Abhi's Tag

Hi ppl!
I have been tagged by Abhi. It took LOT of time filling it up, and man it gets way too personal. Anyway here it goes.

5 people who top your shit list….. and why:
1. George Bush.. for manipulating the whole world so that he could win one more election. And for being the dumbest president US has ever seen. That shows what can happen if you give power to a stupid person.
2. V P Singh for the gift of reservation.
3. Nehru and Jinnah for dividing India, and being the cause of masscares in Punjab (on both sides of the border)
4. Indian police.. for being the paid mob.. for being one of the reason there is no law in India.
5. People who would screw you over for a petty gain. You see such people everywhere.. In your profession, in business, on streets.

Close brushes with death/danger:
1. I was pretty young at the time. We had gone to Rishikesh for bath in Ganga. I didnt know swimming then, but I wanted to learn. So I decided to give it a try!! Ganga was in full fury then because of the recent rains. My dad and his friends had gone quite a bit ahead to take bath. I was at the shallow end near the stairs. I started to try swimming, and the next thing I know I was under water, and drowning. And the worst part was I didnt realize that I was drowning! So I was not shouting for help. I was just floating just beneath the top surface of water and flowing along with the current of the river. Suddenly someone caught me and pulled my head from under the water. It was Tarsem Uncle, and he was now holding me. My dad came there too and then took me to the shore. I dont even remember if he was saying anything. Maybe everyone was silent, comprehending what had just happened. It was only then it struck me that I would have drowned and probably be dead, if uncle had not spotted me. This was the closest I ever came to death.
2. It was a weekday. We (me, Blesson, Santosh) got ready for office, and started in Blesson's car for office. All of us were talking and having a nice time. We were on Featherstone road, and were approaching Chrysler Drive intersection. The signal was red, and I thought that we would break anytime soon. But somehow we didnt stop, and hit a minivan going prependicular to as. The impact speed would have been around 60 mph. I remember the last few moments before hitting! It was dawning on me that car would not stop and that we would soon hit the minivan. Fortunately I didnt get much time to think what would happen if we hit. As and when we hit, the airbag came to life. (I was in passenger seat). It hit my nose with good speed. Thank God that was all there was to it. Ofcourse our car was declared total wreck. But all of us were safe.


5 Preferable modes of suicide, in descending order:
1. Cyanide mixed in orange juice
2. Bullet in head
3. An explosion where death would be totally instantaneous
4. Falling from a very very tall building
5. Drowning

5 Guilty pleasures:
1. Having that extra helping of dessert even when I am full.
2. Discussing people's personal life.
3. Sleeping for that extra half hour in the morning.
4. Watching the movie till 1am.
5. Postponing the preparation for anything to the last moment.

5 days you never want to forget:
1. The day I got CAT scorecard stating that I had got 97 percentile. I had not prepared for the exam, and I was praying that I should get 80+ atleast.
2. The day I was able to make my sister laugh for the first time. She was 2 years old I guess.
3. The day we secretly (from seniors) went to Kodaikanal in our first sem. It was my first trip with just friends. The excitement was at peak with the thought that some senior might be there in Kodaikanal too!
4. The day I landed in US, and was watching every thing in amazement.
5. The day I got my first ever prize. Till then it was my brother who used to gather prizes :-). That day I joined him! I can still remember how excited I was when I held the prize. Thankfully I have a picture capturing my excitement.

5 things you wish to forget:
1. The days I fought with my sis.
2. There is really not much I want to forget!

5 really exotic dishes you have tried:
I haven't tried any "really" exotic dishes.

5 crushes/loves in your life… in chronological order
1. Sreedevi (Mr. India)
2. Manisha Koirala (Agnisakshi)
3. Meera Vasudevan (Rules)
4. Michelle Pfeiffer (What lies beneath)
5. Charlize Theron (Sweet November)
Ofcourse there have been real life crushes too. But I cannot mention them without embarassing myself or the girl.

Strangest dream you ever had:
I somehow end up fighting! Earlier I used to dream that my friends were fighting for me. Now I dream that I am fighting for them! Strangely knife and guns are used pretty common. And whats more strange is that nothing happens to me even when I am hit with bullets!! In the funniest/strangest dream I ever had, I was hit with 4 bullets. After that I sit in a bus to go to a doctor so that I can get treatment!! On the way I come to know that the doctor is a Bangladeshi. I refuse treatment from him saying that I dont believe he would be able to do a good job. I am arguing with people over this. Finally I go to my bro for treatment. Again we are talking as if I had caught common cold.

5 most valued personal possessions:
1. My mind
2. My sister
3. My personal diary
4. My pics (from the time I was a kid)
5. The pen my grandfather gave me.

5 favorite superheroes….. and why:
1. Spiderman.. for the way he uses his web! Be it stopping a car, or travelling from one building to another. Its real cool!
2. Bhagat Singh.. for his thoughts and actions. If only we had half as much guts and conviction as him, the world would be a better place.
3. Sardar Patel.. for giving us India as we know it today.
4. Amitabh Bachchan.. for the countless emotional rides he has taken us on with his movies. Be it comedy, action or melodrama.. he is THE KING of all!
5. Ramanujan.. for being the brightest Indian ever. He makes us all proud that we are from the same country!

I am hereby tagging Vineesh, Kutty, Vithal, Sookie and Kingkong. I am supposed to tag just 5 ppl, but cant help the temptation to tag Anuj also :-)

Change is all around!

It was not long ago when I was a die hard fan of cricket. And today I dont care much about it. Part of it happened because of match fixing scandal. And rest of it happened because watching cricket was not that easy anymore!

If you like sports, you cannot stay away from it for a long time. So naturally my interest shifted to Tennis. Oh I just love it! Even when I was a kid, I used to like it. I used to follow Sampras, Steffi Graff, Agassi, Monica Seles.. even Chang!! Agassi and Seles were my favorites for some reason. Maybe because they were underdogs. Even this has changed now. I like Federer. Actually that would be an understatement!! But does anyone has words to describe this guy??! I first watched him play when I was in Bangalore. And he has been my favorite ever since!! Its not my fault though..How can you help it when God himself is writing poetry in middle of the court!

I always wanted to play tennis! Got a chance here in US, and I am making full use of it!! Every evening is busy thanks to tennis :-). Ofcourse I feel the pain in legs when I come back from the court, but the thing that counts is that I feel no pain when I enter the court :)

Out of Place

I look around, and everything seems to be in place. The majestic trees are standing tall. The geese are taking tiny steps on the grass. The crescent shaped moon is lighting the night. I mean everything is just in place, serving its purpose. At times like this it strikes me like a bolt of lightning that I am so out of place. I feel small, insecure and alone. It might be insecure twenties (as Sookie said in her blog), but I feel there is more to it. I feel it’s a far more personal thing, and that these very moments decide who we really are. In normal times, I cannot tell myself from any other guy.

Well, today is turning out to be a pretty bad day. In the morning decided to talk to a friend. Tried a dozen times, but the phone was out of range. I didn’t think of it much at that time, but as I am writing this, I am realizing that the start of the day itself went bad. After that I got hit by three personal problems over a period of time. Each of them makes me feel insecure. I wonder if that’s how the life is meant to be lived. I believe in nature, and I believe in God. I believe each and every living/non-living thing has a purpose, and each moment is part of a journey. So the question is, why I am here, and where am I going? But all I have as of now are questions. Only questions, no answers. Clouds have covered the moon and it’s very dark out there.