Scribble

New Group Blog

2007-07-26T23:25:00.000+05:30

Everyone who still visits my space visit the new Engicos Blog

So Let's Go got bruised :(

2007-06-01T16:45:00.000+05:30

Well :( .. not really. I think there is something wrong here. My new ..well may i add 2 month new car got dented, scratched, bumped whatever you call it. The left side ain't that good to look at. Thankfully it wasn't the drivers side. Since i don't usually get into the passenger seat i haven't got it done up yet :). So the weird part is ... i dint feel it. Maybe coz i wasn't culprit which should actually make matters worse. But i was more like "Ok. No problem. It happens". Oh when will i ever learn to love my possessions let alone get obsessed by them. But i still love you my black beauty.

But i also finally got my car back from Goa. Came driving up to Pune with my roomie and his girl and another friend from Mumbai. Well it seems like the Goa - Amboli - Nipani - Pune route is the best one to take. I did the first and may i add fun and curvy 150 kms and let the Clyde and Pari do the loooooong monotonous but fast highway. Sadly the monsoon wasn't in yet so the drive through Amboli wasnt as scenic and breathtaking as it can be. Believe me you, during the monsoons.. sheer paradise.

Flags and a Caribbean Storm

2007-05-31T17:41:00.000+05:30

For people who are bored of visiting my blog i thought its high time i wrote up few things that i have been up to in the last month. Lets c .. good food, travel, renewed friendships, the rains, car dents to name a few things. One evening went out for a dinner to this place called Flags. I might be wrong but this place seems to have the widest international cuisine on offer. The food generally is good. But the service usually slow. I think i had some chicken breast this time around but the last time it was Mexican lamb. The chicken was surely better. Got sucked away from the usual Long island Beach tea (i dunno why the beach for island) after the first round of drinks into a Caribbean Storm. Fruity, layered and potent is the way i would describe it. Colors of Blue and red .. and layers of i think (if i really could after that LIBT) Grenadine at the bottom, Vodka or rum in Blue Curacao in the middle and Red Wine afloat. Well if my partner in dine that night happens to read this he might correct me.

For those who dont know where Flags is in Pune .. it's next to INOX.

A Foodie week :)

2007-04-23T11:48:00.000+05:30

Well when i look back at the week gone by all i need to do is stand in front of the mirror and the picture tells a story..lol .. not really but yes its been one hell of a foodie week. Started off Monday visiting my fave hangout in Pune ... 1000 oaks. I am yet to feel more at home at any other eat out in Pune. Love the food the music and yes the crowd. They have some weird stag seating funda that i never understood. sadly. but they sure dish out a potent long island ice tea... after a couple i sure feel a whole lot better :) and if u have to use the link then u sure have missed something. TOaks also had some Lucknowi food festival if i ain't mistaken so there were some special kekabs on offer. Tuesday and Wednesday was about some nice dinner with me roomies @ home. Thursday lunch was at Mainland China. why.. coz the food is generally light and doesn't make me doze off in my seat all afternoon. Oh the food sure is good. For dinner decided to get away from the upscale trend and settle for a quiet dinner @ Panchvati which is the restaurant @ Hotel Panchratna on Tadiwalla Road. Though you wouldn't get the cocktails the usual booze is on the menu and the food is closest to Goan cuisine. Lunch on Friday was at RamKrishna opposite WestEnd theatre. No offense but nothing much to write about the vegetarian food. For dinner me and my roomies visited our fave dinner joint.. Eddie's Kitchen. Besides Mad House Grill this is the only place in Pune that i trust for the beef and the pork. Somehow i am very particular when it comes to eating any of these outside home. Eddies serves some awesome beef and pork dishes in Chinese prep and the best thing... in record time. After a nice Saturday swim at Parsi gymkhana we proceeded to catch a bite @ Diamond on MG Road. A few beers and a lot of chilly chicken and biryani later we weren't sure which balls went where on the pool table.. lol... Before we left Camp after picking some fish for dinner we made sure we dropped into Hite Bar for a quick bite of Shawarma. Unfortunately the cylinder ran out on us and we had to make merry with the fish curry but not the Rechado fry :( ..... Sunday breakfast was South Indian @ Madhuban on DP road. The idlis and vadas... oh i love 'em. Its in Pune that i got introduced to the concept of Medu wada... and the waiter asking .... sambar mix or seperate. Never heard that in Goa. We then had lunch @ this place on one end of DP road. Cant remember the name. Its at the side of Southern Spice. And Sunday dinner ... we just got a parcel from Blue Nile... coz we figured the queue for a seat was too long. This place for sure takes the cake for the fastest service. And the biryani for sure is tasty. And well for Monday lunch ... Mad House Grill for some lovely black pepper steak.

Not that spicy afterall

2007-04-20T17:39:00.000+05:30

Well Sanjaya is out .... all the good bad hair-do's dint do the trick. One fan had this funny poster" Sanjaya is my papaya" ... lol ... oh yes ... but amidst all that i got introduced to a nice number that he performed to. Trained by Tony Bennett the number was Cheek to Cheek first sung by Frank Sinatra(if i ain't mistaken)... Actually i am ... was first sung by Fred Astaire and was composed by Irving Berlin

Malakar Spice

2007-04-18T21:22:00.000+05:30

Ha(irs)ts off !!! Sanjaya Malakar from this season of American Idol. I ran into this blog post which said that this week for the first time did Sanjaya get positive responses from all the 3 judges. Having followed the show in previous seasons i've known that Simon is a tough nut to crack. So i checked the YouTube link out and realised that the best Simon could do was "It (ther performance) wasnt horrible". So i decided to take a look at some of Sanjaya's performances. Not his singing but his hairstyles came to me as a pure SHOCK. There was the shag, the ultra-straight, the faux-hawk and the poodle...as peopleDOTcom put them. Well if u have run out of ambitions for a while do go out there and vote for your fave Malakar Spice ooops hairstyle.

7 minutes or 13!!!

2007-04-18T16:12:00.000+05:30

My then (not sure about now) virgin (i wasn't sure then either) friend once (jokingly) described his disinterest in sex (is why i assumed he was virgin or he was too bored already) describing the act as "7 minutes of pleasure". Yesterday i ran into a Times of India report that gave us Indians a little more credit than he ever did. Maybe his conclusion/theory/funda was based on past (s)experiences.Times of India lists a global survey which says.."In India, Sex is a 13 minute affair".

Here goes the report courtesy TOI:

Maybe it’s time to think of a Hindi translation for ‘wham bam, thank you ma’am!’. A new global sex survey reveals that when it comes to time devoted to the sexual act, Indians get done the fastest averaging just 13 minutes, foreplay and all. The global average is a good five minutes longer, at 18 minutes. Nigerians, on the other hand, take a leisurely 24 minutes on every sexual encounter. That’s probably why they top the global satisfaction stakes, with 67% of the population feeling ekdum pleased with the act. India still comes third with 61% of respondents saying they are fully satisfied with their sex lives. The Japanese, at 15%, come across as the least fulfilled nation. These and other interesting tidbits were revealed in the Durex Global Sexual Wellbeing Survey that questioned more than 26,000 people across 26 countries about every aspect of their sex lives, in a bid to comprehensively chart what constitutes sexual well being. The study reveals that Indians are among the most prolific lovers, having sex 130 times a year on average. That’s considerably more than the global average of 103. The Greeks, at 164 times a year, lead the most amorous lives (really making their good looks count). Brazilians (145 times) clock in next, followed by the Poles and the Russians (both 143). Sexologist Prakash Kothari is not surprised with the survey’s 13-minute finding on India. Most Indian men use their wives as sleeping pills. They have never devoted enough time to foreplay, or the act itself. Early climax (premature ejaculation) is a more common disorder than erectile dysfunction (impotence) in Indian men,he says. Not surprisingly, only 26% of Indian women report a regular orgasm (as opposed to 55% of the males). Yet, two-thirds of Indian women say they are satisfied with their sex lives, compared to 58% of men. Almost half of all Indians (47%) crave for more love and romance in their lives.

Maybe those 7 minutes contributed to the low Indian average .. lol

My Night ;-)

2007-04-12T21:40:00.000+05:30

Don't know how many of you noticed the doodle on Google's home page today :). Well it happens to be hyperlinked to the person my parents named me after ...
Who??? ............... Yuri Gagarin

....and why??
Yuri's Night is an international celebration held on April 12 every year to commemorate the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961, and the first Space Shuttle launch on April 12, 1981. In 2004, people celebrated Yuri's Night in 34 countries in over 75 individual events. Locations have included Los Angeles, Stockholm, Antarctica, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and the International Space Station. The goal of Yuri's Night is to increase public interest in space exploration and to inspire a new generation of explorers. Driven by space-inspired artistic expression and culminating in a worldwide network of annual celebrations and educational events, Yuri's Night creates a global community of young people committed to shaping the future of space exploration while developing responsible leaders and innovators with a global perspective. These global events are a showcase for elements of culture that embrace space including music, dance, fashion, and art. Yuri's Night was created by Loretta Hidalgo, George T. Whitesides and Trish Garner. The first Yuri's Night was held on April 12, 2001, but its counterpart, known as The Cosmonautics Day (Russian: День Космонавтики), was established in the Soviet Union in 1962. The 2004 event in Los Angeles was attended by over 100 prominent space leaders including author Ray Bradbury, space tourist Dennis Tito, X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis, *NSYNC's Lance Bass and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura from the original Star Trek series). The event was followed by a large party with 2 dance floors and world-class DJs. Yuri's Night is a Space Generation event.

Courtesy Google and Wikipedia

Bday time!!!

2007-03-20T20:26:00.000+05:30

Don't know if growing older is a thing to celebrate any longer. I think every day i worth celebrating. Live the moment. But yes a bday is a bday. Like its been for the past 2 years this time too i celebrated it in Pune. My roomies like always were hiding that cake away till the hands met @ the hour.. to bring in the day with a Black forest and some medleys on the guitar. For a change wasn't working this bday as it was a Saturday. Spent the morning at home and the afternoon at some game parlor @ Adlabs over some air hockey winning a few coupons and a couple of crazy balls ;). Besides mass in the evening nothing much was really planned but then we had a brainwave @ 9pm and decided to drive down to Lonavala for dinner. Was the first time i was driving on the Mumbai - Pune expressway. One beautiful piece of road. Besides my camera we also carried along a camcorder and a guitar but the latter two just ended up being tourists. Just managed to make it to Lonavala before the 11pm deadline for booze and squeezed a beer out of the reluctant waiter. Thanks everyone who made my day... sure got more wishes this time around than ever before. Sms'.. calls .... in person and yes Orkut included :)

Black Baby... Let's Go!!!!

2007-03-20T20:07:00.000+05:30

Well was sure that there weren't too many bday presents coming my way so i decided to get a gift for myself. MH-12-DS-8479. Feels good to own your own car at last. Usually a person who doesn't think too much over things materialistic or not ... i surely must have been the easiest customer that car salesman had come across. I knew it had to be an Alto and it had to be Black and i wanted the car delivered to me before i started 25 on the 10th of March. Delivered as promised i got my baby on the 6th of March. Now here comes the cool part. I dint hold a drivers license and somehow my driving test ended up being on the same morning i was to get my car. So got through the test in the morning and proceeded to collect the car in the evening. Talk about being in a hurry ;). Drove straight out of the showroom to the get the sound done up. Cant imagine the car without music. The Pioneers in the dash and the Blaupunkt ovals in the rear pack a decent punch. And yes before i even got home i quickly realised the benefits of the power steering in a city like Pune. Alto... Let's Go!!!!

Holi @ Karwar

2007-03-09T20:28:00.001+05:30

Was trying the recollect the last time that i celebrated the 'festival of colors'. I think it was in the final year of college.. about 3 years ago. Still remember all that fun outside the canteen. Not only we were all colored beyond recognition but i remember that green..it just refused to come off... grr. My palms looked like they were diseased for the next 2 days. No long baths, no soaps and no amount of scrubbing helped. This time i celebrated holi in Karwar. Although i wasn't very keen on getting colored but my friend and her uncle made sure i wasn't gonna sit around. So we were a group of 5 ... 2 girls and 3 guys .. and we just walked around the neighborhood coloring some neighbors i did not know. Wearing a white tee for holi is just awesome coz when ur done its pretty amazing the masterpiece you end up with. The holi celebrations sadly dint stop at the colors coz there were some eggs thrown too. The worst part of playing holi is the trouble to get the color off. Savio's place had well on the outside. I couldn't recollect the last time i had a bath at the well and i never thot i would be doing so in the near future. Not specially when the entire neighborhood can watch. But what the heck. So i did. Was fun having a scrub in that cold well water in the open like Adam and Steve (coz the women dint join us) with a few clothes on. Only when we managed to get most color off did we proceed to bathe indoors. But not quick and WHY... coz we let the girls in to bathe first..The fun and tiredness was followed by a heavy lunch which served the crabs we caught last night and some river fish we bought from some guys who were fishing there. Don't know the name of the fish but it sure was tasty. Soon it was time to move further south .. but not after 2 days i never will forget :)...

A little south from home

2007-03-07T12:01:00.000+05:30

Well i took time off from office to spend the weekend with friends in a small, beautiful and picturesque place a little south of Goa ... called Karwar. The only other time i had ever been there was when my bus from Bangalore once long ago decided to take that route. The coastal drive is very scenic and the place not too different from Goa. From Pune you either need to take a train down South from Mumbai else go to Margao (Goa) and hop onto one of the buses or a train. The bus journey takes a couple of hours while train from Madgaon takes an hour.

Its always good to know the locals when you travel to a new place and in my case i sure did. Well the welcome i got was something i dint expect... coz its not everyday you get greeted in a public place with a couple of banners and a garland... but i sure wasn't embarrassed.

Kicked the weekend off with a swim at a resort called Hidden Valley.. which was really hidden. But with huge hills on the backdrop the resort makes a wonderful sight. Think it would be more picturesque during the rains. Its nice to take a dip and have your drink served on the pool side :). Spent the rest of the day indoors with some good fishy meal until evening when for the first time i was to go Crabbing.... Yay!!!!

We went to this place called Kadwad ... (next to Karwar) by rick to some back waters kind of area. There were no lights except for a full moon and a few flashlights. Crabbing can be fun and if you manage a decent catch then even better. In the 2 hours we managed to catch about 25 odd crabs besides having a lot of fun, getting our hands dirty, running across a rickety makeshift wooden bridge all this whilst the walk man kept playing music on its puny loud(not so loud) speaker. All you need are the nets, the bait and patience and yes a place where you can find some crabs. Doesn't take all the skill in the world and fishing for sure is more difficult i must say. Well i hate crawlers of any kind so i only handled the crabs once we amputated them. The satisfaction was eating the handsome catch the next day over lunch. :) ..... Thanks guys for an amazing weekend

Honda RA107

2007-02-27T12:48:00.000+05:30

For me this car takes the paint job cake.... AWESOME...Go Honda!!! (But only second to Ferrari ;-) )

Formula1.com:

Honda’s 2007 race car will feature a huge image of the earth in place of the traditional advertising and sponsor logos. The RA107’s unusual livery, unveiled at London's Natural History Museum on Monday, is part of a Honda initiative designed to help raise awareness of the environmental issues facing the planet.

The team will be working closely with global environmental charities to develop Honda’s existing environmental ethos within Formula One racing. Those wishing to lend their support and get their name added to the RA107’s livery can do so by visiting www.myearthdream.com.

Stay Young!!!

2007-02-22T12:07:00.000+05:30

A nice mail i ran across...

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half.. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . .. . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's No fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50
And your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

Saved by the ......

2007-02-09T17:13:00.000+05:30

So its a lil' difficult when your driving instructor changes every other day. This is the 3rd guy in the past 3 weeks now. So yesterday i let him be in his elements ... clutching for me .. braking for me .. but yes he tried doing that today and that ticked me off. So when we parked outside his office and he went in for a while and returned i told him that i could manage to get the car off blocks without stalling. That i have almost never stalled the car before. He claimed innocence to using the brake and clutch but yes now he sure dint. Turned the key, released the clutch as i accelerated and whoooops ... i stalled. I got the .. SO YOU WERE SAYING... look. In those split seconds i embarrassed myself and thot what i did wrong.. only to quickly realise that my embarrassment was saved by the handbrake :)

Wet Shirt .. here's help

2007-02-06T22:22:00.000+05:30

So i dropped water on my shirt today in office .... :( ... very sad .. just about got done soaking most of the water with tissues but it still looked embarrassing ;) .. thankfully none seeped waist below.. God bless the hand driers in the loo... managed to bend under one and get the water to dry off ... but sure was one funny position to be in. The door on one side and the mirror on another ... kept a watch whilst i laughed at what i was doing. Difficult to imagine the look on the face of the person who would have walked in on me.. lol... but yes hand driers sure help.

Horn Bajaao!!

2007-02-01T14:27:00.000+05:30

Thankfully today the driving instructor did not do a Houdini on me. But he wasn't the regular guy. So when i walked to the car he had the nerve to tell me that I WAS LATE and why ... coz his watch reads GMT+5:45. So he did get a piece of my mind for making me stand at the junction for the past 2 days. Soon his tone went defensive and he decided we get down to driving. So this guy has his fundas about driving in Pune ..i would say.. right. "Horn bajaao" he tells me even when there is nothing to honk at. But overall seems to be doing a better job as an instructor coz for a change i don't feel i am driving alone. When i was done i asked as to how i was doing, he says "Sab thik hai... bas horn nahi bajate ho"

Valentine Day Spam?

2007-01-31T14:32:00.000+05:30

For some odd reason i am getting a lot of Spam in the last couple of days .... Grrrrr. Thot i'd share the subject lines of some of the mails i rec'd..
In Love
Emptiness Inside Me
Tender Whispers
Angel of Love

lol... seriously.. whatever

So F#$%in Unprofessional

2007-01-31T08:57:00.000+05:30

So this is the third day that i waited for my driving instructor to come and pick me up .... and seems like the arse is gone missing. Its so damn pissing off coz i hv to make the effort to wake to make it in time and standing at that junction like the Statue of Liberty aint exactly fun. And yes for sure ain't the best way to start the day. And for some f#%$ingly weird reason he keeps his cell off in the mornings. Also all that waiting has helped me realise why the name Tadiwalla road is so befitting. Not that i cannot relate to people drinking but yes being drunk at 8 a.m. ....like really. But yes... the sms-athon while i was waiting for him sure helped ;)

Glens,Lochs,Bagpipers and Scotch!!!

2007-01-29T20:35:00.000+05:30

It was about time to take the bus journey from London that mid-September night up north to Glasgow. Was a little tired .. did a lot of roaming in London all of the last 2 days. But now I was all on my own. I reached Glasgow bus station early Monday morning. Inside the bus all was warm and cozy but couldn't say the same about the outside. The first words that came to mind were “O F***”. Quickly pulled out my jacket, freshened up and proceeded to take a look around. Here i was jacket clad and hand in glove while a few specially the women walked around like it was summer morning. That’s one thing I noticed specially when partying in Bristol .. if winter gets so little out in terms of clothing I WONDER what summer would do. Glasgow was very quiet and the town center dint have much to see. I managed to top up my cell phone and proceeded to Buchanan bus station to board the bus to Edinburgh which was the real motivation behind going to Scotland. An hour drive on a 4 pounder was made interesting by blonde luck. She was from Edinburgh and gave me a few tips of what to do.

Picked some local maps and got myself hooked onto what surely is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen. The city seems to be unmoved by development. History stands still and so does the architecture. So i did run into a bagpiper and did check out some of the liquor stores for the Scotch though i don't drink any. Am not sure if the place made them look so or it's just that the women in Edinburgh are simply prettier. More on what to do in Edinburgh in the next post. The next morning i got to Edinburgh Airport to meet Urvashi and her parents.We then drove up north to look what Scotland was really made of. A drive through the high-lands and low-temperatures gives ample glimpses of glens and lochs. We drove up towards Glen Coe and Loch Lomond and wanted to reach Fort William but we turned early towards Glasgow Airport (where i was to catch my connect to Bristol) thanks to the incorrect SatNav in the car which said the airport was still about 30 odd miles away in spite of being at it. Had it not been for the road maps i might have missed my flight. If you are a nature lover or are looking to escape from civilization the Scottish highlands seems to be the place to be. Find a place ... rent a car and be one with nature... coz for miles ye'll not find human trace. :)

The Road is not Enuf!!!

2007-01-22T22:05:00.000+05:30

You wouldn't need to be a genius to guess what i am talking about if you live in the same city as me. Not knowing to drive has been one of the things that has haunted me for a while now. Finally decided to lay this ghost to rest ... so joined a driving school ... Not trying to be cocky but i always said to myself that i should be a natural as i have riden a bike so long and the fundas of A-B-C were ever so clear. Glad to know that i proved myself right. :) But as the days pass and undiscovered roads get thrown in, i realised how every inch counts....while driving....on the road. Its so much easier biking coz even at peak time you always manage to squeeze thro. The car presents a totally different challenge. Being a rookie is difficult enough and the average Pune motorist makes sure you have you hands full. Corrective driving i call it. One wherein you not only accommodate for your mistakes but also for those that others sure make. I now wonder how people do not rip their hair off in disgust but i think here's where the "he did it so should i" attitude helps. Anyways for now i still consider waiting for the office elevator the most infuriating thing around. Anyways ...who can forget the lunar resemblances. But be rest assured... potholes might end up being the least of your problems... while cyclists and pedestrians occupy one lane.. motorists from the opposite lane occupy the other leaving you with space ample..the limit of which rapidly tends to zero. And then there are these red rusted boxes. This is the acid test ... the place where heroes are born... While the first day was only limited to A,C, 3rd,steering and the straight.. i have now moved on to the B, the U and the 4th too. Seems like R isn't on the cards soon. What seems trivial but is quite an achievement is that i managed to get around 6 days in a row without figuring out if the horn works. In this city where the right to horn is considered fundamental and for some sheer ecstasy.. it sure feels good to go against the flow. And i wonder why people from India need an IDP ... its got to be the opposite man!!

Balancing Act

2007-01-21T12:04:00.000+05:30

Just the other day i ran across a mail which visualised how it would be if Dr. Vijay Mallya got in to the LPG business... rather the LPG cylinder distribution business... not only depicting jazzy beer cask like cylinders but also beautiful models who bring them to your doorstep. Well that sure seems a dream for now. Its not unusual to see people tie the cylinder to the carrier @ the back of a bicycle but i ran across a guy who actually was transporting one by beautifully balancing it in the frame just above the peddling area. As he dismounted i wondered how he would get the cylinder off .. well he simply tilted the cycle set the cylinder upright and pulled the cycle off...What can i say... it happens only in India :)

The 90/10 Principle by Stephen Covey

2007-01-18T13:10:00.000+05:30

Have you read this before? Discover the 90/10 Principle. It will change your life (at least the way you react to situations). What is this principle? 10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react. What does this mean? We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%.

How? By your reaction. You cannot control a red light., but you can control your reaction. Don't let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.

Let's use an example. You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You haveno control over what just what happened. What happens when the next will be determined by how you react. You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over. She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus. Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit. After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home, When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.
Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning. Why did you have a bad day?
A) Did the coffee cause it?
B) Did your daughter cause it?
C) Did the policeman cause it?
D) Did you cause it?
The answer is D.
You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day. Here is what could have and should have happened. Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, "It's ok honey, you just need,to be more careful next time". Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves.You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having. Notice the difference? Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different. Why? Because of how you REACTED. You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.
The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day. Why take out your frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on. Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger. Why get stressed out? It will just make things worse. Now you know the 90-10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results. You will lose nothing if you try it.
The 90-10 principle is incredible. Very few know and apply this principle. The result? Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache. There never seem to be a success in life. Bad days follow bad days. Terrible things seem to be constantly happening. There is constant stress, lack of joy, and broken relationships. Worry consumes time. Anger breaks friendships and life seems dreary and is not enjoyed to the fullest. Friends are lost. Life is a bore and often seems cruel. Does this describe you? If so, do not be discouraged You can be different! Understand and apply the 90/10 principle. It will change your life.

Thought of da Daaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!

2007-01-16T20:55:00.000+05:30

If Life throws Lemon’s at you, DON’T make Lemonade
***********Ask for Tequila and Salt**********

Ferrari Rulez!!!

2007-01-16T11:28:00.000+05:30

Have been a F1 fan for almost a decade now. Seems like i have a bias towards Red ... be it Manchester United or Ferrari. After a decade of dominance by Michael it's time for a change. How well the trio of Kimi, Filipe and the F2007 work will be one of the things to watch out in the coming season. 18th of March... where it all beings.
About the F2007
It's got a narrower posterior, a sculpted carbon fibre gearbox, and a significantly longer wheelbase. And it's scorching hot.
The new Ferrari F2007 is a stunning piece of work, a visual delight capable of revving up to 19,000 rpm. The revised bright-yellow sidepods have fans thrilled already, but the real beast lies within the hood. While prospects of the new engine are salivating, a true response can be had only a few weeks into testing.
Felipe Massa raved all about his new scarlet wheels in the Ferrari press release, the 25-year-old Brazilian saying, 'The car is beautiful and I have a good feeling about it.'
As well he should, for if Ferrari's claims are to be believed, he will be sharing equal priority with Kimi Raikonnen. The team has confirmed that they will be customising spare cars for both Massa and Raikonnen on an alternate race basis -- a big departure from team tradition, which saw the spare car being a Michael Schumacher ride.
Of course, great curiosity still remains about the German ex-racer's role at Ferrari. Team boss Jean Todt winked when asked if Michael would do some test driving with the F2007. 'If Michael asks to drive the car, we'll find a racing suit for him with pleasure.'

..And we meet again

2007-01-12T19:32:00.000+05:30

Well many a time we meet people from various walks of life, sometimes we stay in touch and well other times we don’t. One such experience dates back to schooling days. There is this girl I knew back then and had heard a lot about (thanks to a mate having a crush on her) and whom I met but only a couple of times. Well it so happens that she got to hear about me coz of a similar reason. That was the start of numerous coincidences to follow ;) which i'll come to later. This is where Orkut and fate played a role. But I would attribute it to Six degrees of Separation. So we met again on Orkut sometime in August and have been in touch since. (No this story ain’t going the way you guys think :P). Sometime in September we met for a brief while (very brief) and so only managed to catch on a MacD burger for which I am taunted till date. Inevitably I had to promise her a better outing the next time we met. Come Christmas'06 I returned the favor. We proceeded to Ernesto (if I got the name right) coz that’s the only non-claustrophobic place I could think off in a jiffy which also was quiet and spacious and these women I tell ya … ;) and yes serves good food. Ernesto is walking distance from the Panjim Church and is probably easier to find if you ask for Club Vasco da Gama. Make sure you go before 3 p.m. for lunch as the kitchen closes soon after. We ate light coz we for sure had desert and paani puri to follow. Lunch comprised of squid and fried mussels followed by some pepper steak spiced up by some very interesting conversations. The food is good and reasonably priced and music which forms a essential part of any Goan restaurant ever so soothing. Deserts @ the Marriot cake shop are a must have. We settled for a tub of Tiramisu (coz shes one of the few women who don't prefer chocolate) over some more talks in the lobby. The waterfront albeit sunny is a nice place to sit and have a chat. Well by then it seemed like I had bored her enough that she decided to drown herself in the waves of the sea than the words from my mouth :(. Well well not really. I can't be that boring afterall :). Its great to meet like minded people and she for sure is one of them. It makes me wonder why we never met before but as they say “better late than..”. This desi pardesi girl wasn’t gonna miss the paani puri for its not everyday (read as never) that you get such stuff in her part of the world. Finally settling for ‘Sev Batata Puri’ (don’t miss the foreign accent) the sun set on an evening where I hope I made up for the burger dished out at that day;). As for the conincidences... too many to pen down ;).

Martin's Corner time again!!!!

2007-01-11T21:59:00.000+05:30

Just another day in the holiday season in Goa was all set to turn into one of the best days leading into the New Year. Met up with a few college mates for a dinner outing which turned out into an evening filled with nostalgia, fine wine and dine and life down the fast lane. As we proceeded towards Margao we couldn’t help but making the turn at Verna to Go-Karting :). The queue seemed short at first so we got ourselves the tickets but the long eventual wait was shortened by the crowd on display :). So finally our turn.. amongst the 4 there were 2 veterans (Savio and Rabin) and 2 novices including me. So it wasn’t long before the veterans got by in the 10 lapper and the race was left to Bishal and me. Then at the exit of turn 2 I was carrying way too much speed only to realize that the only place I was heading was the tire wall :(. Stationary for more than a lap as my friends lapped (laughed) me by meant I blew my chances of coming 3rd. But in the laps left I did manage to bump Bishal and then pass him … he keeps boasting about how he managed to race me but I know he hurts deep down for I overtook him. As the FM played along we drove to Colva and then to the dinner place of choice .. Martins Corner. For all those who don’t know about Martin’s it is the must go place for a wonderful dining experience in Goa. This time being season time we had to wait a good 20 odd minutes before we could manage to get ourselves a table. But once we were in then came to good part, the food and drink tossed alongside some beautiful music from the one man band. We decided to deviate from the normal with the drink and feasted on some lovely red wine but only after we managed to find someone at the bar who was knowledgeable to find us some semi dry wine. The food choice was only Goan with fish based dishes taking the honors. Squid and KingFish masala e-shtyle for starters and yumm Sausage Pulao combined with some pork vindaloo made dinner complete. All along the guy at the music console kept us entertained. A jolly few including 4 girls at the next table danced their evening away. I decided enough was enough. Not having girls in the group is one thing but to watch girls dance with girls … I had enough.

So I made my move and Rabin tried to convince me that it was the wine making the move but I reached the point of no return. Well that’s the best part about women in Goa… you ask them for a dance and they often oblige. A ‘No’ for sure was gonna be embarrassing but it sure was better than being glued to a chair. 10 points for the effort and 4 numbers later I thanked her for the company and proceeded to receive the applause the boys showered. ;) ….. What the girl’s mum had to say is another story altogether … The Lobo’s from Colva she said and asked a few more questions :) but not my phone number :(.. actually it's a bad thing the girl dint .... it would have been worse if her mom did ;). Dinner conversations revolved around good old college days and by now nostalgia and wine got the better of us. So we drove all the way down to GEC @ 12:30 a.m. just to walk those roads that led us on our paths today. Just the kind of evening I am looking forward to doing again. Rabin, Savio, Bishal.. you guys rock!!!!

Euphoric Shakti

2006-12-11T13:57:00.000+05:30

Being part of a large organization for sure means office parties are no longer an event, it’s a Hungama. We had one such office party this Saturday. The highlight of the evening was the live performance by Euphoria. A hindrock band of great repute Euphoria has touched the hearts of music lovers for 6 odd years now. Why Euphoria? They say “Euphoria is a state of mind in hypomania where they say creativity is at its best. It’s tough to live up to the chosen name and reputation especially since the scientific world says that it cannot be artificially induced, but we try and strive towards a perfection that we cannot wholly fathom and a goal that we cannot completely see. We follow a shadow that we cannot totally perceive and head towards a place that cannot somehow recognize.”
Their performance did live up to their name as they got the crowd jumping to their pulsating music. Inbetween all the lovely songs Palash kept picking on the people who were feasting on the chicken and not the music. Since i haven't heard any songs from Mehfuz i enjoyed all the old tracks more.

Euphoria dint bring down the curtain on my musical weekend and if your wondering what the post title meant.... then Shakti it was.. Comprising of Ustad Zakir Hussain , John McLaughlin, U. Shrinivas, V. Selvaganesh and the ever so versatile Shankar Mahadevan i was in awe of the collective mastery on display. Whilst I kept moving my head enjoying the rhythm and the power of music I wondered how Mahadevan like an instrument kept modulating that voice to match every Sur and Taal the foursome threw at him. What surprised me was the number of foreigners present for the performance. Most sat and watched while one chappie in the corner danced around like he’d attained nirvana. Set on the backdrop of the Shaniwarwada Fort the evening provided me more than just musical moments to remember. But those I keep to myself …. Well it’s a blog after all .. not my diary :)... Now What??

A, The name is A

2006-12-11T12:26:00.000+05:30

Am not much of a movie freak but I do catch a few movies with friends. Most of the choices are e-review based. Some of the recent ones include Casino Royale which I really liked not just for Eva Green but also for the movie's ability to keep me entertained for its entire duration. One of the films I caught before this one actually put me to sleep. Yes, it was the late night show but I don’t remember sleeping through any movie. It’s true Don ko Pakdna (read a Jhelna) mushkil hi nahi namumkin hai.
But sometime last week I ran into the much awaited Dhoom 2 (or DI:2 as its better known as). Personally Dhoom for me won the battle of the sequels hands down. Had DI:2 not thrown in Ash in those wonderful outfits ( was tired of seeing her in all those Ghagra Cholis) along with a walk down the pier that exuded oomph and all the wonderful shots in Brazil the money spent would have been a waste. Most of the movie drew inspiration from The Saint (how Hritik keeps changing faces and yes was Val Kilmer a priest in one scene too) and maybe Entrapment (well trying to Sean and Catherine) and MI:2 (the bike stunt where Tom hops off his mobike onto his feet) and yes 2F2F (where the car slides under the 18 wheeler… only here its rollerblading) and the list goes on.
Well the only thing Hritik had to say when he introduces himself to Ash was “A, The name is A” and the movie scrpit would be complete.

ReUnion Across the Seven Seas

2006-12-09T12:57:00.000+05:30

Besides requiring a real holiday i had a couple of friends who really pushed me into making this trip. Savio and Urvashi have been in the UK for almost a year now and they really wanted that i'd make it and spend time with them. I had almost backed out but then had to oblige coz there was a lot of senti talk :)... So it was Bristol that i would call home for the extent of my stay. Besides feeling at home away from home being amidst friends always means a lot to me. It gave us the freedom to spend a lot of time together and at the same time i could travel and hence achieve both the objectives of my trip. Bristol like anyother place in the UK is very beautiful. What i really liked about UK is that one has so much of recreational space. Take for e.g. Hyde park in the middle of a congested (i dont think so) London. So the cold evening walks followed with a trip to the pub is something i really enjoyed. Not one to experiment with my drinks i always keep it simple with a vodka based spirit. Never one to be rushed i always made most of the bed time i could get, the importance of which i realised at the end of my trip.Besides meeting up with the old i did make a few new friends. The surprise was meeting up with Poonam and Anant in London. That meant al 5 of us were together in one place at the same time the first time since college and that too 5000 miles away. Weird things can happen in life. :)

Realizing a dream!!!

2006-12-09T12:53:00.000+05:30

“Always chase your dreams ... however small they may be … they can come true”. Having spent 2+ years in the corporate world I said to myself .. its party time J. Not that I travel much (other than frequenting between Pune and Goa) but going places has always been something I have enjoyed. When I joined work I made a promise to myself that the first time I would treat myself to a proper long vacation it for sure would be international.
My trip to UK was a dream come true. Besides the welcome break, Savio and Urvashi were the motivation behind this adven’tour’. Having never traveled abroad before and my first flight in many a year and the fact that I was doing all this by myself sure cooked up moments of nervousness and anxiety. Thankfully all fell in place and the trip ended up being one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
I applied for my UK visa amidst all the chaos caused by liquid explosives and thankfully the same wasn’t rejected. It’s been a long time since nervousness got the better of me but the morning before I left it sure did. I think it does when you really want something to work for you. A flight delay of 3 hours at Mumbai sure did add to the fun as I wondered if I would make it across the Arabian Sea to say the least. Not to forget the lovely immigration officer who forgot to stamp my boarding pass causing unwanted trouble at security. But finally and surely we did take off and I tried to make most of the nine hours ahead with some movies, good food and some fine wine. The hospitality aboard Jet Airways was pretty impressive. All the delay meant I landed at 2100 instead of 1800 and I got more than a glimpse of London by night. Simply Breathtaking!!! The lights from the air that looked so organized were just a sighter of things to come. The sheer size of Heathrow airport amazes but cannot say the same about the length of the immigration queue that greeted me. 90 mins to get to the counter :( and 9 seconds to get across :). Had my friends to greet me (and yes the english weather) and then dash me off to Bristol where I’d find home for the next 12 days. The 800+ kmph in the aircraft to the 200+ kmph down the M4 meant life moved down the fast lane (except at both the airports). UK.. here I come.

Quotes...

2006-12-09T12:47:00.000+05:30

My ever growing collection of my favourite quotes

Treat every relationship as if it's the last one, then you'll know how to Give. Treat every moment as if it's the last day, then you'll know how to Treasure. Treasure that you have right now, or else you may regret one day.Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today........
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Life will give you back everything you have given to it..Your life is not a coincidence...It's just a reflection of you..
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The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older, Shorter of breath and one day closer to death. The time is gone, the song is over, Thought I'd something more to say
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If you want something you never had, do something you've never done
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Dont go the way life takes you, but take life the way you go
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Remember you are born to live and not living coz you are born
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Enjoy life, no matter how hard it may seem.When life gives you a thousand reasons to cry...Show the world that you have a million reasons to smile
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Dream

2006-12-09T12:45:00.000+05:30

It doesn't cost to dream... how about this??

Close your eyes and imagine a black man with weird hairdo singing his vocals out in a calypso shack on a carribean beach with golden sand and clear water .... late evening hours and the beach lit up with lanterns and sounds of music resonating from all directions ... you sipping on a pina colada with someone special in your arms just tip toeing in the sand to the rythm of the song .....with her whispering the words in one ear while the sea breeze tickles the other.. you dance the evening away... to be disturbed by a tap on your shoulder .... the tap of reality .. ;-)

-Yuri

Just Me!!

2006-12-09T12:28:00.000+05:30

"Life's not about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about dancing in the rain"Don't think that its the best way to describe me, (atleast my friends say so) but i love that quote. I believe you get only one shot at life and you have to live to the fullest. I love meeting new people and making new friends. Love music, dancing, singing to myself ;-), travel, photography, nature, sports.. and the list can go on from the microscopic to the magnified but above all i love hanging around with my friends.