Tuesday, November 13, 2012

I know I'm truly blessed to be living this life. I don't acknowledge Him enough, but I truly am grateful for His blessings. He protects me in spite of my shortcomings which makes me want to be a better person. Kinda the entire point of grace. Grace never compels you but it's very nature transforms into a better human being.

Thank you.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012


B:       Arshu, what would you like to be after you grow up?
Arshu: I want to grow up and become a mommy.

B:        Aarish, now that you've grown up, we need to have a serious mano-e-mano talk.
Aarish: Ok
B:         Aarish, where do you see yourself 3 years from now?
Aarish:  Ummmm...in the mirror.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Anfield Calling

Cautious optimism. That's what it is all about at Liverpool lately. If you know anything about football, you would probably agree that Brendan has us finally playing the right way. The Liverpool way. I just hope the owners stick to their guns and give Brendan time. This isn't going to change overnight, it's definitely the style we should be playing in. We're going to have bad nights when things don't click but the more we stick to this style, the more the consistency will come.

I still think we're woefully short in the striking department but look at what Brendan has done to our setup. It's like 3 new signings for us. For eons I have been crying out loud to give our youngsters some serious game time and Rodgers has done just that. Raheem Sterling and Suso have been more than impressive. I wouldn't call it surprising, we just needed a manager who had the b**** to play them. Andre Wisdom, however, has been a revelation to me, didn't know he was that good. I think he has the potential to become a better RB than Kelly who I think is good but again, way too one-dimensional in his play. Kelly is amazing in defence but going forward he has a very predictable way of attacking. Wisdom seems to have that extra bit of talent to make things happen. Sterling and Suso are just stars in the making.

No matter what the consequence this season, Liverpool is going to be an exciting team to watch. Now if only we could buy (or probably unearth another gem from the academy) another striker to finish off our passing style, we could see a lot more impressive Liverpool this season.

But (in typical Brendan style) "like I say", I'm cautiously optimistic.


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

One of those days when you're kicked around, shoved around but still manage to bang in 2 goals. The team wins by a comfortable 3 goal margin. Such a high.

And now to meeting my kiddos. Looking forward to Richmond and just some time off with the kids.

My fitness will be screwed after 2 weeks again but right now, I couldn't care less.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Another 7 days to go before my Richmond trip. Wohoo! Looking forward to taking a break from work. Man, the kids have grown.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

It's amazing how the moment a player starts doing well, there are already plans to ship him out. Carroll, in my opinion, deserves a chance.

Liverpool has one of the worst management teams among the top teams. All this Liverpool way of doing things under close doors is good and all but at the end of the day, I think I can run the club better.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

It's Simple

Pass and move. Liverpool, historically has prided itself in being a club that believed in this philosophy. "Tiki-taka" football, apparently glorified by Barcelona isn't really much different from "pass and move" football.

The beauty (elegance if you will) in the game lies in its implementation. A lot about how the game is played is down to the player's footballing vision --> the team's vision and ultimately if you're talking about a professional club, the manager's vision. To break this down, let me try and jot down what pass and move means. When a player passes, it is supposed to mean something in a string of passes that will/should follow. And for it to mean something, your movement after the pass and also off the ball movement when not on the ball, is extremely crucial. The concept of triangles created in tiki-taka football has its beginnings in the pass and move philosophy. Creating triangles throughout the pitch requires effort and that's where the entire team's singular vision comes into play. This concept is currently non-existent in EPL and to take Liverpool specifically, Dalglish's pass and move philosophy had one big flaw. There was no vision. Dalglish strung a team of good players (some exceptional but many ordinary) and instilled a pass and move philosophy in them but that philosophy lacked vision. Jordan Henderson being a prime example from last season. His runs reminded me of a headless chicken left out in the open and his passes, meaningless. At least for the most parts.

I see this a lot when I play in leagues as well. The intelligent/talented players know what they are doing, why they are doing and more importantly, they don't have to think about it. It's in-built. The matching wavelength is just there. They just know how to communicate and merge their styles (no matter how different it could be). At the cost of sounding arrogant, it's when you find players like these, you love the games. Football is not just about kicking and running. It's way more special than that.

Silky first touch, precise ground passing, movement creating spaces, creating triangles, weighted passes, side-foot finishing, bombing past players without losing ball control, changing flanks, creating triangles again, this is what makes the game so darn special. Brendan Rodgers understands this style of play. Remains to be seen whether he can transfer that style to the players. Success will depend a lot on how that style is emanated and one vision shared.

It's when all of these come together that the game looks so aesthetic and ironically, ridiculously simple. But then again, that's what all great players in all sports manage to make it look like. No?

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Season woes

Our season is over and one to forget. It's time for Kenny to step back. He is a Liverpool legend, one of the greatest to have ever worn the Liverpool shirt. But it is time to step down and get a real manager on-board. Kenny is an awesome man-manager but he just doesn't have it in him anymore to pick the right team. On more than a few occasions this season, he has shown his preference for players who don't deserve to be above others in the pecking order. Time and again, he has proved that he has lacked the tactics to make the right call and pick the right players.

Today's FA Cup Final was a prime example. Kenny left out 3 players who are in-form. Carroll, Maxi and Kuyt and he started with Jordan and Spearing in midfield. What an absolutely pathetic call! Spearing, for all his industry and hard work, is at best an average player. Zilch creative qualities, the least you would expect him to be is a solid defensive midfielder, which he isn't. The first Chelsea goal was his mistake to begin with and to some extent the second one too. Jordan Henderson might be one for the future but he definitely isn't quite ready yet. I am stopping just short of saying he was awful today. Kenny starts these two in midfield with Maxi, Kuyt and Shelvey on the bench. Ridiculous!! I knew the moment Lucas got that horrific injury, we were going to miss him badly. As has been rightly proven, he is currently irreplaceable.

Offense. The entire season Kenny starts Carroll who was out of form then when he should have been starting Suarez and Bellamy (who was in brilliant form) and now when Carroll is finally hitting his stride, he is benched. It doesn't need too much tactical awareness to see these glaring mistakes. I want to re-emphasize that I have massive, massive respect and admiration for Kenny Dalglish. It isn't about that. It is about Liverpool Football Club. We might stick with him for the next season because we back our managers and support continuity but I don't think Kenny was meant to be our permanent manager anyways. He was brought in to steady the ship which he did brilliantly well. But for all the reasons above, I don't believe he is the one to move the club forward. I would love for Kenny to step up into the boardroom or our Academy but please o please, it's time to give a real manager the seat.

I always thought Carroll had it in him to come back. Forget about the money paid for him, that was not his fault (I would put that fault completely on Torres' last day transfer request which forced us to get in a replacement). Plus given his age (22), I think he will come good and is already showing signs. Carroll was/is never meant to replace Torres but to bring his own physical presence and heading abilities to the team. We have the brilliant Suarez to do the nutmegs. But having said that, who is our 3rd striker? Most top teams have 4 if not 5 strikers and we have only 2 established ones. How on earth are we buying midfielder after midfielder without filling up our striking department?  Kenny talks about the amount of times we have hit the woodwork this season which, even though has been unlucky, just goes to tell the story that if you don't buy strikers, you won't get goals but just a lot of attempts. Which is what has happened.

This has been a season to get a team together and gel so I don't have any complaints about that. But we need to rectify our mistakes (we have made glaring ones) and move forward. I am not expecting a big summer for us but what we do in terms of bringing players this summer will go a long way in determining which Liverpool we'll see in the coming seasons. One negative I am already foreseeing because of Kenny's bad tactics is the departure of Maxi and Kuyt (and they are more than justified to feel underused).

YNWA!


Friday, April 27, 2012

Today I was outpaced by a guy. He is probably 5-6 years younger but I didn't like it. What was worse was that he wore a Man U jersey. What followed was that guy was marked by me for the next 40 minutes till he began to tire. I know this guy is faster than me. Challenge accepted.

I cannot be second to anyone in football. At least when it comes to being a striker. I haven't had this much fun in a long time.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

After a really long time, I have found a strike partner who operates at the same wavelength as me. Not that I never enjoyed football, but it's gotten that much more sweeter playing with a player of a very good caliber.

I just scored a goal that was a perfect 1-2 with my strike partner. Such a high! I am hoping to get him into my club at the denver league. I am pretty confident he will be a success there too.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Marathi Manus Speaketh - Continued...

Madhya Pradesh: Skip

Rajasthan: I hear it's a colorful state. Ashish talks highly about something (which I forget now). Sonal too. So palaces, culture and sand-duning (if there is one). After that burn it down.

Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Bihar: No, thank you very much.

Punjab-Haryana: Apart from the obvious choices such as the Golden Temple, Wagha Border etc. I would like to visit these states just for the people and their food. Apart from Goans, these guys are the masters of living life King-size (or Queen-size depending on who you are). By that, I don't just mean a lavish lifestyle but just the zest these guys bring to living life. Not to mention their food; dal makhani, rajmah, chana bhatoora, sarso da saag te makki di roti, lassi aaah! Salivation types de happening. So a definite must go.

Delhi-Uttar Pradesh: The only reason for lumping these two together is for simplicity. I mean for the longest time I thought Noida came under Delhi suburbs (which it still might) but only a few years back was I made aware that Noida comes in Uttar Pradesh (Delhi being a Union Territory). So all that technical correctness put aside, Delhi will be properly visited for its history. Red Fort, Jama Masjid and the Qutab Minar to name a few. Also I think Agra (Taj Mahal) is in UP but tends to be lumped in with a Delhi visit. And yes I am one of those Indians who hasn't done Taj Mahal yet (shame on me) but it iz baat it iz (and will be corrected). You would think that Delhi would have such a confluence of cultures given the fact that city (alongwith Jerusalem) might just be the most invaded (and inhabited) city in human history. The food there for obvious reasons, is to die for. When it comes to UP, you hear of such places as Mirzapur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut and you got to think that there must be so much history (and with history comes culture and food) associated with these places. I can't help but think you got to be there to experience it.

Himachal Pradesh and J&K: I don't think I need to write anything to convince myself why I need to go there. Those places speak for themselves. Enough said.

West Bengal & the North East: West Bengal for especially their sweets and seafood (different variance of what I've grown up to). North East for a different kind of beauty that I have heard a lot from my army-bred friends.

So that's it. I am very fortunate to be born in such a diverse country but extremely unfortunate not to have done at least a reasonable amount of this magnificent country by now. I have done quite a bit of North America and am quite happy with what I have done but it's not quite like experiencing India. I have this feeling that India will take my breath away.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Mom. Take a bow.

"Happy Birthday Son
  You are loved for:
              The little boy you were,
              The special man you are now,
              The precious son you will always be "

That's the best gift I have ever got.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

I wish Dave comes back to the Red Rocks. I sincerely hope my first visit to a concert at Red Rocks is a Dave Mathews show than anything else.

Dancing Nancies

Dave and Red Rocks seems so much meant to be together.

P.S: I do remember I still need to finish the previous post. I will, I will. I piramise.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Marathi Manus Speaketh

On countless occasions, I have written about my love for Pune. For those not in the know, its this city situated very close to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) on the western side of India. I've grown up in that side of the country and that remains the place I identify with the most. Having said that, the biggest regret I have is the fact that I haven't experienced India at all. Perhaps a little bit of Bangalore and Goa and a visit to Kerala, but that's about all I've experienced/known about my country (Delhi doesn't count cos I was there only for a few hours). Pretty shameful I know and I would like to correct that one day. I am thinking about what I would like to start off with if and when I do plan it out.

I would really start with North India but just for the sake of completeness, I'll traverse from South to North.

Tamil Nadu: I have heard it's really hot out there. Not just hot, but crazy humid as well. I typically don't tend to do too well in such conditions and also given the fact that the people there mostly speak in Tamil, that makes it a rather unattractive proposition for me. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't want to get into this whole "Why only Tamil, why not Hindi?" argument, it's their choice, to each their own but that fact really would restrict my ability to communicate with the folks there. Also I have seen that Tamilians tend to get Malayalam easily, the reverse is not always true. Not that I am claiming to know good Malayalam but I can get by. Tamil is a whole another language. Almost seems too crude and crass to me. So unless there is something worthwhile to see/do in  that state that I might have unknowingly missed and also is worth going inspite of the hurdles mentioned above, I'll most probably give this state a miss. So, me going to Chennai on work sometime in May, doesn't really count. It'll just be work and I'll be flying out of there.

Kerala: It's God's own country, right! And also where my ancestors came from. Don't have the latter connection that much to make a trip, but would definitely like to experience this state. Almost all of my close friends (and non-Keralites) have seen it, and it's kinda embarrassing to think that it's something I haven't. I did, however, go there, once in my life, when I was 12-13, but that really doesn't qualify as experiencing that state. I could probably mention a dozen names of places that's worth visiting so yeah, this state will definitely be done.

Karnataka: Experienced Bangalore. Experienced Masinagudi (hope I got the spelling right). Experienced Ooty. Enough, no? Or am I missing something? Hubli, Belgaum and all that? If not, I am thinking of giving this state a miss too.

Goa: Covered. Unanimously. And will be covered again and again and again. Because.

Andhra Pradesh: Would like to do Hyderabad but then that's about it. Unless of course I am missing something important again.

Gujarat: I will be experiencing this state pretty soon. So can fairly confidently say, this state will be crossed off my list.

Orissa: I happen to know one really cool person from Orissa and that's about all I know about that state. So unless Jesus Himself comes and tells me otherwise, I am definitely giving this state a vehemant miss.

The rest of the states from mid to North will be covered in my next post. Too bored to write any further right now...

P.S: So Ashish, you on-board, right?

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

I should really be writing more. Have been experiencing so much off late that I should be penning down. Been traveling so much, I'm still amazed at how much I have experienced in the past 10-12 days.

Just got back from Charlotte-Orlando-Portland and like I have said a gazillion times, Portland still continues to be where my heart is. Portland has changed my life for good and every inch of that place has a special place, special meaning. Some of my close people have moved out of Portland, some more will, in the coming year or two. Portland will lose some of its charm with that but it will always be the place I will call home (and Pune of course). After more than 3 years of leaving Portland, my cricket team gifted me with the Beaverton Raiders jersey. Speechless! I'm still in the team roster every year by default.I was welcomed in every house I went to with open arms. Too much love, too much beauty and too much to cherish and experience in the 6 days I was there. It's sometimes hard to let go of a good phase in your life, but have to do that, no? For new ones to make way.

I should also mention that my cousin's wedding in Charlotte was good fun too. Was such a pleasure to meet Jose Uncle and Saji amama in US, two wonderful souls having come to US to see their son get married. I love you both a lot. Now onto the next big thing. Waiting for sis and family to return to Richmond. Wohoo!

P.S: My company gifted me with a Kindle. Not that I am a big fan of replacing the physical book with an ebook but when did a guy ever say no to an electronic gadget? Bought my first ebook -- Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis and I am loving it. Not to mention my brand new Galaxy Nexus (also from my company, corporate phone) which is kickass! My company rocks!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Adele

A new (at least from my perspective) artist and an exceptionally talented singer on the block. She is already huge in Europe, I'm just about getting to listen to her albums.

Adele-Lovesong
Adele-Set Fire to the Rain

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

I am having such a mixed week. I am not used to being pulled down like this. More importantly allowing that to affect me. Aarrrgh, I hate negative energy. Negative people, stay away from me.

I need to do something that gets me back to my happy zone. Cooking maybe.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

If the real Acura NSX is anything like the NSX concept, there is a good chance I'll buy that car. Still in awe!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Arey!

This is a post about a post. Incredibly funny content and even more funnier language usage.

http://localparty.tumblr.com/post/16341669795

Don't make fun of it, ok? Arey! I told you not to make fun of it. Simply only. :)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Ok, I need to get this off my chest/stomach. No offence and all that but still. A couple recording a fake video shoot of a romantic song and posing around trees etc, prior to their wedding, is quit simply put, hilarious. I can't, for the life of me, fathom how they do it. But full marks to them for uploading it on youtube and sharing it. I had a good laugh. Again no offence just wanted to get this off me. Woh kya hai na, control nahi hota.

In other news, I wanted to share this:
Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus
Very powerful, I think he uses "religion" as the word stands in these times correctly. However, to be absolutely technically correct, I think he uses religion in the context of legalism. Apart from that minor blip, very well said.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

The Reve Wedding

Complete blast. So much fun preparing and dancing to this kickass song. Here's the Sangeet video:

Rahul-Sev Sangeet Dance