(Somewhere near Nandi hills, time - mid june, 2007)
The bike is Shadowfax, 1997 model Royal Enfiled Machismo, the steed of my friend A)
Monday, April 28, 2008
When the road ends, make your own...
(Somewhere near Nandi hills, time - mid june, 2007)
The bike is Shadowfax, 1997 model Royal Enfiled Machismo, the steed of my friend A)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Walk down the memory lane...
Thanks a lot drenched, for giving me this tag - was grappling with a minor writer block... Kind of lazy to think and write, and then came this one... these are some moments I remember from my childhood (Till I was in 5th standard).
My first memory about my childhood is going to attend a marriage in a bus, sitting with my grandpa, and asking him where I was when my dad and mom got married.
I remember watching my dad come home on his first scooter, all drenched in rain.
I remember my nursery friend Sebi telling all of us 'from today I am not Sebi; call me Sebastian'
I remember the curly hair of another nursery friend Tommy and the chocolates he gave us when his father came from Middle East. (I got one with a violet wrapper)
One day dad beat me for something and when I started to cry, he took me away from my home coz my grandfather didn't allow him to beat me :)
I still remember the heat of beatings I got from him for buying chocolates from a shop near my school without any money - I told the shop owner to give me a chocolate (a 50 paisa one, in a green wrapper) and told him that dad will pay.
Watching the private parts of Sheeba Chechi (our maid servant) and asking her why her parts are different from mine.
Waving frantically to the first bus which ran through the road in front of my house, shouting 'Kala Travels' (Kala was a girl in my class, and they actually did name the bus kala travels)
The taste of masaladosa from 'Maruthi Vilas' hotel, Chalakudy, while waiting for bus to my moms home.
The cigarette shaped toffees my grandfather used to get for me.
The cakes given to me by my grandfather’s friend, Prabhakaran muthassan. I used to call him 'Cake Muthassan'.
Going to TDM Hall, Eranakulam to watch my cousin perform in a play. She had a sword, and I was in awe when I saw her with sword in the stage.
Playing with the reflector of the cycle of my dad, and he scolding me for that.
The first death - My grand mom’s eldest sister. I was at my moms home, and Dads cousin Roy came to pick me and my mom. That was my first ride on a Enfield, and to say the least, it got me hooked. When i reach the ancestral home, all my cousins where there, and we al where happy that we can play... I still remember the ambulance coming home with her body, and it is then it stuck me that some thing serious is actually going on.
My first memory about my childhood is going to attend a marriage in a bus, sitting with my grandpa, and asking him where I was when my dad and mom got married.
I remember watching my dad come home on his first scooter, all drenched in rain.
I remember my nursery friend Sebi telling all of us 'from today I am not Sebi; call me Sebastian'
I remember the curly hair of another nursery friend Tommy and the chocolates he gave us when his father came from Middle East. (I got one with a violet wrapper)
One day dad beat me for something and when I started to cry, he took me away from my home coz my grandfather didn't allow him to beat me :)
I still remember the heat of beatings I got from him for buying chocolates from a shop near my school without any money - I told the shop owner to give me a chocolate (a 50 paisa one, in a green wrapper) and told him that dad will pay.
Watching the private parts of Sheeba Chechi (our maid servant) and asking her why her parts are different from mine.
Waving frantically to the first bus which ran through the road in front of my house, shouting 'Kala Travels' (Kala was a girl in my class, and they actually did name the bus kala travels)
The taste of masaladosa from 'Maruthi Vilas' hotel, Chalakudy, while waiting for bus to my moms home.
The cigarette shaped toffees my grandfather used to get for me.
The cakes given to me by my grandfather’s friend, Prabhakaran muthassan. I used to call him 'Cake Muthassan'.
Going to TDM Hall, Eranakulam to watch my cousin perform in a play. She had a sword, and I was in awe when I saw her with sword in the stage.
Playing with the reflector of the cycle of my dad, and he scolding me for that.
The first death - My grand mom’s eldest sister. I was at my moms home, and Dads cousin Roy came to pick me and my mom. That was my first ride on a Enfield, and to say the least, it got me hooked. When i reach the ancestral home, all my cousins where there, and we al where happy that we can play... I still remember the ambulance coming home with her body, and it is then it stuck me that some thing serious is actually going on.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
break that block
The first step towards achieving anything is t get over the mental block. As long as you have a feeling that you can’t do something, you won’t feel like doing it – or if at all you does, you won’t put your full heart on it. There may be exceptions – I am talking about the others here. In my case, before I try doing anything, I have to build up the confidence that I can do it. Otherwise, I won’t even try it. Doing / trying half hearted is just not my cup of tea. I believe in the adage that ‘if it is worth doing, it is definitely worth doing the best way’.
There are not much things I don’t dare to do – I count myself in the adventurous camp – which are ready to take the plunge to feel it. And, I don’t usually stick to the beaten path. But there are some things which I couldn’t bring myself to do – and they are not anything out of this world.
I love food – and I love to experiment with different cuisines and different styles of cooking. But what ever I try, there is one thing I can’t bring myself to taste – ladies finger. Some how, every time I eat ladies finger, I end up vomiting. No, it is not a joke – I really vomit as soon as I eat ladies finger. Last weekend when my friend LJ and his wife T called me over for a Sunday brunch, and T prepared some excellent food with lot of care and love – and one among the dish was Ladies finger. Usually what I do is just to make an apologetic face and say a sorry and pass the dish – but this time, I didn’t gave any time to think – just took two spoonfuls of it, and ate it without even thinking about it – and after I ate my fist spoon, I shut my mind from feeling the fact that I am eating ladies finger. I just enjoyed the food and conversation – and end up taking a second helping of ladies finger – this time with full realization that I am eating ladies finger, and enjoyed it. The first spoon of ladies finger acted like a barrier breaker – it helped me to overcome the mental block I had that I can’t eat ladies finger.
I say – open up your mind. If you really think you can’t do something, you will never do it – or if you try, you will most probably end messing it up. When approach a challenge, face it with an open mind. If it is something which won’t cost your limb, give it a try. After all, you are not losing much.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
A turnaround...
Sometimes, when you see something and decide that you want it, no matter how hard you have to try.
It was same feeling I had when I saw the magazine Auto India for the first time in my life.
I was and always an automobile freak. I used to ask my dad to cut out the automobile ads I see in the news paper, and i used to take them to school to tell my friends about them.
And I still vividly remember asking my dad to get me a Swaraj Mazda pickup if i top the class. :-)
That day I was traveling with my grand mother and we where waiting in a bus stand to catch bus to our village. to pass time, I went to the book stall to ogle at the hot females on film magazine covers and there I saw a magazine which made my heart skip a beat - AutoIndia. At that time, pocket money was a concept unheard of for me, so I couldn’t do nothing but just ogle till our bus came.
Next year I joined college and I was adamant that I had to buy the magazine every month. But without pocket money, that was a distant dream but then I found out another way to get my hands on them - the second hand book sellers. I used to save 1 rupee here and 1 rupee there and used to buy the old copy for 5 rupee every weekend when I go to Thrissur for my entrance coaching class. Then I found a way to get my hands on the new issue - save money by skipping food. Dad used to give me money to have a late evening snack since i was going to Thrissur - a town about 50 km from my home - for entrance tuition. By kipping food and saving a penny here and there, I always used to manage to buy the magazine - and it was the best auto magazine at that time. There where couple of other magazines such as Car&Bike international, Indian Auto, Motoring etc, but my pick was Auto India.
When I joined for my Bachelors, the story changed - I used to get more money, and a new shiny magazine got launched - Autocar India. The magazine was launched by the erstwhile editor of Auto India, and lot of talented guys from Auto India came over to ACI, and the quality of Auto India went down the drains. From the very first issue, I converted to a ACI fan, and stopped buying AutoIndia. Lot of water went under the bridge - and I changed and then changed. But one thing never changed was my habit of buying ACI (and any other auto mags which I can afford) every month. In between, i got a 1 year free subscription of Auto India, but it never got my enthusiasm running to grab a copy as soon as it hits the stand.
But now times are changing. Last month, I picked the magazine upon the recommendation of my friend Sooraj and man - they have done a 180 degree turn in quality. The magazine is slowly climbing back to the spot it enjoyed long time back. Way to go, man. I sure want them to see on top again, and from this month, I have started buying it regularly...
It was same feeling I had when I saw the magazine Auto India for the first time in my life.
I was and always an automobile freak. I used to ask my dad to cut out the automobile ads I see in the news paper, and i used to take them to school to tell my friends about them.
And I still vividly remember asking my dad to get me a Swaraj Mazda pickup if i top the class. :-)
That day I was traveling with my grand mother and we where waiting in a bus stand to catch bus to our village. to pass time, I went to the book stall to ogle at the hot females on film magazine covers and there I saw a magazine which made my heart skip a beat - AutoIndia. At that time, pocket money was a concept unheard of for me, so I couldn’t do nothing but just ogle till our bus came.
Next year I joined college and I was adamant that I had to buy the magazine every month. But without pocket money, that was a distant dream but then I found out another way to get my hands on them - the second hand book sellers. I used to save 1 rupee here and 1 rupee there and used to buy the old copy for 5 rupee every weekend when I go to Thrissur for my entrance coaching class. Then I found a way to get my hands on the new issue - save money by skipping food. Dad used to give me money to have a late evening snack since i was going to Thrissur - a town about 50 km from my home - for entrance tuition. By kipping food and saving a penny here and there, I always used to manage to buy the magazine - and it was the best auto magazine at that time. There where couple of other magazines such as Car&Bike international, Indian Auto, Motoring etc, but my pick was Auto India.
When I joined for my Bachelors, the story changed - I used to get more money, and a new shiny magazine got launched - Autocar India. The magazine was launched by the erstwhile editor of Auto India, and lot of talented guys from Auto India came over to ACI, and the quality of Auto India went down the drains. From the very first issue, I converted to a ACI fan, and stopped buying AutoIndia. Lot of water went under the bridge - and I changed and then changed. But one thing never changed was my habit of buying ACI (and any other auto mags which I can afford) every month. In between, i got a 1 year free subscription of Auto India, but it never got my enthusiasm running to grab a copy as soon as it hits the stand.
But now times are changing. Last month, I picked the magazine upon the recommendation of my friend Sooraj and man - they have done a 180 degree turn in quality. The magazine is slowly climbing back to the spot it enjoyed long time back. Way to go, man. I sure want them to see on top again, and from this month, I have started buying it regularly...
Monday, April 14, 2008
rapid fire tag
Preetz over Here I am tagged me. here is my quick take on the 30 questions...
1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
A. American Gangster. Liked the movie.
2. What book are you reading?
A. Snow by Orhan Pamuk
3. Favorite board game?
A. Chess - like to play it.
4. Favorite magazine?
A. Was Auto India, then changed to AutoCar India, Now slowly changing back to Auto India.
5. Favorite smells?
A. Fresh smell of earth after the first rain, smell fo Coffee flowers and Jasmine, and smell of petrol.
6. Favorite sounds?
A. Sweet music of the classic single - the Royal Enfiled Bullet ( I like almost all notes played by exhaust pipes - the mighty V8, the smoking 2-stroker...)
7. Worst feeling in the world?
A. Self-pity. Agree with you Preetz, here.
8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
A. Thank you God. One more day to enjoy. :-D
9. Favorite fast food place?
A. Dont have favourite place - but among all we have, my pick is Subway.
10. Future child’s name?
A. No, not so soon.
11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d….?”
A. have all the bikes and cars I want.
12. Do you drive fast?
A. Yea, but only when I get a open highway without traffic. insdie city, I am not a fast rider..
13. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
A. Nope.
14. Storms - cool or scary?
A. Cool
15. What was your first car?
A. I dont have a car yet, but our family car is a beauty - 1984 model Ambassidor.
16. Favorite drink?
A. Water. (was coffee, but now strictly off coffee)
17. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would….”?
A. I always have time, so there is no 'IF'.
18. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
A. yes.
19. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
A. off-white streaks.
20. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?
A. really?.
21. Favorite sports to watch?
A. F1 and any motorsports. After motorsports, itz football,voleyball and golf.
22. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
A. Preetz - a rocking, kewl friend whoz fun to have around.
23. What’s under your bed?
A. Floor :P
24. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
A. Yup, sure.
25. Morning person, or night owl?
A. Mix of both - sleep late and gets up early.
26. Over easy, or sunny side up?
A. Sunny side up
27. Favorite place to relax?
A. My bean bag, as of now.
28. Favorite pie?
A. Apple pie.
29. Favorite ice cream flavor?
A. Anything :-D I LOVE ice creams...
30. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?
A. Not tagging anyone... too lazy. from next time, i will start tagging..
1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
A. American Gangster. Liked the movie.
2. What book are you reading?
A. Snow by Orhan Pamuk
3. Favorite board game?
A. Chess - like to play it.
4. Favorite magazine?
A. Was Auto India, then changed to AutoCar India, Now slowly changing back to Auto India.
5. Favorite smells?
A. Fresh smell of earth after the first rain, smell fo Coffee flowers and Jasmine, and smell of petrol.
6. Favorite sounds?
A. Sweet music of the classic single - the Royal Enfiled Bullet ( I like almost all notes played by exhaust pipes - the mighty V8, the smoking 2-stroker...)
7. Worst feeling in the world?
A. Self-pity. Agree with you Preetz, here.
8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
A. Thank you God. One more day to enjoy. :-D
9. Favorite fast food place?
A. Dont have favourite place - but among all we have, my pick is Subway.
10. Future child’s name?
A. No, not so soon.
11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d….?”
A. have all the bikes and cars I want.
12. Do you drive fast?
A. Yea, but only when I get a open highway without traffic. insdie city, I am not a fast rider..
13. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
A. Nope.
14. Storms - cool or scary?
A. Cool
15. What was your first car?
A. I dont have a car yet, but our family car is a beauty - 1984 model Ambassidor.
16. Favorite drink?
A. Water. (was coffee, but now strictly off coffee)
17. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would….”?
A. I always have time, so there is no 'IF'.
18. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
A. yes.
19. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
A. off-white streaks.
20. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?
A. really?.
21. Favorite sports to watch?
A. F1 and any motorsports. After motorsports, itz football,voleyball and golf.
22. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
A. Preetz - a rocking, kewl friend whoz fun to have around.
23. What’s under your bed?
A. Floor :P
24. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
A. Yup, sure.
25. Morning person, or night owl?
A. Mix of both - sleep late and gets up early.
26. Over easy, or sunny side up?
A. Sunny side up
27. Favorite place to relax?
A. My bean bag, as of now.
28. Favorite pie?
A. Apple pie.
29. Favorite ice cream flavor?
A. Anything :-D I LOVE ice creams...
30. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?
A. Not tagging anyone... too lazy. from next time, i will start tagging..
kuch kathi kuch meeti...
weekend started on a not so good note - had big plans for Friday evening, but by the time i signed off, it was way past 10.00 PM. Saturday went to Cafe coffee day to meet some friends after a long time. CCDs where my staple hangouts some time back, but after I started taking homeo medicines for my migraine, i completely stopped drinking coffee (the journey was from 25-26 BIG mugs a day to 3-4 mugs a day to 0 mugs per day) I have never been to a CCD for months. This time, I had to make myself content with lemon ice tea, when my friends where enjoying Aztec and other stuff. Sigh!
On the way back to home, did some grocery shopping and after reaching home, spent the evening with my plants. Got some new additions - my small terrace garden is growing. Later my friend Jubish dropped in and we made Puttu and moong dal curry - yummy:-D
Sunday was a lazy day - went to meet my friend and his family and I successfully watched two movies back to back. It is a personal record for me. the first movie - astreix and the Vikings was a favorite and the second movie - Borat was hilarious. When I was getting ready t leave the place, i found out that one of my gloves where missing. We searched but couldn't find it, so with a heavy heart, i left the place. My friend offered me his extra pair of gloves as a stop gap arrangement till I get a new pair, and I accepted them thankfully.
I went to attend my friend Venu's marriage party - the food was really good, and we had a gala time pulling legs of each others.
Today is Kerala New year, and I got a very good news today morning - my friend found the glove which went missing. My pair of foxies r still together - whoopiee....
all in all, kuch kathi kuch meeti weekend...
On the way back to home, did some grocery shopping and after reaching home, spent the evening with my plants. Got some new additions - my small terrace garden is growing. Later my friend Jubish dropped in and we made Puttu and moong dal curry - yummy:-D
Sunday was a lazy day - went to meet my friend and his family and I successfully watched two movies back to back. It is a personal record for me. the first movie - astreix and the Vikings was a favorite and the second movie - Borat was hilarious. When I was getting ready t leave the place, i found out that one of my gloves where missing. We searched but couldn't find it, so with a heavy heart, i left the place. My friend offered me his extra pair of gloves as a stop gap arrangement till I get a new pair, and I accepted them thankfully.
I went to attend my friend Venu's marriage party - the food was really good, and we had a gala time pulling legs of each others.
Today is Kerala New year, and I got a very good news today morning - my friend found the glove which went missing. My pair of foxies r still together - whoopiee....
all in all, kuch kathi kuch meeti weekend...
Friday, April 11, 2008
silverlight
...i looked deep into those eyes
the bottom less ocean of emotions
i felt lost to the magic
and they swept my feet of the ground
come to me, they whispered
and they filled my vacuum
with a silver light....
(--fRm the wrkshop of the eXperthAnd--)
the bottom less ocean of emotions
i felt lost to the magic
and they swept my feet of the ground
come to me, they whispered
and they filled my vacuum
with a silver light....
(--fRm the wrkshop of the eXperthAnd--)
Thursday, April 10, 2008
DIY -1
I plan to start a DIY series for novices- something a i-love-my-hands-getting-dirty-but-how-do-i-start guy can use. I am sure there are lots of DIY guys/gals out there; so, feel free to add to what i write here from your experiences.
you are riding you bike - the scenery is perfect, and you are at peace with you - every thing is hunk dory and then snap goes the throttle cable. You stop the bike, rummage through your spare kit to realize that you don’t have a spare accelerator cable. Now, what is the next step? Hitch a ride to next town to get a mechanic? Or push it till the next town? What about riding your bike without the accelerator cable?
it is very easy. First, make the air-fuel mixture a bit rich, so that the bike starts and idles. Then hop on, pull the clutch lever and make the mixture super rich. Slot the gear to second, and slowly release the clutch so that the bike starts rolling (push the bike slowly with your legs – it will help the bike to get rolling). Once you get enough momentum, make the mixture a bit lean and slot the gear lever to third. now, just ride. keep playing with the air-fuel mixture screw and you should be able to ride to the next town without any hassle.
you are riding you bike - the scenery is perfect, and you are at peace with you - every thing is hunk dory and then snap goes the throttle cable. You stop the bike, rummage through your spare kit to realize that you don’t have a spare accelerator cable. Now, what is the next step? Hitch a ride to next town to get a mechanic? Or push it till the next town? What about riding your bike without the accelerator cable?
it is very easy. First, make the air-fuel mixture a bit rich, so that the bike starts and idles. Then hop on, pull the clutch lever and make the mixture super rich. Slot the gear to second, and slowly release the clutch so that the bike starts rolling (push the bike slowly with your legs – it will help the bike to get rolling). Once you get enough momentum, make the mixture a bit lean and slot the gear lever to third. now, just ride. keep playing with the air-fuel mixture screw and you should be able to ride to the next town without any hassle.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
back with a 'bang'
I have used the phrase 'back with a bang' many times, but it never has been so apt like this time.
I reached back on 8th morning after a small trip to Kerala (met some old friends, visited some temples, had lot of special food by mom, and did some small trips with KP, my Bullet) and on the way to office, Jeevs literally banged an Indica from side. I was overtaking a bus - the road was empty, and we both where doing around 60 kmph -suddenly, out of nowhere, an Indica guy came to the main road from one of the pocket roads. I was already half past the bus, so there was nothing much I could do than limiting the damage. Instincts kicked in suddenly and I steered the bike away from the face of the car, avoiding a head on collation, and my crash guard hit the rear bumper of the car. The impact was kind of strong - the crash guard tore away the rear bumper and the break leaver left a small dent on his rear right door, and I escaped with a bruised leg. Whew!, it was really back with a bang.
I am not regular in your pages as of now - will soon visit all the pages once I clear all the backlogs at my office.
I reached back on 8th morning after a small trip to Kerala (met some old friends, visited some temples, had lot of special food by mom, and did some small trips with KP, my Bullet) and on the way to office, Jeevs literally banged an Indica from side. I was overtaking a bus - the road was empty, and we both where doing around 60 kmph -suddenly, out of nowhere, an Indica guy came to the main road from one of the pocket roads. I was already half past the bus, so there was nothing much I could do than limiting the damage. Instincts kicked in suddenly and I steered the bike away from the face of the car, avoiding a head on collation, and my crash guard hit the rear bumper of the car. The impact was kind of strong - the crash guard tore away the rear bumper and the break leaver left a small dent on his rear right door, and I escaped with a bruised leg. Whew!, it was really back with a bang.
I am not regular in your pages as of now - will soon visit all the pages once I clear all the backlogs at my office.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
a quick update before i go AWOL
I came across this blog few days back, and finished reading it the same day. I am addicted to this one.Go and check out - you may like it.
Gutterflower Gypsy -Israel- Palestine and Sinai, Egypt
After a gap of almost three months, I am going home again.. Kerala, here I come.. :-D i am excited.. plan to leave on 3rd evening and will be back by 8th morning. now there is only one song inside my head 'Indian rail... take me home'
sidenotes:
having one hell of a hectic week. crashed my personal record by wrking on 6 servers at the same time, almost whole day. heights of parallel processing, I say.
yet to finish shopping - need to go to JC road and pick up some stuff. have to do it today evening or tomorrow during the lunch break
have to ask the house owner aunty to water my plants. One rose plant is full of flowers - 11 flowers as of today morning.
need to shop for 1 or 2 books to take along with me.
need to put my camera on charge today night.
need to take printout of the ticket
and before i forget, have to send leave request to HR.
After a gap of almost three months, I am going home again.. Kerala, here I come.. :-D i am excited.. plan to leave on 3rd evening and will be back by 8th morning. now there is only one song inside my head 'Indian rail... take me home'
sidenotes:
having one hell of a hectic week. crashed my personal record by wrking on 6 servers at the same time, almost whole day. heights of parallel processing, I say.
yet to finish shopping - need to go to JC road and pick up some stuff. have to do it today evening or tomorrow during the lunch break
have to ask the house owner aunty to water my plants. One rose plant is full of flowers - 11 flowers as of today morning.
need to shop for 1 or 2 books to take along with me.
need to put my camera on charge today night.
need to take printout of the ticket
and before i forget, have to send leave request to HR.
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