Wishing

On the eve of yet another New Year, I have this thought, tomorrow is going to be THE(Valentine's Day could be the other, but there are some morons who think Valentine's Day is a evil holiday) day of the year where almost everyone in the world "wishes" almost everyone they know or meet a Happy New Year. Anyway my thought is what's the whole point of "wishing" exactly. I mean, I understand the literal meaning of it. But just because someone "wishes"(no matter how honest they are), does it make your year a Happy one? How much of a difference does it make in the amount of happiness that you receive in the year to come, if one less person "wishes" you. Instead people should be saying, "Hey, let me know if in anyway I can help you make your year, heck why just the year, say make your life a happy one". I know it's a really long statement to say, but at least that would make sense. Though it's the Cynic in me speaking, but that's the thought I had today. So here I am, NOT wishing, instead informing you that if there is anything at all, that I can do to make you happy even a little bit, do let me know. I will do my best.

See you next year all!!

P.S. This is another of my blogs which I wrote in a hurry to fulfill the quota for this month.

Love and Driving

Ok! So I decided to write at least one blog every calendar month and today being the last day, I have to write something. So here it is, some random thought that came into my mind. Don't read(if at all anyone is reading that is) too much into it.

A good friend of mine once told me something that was told to him by his father. "While driving, if you are 100% you are only 50% safe". It totally makes sense. You could be as sober as you can be, you could be the most attentive driver there is, you could have the reaction time of a hockey goalkeeper and yet if the other guy is a drunk, with an attention span of a 2 year old and has a reaction time of a elephant, you are bound to get into an accident and there is nothing you can do about it.

Love is much the same in a way. You could be sweet, caring, honest, straight forward, willing to make a big fool of yourselves and head over heels in love with someone and express it to that person, but if she/he doesn't feel the same way about you, there is nothing and absolutely nothing you can do about it.

Like I said, i wrote this very little thought so it may not make much sense. I promise to come up with a nice and interesting topic for the next month.

Weaknesses

The other day I was watching a extremely short lived Sci-Fi show called Bionic Woman(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0880557/) in which this woman(Jamie) has an accident and looses both her legs and her right hand. Her bf being a cutting edge Research Surgeon in Bionics(obviously), replaces the lost limbs and parts of her brain with Bionic limbs and neurons. This gives her super strength and agility, but only in the replaced limbs. During a fight with another complete Bionic Woman(Sarah, played by the hot and cute Katee Sackhoff), Jamie faces the problem of having only one strong(or as they refer to is, "Bionic") arm, which makes the other normal (human) arm as her weakness. Now if she never had the accident and never got the new "features", the other arm would never be called as a weakness of hers.

The metaphor which is more often to to refer weakness is Achilles' Heel. Now, from what I have read and seen in movies, Achilles is a well built man(though mythical) and I am quite sure that his heel is probably stronger than the best of the best. But because of his mighty strength else where, it's considered his weakness and turns out it was a fatal one in deed.

So, is it our strengths that make our weaknesses visible? or Do weaknesses exist to balance out the strengths?

Chance Encounters

Chance Encounters, Life is full of them. The friend whom you haven't seen in years, runs into you on the subway, which you very rarely take; You pass by a used book stand which is on a route which you had to take because of a construction work on your usual route and find a very rare book which you always wanted to read; winning a lottery on a ticket which you had to buy because the news stand guy did not have enough change or as Mr. Bogart put it "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine". Not all of them are good as the examples above. But when they are, they make the day better, sky brighter and life worth living. Here are two chance encounters that I want to share, which are similar that of Mr. Bogart's.

(A) The year is 2003, the date Jan 4th, the location a Train (AP Express) from Hyderabad to New Delhi. Even though the tickets for our(8 of us) trip back to college for the Spring semester were booked more than a month in advance, we were surprisingly wait-listed until the morning of the journey. When I reached the train station, I was surprised to find that there were hell a lot of students(like 10-15 times more) on the platform, than the usual . Then I got the answer for the mysterious puzzle of not being able to get a confirmed ticket though booked well in advance. It is that a different college students (apparently too many of them) are also taking the same train on that day.

Anyhoo, we finally get to our seats(which are not all together by the way), we see that there are some seats in our cubicle(a section of 6 seats) taken by the students of other college that I mentioned and surprisingly all girls, Woohoo (give me a break I was 18). After a while of awkwardness, we all got introduced to each other. Among them was this cute girl who surprise surprise started a conversation with me, WITH ME. Asked me if she knew me from some where. I was like, I would know if we had met before (because she has this sweet smile on her face that no one could forget). And so it began, the most memorable train ride that I ever took. We ended up exchanging emails (well it was 2003 and we dint have cell phones yet). We kept in touch, became good friends. I started to like her and wanted to be more than friends, but unfortunately she dint feel the same.

(B) The year 2008, the date Nov 10th, the location Starbucks @ AstorPlace, NYC. I have been having some money problems and had to take up a tutoring job in addition to my job on campus. So I get a assignment to tutor Statistics to a Nursing student at NYU. That afternoon I had an assignment midtown which ran a little late, so I texted the student saying I am going to be late by 10 mins. She replied back saying it was ok. When I reached the Starbucks(which is my favorite Starbucks location in NYC), I couldn't find her right away. So I called her and finally saw her sitting at a table all obediently and cute as always, with the curly hair and a smile on her face. I introduced myself and sat down across the table. She said "I never had a tutor before, how does this work?" I said, whatever she wants to do is fine by me and I asked her "Do you want to learn the subject or just get a good grade?"(I always think of asking my students that question, but that was only time I ever asked anyone that question). She said "Wouldn't you get a good grade if you learn the subject?". Right then and there, I liked her for the way she thinks. I liked the interest that she has shown during that session. We had 7 more sessions after that and the more I knew about her, the more I liked her. I also got to know that, lucky me, she has(had then) a bf. She had almost all the qualities that I wanted a girl to have and also (though she doesn't know yet) we seem to be very much compatible in a lot of ways like two halves of a medallion. Though I haven't seen her since Dec 16th 2008, we still keep in touch and also she is single now(knock on wood). So being an Eternal Optimist, I am my keeping fingers crossed.

Though the first of my Chance Encounters did not end the way I would have liked, I am sure and confident that the second one will(hey, a guy can dream can't he?).

1440 times

One of my favorite songs of Broadway musicals is from R.E.N.T. It's the opening song "Seasons of Love" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8iTeDl_Wug . I can't really say about 525600 minutes of the year, but I have something to say about 1440 minutes of a day, any day.

1440 times a day, I think of You,

Believe me my dear, it's true;

Even when I sleep at night,

Hoping bed bugs wont bite;

I wish to see You in my dream,

Making it a lovely theme;

The next morning, if my wish was fulfilled,

I feel like a rainbow, formed over a field;

And the cycle begins again,

With the thoughts of You, in my brain;

1440 times a day, I think of You my dear,

Wishing all the while, You were with me right here.

Another reason for me to choose to this as the name of the poem is because, someone knows about 1440. Though it is very very unlikely that she will read this blog, I wrote it anyway, because, if and when she does read it, I want her to know how I feel about her.

P.S. Don't ask me who she is. I am NOT gonna tell, just yet.

With You!!!

Paul Dirac once asked Oppenheimer "Oppenheimer, they tell me you are writing poetry. I do not see how a man can work on the frontiers of physics and write a poetry at the same time. They are in opposition. In science you want to say something that nobody knew before, in words which everyone can understand. In poetry you are bound to say...something that everybody knows already in words that nobody can understand" . I am not a full time Physicist (yet), but i would like to think of myself as a part-time Physicist , so i should be explaining something which no one knows in words that everyone understands. At the same time i am not a Poet either not even a part-time Poet. So i am trying something new. I will be saying something which very few people know and which I am expecting some of you will understand.

I may not be rich yet, but when I do become rich,

I would like to share it With You.

I haven't won the Nobel Prize yet, but when I do win,

I would like to be there With You.

I am not a Pilot yet, but when I do become one,

I would like to soar the skies With You.

I haven't seen Hailey's Comet yet, but when I do see it,

I would like to see it With You.

And when the sun goes down and night falls,

I wish you will be there with me,

to bring light into my life, My dear Sunshine.

As all of you people who are reading this know that i am not so good with the punctuation, so forgive me if i used any of them inappropriately. And as always criticism is very much welcome.

Olympic Stories

Any event that brings the whole world onto one stage always interests me and being a huge sports fan what other event is bigger than the Olympics, the only other sporting event which could come close is the FIFA World cup.

I have been waiting for this years Winter Olympics for many a reasons, (A) They are being conducted in Canada and (B) They are being conducted in Vancouver. I have never been there but for reason Vancouver has been one of my favorite cities in the world for a while now. I so wanted to visit these Olympics, but hey not everything goes according to plan in life, right?

2010 Olympics began on a sad note with the death of a Georgian luger, Nodar KUMARITASHVILI during a practice run. But as always, we got through it, the athletes found the strength to continue and go on with the competitions.

The Opening ceremony was one to remember for a long, long time for more reasons than one. Let it be the snow boarded who jumped through the Olympic rings into the stadium, let it be that for the first time ever not one but four different athletes lit the Cauldron at the same time (or atleast that was the initial idea.A small mechanical failure decreased the count to 3 only to make the closing ceremony a good spoof and a very funny cover-up.) , let it be that The Great One (Wayne GRETZKY) lit the second outdoor Cauldron or let it be the tens of projectors showing the story of Canada and the First nations in 3D.

The Host nation began this Olympics with never winning a gold at home. The pressure was on when the Moguls tournament began and Canadian Jennifer HEIL was the favorite. After her second run Heil was leading with only one skier to come down and in comes American Hannah Kearney with a picture perfect run to spoil Canada's hopes. But Canada din't have to wait much longer, Alexandre BILODEAU won gold in the men's moguls competition ending the drought.

One of the much heard names in these Olympics was that of the American Alpine skier Lyndsey VONN-KIDLOW.

Vonn had a very disappointing Torino Olympics without any podium finishes. But ever since she has pretty much

been the number one skier in almost all the event she participated. During a practice run here at Whistler

Vonn got injured and her whole competition was in doubt. But like any other true champion she fought back

and came up with a Gold in the Down Hill competition. Though there were a few other crashes for Von during

the games, she ended up with 2 medals in all. Julia Mancuso, another equally talented skier and gold medalist

at Torino once again proved herself with two silver medals. We cannot mention about Alpine skiing without

mentioning the name of Maria REISCH, a close friend and competitor of Vonn. Reisch finished the games

with two golds. It's too bad that we din't get to see Reisch and Vonn on the podium at the same time. But I am

so expecting that to happen at the World Championships this month.

In the Men's Alpine skiing american Bode MILLER after missing out on most of the early 2010 season and

hinting retirement before that came back to win 3 medals and became the most decorated american

alpine skier of all time. A very inspiring story is that of Askel Lund SWINDEL who after suffering from a major

crash before Torino and missing it completely came back with a bang and won gold here.

If there is one event which makes us drop our jaws its the Half-Pipe event in snow boarding with the high jumping, twisting, turning, rotating, corking. Defending gold medalist American Hannah TETER started out as favorite with only to end up with silver where the Australia with a cute smile Torah BRIGHT came up on top with gold. On the men's side the title favorite and defending champion Shaun WHITE won the gold comfortably. Though White came up with gold, he has a lot to learn from Teter, not on the pipe but off the pipe in the field being humble, social service and charity work and how NOT to be cocky, arrogant and be on the ground once in a while.

Speed skating is one fun event to watch at the games especially the short track with all the bumping, pushing, crashing etc. The event which is very much dominated by Koreans, much watched American Appolo Ohno began the games with much hopes, jumped over some obstacles, dealt with some bad fortune and ended with 3 medals to become most decorated american winter olympian of all time. But as mentioned and expected the Koreans really dominated this event. In the Long track Shani DAVIS did something which was never done before. He won back to back gold in the 1000m event and slightly missed out in the 1500m and had to settle with a silver. Another worth mentioning incident occurred during the men's 10K event when Sven KRAMER of Netherlands was accidentally directed by his coach into the wrong lane in the last turn while he was on a Olympic record time only to be dis-qualified and end up without a medal. Kramer though showed some frustration immediately after the race, he pulled himself together well and was back on track for the team pursuit couple of days later.

Cross-country skiing (or walking for those who don't know how difficult it is) is and also has been dominated by the Scandinavian countries and this year's games were no different. A very inspiring story is that of Slovakian Petra MAJDIC who suffered a horrible crash during a practise run was taken to the hospital. But she came back to contest in the heats, finished well within the qualifying limit, contested in the quarters, semis and finals and ended up with a Bronze all on the same day. After she was done, it was found that she had three broken bones in her chest and a punctured lung. Now that is what I call as determination.

2002 double gold medalist Simon AMMAN of Switzerland had a horrible Torino performance with not even finishing in the top 10 in either categories of the Ski-Jumping event. With all the media craze and pressure his performance disappointed many people. But not in Vancouver. He came on top in both the events and proved once in for all why he is considered one of the best Ski Jumpers ever.

People who watch it just for a minute and judge it not as a sport don't really know what Curling is all about. It takes skill, precision, technique, strategy and some very good sweeping (just kidding) to excel at this sport. It's kinda funny to watch but there is more to it. The host nation made it to the final in both men's and women's division but came out with a gold only in the men's division.

I decided not to watch the Figure skating event during this games because my favorite and previous medalist Sasha Cohen was not in Team USA, but being an un-partial sports fan i did it anyway and let me tell you it was worth it. The competition between Evan LYSACEK and Yvegeny PLUSHENKO was one to look for. Plushenko lead the line-up after the short program and was very closely followed by Lysacek. But after the free skate Lysacek came on top. The humble and soft spoken Lysacek very much deserved the gold. Another tragedy stuck these games when canada's Joannie ROCHETTE's mother passed away during the games. But she got over it, and not only competed but won a bronze. You have to admire her strength and courage.

Though the representation for India was very very minor in these games Bollywood was a part of it. USA's Ice dancing couple of Meryl DAVIS and Charlie WHITE performed for a parody of bollywood songs in the original dance section and over all they came in second to Canada's Tessa VIRTUE and Scott MOIR.

I left the best for the last. The event that matters the most for a nation which treats the sport like a religion and no I am not talking about Cricket and India. I am talking about Hockey(Ice Hockey) and Canada, the country which has pictures of Hockey stars on their currency. Olympic Hockey Gold is the most coveted medal for the host nation. In the Men's division Canada lost to Team USA in the group match, but both teams managed to meet again in the Gold medal game where Canada lead almost the entire match but team USA managed a final minute goal to equalize and force and over time where the dramatic finish came from the stick or none other than Sidney CROSBY for Canada to win the gold. In the Women's division it's again USA vs Canada and Canada came on top in that match-up as well. Disappointment for team USA in this sport in both the divisions.

All in all the host nation which began the games with never have being won a gold on home soil ended the games with breaking the record for highest number of golds (14) at a winter winter olympic games. Norway crossed the 300 medal mark and team USA ended up with a record breaking 37 medals in all.

The closing ceremony at the games was one of the funniest I have ever seen. The mechanical problem during the opening ceremony was "fixed", Katherine O'Hara brought a smile and tear on everyone's cheek at the same time and the Nation which spends most part of the year covered by snow and in the darkness said goodbye in it's own special way.

If you really know me, it's very much unlike me to to write such a long blog and not to mention a few names which made an impression on my heart (wink). They would be the High jumping Australian Snow boarder Torah BRIGHT who is soon to be married (snob snob), Canadian Ice Dancing Queen Tessa VIRTUE and the hot Swiss curler Carmer SCHAFER.

Thank you all for reading this really long blog. I hope you can wait for 2 years for my next Olympic Stories.

P.S. Sorry for not putting any pictures..... i wanted to but, i have been having some editing issues... i promise pictures next time....