RIP

I don't know how many of you read this news about a software engineer, Sanal Nathan, from India who was shot dead by a mugger about a week ago. I read it and felt sad, especially since the guy was only 26 years old. It was lingering in my mind that he probably might have just started earning enough to live a worry-free (atleast money wise) life. Also, can you imagine the trauma that his fiancee would have undergone seeing her future life partner getting shot at?

So, two days ago, I was sitting at home doing some office work when I got this call from my ex-boss. She used to be my manager at the client company that;s been my office for the past two years. We shared a good rapport at work and we were good friends outside of work too. She didn't sound very good when she called me and I could easily make out that she was in a very sad state of mind. When I asked what was wrong with her and why she sounded so dull, she told me that one of her employees, who was from India, had been killed last week by someone who tried to mug him. That's when it struck me that she moved toArlington, Texas and I remembered that news article I read last week. I was like, OH MY GOD, was that guy one of your employees? His fiancee had called her from the hospital since they didn't have any close friends or relatives in Texas. She was surprised that I knew about this incident. I told her about reading it last week to which she said that she didn't know that they had published it anywhere. I also remembered that she had called me sometime last month to tell me that she had hired a new programmer and he was very good at what he does. He wasn't getting paid much by his previous employer, so she made sure that he gets paid a lot more than that since she thought he deserved it.

Right now, she is the one helping with all the legal procedures that need to be taken care of to transport the body to India. She has been emailing one of the U.S Navy personnel who is in Kerala, about the situation here and he updates the guy's parents. Apparently, it's not an easy process and there are one too many hassles in getting it done. One good thing is, the company is taking care of all the expenses. His mother hadn't eaten for a week and keeps saying, "Please send my son back to me". After hearing all this, I felt like I lost someone close to me. It also made me rethink my decision about staying in this country so far away from HOME.

Wishful Thinking

I am a sad man this week since the college football season is getting over, atleast for OU, this weekend. As someone who doesn't find the NFL games very interesting- I have tried to like professional football more than you can imagine, college football is as good as it gets for me.

I will be rooting for the Texas A&M Aggies this weekend. Before you start booking your flight tickets to Denver to kill me, let me make myself clear. If you are a true fan of the Indian cricket team, you would have understood what I meant by now. You remember how the Indian team would lose the easier games at the beginning stages of the world cup, then somehow manage to beat the tougher opponents and wait for that one team to lose their last match, so that we can get into the next round? That's exactly the same position the sooners are in at the moment, except that they lost only one game (atleast legitimately) to a tougher opponent aka Texas Longhorns, though everyone feels that Oklahoma is now playing far better than Texas. The loss to Oregon, thanks to the Pac-10 referees, should not be considered a loss at all. Think I am being too loyal to OU? Take any news article on the OU-Oregon game and you should get a fair idea of how we were robbed of a win.

Coming back to the topic, Texas is playing at home against Texas A&M this weekend, and I, like any other sooner faithful would, wish Texas A&M wins and helps us get to the conference championship game against Nebraska. Oh, by the way, did I mention we beat Texas A&M 3 weeks ago in Aggie Land?

GO AGGIES!!!

Update:
Well well well, look who's back in Kansas City for the Big 12 Championship game, thanks to the Aggies! Ok Mr.Mack brown, you might have beaten us, but we still own the Big 12 South. BOO HOO!!

Casino Royale

The new Mission Impossible movie is a pretty serious one. OH WAIT, did I say Mission Impossible? My bad! I couldn't resisit comparing two of the biggest movies this year. Both deal with how our heroes will even give up what they do best for the women they love the most. I can hear my friends say, look who's talking. I don't blame you my dear enemies, I mean, friends. While Ethan Hunt quits for sure before he comes back for one last mission and quits again, James Bond sends Miss M a resignation email (who knew even 007's need to send one!) before he returns in style.
Without giving out much of the story-yes there is one, all I can say is the new bond is much tougher that his predecessor. Atleast physically he is, though we are forced to doubt his mental toughness when he falls in love with the cute Eva Green. That's right, HE FALLS HOPELESSLY IN LOVE. And Eva green is cute but not really hot as one would expect a typical bond girl to be. So much for the hype surrounding her. But then, we realize why things are the way they are and the movie ends making you want more of it.
Hats off to Daniel Craig, as he carries the movie effortlessly all by himself, with pure sophistication even when he utters lines like this:

Eva: Even if you are gone and only your smile and your little finger are left, I'd still love you.
Daniel : That's because you know what I can do with my little finger

What's more? This bond even accepts his mistakes, but that's mostly due to the fact that he is a rookie in the story. Make no mistake in judging him, he is here to stay for years to come.

Quick Question

When does Shaun Pollock's bowling figures of 6 overs 0 maidens 21 runs and 1 wicket look very ordinary?

when the bowler at the other end has 5 overs, 8 runs 2 maidens and 5 wickets. Way to go Ntini!!

Hey Texas, UP YOURS!

Run A.D Run!!!

Indian born, Sooner bred.
Disclaimer: Any resemblance to actual teams is purely intentional

I'm back baby!

So, here I am, after a month long vacation, struggling to get back to work. Forget getting back to work, I couldn't even remember some work related passwords. That should give you an idea of the good time I had back home. Right from the moment I landed at the Anna International Terminal to the moment I hugged my mom a month later at the same place, it was pure fun.

My day in India would typically start with a fresh hot cup of filter coffee. Whenever we used to have discussions aka PONGAL about Indian food, my friend ShivA would always say how his eyes would open wide as soon as he takes the first sip. You can't be more right, my friend. I was almost in tears when I took the first sip after 6 years. Then I would go upstairs with the coffee and check all my emails, do some vetti browsing and by the time I am done with all that nonsense, it would be time to have, you guessed it right, nashta/tiffin. So, I'd go downstairs after taking a shower, all prepared for the morning feast, which would be one of the following: Idly, Dosa, Puri, Pongal, Aapam, Idiyaapam, Adai with the most fitting side dishes. The list goes on, but this is all I can remember right now. Well, if you know me very well, you also know that I don't like Idly's. STOP. Before the South Indians start throwing stones at me for that statement, I should say that is the ONLY dish I don't like, so just throw me a freakin bone and continue reading. Whenever IDLY is being served for breakfast, I would keep my face like I just got lost in a carnival (Tamilians pls translate), and look at my Mom. She'd be like, "Oh poor child (!?), I will make you Dosa". My brother would give me a dirty look like, "Idhellaam oru pozhappu!", and I'd be eating my dosas happily with a wicked smile on my face. Oh, did I mention I have been doing this since I remember?

Anyways, coming back to the post-nashta period, I just sit there on the couch without being able to move, watching Sun Music, which by the way, SUCKS except for the few good songs they show. If I start talking about the hosts on that channel, it will become an unbearably huge post, so let me just get back to where I was. An hour would pass and my mom would slowly bring me a cup of filter coffee/buttermilk, depending on the day's supply/demand. As I never say NO to food, especially at home, I would just gulp it down and almost go to sleep on the couch. At this moment, I used to start thinking who I should meet that day and what mode of transportation I should use. By the time I come to a decision, lunch would be served hot and spicy, mostly on a banana leaf. Before I go into the details, I should probably mention how appalled I was looking at the sheer amount of food (read rice), people eat, or atleast people in my family eat. First they have a plate full of rice to eat with the main curry or by mixing it with the side dishes, then they have another serving of rice to have with rasam and finally they finish it off with, again rice with curd or buttermilk while I'd be gasping for breath to finish my first serving of rice. Btw, whenever someone invited me for lunch, relatives or family friends, there would invariably be all kinds of non-vegetarian dishes, FOR ONE MEAL. I'd be forced to eat everything, just to acknowledge their affection.

will be continued...

Nostalgia!

As I am watching this ODI between India and West Indies on a bright saturday morning, yes, I said morning, I miss those good ol' days when my father and I used to sit in front of the TV all day to watch one day games like these. We used to have a constant supply of peanuts or some kind of fried snack, like green chilli bhajji, in a plate in front of us and an occasional serving of filter coffee, thanks to my mom. By the end of the game, we'd be a couple of pounds heavier! I miss those peanuts, bhajjis, filter coffees, and of course my mom and DAD, who is not with us anymore. Those days will never come back. There is one more thing that keeps bothering me. My dad used to get free tickets for cricket matches in chennai as he was a reporter. My cousins used to bug my dad for those tickets and my dad would just give it to them just to get rid of them. I never thought of getting those tickets from him and take my friends to the game with me. Not really sure why, but it sure would have been fun. DAMN!!

Well, I just realized the next world cup is hosted by the West Indies, which means more games in U.S daytime and weekends. YIPPPEEEEEEEE!!! One more thing, while I was writing this post, my ex-roomie called and said that he is bringing some ADAI that his mom made. Looks like I am gonna have company to watch the game and eat some HOT Indian food. My Saturday just became complete.

The countdown begins.

June 23rd, 2006 will be a special day for me. That's when I embark on a journey that I never thought would mean so much to me. When I tell someone that it's been six years since I saw my family in India, their jaw just drops to the floor. I don't think I will ever realize that six years is a very long time until I actually see my family. The last time I saw my brother's picture, it took me a while to recognize him. It can't get worse than that.

There will be emotional blackmails to get me to say 'Yes' to the BRIDE SEARCH BRIGADE, there will be questions about my lost hair and what I did/do to save the rest of it and there will be concerns about my lost weight without any awareness to how I feel that I am in the best shape of my life so far. But, what's a trip to India without all these blackmails, questions and concerns??

Grumpy!

It's 7:20 AM Rocky Mountain Time. I am still not ready to start my day, as in start resolving the trouble tickets in my queue and there are only 28 waiting for my attention. Did I mention I came in to work at 6:00 AM? Well, I have never been a morning person and I don't think it's gonna change in the near future. I can be as nocturnal as a cockroach, but never in my life have I been an active daytime person. My roomies used to call me "Endhiricha Hitler", translated as "Hitler when I wake up", which I think was an understatement. When I see people with happy faces and a starbucks cup in their hands, I just feel like strangling them until they go back to sleep. Why in the world would you be happy so early in the morning?

There were instances when I was still in school doing my Masters (trust me, it was a very looooong time), someone would require my driver services to be dropped at the airport on a weekend day, say around 5:00AM. Being the nice person that I am (anyone wants to argue, call me), I would wake up right on time, drive the car with that same sleepy mindset, drop the person off, come back at around 6 or 6:30 and promptly go back to sleep without my roomies even knowing that I went out. I love my morning sleep so much. That's probably why I have been assinged office hours as below:

6:00AM - 3:00PM

Just miss!!

Finally, after a loooooong wait, Vettayaadu Velayaadu (Hunt and Play) aka Vettagaaduuuuu Velayaduuuu in telugu is releasing on Jun 2nd. I am sure the U.S screening will take place the weekend after that. This news is like pouring ice-cold draught beer into my tummy. For en iniya Tamil Makkal, indha news-a solli yen vayithula beer-a vaarthuttanga. There is only one little sadness though, wish they had set the U.S release date during the memorial day weekend since three of my friends, Shivudu, Jo and the cartoon would be visiting the Rocky Mountain land during that time. It's been a very long time since I watched a big-time movie like this in a theater surrounded by whistles and what not. Still, it doesn't take anything away from a Kamalhassan movie, especially for a die-hard fan like me, unless it's an encore of Aalavandhaan. OH YEAH and there's the real Jo, who could very well turn out to be the baddie in the movie as the film crew has kept it a secret for a very long time. I bet it's gonna be FUN in bold caps. Let's WAIT AND WATCH!!

MI-3

Not exactly the first show, but it sure was the first day. It was 100% pure adrenalin with the usual high jumps, long jumps and pole vaults over sky scrapers. No surprises there, but the movie was surprisingly serious, unlike it's predecessors. The reason could be the presence of heavyweights like Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman and our beloved Morpheus, Laurence Fishburne. I can confidently vouch that this is the best of all the three MI movies. And of course, there is the scintillating MI theme, which is more famous than the movie itself. And it would be a sin if I didn't mention Tom Cruise's acting, which is defintely worth mentioning in this short review. He did a very good job, acting withing his limitations and yet turning in a powerful performance. Overall it was a satisfactory experience for someone like me who was wondering what happened to the genre called Action Thriller.

Not a BLOG VIRGIN anymore!

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