Well i'm well and truly into the holiday mood now (read: getting bored). This is one problem with vacations.........unless u have concrete plans or specific objectives to accomplish during them, it really does start to become extremely dull. And though, yes, I do have certain things that I wish to do during the vacations, I really doubt how many of those goals I ultimately will achieve.
For example, I want to give learning to play the guitar another shot, and I have started trying out some simple songs and going through some lessons. But since I am at a beginner's level, I really am not able to go too far and sometimes not being able to strum properly or getting the chord positions wrong repeatedly does tend to frustrate me pretty often. But I'm sure every guitarist on this planet goes through this period sometime or the other during the course of learning, and I guess I just have to keep trying harder.
I wish to go for an MBA after my four years of engineering, and would like to specialise in Finance. Actually, for the past year or so, I have been pretty fascinated by the stock markets and their trends, though as of now, those points are just points and I cannot really make out what they actually mean. That is why I have started to take an interest and learn about the stock market, shares, investments etc. I would like to at least get started on this during these holidays.
Apart from that, its just your regular run-of-the-mill vacation for me........catching up on reading, watching the World Cup (need I mention that?!), watching movies, orkutting, blogging etc. Recently saw Phir Hera Pheri, and let me tell you, if you go and watch it in a theatre, you have just wasted a 100 bucks (or whatever the ticket price is) and 3 hours of your life!! It is a really huge disappointment and hardly manages to tickle your funny bone. Of course, there is the odd scene or two which will have you chuckling, but overall the gags are repetitive and mostly bland. Definitely a no-no, but if it comes on cable and you have nothing else to do, you may catch it.
Well, one thing I am looking forward to is a trip to a beautiful place near Ratnagiri called Ganpatipule. I will be there from Monday to Wednesday...so until then....Have a nice day!
Friday, June 16, 2006
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Berlin Beckons...part II
The past 2 days have seen matches with mixed tempos. On one hand, we had the likes of France, Switzerland and...........wait for it...........................yes, Brazil, would you believe it, putting us to sleep (quite literally....about 60 min. into the Brazil - Croatia match I was zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...................!!). On the other hand, one of my favourite teams in this WC, Spain, put on a master-class that left the Ukraine players wondering what sin they committed in their previous life to receive such a thrashing in their very first game ever in a World Cup!
To start off with, Korea showed us how a comfortable game on paper can be converted into a mess by just about managing to beat underdogs and newcomers Togo 2-1, with a substitute needed to come on and grab the winner. On the back of this performance, I cannot see Korea progressing from the group stages, and will have to come up with something special against France and/or Switzerland to have any chance of going through. France-Switzerland was probaby the most boring game of football I have seen in a long time, though England-Paraguay would come a close second. Thierry Henry for some particular reason is just not able to deliver for his country the way he does day in and day out for Arsenal. Zidane looks a shadow of his former self.... and to top it all the average age of the French starting XI was over 30 or something!!!!! How can anyone expect them to go all the way?!
Group H saw two very exciting games with contrasting styles of play. Spain, as I mentioned earlier, made a statement, and the rest of the 31 teams better beware. Even without their talisman Raul, this young and talented team looked at ease against quality opposition, and I see the likes of Fabregas, Puyol, Torres and Villa as the stars of this tournament. I only hope they do not choke in the knockout stages as they did last time around. Andriy Shevchenko definitely looked like someone just returning from injury, as he struggled throughout the match to get a decent chance of scoring. In the end, Spain more than deserved their 4-0 victory. The other match was thrilling for other reasons. Tunisia and Saudi Arabia didnt exactly produce world-class performances, but their high tempo and an immense desire to win brought the match to life. A pulsating end to the match saw the Saudis almost winning it with a late goal, but Tunisia produced an even later goal through Radhi Jaidi, who has produced such headers regularly for Bolton Wanderers in England, to break the hearts of Saudi supporters all over the world. If the Saudis had pulled this one off, it would probably have been the best moment in the lives of those 11 Saudi players. Ultimately 2-2 was a fair result, one would have to admit.
Until the next round of matches.......
To start off with, Korea showed us how a comfortable game on paper can be converted into a mess by just about managing to beat underdogs and newcomers Togo 2-1, with a substitute needed to come on and grab the winner. On the back of this performance, I cannot see Korea progressing from the group stages, and will have to come up with something special against France and/or Switzerland to have any chance of going through. France-Switzerland was probaby the most boring game of football I have seen in a long time, though England-Paraguay would come a close second. Thierry Henry for some particular reason is just not able to deliver for his country the way he does day in and day out for Arsenal. Zidane looks a shadow of his former self.... and to top it all the average age of the French starting XI was over 30 or something!!!!! How can anyone expect them to go all the way?!
Group H saw two very exciting games with contrasting styles of play. Spain, as I mentioned earlier, made a statement, and the rest of the 31 teams better beware. Even without their talisman Raul, this young and talented team looked at ease against quality opposition, and I see the likes of Fabregas, Puyol, Torres and Villa as the stars of this tournament. I only hope they do not choke in the knockout stages as they did last time around. Andriy Shevchenko definitely looked like someone just returning from injury, as he struggled throughout the match to get a decent chance of scoring. In the end, Spain more than deserved their 4-0 victory. The other match was thrilling for other reasons. Tunisia and Saudi Arabia didnt exactly produce world-class performances, but their high tempo and an immense desire to win brought the match to life. A pulsating end to the match saw the Saudis almost winning it with a late goal, but Tunisia produced an even later goal through Radhi Jaidi, who has produced such headers regularly for Bolton Wanderers in England, to break the hearts of Saudi supporters all over the world. If the Saudis had pulled this one off, it would probably have been the best moment in the lives of those 11 Saudi players. Ultimately 2-2 was a fair result, one would have to admit.
Until the next round of matches.......
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Berlin Beckons....part I
So people, here is the first edition of "Berlin Beckons"....my insight into the biggest event of the year....the FIFA World Cup. Firstly, apart from those regular die-hard football fans, how many of you know what the full form of FIFA actually is?? Well, fyi, its "Federation Internationale de Football Association".....the supreme governing body for football/soccer in the world. Just thought I'd mention that, may look dumb, but I am certain there are many people out there just wondering......why is it called the FIFA World Cup......are FIFA the official sponsors or something......?! Believe me its true..!
Anyway, coming to the tournament itself, I shall kick-off with the matches that took place last evening/night IST...i.e on 12/6/06. It was an interesting day....a day of no surprises I would say. Australia firstly deservedly beat Japan 3-1......I thought this game saw the socceroos show the true fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude that has made Australia arguably the best sporting country in the world.......seriously they are good at any sport you can think of!! Except maybe ice hockey and the likes..! But look at the list......cricket (obviously, they're the Brazil of cricket), hockey (again almost like a Brazil there), soccer, tennis, athletics, swimming......goes on and on, and they're excellent in virtually all of em. Coming back to the match, I agree with the majority view that the goal for Japan should not have stood as the Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer was clearly being impeded. But Tim Cahill truly showed why he is good enough to play in the EPL with 2 crucial goals......the second one was brilliant.....we really are witnessing some very good goals in this tournament!!
Coming to Czech - USA, after that game, I was left wondering how on earth the US are ranked 5th in the world in the FIFA world rankings!! They were trampled over by the "bouncing Czechs".....pun unintended.....though they did have the odd sight of goal. The star of the show was truly Tomas Rosicky.....just signed newly for Arsenal........I think he really is a fantastic signing for the Gunners....an attack minded midfielder.....perfect to replace Robert Pires, maybe even better. Well, 3-0 was the scoreline, and yup i actually fancy the Czechs to make the semis..........i feel some people really underestimate them.......a very clinical and solid team. As for the US, I dont think they can make it past the group stage on the back of this performance.
I was looking forward to watching Italy play and see how much of an effect the turmoil at home because of the ongoing scandal inquiry will affect their performance.....to my relief it didnt seem to bother them. They put up a highly efficient performance, with some good passes and moves on the back of solid defending. Andrea Pirlo continued the trend of excellent goals in the competition with a fine strike.....he's known to do that especially from free kicks pretty often for AC Milan.....and it was nice to see Iaquinta get on the scoresheet.....havent seen much of him but he did impress in the group stage of the Champion's League last year for Udinese.
Well, all eyes on Brazil in the coming set on matches, with the triple R brigade ready to pounce on the Croats and steal the show.......Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo, Robinho....get ready for some Samba magic!! Until the next.....
Anyway, coming to the tournament itself, I shall kick-off with the matches that took place last evening/night IST...i.e on 12/6/06. It was an interesting day....a day of no surprises I would say. Australia firstly deservedly beat Japan 3-1......I thought this game saw the socceroos show the true fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude that has made Australia arguably the best sporting country in the world.......seriously they are good at any sport you can think of!! Except maybe ice hockey and the likes..! But look at the list......cricket (obviously, they're the Brazil of cricket), hockey (again almost like a Brazil there), soccer, tennis, athletics, swimming......goes on and on, and they're excellent in virtually all of em. Coming back to the match, I agree with the majority view that the goal for Japan should not have stood as the Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer was clearly being impeded. But Tim Cahill truly showed why he is good enough to play in the EPL with 2 crucial goals......the second one was brilliant.....we really are witnessing some very good goals in this tournament!!
Coming to Czech - USA, after that game, I was left wondering how on earth the US are ranked 5th in the world in the FIFA world rankings!! They were trampled over by the "bouncing Czechs".....pun unintended.....though they did have the odd sight of goal. The star of the show was truly Tomas Rosicky.....just signed newly for Arsenal........I think he really is a fantastic signing for the Gunners....an attack minded midfielder.....perfect to replace Robert Pires, maybe even better. Well, 3-0 was the scoreline, and yup i actually fancy the Czechs to make the semis..........i feel some people really underestimate them.......a very clinical and solid team. As for the US, I dont think they can make it past the group stage on the back of this performance.
I was looking forward to watching Italy play and see how much of an effect the turmoil at home because of the ongoing scandal inquiry will affect their performance.....to my relief it didnt seem to bother them. They put up a highly efficient performance, with some good passes and moves on the back of solid defending. Andrea Pirlo continued the trend of excellent goals in the competition with a fine strike.....he's known to do that especially from free kicks pretty often for AC Milan.....and it was nice to see Iaquinta get on the scoresheet.....havent seen much of him but he did impress in the group stage of the Champion's League last year for Udinese.
Well, all eyes on Brazil in the coming set on matches, with the triple R brigade ready to pounce on the Croats and steal the show.......Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo, Robinho....get ready for some Samba magic!! Until the next.....
Monday, June 12, 2006
Reply to me by me..
Dear self (and actually whoever's reading this),
Thank you for the note of congratulations. About the duties that you mentioned, well yes i agree to abide by all of them except one - I CANNOT STOP TALKING ABOUT FOOTBALL!! So, people, you are gonna get a lot of expert soccer opinions on the ongoing football extravaganza in my daily special post which I shall entitle "Berlin beckons..".
About the flowery language part, do not worry, I'm lousy with words. I cannot write an essay without a thesaurus......else it will be comparable to an 8-year old's essay!!!!! Thats exaggerating it a bit, but well you get the idea. And if you decide to dispute that claim by pointing towards the word "Assiduous" in my Blog title, well, if you wanna know, I just flipped open a dictionary and that was the first word i saw!!! Cant help it.....my blog title has to be good you know!!
*Addressing my audience now*
Blogging is not your regular cup of tea.....although it is relatively easy to come out with your thoughts, organizing them and making them into words and further into sentences is quite a task. I regularly have read blogs by people who are extremely expressive and emotional.....who claim to speak from their heart......who have the uncontrollable urge to open out to the world surrounding them........well, i have news for you boys and girls, I'm not one of them. I'm just a guy who wants to know more about himself.......I wanna explore my inner self........and this is one of the best ways to do it. I am not a very emotional guy........but at the same time I want to know for a fact what I am good at and what I am not. So, in view of this, if anyone finds the time to reply to my posts, they are always welcome and appreciated.
Anyway, thats that....now I shall be off to watch Australia play Japan....not the best match in prospect but still....soccer is soccer for me....doesnt matter who is playing!!! And i actually happened to notice while channel surfing that India is playing test matches in the West Indies.....do people actually watch that now?!! So then, till next.....Good Day!
-Me
Thank you for the note of congratulations. About the duties that you mentioned, well yes i agree to abide by all of them except one - I CANNOT STOP TALKING ABOUT FOOTBALL!! So, people, you are gonna get a lot of expert soccer opinions on the ongoing football extravaganza in my daily special post which I shall entitle "Berlin beckons..".
About the flowery language part, do not worry, I'm lousy with words. I cannot write an essay without a thesaurus......else it will be comparable to an 8-year old's essay!!!!! Thats exaggerating it a bit, but well you get the idea. And if you decide to dispute that claim by pointing towards the word "Assiduous" in my Blog title, well, if you wanna know, I just flipped open a dictionary and that was the first word i saw!!! Cant help it.....my blog title has to be good you know!!
*Addressing my audience now*
Blogging is not your regular cup of tea.....although it is relatively easy to come out with your thoughts, organizing them and making them into words and further into sentences is quite a task. I regularly have read blogs by people who are extremely expressive and emotional.....who claim to speak from their heart......who have the uncontrollable urge to open out to the world surrounding them........well, i have news for you boys and girls, I'm not one of them. I'm just a guy who wants to know more about himself.......I wanna explore my inner self........and this is one of the best ways to do it. I am not a very emotional guy........but at the same time I want to know for a fact what I am good at and what I am not. So, in view of this, if anyone finds the time to reply to my posts, they are always welcome and appreciated.
Anyway, thats that....now I shall be off to watch Australia play Japan....not the best match in prospect but still....soccer is soccer for me....doesnt matter who is playing!!! And i actually happened to notice while channel surfing that India is playing test matches in the West Indies.....do people actually watch that now?!! So then, till next.....Good Day!
-Me
A letter to me..
Dear self,
Congratulations on achieving your first objective of your holiday period. You have successfully created your own blog section, and it is now your duty to post your views and thoughts on any electrical signal to be decoded in your brain a.k.a control centre. It is also your duty to make sure you do not drive people away from this blog by repeatedly posting your opinions on football only and expecting each and every homosapien to become a soccer fan just because the World Cup is going on!! You shall not attempt to impress any girls just for the heck of it by using very flowery language in your posts and wasting your own precious vacation time which you will anyway end up wasting, whatever you do. You shall not disrespect anyone or anything, for that matter, even a teapot or a piece of wire! You will, though, attempt to entertain and humor your audience through a couple of trademark wisecracks, which only the learned and the sophisticated will understand and appreciate the creativity. Finally, this is your space, this is not my space, so I am not the ultimate authority........but actually i am you........or are you me.....anyway the fact is that we are we and whoever we are we are you and you are us.........umm actually ignore that........i confused myself........that is i confused you........so ultimately you confused me................hell i think im gonna stop. Good Day, sire.....
-You (or me, whatever)
Congratulations on achieving your first objective of your holiday period. You have successfully created your own blog section, and it is now your duty to post your views and thoughts on any electrical signal to be decoded in your brain a.k.a control centre. It is also your duty to make sure you do not drive people away from this blog by repeatedly posting your opinions on football only and expecting each and every homosapien to become a soccer fan just because the World Cup is going on!! You shall not attempt to impress any girls just for the heck of it by using very flowery language in your posts and wasting your own precious vacation time which you will anyway end up wasting, whatever you do. You shall not disrespect anyone or anything, for that matter, even a teapot or a piece of wire! You will, though, attempt to entertain and humor your audience through a couple of trademark wisecracks, which only the learned and the sophisticated will understand and appreciate the creativity. Finally, this is your space, this is not my space, so I am not the ultimate authority........but actually i am you........or are you me.....anyway the fact is that we are we and whoever we are we are you and you are us.........umm actually ignore that........i confused myself........that is i confused you........so ultimately you confused me................hell i think im gonna stop. Good Day, sire.....
-You (or me, whatever)
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