I’m not really desperate, just that it’s been a long time since I last blogged. This is going to be a list post, an update about what’s going on in my life.

1. Spent Aai’s birthday at home after a gap of 3 years, felt great.

2. I was puzzled by the number of people asking me for advice about which college and branch to take. Cousins, younger siblings of my friends, children of my parents’ colleagues, neighbours etc. Come on! I’m not some career counselling baba.

3. Finished reading ‘Freakonomics’ and ‘From Heaven Lake’. I particularly liked Heaven Lake. An excellent account of Vikram Seth’s hitchiking journey through Tibet. A must read for people who like travel books.
4. Came back to IIIT on 14th. 10 days at home are not sufficient at all.

5. I’ve shifted to room 132. Thanks to Billu, Smiley, Gas, Badri who were here to get the allotment done from MBG.

6. Shifting your room is a real pain.

7. Course selection and stuff has been a source of major confusion for the past few days.I feel a little more clear about things right now. Lets see what happens.

8. Oh! I forgot the most important point, Fed won the Wimbledon! That just made my stay at home perfect. All I did for those 10 days was eating, sleeping and watching Wimbledon on TV. I even watched many of the doubles and mixed doubles matches. Agassi’s early exit was sad. The only move I saw at home was also Wimbledon.

9. I don’t hate Nadal anymore. I’m not a fan, but his tennis and his behavious off the court, in press conferences and interviews has left a good impression on me.

10. Sharapova losing in the semifinal was a major heartbreak. But the tournament was full of newer, better–in every sense of the word–female players. Vaidisova, Bremond captured my attention. Na Li also surprised many by upsetting some big names.

11. Schumacher is doing well, I hope Alonso bounces back soon.

12. One major target was achieved before I left for home. The final result was a little disappointing though. An enriching experience nonetheless.

13. Kill Bill is a series of really good movies, in spite of all the blood and gore, I found them to be a good watch.

14. Anti ragging action by IIIT faculty and anti-blogging action by the govt. are both, quite pointless and autocratic, more than Jeevan Vidya. Blocking blogspot does not serve any purpose. Nor does completely disallowing free interaction with the freshers, who’ve already been fed a fear of their seniors.

IIIT administration has become more despotic and money hungry over the years since I joined. Charging inexplicable amount of money for sheets of paper with the Institute’s stamp is beyond my understanding.

15. I’m waiting for Pirates, Dead Man’s Chest to hit the theatres. Expecting a movie as good as the first part.

16. Saw very few movies in the past week. Ice Age 2 was good, Fargo wasn’t. I don’t know how it got a respectable IMDB rating.

17. Also need to catch up with the spat of Hindi comedy flicks that has come out recently.

18. Life is peaceful as of now. Is this the silence before a storm?

Done.

Now she is not alone. She has the company of birds, chirping in appreciation of her beautiful painting. Flying from one tree to another, perching on different branches, they break the slumber of the trees. Beckoning them to let the energy flowing out of the canvas like an unending stream, seep in.

The picture is almost complete now, but she is waiting, for him. He, who will come riding his chariot, to deliver the final touch to the picture. Her eyes are fixed on the horizon, in an eternal gaze. How long will she have to wait?

Has he betrayed her?

No.

There he comes, spreading a brilliant red glow on the canvas, completing the masterpiece they have created together, for the world to enjoy and cherish forever.

Time to sleep.

1) Kryptonite : 3 Doors Down
2) Kryptonite (acoustic version) : 3 Doors Down
3) Live Wire: ACDC
4) The Scientist: Coldplay
5) Spies: Coldplay
6) Layla: Eric Clapton
7) Bring me to life: Evanescence
8) Crystal Planet: Joe Satriani
9) Butterfly; Crazy Town
10) Nothing else matters: Metallica
11) Something stupid : Frank and Nancy Sinatra
12) Time of your life: Greenday
13) Comfortably Numb: Pink Floyd
14) Youth of the nation: P.O.D.
15) Engel(Emglish version) ; Rammstein
16) Vertigo :U2
17) Beautiful Day: U2
18) Riders on the storm: Coleman, Jaz and Kennedy version
19) Riders on the storm: The Doors
20) Riders on the storm: Snoop Dogg version
21) Break on through: The Doors
22) Matrix Soundtrack- Wake up: Rage Against the Machine
23) Hotel California: Eagles
24) Be yourself: Audioslave
25) Jhuki jhuki si nazar: Jagjit Singh
26) Pyar ka pehla khat; Jagjit Singh
27) Kabhi yun bhi to ho: Jagjit Singh
28) Apne hothon par sajana: Jagjit Singh
29) Aadat: Jal
30) Door: Strings

Mehdi Hasan is really good to listen if you just want to forget about everything:

Ranjishein sahi…..
dil hi dukhane ke liye aa,
Aa fir se mujhe chhod ke jaane ke liye aa…

Ab tak…
dil-e-khushfehmi ko hain, tujhse umeedein,
Ye aakhri shamein bhi bujhane ke liye aa….

Ranjishein sahi…

Kuchh to….
mere bindaar-e-mohabbat ka bharam rakhein,
Tu bhi to kabhi mujhko manane ke liye aa…

Ranjishein sahi…

Maana…
ke mohabbat ka, chhupana hai mohabbat,
Chupke se kisi roz jataane ke liye aa…

Ranjishein sahi…

Jaise…
Tumhe aate hain, na aane ke bahane,
Aise hi kisi roz na jaane ke liye aa.

Ranjishein sahi…

Gabriella Sabatini was a collective favourite of the family. I remember a few of Boris Becker’s matches and how he used to fall every now and then. I also recall some matches involving the extremely vocal Monica Seles. Aaji was convinced that she knew Marathi and that she was shouting “Aahey!” or “Nahiye!” while hitting the ball. But I always liked Graf more than Seles. Graf was more graceful.

As with any other sport, even with tennis I have a special liking for the underdogs in the game. I always cheer for Kenya when they are not playing against India, I was cheering right throughtout Wimbledon 2001 for the wildcard entrant Goran Ivanisevic. I was really sad when he lost 2 previous Wimbledon finals to Pete Sampras. Agassi has been one of my favourites after his comeback, maybe because he was being counted as down and out.

Over the past few years, Federer has been my favourite in mens tennis. I don’t think I need say anything about Sharapova. Well, she’s cute isn’t she? And she has beaten the Williams sisters quite regularly, what more can I ask for?

Coming back to Federer, I just love the way he plays tennis, it comes so naturally, so easily to him. It’s like he was born to play tennis. Calm, collected and immaculate with his shots.

But now I’m confused. Whom should I cheer for in this year’s Australian open final? Not that my prayers really matter, but I have to take somebody’s side. On one hand is Federer. On the other, there is the underdog, Baghdatis, who is on a dream run at Melbourne. Having beaten Roddick in the second round and after a brilliant comeback act against David Nalbandian in the semi final, he looks unstoppable.

May the best man win!

Cyborg name decoder says Sankalp means:

Monster name decoder says:

Sexy Name decoder:

Then there are my Irish, Hawaiian, Japanese, elf and 1920s names:

Your Irish Name Is…

Gill O’Connell

Your Hawaiian Name is:

Nahele Keahi

Your Japanese Name Is…

Jiro Matsuki

Your Elf Name Is…

Freckles Snowballer

Your 1920′s Name is:

Wardell Elvis

I couldn’t believe my Scary score:

You Are Scary

You even scare scary people sometimes!

or this:

How You Are In Love

You take a while to fall in love with someone. Trust takes time. You give and take equally in relationships. You need your space and privacy. You don’t like to be smothered. You love your partner unconditionally and don’t try to make them change. You stay in love for a long time, even if you aren’t loved back. When you fall, you fall hard.

This made ROFL:

Your Personality Profile

You are pure, moral, and adaptable. You tend to blend into your surroundings. Shy on the outside, you’re outspoken to your friends. You believe that you live a virtuous life… And you tend to judge others with a harsh eye. As a result, people tend to crave your approval.

Don’t know what this means:

Your 2005 Song Is

by Weezer “My automobile is a piece of crap My fashion sense is a little whack And my friends are just as screwy as me” You breezed through 2005 in your own funky style!

Weird score: