Fed Vs Nadal

The matchup between 'Fed express' and 'Nadal the machine' at the Australian open was anticipated by every tennis fan around the world including myself. Because of the time difference, the game was around 2:30AM on sunday morning. To my luck I had a pretty busy saturday and hit the bed around 11PM.

When my alarm rang, i couldnt get up as i was tired and lazy. But somehow I was able to subconsciously drag my feet to my couch and settled down.

Usually in a big match like this, the players are slightly off balance and rallies are usually quick and easy in the first set. But ohh my god...it wasnt the case..The first four games played between them was simply breathtaking and the kind of rallies they played reminded me of a xbox tennis game that i played long ago. It felt like a dream. Both these guys were hitting the ball so crisp and perfect that they could place it wherever they wanted the ball to go. If i was a bit drowsy in the first few mins, it went away ASAP after the first couple of games.

I have been following tennis matches in the past few years, but Fed and Nadal has taken the game to an entirely new level and it seemed clear that they are far ahead from the rest of the pack.

I was totally amazed at their fitness, crosscourt shots, backhand and..i can go on and on and on...It was a spectacular treat to watch. The game was close till the 4th set and it could have gone either way, but Nadal the machine, continued his form and took the fifth set easily without too much of a fight surprisingly from Fed. I didnt feel bad for Federer because he was ousted by a better and tougher player, atleast on that day.

It remains to be seen when and how will Federer take the 14th grand slam and it would be a sweet revenge if he can win the french open by defeating the Master of Clay Court....

Events....

I brought my lunch from home this afternoon which is a very very rare event. Hence there is a strong urge for a new blog and be proud about this day..hehehe...I really cant remember the last time i brought my own lunch. Anyways, as i was munching my well heated food, i thought over the events happening in the next few weeks.

First and foremost of all the season premiere of Lost Season V begins tonight and i really cant express myself how excited i am about this season. I spent part of last weekend trying to catch up with the final episodes of last season and cant believe how many minute details i missed and how some of the puzzles fit so well. Unlike the previous seasons, i seriously hope this season answers more questions than raising them.

Australian open is in full swing at the moment and the fab four are going as strong as everyone would expect. So it promises to be an humdinger and a race to a fantastic finish.

Superbowl 43 is nearby and for the first time in a few years, i am not that excited. I seriously hope it becomes an offensive game, though the probability of that happening appears to be very slim. The cardinals are on a roll, but they are facing a team that faced one of the toughest schedule and the best defense in NFL. The way big ben is playing over the last few weeks, i just hope it doesnt get one sided, which would spoil the whole party. Though i am not playing down the chance of a cardinal win, it is very clear that Steelers are the better team with more talent and experience. Hence there is a strong need to make this Superbowl a much more fun event than in the past, where the game took the center stage.

Here is another beautiful song called "Downtown" from Lost with my favorite character Juliet....

Happy New Year 2009!!!

I would like to wish everyone a very very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2009!! May you all be blessed with great health, happiness, excitement and success and hope 2009 is another year where we go and chase our dreams and get it..!!!

India Trip..Part II

As it was so hectic the first couple of weeks, i was hoping that I would spend the last couple of weeks in leisure and eating some good food and chill..but it never happens as you expect isnt it.?

On the contrary, it turned out to be one of the most exciting/hectic and at the same time fun couple of weeks as suddenly life took a complete U-turn with sudden two big events in my family.

The bend in that U-turn was so sharp, that there was no time to react or ponder. Though the turn was executed in a haste, the process itself was smooth, planned and to perfection. At the same time, there was some drama, nervousness, lots of thinking and maybe to some extent hesitation.

All of a sudden I couldnt find the "dont care, fun loving, easy going" attitude in me...The new feeling was different, something i never felt before and only time can tell what exactly it is.....

Overall, it was a wonderful and a fantastic trip back home and i couldnt have asked anything better.. It was very sad to leave home and start back, but as i was flying back, i was able to recollect each and every glorious day i spent and cherished every moment of it....

India Trip..Part I

A trip across the oceans to meet your family is always an exciting and a much needed/most looking forward vacation for people who study/work in the US.As its been a while since i made a trip home, I had a chance to visit home on the occasion of my Dad's 60th bday celebrations. I didnt really know the importance of the function unil the day of the event.This event is considered bigger than one's marriage. So it was done very traditional, some of which i had forgotten and had a chance to observe and learn the customs again.

So it was not only a reunion with my family, but a reunion of all our relatives who showed up for the function. The function was a huge success and everything was planned to perfection by my parents and some of our close relatives. Though my participation was there, it was minimal and more organizational work than physical. I was impressed with the research that my parents did on fixing up the venues, the caterers and the other usual suspects.

I met a lot of my close relatives and as usual have to take in their comments/take on life in general. I had a mixture of comments such as i have put on weight/lost weight/look different/same compared to my last visit/get married soon/should come back and settle in india/should stay in US..etc..I cant blame them because they really dont know what kind of a person i have become since my move to US, but the fact is that, they cared for me and want to share their opinion. My usual and typical response is to acknowledge and smile it off..

One thing i observed during my stay in chennai was, the general public hasnt yet mastered the fashion compared to cities like mumbai or delhi or bangalore. Only people who live in "those popular" areas seem to have a great fashion sense. Others have been how they were since my last visit. There have been some flyovers constructed which has greatly eased the traffic conditions, the cost has increased, people are spending more money and at the same time, there has been shortage of water/power etc..However one thing that surprised me was the weather..it was awesome almost in the 70's everyday i am staying here, though couple of days i was hampered because of heavy rains staying at home and just didnt know what to do.

I met some of my friends from US who also had come over to visit their respective family. So using them as an excuse, had a chance to explore some of the restaurants/places in and around chennai. Travel is a hassle as most of my friends live in different places. However i did have a chance to ride motorcycle and also after constant pressure my dad's car. I was surprised and impressed with myself that i could drive and able to navigate in our traffic conditions.

So far, i had a chance to visit a beach, watch a movie in Satyam theatre, ate in couple of good restaurants, travel in train/bus as well as got drenched in rains!!!.. Till now the ride has been excellent....except that I realized i missed my grandpa the most who had been one of my sole advisor in the past...

eye-Touch..less

I love to listen to music..but i dont fancy listening to music when i am doing other activities..(such as at work, gym. travel etc..i like to talk to the people around me and socialize..)
However recently things have changed after i bought this new itouch and have been playing with it for a while now. Though i use it mostly to browse the internet, check my mails and stuff, i am slowly starting to use it other times as well...
Especially i have begun to use it when i workout at the gym..though it hampered my ability to talk to other people around me , i have realized that it does help doing my workouts. I probably enjoy my workout a bit more now than before and it definitely increases the effectiveness of my workout. Of late, i cant go to the gym without the touch.
I have actually considered before that such items could possibly make a person lonely. But however the features that it has definitely has proven me wrong.
I am still yet to explore all of them, but i am sure i will get there soon. There are some cool games in the appstore i want to lay my hands on, but i am kind of afraid, it would be addictive and hence i am staying away from it for the time being.
With information at my fingertips, it is going to be a hard instrument to get rid of once you are used to it...

ISA Cup'08 Part II

I walked back with a bit of disappointment, but was reasonably happy with the start i gave. We had two of our main big hitting batsmen at the crease and just another 6-7 overs to go. They were beginning to find their rhythm and scored valuable runs in the next few overs. However we slowed down a little bit due to some terrific bowling by our opponents and our slog shots didnt find the bat. In the end we mustered 74 runs, and i thought we were probably 6-10 runs short of what we wanted to achieve.

However, with they way we bowled on the light-affected match, the previous match, and the fact that the other team had to chase under lights, i fancied our chances 60-40 to win.

Their openers were very positive and were in attacking mode. They took risks, irrespective of our bowlers and during the process they gave chances which we didnt take. For some reason, our fielding wasnt upto the mark, but i thought our bowling was pretty good and like the other day, we gave away very less extras. We bowled with good pace and made the batsmen work for their runs. But we gave too many second chances to their batsmen and slowly that was beginning to make a toll.

Our inability to take wickets and bring in a new batsman to face the music prevented us to slow down the run-rate. The other team was always in a acceptable run rate until the last 2 overs. We dropped several chances in our penultimate over which resulted in valuable runs and under the context of the match each and every run was killing us and the moral of our team. Their main batsman who was still at the crease, because of our generosity, was finding the meet of the bat and was easily putting bad balls to fours.

It came down to 9 runs off 1 over with their main batsman still at the crease. I gave our chances 70-30. First ball was a dot ball. Second ball a risky single which resulted in a double because of a overthrow. I was not happy with that overthrow as wickets was our least concern at that time and there is no reason to bring their main batsman on strike. The next thing we know, the batsman hit two consecutive fours to seal the victory. The bowling in the last over was not great, but it wasnt bad too. They played some shots better than us, took more risks than our team and it all paid in the end. They lifted the ISA cup finally that has been avoiding them for a while and I would like to congratulate them on this victory as well as providing an exciting finals to our audience.

Except in the field, our team gave their best and i enjoyed playing with this team. The camaraderie started with designing our own t-shirts (at odd times) and ended at misty's. We had our own official team manager, photographer, cheerleaders as well as a Video Camera Specialist. Only thing missing was a team song!!!!! Btw our team name was Red Bulls!!!!

The tournament, however brought an end to a fantastic cricket season i have ever been involved with. I had a terrific time both on and off the field and had an opportunity to make some new friends.

With the football season, expected to start soon, the next few weeks are required for a much needed break!!!!

ISA Cup'08 Part I

After a one-sided victory in the fun cricket cup, the isa cup was eagerly anticipated by everyone involved. Out of four teams that took part, two teams were very strong (compared to other two) and one of the strong team was ours. As expected, the two strong teams made it to the final with relative ease.

I was looking forward to this final very much as in last year's final my contribution wasn't great. (I was run out as a result of a good fielding and a direct hit). This time, i was determined to stay at the crease for a while and show some patience. I was also disappointed with the way i threw my wicket out in the previous two games when i had just started to find my timing and get settled.

Before the finals, i told myself two things
1)i am going to play a patient innings
2)i will not be run out like last year.

However to my dismay, both of these conditions were thrown out of the window, when we learned that its going to be a short version due to light conditions.
I also had to attend a wedding reception, the same evening just an hour before the game where i helped myself to some cocktails, appetizers and a half course meal. I just barely made it to the stadium (hoping on the way that we wont bat first) with my stomach so heavy that i was barely able to move. But as expected or I feared, we won the toss and elected to bat and i was going to open in a few minutes.

I didnt have any time to think about the kind of innings i was going to play. However i wanted to stay there for at least 3-4 overs before our main big hitters can take stage.
I am generally nervous, when i play my first ball. Usually in any cricket season, i have always fallen cheaply in my first over with a nick behind. However this year, it has never happened, and for the first time i can remember, i wasnt nervous facing the first ball in the final. Actually i was ready for it.

At the same time this season has been the one, where i never played a long innings which i was usually accustomed to play and definitely there was no opportunity for me to play one in the finals.

85 from 10 overs was my target when i marked my crease and since first 3 overs was power play i wanted at least 20-25 runs on the board. Unfortunately we lost a quick wicket in the first over and i was just getting set.So we could not score much off the first over. Our key batsman was at the other crease and we started playing some shots on both sides of the wicket and had no choice but to take risky singles, as the bowling was not that easy to hit fours. I hit couple of good shots before a risky single turned into a disaster and i had to throw my wicket away as a severe miscommunication happened to us. I always feel that i am a good runner between the wickets and for me to be involved in a miscommunication bothered me. But anyways, our key batsman was there and i was hoping he would play a good innings.