Ageless

Absolute classic! (of a song). Growing up, Dad had a keen ear (and also a pretty good singer) for music. He was a Mukesh fan, quite unlike people of his times who were either Kishore Kumar or Mohammad Rafi fans. Now in typical Dad fashion he considers aajkal ka music "humbug".

This is Lata at her best. Enjoy!
Aaj Fir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai

I listen to Pandora quite a bit. So for free pandora users, as you might already know, there is a maximum limit of 5 songs that you can skip in an hour. The way I used to work around that was to just refresh the browser and I got a new song. Some of the benefits of being experimental (or geeky perhaps). It's kinda painful to realize one fine day that they have figured out that loophole and fixed it. It's even more painful to know that even though you like the new interface, they figured you out.

Time to switch to Spotify.

It might be just me but "The Last Samurai" is one of the best movies I've seen. For once Tom Cruise has done a decent job of acting (as against overacting). Sure, it isn't one of those Inception kinda breath taking movies, but it has that something that makes you wanna watch again. Without getting bored.

In other stories, I'm pretty kicked about my progress with the guitar. Although I got kicked (literally) pretty hard by my friend for jumping ahead of myself. Have to go back to the basics before I can take the next plunge. Which is fine considering I've become pretty alright with the open chord stuff so now I don't feel like I'm going nowhere with it. I have 3 things I need to work incredibly hard to become good at and it ties directly to how much effort I put into it.

Guitar is good people. Get over the initial hurdle. After that it is a lot of fun! :)

We finished the season 2nd in the league. The last time we finished second was early this year (pretty long ago). Great finish to nick the second place. Second place was a fair result. The number 1 team, better than us, no doubt. Onto the next season.

My ankle's not 100% yet but I'm back to about 60% fitness, Hoping to get a run going now. I am desperately hoping to get around the 85-90% fitness levels soon. The point at which I can dictate the game. I really don't remember the last time I had that levels going.

I haven't scored a "jhakaas" goal in a long time. That "dil khush ho jaye" goal. I tried a back flick goal attempt on Sunday but that didn't exactly connect the way I wanted. Just about getting to the right fitness levels.

God willing soon, soon.

It's pretty evident from my blog that Pune is very dear to me. It's my city and I louuv it! It's often misinterpreted that as a corollary, I hate other cities. Not quite. I actually love experiencing new cities, cultures, traditions etc. Ok, I mean almost every city. For basic existential reasons, I cannot imagine living in those overly humid cities cause frankly my body cannot deal with it. I might not necessarily look back at my NC State days too fondly because of the geeky nature of its memories. But having said that, I made some brilliant (mast, non-geeky, jhakaas) friends that I still treasure till today. Portland, I think I have enough documented on how much I love that city too. Denver and Boulder have grown on me. I quite like it (but you can see there is no instant louuv factor here). God blesses me with awesome people wherever I go which makes things easier.

Having said that, my idea of an ideal city would be the closeness (read apnapan) of Pune, the sheer beauty of Portland, the openness of Boulder and the coolness (read happening) of Mumbai.

Point being every city (well almost) has its goodness and your life is only enriched by these experiences. I can argue all day long on how Pune is way way way (raised to infinity) better than Bangalore (it's a fact) but I know if I were to spend some years in Bangalore (for some absurd, unknown reason), I'd grow to like (maybe love) some of its intricacies too (Blasphemy!).

Like we say in our close circles, "Sab kuch Aachaey be!"
Tomorrow should be my first full game post my ankle injury. Really excited :)

Right or wrong is not always crystal clear. Infact it doesn't take rocket science to know the difference between good and bad, black and white etc etc. It's the things in between that acts as a strong ally for deception. Deception can be tricky. However it can only be as tricky as your knowledge of the source. When in doubt, go back to the source. Never grow out of getting back to the basics. Deception feeds on assumptions and oversight. It's never too late to correct it.

Like I did today.

Mirrors don't always show the true picture. The lighting amplifies some things, hides a few others. Have to be careful not to accept the picture I see (perceive) as the new reality. Always take a step back. Maybe a step side ways. Always works.