Women & Football

Got this in a forwarded email:

Explaining the football offside rule to women!

You're in a shoe shop, second in the queue for the counter. Behind the
shop assistant on the till is a pair of shoes which you have seen and
which you must have.
The female shopper in front of you has seen them also and is eyeing them
with desire.
Both of you have forgotten your purses.
It would be totally rude to push in front of the first woman if you had no
money to pay for the shoes.
The shop assistant remains at the counter waiting.
Your friend is trying on another pair of shoes at the back of the shop
and sees your dilemma.
She prepares to throw her purse to you.
If she does so, you can catch the purse, then walk round the other
shopper and buy the shoes.
At a pinch she could throw the purse ahead of the other shopper and,
*whilst it is in flight* you could nip around the other shopper, catch
the purse and buy the shoes.

Always remember that until the purse had *actually been thrown* it
would be plain wrong to be forward of the other shopper.
This would be offside.


Priceless!

Currently Listening to: Rob Dougan - Furious Angels (Matrix Reloaded)

"Real" Celebrity?

Its finally ended... the show that has been keeping everyone hooked to their TV sets from the past 3 weeks has finally come to a close.
News channels & Tabloids all over the country are busy analysing the irony & significance of a 21 year old normal girl from Essex "Chantelle", winning the "Celebrity" Big Brother..
Y'know, I sometimes wonder what the fuss is all about.. I mean.. its a TV show.... Okay, a relality TV show which involved one of the MPs of Britain.
But still, at the end of the day, it is a TV show. And I simply cannot understand these News channels giving so-o-o-o much coverage & analysis(for god's sake) and dedicating hours of airtime to something so undeserving. Even newspapers (not just tabloids) are making this their front page news.
I'm not kidding... every time I turn on the TV, some channel will have a show where 2 hosts are discussing Big Brother and then they bring in 2 "special guests" to "analyse"the show and its results.. every week. And this week being the finale.. it was outta control.

Speaking of the show itself, the concept is actually quite interesting. 11 people are kept 'confined' in a house with no contact to the outside world. They have to do certain weird tasks inside the house, be a good 'house-mate' and somehow survive for three weeks. Every once in a while one person will be evicted from the house based on other house-mates' & viewers' poll. Finally one person wins based on public opinion.

It was interesting to watch.. but only in parts. In general it was a bit boring, I'd say...I mean how long can you watch the same people brushing their teeth, yelling at each other, etc..
But it had enough in it to keep people hooked.. and well.. thats all that matters, right?

Whats more, auditions for the next season of Big Brother are already open!

Hey, have Indian channels not yet lifted this idea yet??
I'll bet it won't be long before we see Vinod Kambli, Laloo and co. with a few TV stars locked up in a house!

C'mon people.. its Reality TV!

Curently Listening to: Premaloka - Yarivanu

Mixed bag

Oh yeah... Life's a mixed bag, if you didn't know already.

Here I am, in Taunton, an absolutely bea-uu-tiful place, with more greens, old churches and houses, lovely people.. some kind of serene, natural feeling attached to it. Work is going on at a leisurely pace. Co-workers seem very nice and all...
...but still I'm not entirely happy.

Why? For starters, I'm living in a hotel for the first time.. which is kinda new, but in no way comparable to living in an apartment...
can't cook or wash here.. so, have to pay a lot for these things which automatically makes me sad.
Annnnd, since this is a small town, Internet is not too.. er.. 'all-pervasive' lets say. Turns out that I've to pay 12 quid (a slang for pound!) for a night of broadband!! That's plain outrageous.
So, you see, this is nothing short of confinement.

Anyways, everything's not glum. The drive to taunton was quite nice. Lots of broad, green fields and nice scenery. Office is nice too. Check out the view from my window in office.


My architect here is an Indian-born-settled-here guy. He's some sort of guru when it comes to anything technical. He has a pretty cool attitude and a refreshingly candid demeanour, which, for me is like finding idly-sambaar in Burger King!
I feel that, underneath, he's still a 22 yr old who likes to hang out with his friends in Chennai! :) (Hmmm.. that sounds familiar)
Anyway, It feels good again to talk in English without subconsciously putting on a fake accent! Not to mention the bliss of being able to use 4 letter words in office again!

Life, is indeed a mixed bag.

Currently Listening to: Black Eyed Peas - Shut Up

Can I get any lazier?

I think I've outdone myself.
I have spent the entire weekend inside... without even stepping out of the house once!
More than 50% of the time lazing on the bed... and the rest split between
a) Browsing the net, chatting with friends (hail google talk!), orkutting..
b) Watching every sitcom on TV..
c) Eating..

Usually, I'd be disgusted with myself by the end of such lazy weekends and pray for monday to arrive quickly!! (Really)
But, somehow I don't feel that bad now.. Could do with a little walk outside though..

But damn, I've gotta start packing.. have to get up at 5 in the morning to get to Taunton.. Its a location change.. for the next 3 weeks..

Hey, I think Seinfeld in on now... Someone pleez pack my stuff... pleeez.

Currently Listening to: Crystal Method - Born too slow

Just another innings

I have to say "Well Timed, Sir".
Not to Afridi, but to the photographer who clicked this. Because it depicts to perfection, the nature of this innings and Afridi's batting in general:
Savage Aggression and nothing else.

Now that I think of it, i cannot recall a SINGLE innings where he's changed his approach....
whether its the first innnings, second innings, avoiding a follow on, victory chase, grinding out a draw... it just does not matter to this guy.

He'd probably say that this was just another innings for him.

Honestly, its unbelievable at times.

Also, this piece of info from IndiaUncut is extremely interesting...

Currently Listening to: Modjo - Lady (Hear me tonight)

Loser: ME

After my second futile attempt at Ice Skating today , I've come to the following conclusion:
It is too damn difficult to learn.

So, so you think you can tell....

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change? And did you exchange
a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl,
year after year,
running over the same old ground. What have we found?
The same old fears,
wish you were here.

There's something about this song.. something that's oddly haunting, something intense, which makes me wanna hear it again and again.
Not to mention the slow guitar notes at the beginning... which every guitar enthusiast worth his salt would have tried to play atleast once in his lifetime.

I will too. One day I will too.

And after that I'm gonna play the last 5 minutes of "Comfortably Numb", the live version, imagining half a million people watching me... just like they did in the Earl's court concert.
And I'm gonna play it e.x.a.c.t.l.y the way it is in that album. Note by Note.

Currently Listening to: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (Live)

Snowy

First signs of snow in Aldershot..last saturday

A Weekend to Remember (!?)

My Weekend:

Saturday:
1.Went to visit Stonehenge.
Verdict - Just a pile of stones. Not worth the Train+Bus fare +Entry fee.
2. Since we were already in Salisbury, decided to visit the Salisbury Cathedral.
Verdict - Nice cathedral, superb gothic architecture. Free Entry *happy face*

End Result: Totally exhausted from the journey... had to change 2 trains, plus waiting time in-between. Some snaps came out well though.

Sunday:
Went to visit Windsor. Train delays meant that all of us reached only by noon.
1. Decided to try out Ice skating
Verdict: Super Super fun. Incredibly difficult though. Damn &%$#ing rain ruined everything.
2. Rain gets heavier. Weather colder.
3. Went to visit Windsor Castle. It was closed for visitors by the time we made it.
Verdict: Screwed.

End Result: More Exhausted than saturday from enduring rain, cold and 3 train changes which took forever.


Total Expenditure: Approx 80 Pounds
Positives: Ice Skating, a few nice snaps.

Weekend Result: Total Washout

Happy New Year.

Currently Listening to: Metallica - Nothing Else Matters

Home-Away

Things had been kinda hectic.. and I've been a li'l lazy to blog too...
Well, I'm back in the UK after a 10 day long stay back home in bangalore during christmas..
It felt soo good-
...Being able to spend some time with my loved ones.
...Seeing my frens again, hangin out in good ol' bangalore.
...Eating Idli Vade Sambar... with the heavenly adigas coffee.
...Eating Sagu Masale Dose.
...Eating Anna Saru with Kosambri.
...Being able to walk out into the balcony in the morning with just my banian on.
...Being able to wear T-Shirts.
...Watching all the latest kannada movie trailers on Udaya TV at 11 PM... god bless them.
...Aimlessly riding on my bike in Mysore.. a feeling that no other country/city can match.

Mom and Dad and bro were there in bangalore by noon to greet me. Mom had also brought along my fav. dishes for lunch. (Oh before I forget, lemme mention that my Mom is one of the best cooks in the whole world. My friends will vouch for that.) But I'd already sneaked in some idlis and dosas at Adigas in the morning. I was just dying to eat that stuff.

Took a couple of days off from work to spend time with K, which in itself was worth all the 10 hour flights & jetlags & all that. We did have a really beautiful time together, and I started feeling more miserable sitting on the flight back to London thinking about the next couple of months without her.

Caught up with my friends back home (only a few left now, everyone's flying off to the US) which was nice. Also got a rare chance to spend some time with a few old friends in mysore whom I had not met for a while. we did a good old fashioned boys' "nite out" which was super fun! Found myself sitting at home on New year's eve because of stupid undecided flight schedules.

But now I'm back here again.
Lots of plusses here, you know: money, travel, friends, a sense of excitement.

Just one small minus. It ain't home.

Currently Listening to: Bluffmaster - Right Here Right Now.
(accompanied by rhythmic headbanging)