Bad Company

I didn't like Company, found it a big bore. Ajay Devgan looks menacing and Manisha does her best to emulate Sharon Stone (Casino). The new kid on the block, Vivek Oberoi, looks constipated throughout. And the less said of Mohan Lal's accent, the better.

Still Angsty

Got so depressed on Saturday I went on a shopping spree. Picked up four vcds from music world - Sathya, Deewar, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and Four Weddings & A Funeral. Got chewed out by Sindha immediately after, so returned to the depressed state.

Another year, another disaster at Mastermind. This is now my fourth attempt at the prelims. I dont know why I even bother. My best chance was the first time when I was in touch with quizzing. Oh well, at least I know of one l-j-er who cracked the prelims and appeared on National TV. , take a bow !

I feel fat and bloated. Havent gone walking for a week now. Need to start again. Actually I should start running again. Wish was here.

Current book - True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey

Hashish eaters

The l-j spell check had a nice suggestion for the word 'sysadmins' in my previous post: 'assassins'. How very appropriate.

Better

Feeling better now. Got the monitor on the CD-writer machine to work, so have been burning CDs like pappadams now. And the sysadmins at Dallas have fixed the problem.
Alls well that gets postponed to tomorrow.

Hmph !

I hate Saturdays.

Am at the office right now, trying to help my team in getting a patch release out. Its not going too well due to some problems with the servers at Dallas. Frustrating. I think we'll need to come back tomorrow and try again.

Had lunch at Nadhinis, alone. Which is another thing I dislike. I'd much rather buy lunch and take it home if I am to eat it alone. Put my feet up, read a book, put the TV on, listen to music - multitask while eating.

Feeling angsty, if that's a word. Other stuff happening at office is also getting on my nerves.

Miscellaneous rants - the monitor on the machine with the CD-writer at office is not working, its very hot outside, I haven't yet renewed my vehicle insurance, my loan application at office is in some goddamn queue, I need money to pay the booking advance for the Palio, don't have good books to read, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

I hate Saturdays.

Current book - True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey

Books and booking

Stopped reading Anil's Ghost, found it very boring. By a strange coincidence, a recent episode of Seinfeld was about The English Patient. I thought both the books (by Michael Ondaatje) were quite overrated. Didn't get around to finishing either.

Started on The Information by Martin Amis. Gave up after a dozen pages. This typically droll modern British writing doesn't do anything for me.

Now I've started reading The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey, this years Booker winner. Promising beginning, lets see how it shapes up.

And oh, we've decided to go for broke - finalised on the Palio 1.2 ELPS. Currently negotiating with finance companies to get a good deal. Expect delivery only by end June though, as it takes 6-8 weeks after booking.

Current book - True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey

Chennai in the summer...

Had a great weekend. Sindha and her parents were home, so pigged out on food. Checked out a few cars - Santro, Indica and Palio. The dealers actually bring the cars to your house these days, to give you a test drive. Talk about customer delight.

We are trying to chose between the Indica and the Palio. The former is slightly bigger and has a cost advantage of Rs 60,000. However the Palio is classier and appears to have a smoother finish and better engine performance. The mileage is lousy for both the cars, so I'm screwed either way.

My cousin Anu is getting married in June, at Chennai. Everyone is feeling extremely excited. This will be the second marriage in the family since mine five years back. (Has it really been five years ?? Maaan....)

Sindha wont be able to attend, but I am thinking of taking a few days off and be there from the 14th or 15th. Thought - how about driving down ? Heh heh heh....

Current book - Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje

Of nifty tools and cars

Did some TP (time-pass) over this. Couldn't come up with anything very funny, so left it at what you see below.

Sindha and her parents arrive tomorrow. Look forward to eating some home cooked food again ! Yum !

I also plan to start looking out for a car. Narrowed down my choices to:
- Fiat Palio
- Second-hand Esteem
- Tata Indica
- Hyundai Santro

I'd like to arrive at a decision when Sindha is around, so want to finalize at least on the make over the coming weekend. I can worry about the money part the next week !

Still at office

From my previous post:
..Thankfully, there aren't any meetings in the evening today...

Boy, was I wrong ! Had an open house to discuss this. Personally I think its a positive move and will be good for i2 in the long run. Still, a change is always associated with instability, so there are some concerns...

Current Book - Anils' Ghost by Michael Ondaatje

Cold weekend

Developed a slight cold after the concert. Renovation work at the office added to it today. There's sawdust, fevicol, paint, varnish and lots of dust close to my cube. Plan to go home early, cant concentrate on work. Thankfully, there aren't any meetings in the evening today.

Saw Fight Club last evening. Liked it, so David Fincher scores 3 out of 3 on my list - Se7en, Fallen and now Fight Club.

Brilliant !

That sums up the Waters concert. Brilliant music, brilliant sound. The visual effects were below what I had expected, but the music was simply outstanding. Very professional, very Waters.

He played selections from The Wall, Animals, Wish You Were Here, A Saucerful of Secrets, Dark Side of the Moon, Amused to Death, Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking and a few others I couldn't recognize. There was a new song called The Flickering Flame at the end.

Thought: the world is divided into
- those who think The Dark Side of the Moon is the best Floyd album
- those who believe its The Wall
- and those who know its Wish You Were Here

Current book - Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje

Serious Heroes

Got the demo of Serious Sam: The Second Episode from a friend's Digit CD. Have heard rumours that the game is available in Mumbai. Heroes IV is also out in the US, the review looks great. Cant wait to get my paws on both.

Current book - Soul Music by Terry Pratchett

Bad Day at Black Rock

Yesterday was totally crazy. Rolled my bike out to discover it had a flat. Left it at home as I had to rush to a day-long training session. Reminded myself to get it repaired the next day so that I could pick up from the airport. Had the surprise of my life when I saw him at my door yesterday evening itself. I had got my dates mixed up. *sigh*....

The day was however redeemed by the old reliable Long Island chappie. Had a good time with Jayasankar and Kichan at Kapalua. Returned home and chatted till 1:30. Alls well that ends well, I guess.

Current book - Soul Music by Terry Pratchett

Collector's Items

's last post set me thinking. I didnt collect Floyd albums, but I was interested in various stuff during school and college days. Started off with philately, of course. Collected some Dutch stamps (my aunt lives there) and a few South African stamps (had a pen pal). I swapped one of these for a rare Surinam stamp and had added it to my collection when my co-collector cousin Biju came home. He had bought the latest Robert Ludlum (The Bourne Supremacy) and was taking it back to Adoor. I shamelessly exchanged the stamp for the book and that was the end of my stamp collecting era. Actually, it marked the end of my Robert Ludlum era too. Ludlum went on to write one more sequel - The Bourne Ultimatum - and died before he completed The Bourne Idiocy. But I still think a few of his books were good, fast reads - The Matarese Circle and The Bourne Identity are examples.

Then there were numerous attempts over the years to collect albums of Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, AR Rehman; books by Stephen King, Ed McBain, John Irving, John Fowles, PG Wodehouse, the Asterix series, etc.

Since this is meant for family reading I wont mention my porn collection.

Docs don't dock

Thought I'd land up with fever on Saturday, but didn't. Reminds me of school, really.
You get up in the morning with a sore throat and mild body ache. Stagger downstairs where your mother makes you coffee. You look at her with bleary eyes and cough twice. She checks your pulse and says there's nothing wrong. Pats you on the head, you are back in your room. You put up a brave face and get ready for another day at school.

My mother is a doc, by the way. So is my wife. I don't think I have any escape. Maybe my daughter will be a pilot.

Current book - The Van by Roddy Doyle

Irutthinte Aathmavu

Its 7:30pm on a Saturday night and there's no power at home. This is getting to be a habit, by Belenos !

Current books - Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett, The Van by Roddy Doyle

We are like this wonly

Movie stars and film mags
Pepsi ads and cola wars
Cricket in the Caribbean
Models, celebs, women and wine.

Burn, kill, trash and rape
Bribe, pay, wink and nudge
Crammed in a southbound train
Lie and cheat all the way

Long Island Iced Tea

God's greatest invention since sliced bread.

Had three of them tonight with the office folks. Long live long island ! Long live Vercingitorix...hic..!

Entering the last two months of the release. Work...

Entering the last two months of the release. Work is steadily increasing, not to mention the meetings. Need to manage my time better. Maybe I should buy a PDA.

Yeah, right. :-)

Current books - The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett, The Van by Roddy Doyle

Thanks

Thanks for all the wishes.

The weekend went off very well. Sindha got her thesis signed, her microscope fixed and spirits uplifted. I had a nice birthday though it was slightly sad at the end when I boarded the bus back to Bangalore.

Lots of work piled up. Banzai !