A trip to the grasslands...

It is no secret that one among my passion is sports and a sport that has eluded me in the recent years has been Golf. Thanks to my friends, I had my first driving range practice with some "real professionals" this week.
On a very pleasant evening, after a hectic day at work, Me and My friend headed to Colbert Hills Golf course, barely a mile or two away from my home.As I was introduced to our waiting friends near the entrance, I could immediately sense that they were experienced golfers with their own golf kit. A bucket of balls was only $5 thanks to my friend who had a coupon downloaded from the net.
For the next few minutes, I was given a quick lesson on golf. I was explained the various jargons involved,the gripping style,the swing technique,style,posture..etc..I was ready to roll on, as many thoughts were racing through my mind.I placed the ball in the Tee and practiced some swings before I could embark upon a shot.
My first several swings at the ball was awesome.yeah!!! I swung the club so hard that the ball didnt displace from the Tee and I could only hear the sound of the wind..A tamil jargon "verum kathu than varudhu" crossed my mind as i laughed it off...I went back to practicing some more swings before I had my next shot..Bang!!! I hit it this time and the ball rolled out of the Tee and the Tee broke...hahahaha..I got myself another Tee and this time practiced several more swings before my next shot..Bingo!!!this was struck perfect and as i was receiving an applause from my friends,the bird flew all the way down to the flag area where i had actually intended. I really enjoyed this shot and a glimpse of the ball flying all the way thrilled me. Trust me, it was really exciting.
I soon got the hang of it and sent the balls flying on every corner with occassional tee-breaks and misses.I explored various clubs and practiced shots with no Tee as well...it was really a lot of fun, and after a day that began very engaging at work, it was a well deserved fun outing. I thank my friends for giving me this opportunity and next time, I promise to share this fun with my other close friends.

A week that was...wax and wane

I am just glad that this week has come to a close. Aside from the Independence Day celebration, its been a frustrating week for me. Having not got to work on time most of the week, I did not make a lot of progress either at work as well. I missed my workout schedule, MNF sucked big time without the duo of Al Michaels and Madden, my TV suppose to arrive today, is not gonna arrive..Chiefs had a horrible set of pre-season games..the cricket match got abandoned....a potluck suppose to be today got cancelled because of me...oooph!!!!..
But then it may not be that bad at all after the good times I had almost every night of the week hanging out with my friends, a victory in the ISA Badminton cup, a green signal to audit a finance course, a Roger Federer loss, and an overconfident bunch(eng cricket) struggling against the Pak's!!!
Anyways I think thats enough "gibberish" right now and I am looking forward to this weekend with a lot of zeal.

Short and Sweet Trip-Part II

Before continuing on our trip, I would like to mention that our badminton finals went well and we got a well-deserved victory in straight sets(15-8,15-3). Apart from the loss of a set in the previous game, I thought we played really well. It really feels good to have two badminton championship under our belts.
After I finished my 10th grade, I had two different directions to pursue my career. I chose Computers in favor of Biology for only one reason...I sucked and still suck in drawing. I remembered only that, as our group sat down to play a game of pictionary that night.
Obviously, because of my drawing skills, I have never been a big fan of this game, and if I remember correctly never played this game. My request for being lenient on the timings was dismissed without any hesitation and at that time, I couldnt help feeling sorry for my team. Did they think that I could draw something in less than a minute and make them guess the answer?? I found it hard to believe.
After the game started neither team could conjure up an answer in the specified time till we got lucky and landed ourselves an easy word. As we played more, I realised that I was having fun playing this game. I wanted to draw, even if it wasnt my turn and even if the experienced people found it hard. While playing the game, my attempts to draw a cricket bat, a music system, a sheep etc.. were all mocked and my opponents were having way too much fun at my expense. We continued to survive in the game due to my partner's drawing skills(far better than mine) and my guessing skills which aint that bad. We had so much fun that we didnt realize it was close to 2am and unlike KS folks here, the MN folks sleep early and so had to call it a day...
The next day was very busy visiting some friends for lunch(where I had awesome food) and some further shopping before I got ready to leave back home. I picked up my friend and we drove back home amidst heavy rains and continued our rambling. We got home at around 3 and I had just enough energy to hit the bed!!!
The trip was very short and sweet and I wish I had spent some more time so that we could have done some outdoor activities like camping or canoeing or something like that.
I also had to admit that i enjoyed pictionary very much and I would like to end by asking a trivia for the readers..How do you draw and show the word "difficult" ????

Short and Sweet Trip--Part I

A trip to minneapolis has been beckoning me for the past few months and eventually, after some dilly-dallying, was taken last weekend. Forced to take a day-off from work due to the nature of the drive, me and my amigo started our road trip reasonably early,digressing all the way, on topics that were interesting,very interesting, very very interesting,..not interesting, boring, very boring, very very boring....interesting...

Due to our varied interest in music, it was an exception rather than the rule, when we agreed on a number that was akin to our liking. Hence our rambling continued all the way till MN after which we parted ways to meet our respective friends.
I got to my friends apartment and to my surprise found it to be neatly ornated. After some initial chit-chatting, we made our way to a nearby restaurant called 'Big Bowl' which my friends quoted it as an extension to P.F.Chang's. Since MN people have a lot of respect for fellow Kansans, we got a table without any waiting time, while for any others it would have been atleast 30 minutes. The ambience and the food was top-class and we bloated ourselves happily and we talked about the changes that happend in each of their lives in the past year or so. Plans to watch a traditional Hindi movie was dismissed and we ended up watching a movie descent,for which i dont want to waste any more time writing. Yeah it was that bad!!!
Most of the next beautiful day was spent outside roaming and shopping and during most of the driving, i sucked them into the world of lateral puzzles. My friends,novice to these types of puzzles, had a lot of fun playing and ofcourse who wouldnt???. It brings people together, questions their mind and knowledge and makes them put on their thinking cap.
After yet another amazing dinner coupled up with a dessert combination of tiramusu cake and an icecream, at a beautiful Italian restaurant, we settled for a game of pictionary. This needs a separate blog and will be continued later.
Before signing of, I would like to remind that we play our finals badminton game tonight and i hope my lack of sleep/practice in the last few days doesnt affect my game. I envision this to be a good game and as I say usually, may the team that plays better win.

Its time....

After doing reasonable research I finally ordered a 46" Samsung HDTV this morning. I am really excited and with the NCAA and NFL football season looming up in the near future cant wait for the TV to get here.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F2P31E/ref=pd_po_rvi_1/002-1236685-8710404?ie=UTF8

Folks, its party time and rightly so, they have predicted some rains this evening.....!!!!!!

This time we are the Underdogs!!!!

As we take on the mighty mixed doubles pair this evening, we need lots of skill and luck to have any go at them. Some key questions that will linger in our minds are
1)Can we play mistake free game??
2)Can we unsettle our opponents through our strategies??
3)Can we handle their powerful smashes/drops??
4)If we do take care of these issues, can we sustain them throughout??
we will soon find out...

An evening to remember or maybe to forget..

A short nap after work was essential after a hectic weekend before facing the "Second Underdogs" (the name underdogs was taken by another team) in the ISA Badminton tournament. Our team on paper was purported to be stronger than our opponents and we were expected to win in straight sets, if not easily. I played couple of warm up games and I was in such a good form during those games that i thought well, they really have to play better than their best game to defeat us.
To my surprise it wasnt the case. If I recollect, a first meaningful rally was played after like 8 points were reached. Both the teams played way below par and the crowd had absolutely no clue as to what was going on. Talking about myself, I had one of the worst games ever smashing easy volleys onto the net, innumerable service errors along with a lack of co-ordination with my partner. Be any opponent, I am usually well prepared before the games and this was no different.The only exception being that, we havent played together a meaningful game for a while.
Even though we managed to put up a win it was definitely not a satisfying performance.The final score read 15-10,12-15,15-8. As i try to find the answers for the debacle,the pressure, good play by our opponents, especially their ability to lure us into mistakes, our lack of co-ordination, too much concentration on the mixed doubles and maybe a little casual playing approach especially in the beginning could all be a good fit.
Looking at the point of view of the audience, it was indeed a nail-biting game with sets apiece and I am sure they all had good fun.I thank all my friends for the cheering and the support and I know they would be a tad dissappointed. I hope to bring my 'A' game for the mixed doubles and the finals with no respite for the opponents. Lets wait and see whats in store.

As the addictive sound of chips chimed in....

As unsuccessful snooping for a big screen TV continued over the weekend at KC, an unwarranted trip to a local casino ended up being a boon rather than a bane. The casino entrance with flashing screen images of the new poker rooms, as we grazed to the parking lot, led to an impassable feeling of the Vegas night years ago.
Under a domed stain-glass ceiling, amid hand-made Moroccan tile, intricate in-laid terrazzo floors and artist-rendered finishes, sounds of chips sent our adrenalin pumping with excitement. After our initial scouting of the casino floors for a few minutes we agreed to redeem some chips for an amount that brought the ladies at the counter to laugh at. Not deterred by these trivial issues, we made our way to the new poker room as the sound of chips got louder and louder.
After ascertaining the rules, that seemed far simpler than we were used to, we were ready to roll on. Though our hands was as weak as it could ever have with a three or a four,or a five or six, neither did we falter nor did we lose hope at any stage. The realisation that we were adroit enough to compete with the "other professionals" around thrilled us. The pace at which the game was played,the betting,card shufflers,trash talk and of-course the hot dealer made up for the weak hands that we had throughout. Due to time constraint, (as we had to pick our good old friend from the airport) we egressed to our car,sipping up a cup of free coke. Debating all the way the strategy we used and cribbing our bad fortune, we got to the aiport on time to pick our friend. This was something we didnt think we would do when we went to KC, but happy that we did at the end.

Potluck

Inspite of my hectic schedule filled with the puzzlers,badmintons,tv huntings and pokers, i could muster some time over the weekend to attend an international potluck party hosted by a friend who was leaving to Japan for good in the next few days.The fact that i am going to see awesome culinary display skills inspired me to show my own.
I made an Indian spicy dish (i am not going to name what it is as it could land me in trouble) for which I was nervous on two counts. It had to be palatable and shouldnt be too spicy to handle. Fortunately I was lucky as the dish came out decent and all my friends enjoyed it. Starting from soup to applie pie dessert I had a good workout. In the limited time i was present, I made new friends, enjoyed some stimulating conversation and ofcourse tasted wonderful food.
I wish good luck to my friend and a safe journey back home. I hope to see him again soon.:)