missed my serve once in 9 games of 25 points. I guess thats acceptable. It is not as if i dont make mistakes, I dont make mistakes because of lack of commitment. I do make mistakes because I am not good. I think that is what I ask of everybody, try your best. I know it is just a game, but i dont get the fun of it if I dont play hard. Thats the only way I know to play. So I cannot easily change that. I feel it is what drives me to improve my game. Anyway, if people feel i am being foolish i will accept that and go on, but i wont change the way i play. One suggestion to those who play with me, do not try to get on my nerves, because i will give a mouthful when in bad temper, as one of my friends found out. i know that is not right, but knowing me for so long, people also should know better than making me angry. anyway enough rambling on my temper.
Lets see how it goes next time.
I wish I did my research so passionately!!

Country, career and life

While watching cricket yesterday..... there was an interesting event...
muralidaran was playing really well... and there she was ..his wife.. a tamil girl from Chennai... cheering him.... naturally i was pissed..... still i am not sure if she was right... she born an indian married a sri lankan and cheering for him when your country is playing..... well... may be thats natural..... but i am not the kind who approves of it....

on the same topic.. there are people who come to england.... stay there and play cricket and eventually relinquish their countries for playing cricket... a case in point Kevin Peitersen... he was unhappy with quota system in South Africa.. so moved away to UK.. played for a while and now he is an englishman.. another case is Ed Joyce.. an irishman by birth moved to england for opprotunities to play cricket at the highest level.... are they right?... arent they discarding their nationality ?

well... the question of country VS career comes up... kevin peitersen did not want to waste his prime waiting for the quotas to ruin his life... ED joyce knew ireland would never play test cricket during his time .. so chose to move to fulfil his ambitions... not very different from indians who come to the US.... to earn money/do research/for better living ......... being one of those indians how can i blame people for shifting allegiances... after all cricket is a game.... at most a profession......

based on a similar logic.. may be Mrs. Muralidaran is not wrong.....
of course there is always the fact that she exercised the option of marrying a Sri Lankan.. she would nt have married him if she was not ready to support him n his country... which for me is wrong....
so what i am getting at is... people who marry people from other countries are in a way are not caught up in nationalistic ideals....
but for some people (like me!!) its impossible to imagine such a thought... may be i belong to the last century... but i am happy for that......

Cricket again

well.. its that time of the year you see... with the WC going on...

India out of it early...

a friend of mine remarked cricket was the only WC where we could cheer an indian team (of course Vishy does his thing.. but i dont see anybody trying to cheer him while he is playing...) so now our great team has rid of that opportunity.... so like any other WC find a team to support and continue watching... I still am yet to accept the defeat... but i should be there soon.... then may be i will choose someone to support and watch as i watch tennis or football....

cricket players performance... its disappointing but..... i just hope there is no physical damage to indian players.. coaches and their families... indian fans could be fanatic at times!!

Simply amazing

can you beat that for a prediction :P

There's a residual seriousness tugging at your desire to cut loose and play. Interactions with friends and associates might be relatively shallow because no one is ready to delve into the powerful unasked questions that patiently wait at the edges of each conversation. Don't try too hard to avoid what needs to be said; everything will improve once it's out in the open.

simply too much........

if i really spoke my mind.... i would hurt many people....
so its better i remain silent.......

Nice article and gen

nice article by Shashi Taroor

link from GK


well.. india has lost... dravid's interview was pretty sad... but correct.....

nobody can pinpoint whats wrong with the team..... but i will go ahead and point few...

the team this year did not have batsmen who can stay calm under pressure and execute plans... or rather they could not do it...
the bowlers... were decent at start... but once attacked did not know what to do...i dont know what harbhajan is doing..... lack of irfan is an issue....

anyway....

our survey is out... hoping to see some good results......

bicyclesurvey

Friday, March 23, 2007

Bad day for Indian Cricket

well... what can you say.....
we hoped.. may be loosing to b'desh was a blip... well it does not seem so..... they lost to Sri Lanka also badly.....

The pitch was so much better in the afternoon and still our famed batting line up (with batsman whose cumulative career scores are more than cumulative team scores)... failed yet again...

anyway...

Lion King

Well....the sets were amazing.... the work very good and very nice...

music as good for most of the time... except sometimes where i felt it dragged...

overall its a nice show... but i just felt its a little too long....

but thats my feeling.....

Thursday, March 22, 2007

This is what you call ridiculous

Subhash 'Fergie' Gupte
Possessing two googlies, he was considered better than Shane Warne according to Garry Sobers but he was appallingly treated by India. During England's 1961 visit Gupte's team-mate Kripal Singh invited the receptionist at Delhi's Imperial Hotel for a drink but she took exception and lodged a complaint against the occupants in room seven. The Indian board secretary, AN Ghosh, banned Gupte for the West Indies tour for "failing to prevent his colleague from making the call". Despite boasting 149 wickets at under 30, the 32-year-old never played for India again and emigrated to Trinidad.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Well

orkut fortune: You and your wife will be happy in your life together

hmmmm.....

Monday, March 19, 2007

Another trip comes to an end

well..... another spring break... another trip.... into the wilderness....
or may be 2 days in the city... and 1.5 days in the wilderness.... whatever.... it was fun

the trip started with my journey to dallas on "greyhound"... i was kinda scared abt the ride.. but it was peaceful.... i reached dallas..... bobba and aarti reached in the evening... psp missed his flight and eventually missed the trip... due to the peak season!!... it was sad...

i cooked chicken ... after reaching dallas.... then we chatted for a while..... before sleeping.....
the activty began on friday... we rented bicycles and cycled for abt 12 miles around white rock lake ... it was windy n cold.. but fun.....

then the grp from austin arrived and we started on our ride to arkansas.....
we reached late and well... were very surprised with the apartments we rented.. they were awesome and we slept well :P

Saturday...

we began our trekkin at 12... after huge amounts spent on groceries:P
trekking...with frisbee and songs (Botany paata...for this trip) was real fun....

then..after the first trail.. we went in search of water falls .... a second trail... the water falls was not very great.... yet the sound of water falls was worth the trip........

then ...evening we spent time cooking and eating lots and lots of food.. (for non-vegs only chicken :P)

then..
Sunday...
we went to Lake Ouchita for boating... realized there were not many boats to do that and so went ahead with beach volley ball.... volley is as usual lots of fun...
this time it was even better because we had 2/3 handicapped people (after effects of trekking).... on my side... (deepak n yours truly)...... but we ended up playing well n winning.... it was cool....

then we started the drive back... reached Dallas... (in the mean time i realized work was waiting for me.....).. we had dinner in Dallas... nice food.... then Austin junta came back.. i stayed back...to spend some more time with my friends..... we chatted for sometime... (i worked during the discussions for a while)...... then it was day break and time to part...... we dropped people at airport... returned the van..... and came back n relaized i have more work to do... so started that and sent the mail of..... then i ahd 20 minutes to catch my bus to austin.... thanks to deepak's aggressive driving i made it......
and all the time on my drive i was expecting my adviosr's call... luckily it did not come... i went directly to office... had some more work to do...... finished it.... and sent the mails....... finally it looks like.. i can take a break.... but not a long one... i have a meeting soon... so will have to finish some stuff.... anyway...

overall it was good fun and a great trip.........

there were moments , as usual.... when i was annoyed with some one or the other... but knowing my temperament... it was not surprising to me..... anyway........

the cast... and comments
aarti : as usual was ready to do so many things at the same time....

akansha : was at her talkative best...

abdul :pensive and enjoying at the sametime

bobba: cool as a cucumber and a soothing presence

deepak : tore his knee muscle... or acted as if he tore it...

gk : the cool angel.... and cutting boy

hari : photgrapher... and assistant cook.....

kola : the bursting vocano

naveen: the man who made it happen :P

pondy : bubbling enthusiasm... sometimes at the wrong moment

rapdas : not at his contemplative best... but still did a good job with one liners

sneha : active and entertaining .... though slightly short on adjectives this time...

varun : silent this time..... and did not do justice to our expectations in the food department

vikas : the grand old man... what else can we say...

Thursday, March 15, 2007

For once

Orkut fortune is appropriate......

You will travel to many places

Namesake...

well.... jhumpa feel Namesake the movie is really nice.... so i guess it gives me one more reason not to miss the movie.........

Namesake... what a book... i just loved it so much!!! i am interested in seeing how Mira Nair translated it into a movie...... lets see....

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Hmmmm

I am realizing that with some people it is nearly impossible to make it work....
if they want to see wrong in whatever you do... I am not denying i made a mistake...... they can and wrong you for that.... well beyond a point you just give up....

i am worried i am loosing the love i have for my work and passion toward improving myself.... i am really scared sometimes... looking at the change in me from day 1 here..... i dont know.......

I GUESS THERE IS ONLY SOMETHINGS SOMEBODY CAN TRY TO CHANGE..... YOU DONT CHANGE AFTER YOU ARE 25...... OR MAY BE ITS JUST THAT I CANT CHANGE....

Females

well... what can you say.... they always manage to surprise you....
or may be they manage to make you angry......

dont know why every girl thinks the guy does something for her as a friend... do they do so much for their friends?... when they dont.. why do they expect a friend to do so much.... and well ..invariably they never realize a guy has feelings for them until he proposes.... and as usual.. the cliched answer..... "we are good friends"... lets be like that... i never saw u that way... what a sham!!
how can you blame the guy for feeling as though he is used!!!!

anyway.... life has to move on for the guys... so it shall....

Sunday, March 11, 2007

World Cup

now that the cricket world cup is close..... i thought i should blog abt the big event...

First and foremost its gonna be a very very long event....

So I am still not getting the exact feel of it.......

but still... my desire for the world cup is clear and simple....
I want India to win it.....
i believe they have the personnel to achieve that......

India's batting line up..... looks good with Yuvraj back and in form.... the only concern.... especially for me ...is Sehwag........ i just hope the dude clicks soon.... do something....but score runs......

India's bowling looks nice... with zak, agar and munaf.... i will have sreesanth as back up..... and then bajji will play.. with sehwag.. yuvi.. tend.. taking the role of 5th bowler......

fielding...well the less said the better......

thats the recap of out team.....

lets see how they will fare........

Emptiness

Life of late has been very empty...

family... work... emptiness ... friends...

sometime... emptiness is enveloping everything... with a feeling of doing nothing and the urge to do nothing.....

dont know why...

may be its the way things are panning out... may be i need to move on in life....

dont know how...

may be i need to change my perspective in some things.....

dont know where...

may be i need some change of place as well... may be its time i go to India for a break....

lets see...............

Friday, March 09, 2007

Well... well...

Kiran Desai gets one more award for her book...

i dont know the article says they liked it because of this ..this and this ... n more i guess.....

but still it was not very readable... it was not great... it was ok....

well... what u like will always not win... cant help it...

but anyway......congrats kiran...

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Didnt know that

Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum ... who is that......

the answer is Ayn Rand

Silly

how can you not know what you want to do... its really painful to switch plans when someone else is organizing everything.... i just get pissed off!!

it might be a small thing.. but if it disturbs someone else's work its bad... dont know if i am the only person who feels that way.. still.. i get really mad at such indecision....

Soft Ball

just coming back from a game of soft ball....

we were batting second.. the beginning of 5th.. we were tied....

our batter hits a single... we have a girl following him who hits n moves to base 1.... so we have one on base 1 and base 2.... i enter....
foul once... strike once.... and in my last chance i hit it... the two basemen complete.... so thats 2 runs... and we win :P

well well...
it was great :P

Trip preparations

the preparations of the trip at the end of spring break have begun

the cabins booked..... and van..

bring it on :P

hehe

not bad huh..
from indiauncut
greg chappel

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

should you watch or not

"Ram Gopal Varma has done it again. He's surprised us with a touching, deep and visibly personal effort, and if you were waiting with brickbats in hand, sorry. This one works."

raja sen.... rediff

still debating Nishabd :P

what can you say

Cant believe what kind of a world these ridiculous people live in

you cant have a shave

From IndiaUncut

Monday, March 05, 2007

Wow.... this is what you call cricket funny

The great stats of Mc Grath.. the batsman.....

Interesting

Vladimir Horowitz supposedly said, "If I don't practice for a day, I know it. If I don't practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I don't practice for three days, the world knows it." He was certainly a demon practicer, but the same quote has been attributed to world-class musicians like Ignace Paderewski and Luciano Pavarotti.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

wow.. simply amazing post

i wish i could write like that...

there shall be people who watch cricket.. who cheer when india wins....
but there shall be die hard fans.... who want the team to win... irrespective of the condition of the team and see it......

well said dude......

Anand Ramachandran

The dude

the dude is closing in on yet another record

He wouldnt stop..... why should he :P

Go Fedi go.... i would love a winning streak of 77 :P

World Cup guesses...

If pressed, Ray White fancy five teams for the semi-finals. If pressed further, I would eliminate Australia on the basis that their team lacks even one world class bowler now that McGrath looks past it and Lee is injured. My final four, therefore, are South Africa, England, Sri Lanka and the West Indies. My house, however, will be going nowhere near the bookmakers.

well well... looks so foolish to me ...

i mean no australia !!! anyway...

my guesses.....
Australia, India, South Africa, _________ (I am not sure you see :D)

only time will tell...

Wife... looks like there is a lot said around the world

A good wife always forgives her husband when she's wrong.

~ Milton Berle



"There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than

electronic banking. It's called marriage."

~ James Holt McGavran



I recently read that love is entirely a matter of chemistry. That must

be why my wife treats me like toxic waste.

~ David Bissonette



When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let

him keep her.

~ Sacha Guitry



After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just

can't face each other, but still they stay together.

~ Hemant Joshi



By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you

get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.

~ Socrates



Woman inspires us to great things, and prevents us from achieving them.

~ Dumas



The great question... which I have not been able to answer... is,

"What does a woman want?

~ Sigmund Freud



I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me.

~ Anonymous



"Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go

to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft

music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays."

~ Henry Youngman



"I don't worry about terrorism. I was married for two years."

~ Sam Kinison



"I've had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me and the

second one didn't."

~ Patrick Murray



Two secrets to keep your marriage brimming 1. Whenever you're wrong,

admit it, 2. Whenever you're right, shut up.

~ Nash



The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget

it once... - Anonymous



My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met.

~ Rodney Dangerfield



Marriage is the only war where one sleeps with the enemy.

~ Anonymous



A man inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: "Wife wanted". Next day he

received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: "You can

have mine." - Anonymous



First Guy (proudly): "My wife's an angel!" Second Guy "You're lucky,

mine's still alive." - Anonymous

Well..

As luck would have it.. as i just finished my earlier blog...
my adviser calls up.. asking for it.... dont know... fingers crossed.. lets see

Friday, March 02, 2007

In control?

Well... there are very few times when i feel good about what i am writing....
today is one of those days... of course it might not translate into my adviser's approval.... but at least i am feeling good :P

have to plan out the activities well this weekend....lets see

and oh yes.. i am doing a course... means i have an assignment due...
have to do that... i guess it can wait till monday ...