Thou Puny Clay-Brained Maggot-Pie !

British insults are the best. Shows like Blackadder and Monty Python's Flying Circus brought it out the best. One of my favorites is "I bump into cleverer people at a lodge meeting of village idiots." Also, you need the context for this, but it kills - "Which Pitt is it ? Pitt the toddler ? Pitt the embryo ? Pitt, the glint in the milkman's eye ?"

I recently came across this picture on the internet and it had me falling off my chair in laughter.

Insults have always been a huge part of these shows. Think Blackadder and Baldrick. If you've watched the show, you will definitely be able to picture Edmund calling Baldrick "An artless ill-breeding wagtail."

So go ahead and have fun with this, Thou logger-headed dizzy-eyed foot-licker. I definitely did.

Atu :D

Through the Looking Glass . . .

There is a circular origami with a hole in the middle on the back glass door of my cousin's house (where I currently reside). She has wanted to take it down a couple of times but I told her to keep it up. When she asked why, I just said that I like to look through the hole in the middle, through the glass. It was as simple as that.

I occasionally look through that hole for just more than a moment. Why do I do it ? Possibly looking for something good on the other side. Like the cupboard that led to Narnia. Like the Rabbit Hole that led to wonderland. Like the Tornado that took Dorothy and Toto to Oz. Looking for something different than what is actually outside. Looking for a place where everything is nice. Looking for that one thing that makes everyone happy. That one thing that makes me happy.

Hoping to see a different world. Where peace prevails and war & violence are words now archaic. Where famines and droughts are things long forgotten. Where the ice-caps aren't melting and where everyone is happy and content. Where all is well and there is nothing to worry about. Wouldn't that paint a nice picture.

Now, I have to disagree with myself. I have always believed that it is the hardships that make you grow as a person. Make you stronger. Toughen you up for the big, bad and scary real world outside. But through that small hole, the real world isn't a scary place. It's a place of smiles. That world, viewed through the hole, doesn't exist. And even if it did, I do not think that I would want to be a part of it. As much as I dream about it, I wouldn't want to be in it.

I might be contradicting myself and earning many glares from all of you. Maybe what I want to see when I look through the hole isn't a happy place where there is no wrong. Maybe I want the hole to act as a telescope into the future. My own future.

I agree that it will take the fun out of the experience of the life I will lead. And maybe knowing what the future holds may not always be the best thing for anyone. Nevertheless, I will continue to gaze through that hole. Hoping to see the future or nab a glimpse of the other world brings about a sense of peace. To me, it's similar to listening to "The Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd and Clare Torry starts her wordless vocals on The Great Gig in the Sky. A moment where it's nothing else but you at peace.

Year Two.

It's been ages since I've posted. I could attribute it to having a crazy fun life with me partying every weekend and waking up on the side of the street. I wish. I haven't been in a very "blogging" mood. Heck, i crossed 2 years of living in the US and didn't even post what I thought would be a yearly mandatory "This-Is-What-Happened-This Year" post. There's been a lot of change though. A period of transition. A time to reflect and take decisions for the better.

Year 2 in the US went along pretty well. It was definitely a better year than the first. I knew what I was doing. I knew why I was here. I'm still unable to fathom the fact that it's been two years and I have finished my masters. The fact that I still haven't graduated is just a mere technicality.

Year 2 made me a more determined person. Knowing that something had to be achieved for both personal and professional reasons. And that it would have had a profound effect on, not just me, but others too. Guidance from everyone was really helpful. November/ December were stressed out. Project Work going nowhere; Finals (well, just final in the end) to study for. Plans for the annual Pitt trip. In the end it all worked out. Maybe the grade that mattered wasn't what I expected, but it was enough to see things out. Pitt was wonderful as usual. Got in some major beer pong battles. I still have sweet dreams about Meera Pedhi's Lamb in Almond Sauce. Back to the big, bad city. In all the snow.

The city's worst snowstorm in ages. An unbelievable weekend with unbelievable friends. The best new year's eve party I have ever been too. Kati rolls at 2:30 am are never a good idea.

2011 started out amazingly for me. I looked to it like there was no turning back. It was my year. The feeling of euphoria was indescribable. Staying at 430 Euclid alone because everyone else had traveled somewhere. The Three-Stooges-Karoake-Birthday party. And the morning after. The best birthday in a long time. Thank you to Pushkar, Amith and Don for coming over on the 10th and keeping me company as my birthday dawned. It was just the best. Watching the sun rise. And the morning after. A trip up to Boston to see the little guys. Back to the city awaiting a reunion of sorts of the 6 roommates. Every time someone returned, a mini-celebration. Research work continued. Better progress. Supposedly. Pushkar's birthday. And the morning after. Seeing the Steelers beat the lousy Jets to reach the Superbowl.

January 2011 could have been my most favorite month since I landed in the USA. But there's more to come.

Soon.

Atu

The Random Picture - Broken Down

As the picture is small, all readers are requested to open it in a new tab for viewing. This makes it easier as you will be able to actually see the numbers being referenced below. Sorry for the inconvenience.

1. The Tyrannosaurus Rex exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. Something that has intrigued me since Jurassic Park.

2. One of many pitchers drunk at the bar while watching the USA play Ghana in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Round-of-16 knockout game.

3. Brooklyn Bridge at night. The day when we had to suffice with Plan B.

4. The Simpsons' rendition of the Beatles at Abbey Road.

5. The white board at RH515R. Would not have known what to do without it.

6. JFK Airport. Taken from the train with a poor resolution camera.

7. The flag I used when I was assistant referee at my niece's football(soccer) game.

8. Fish hanging from the ceiling. At the American Museum of Natural History.

9. Business Hours at a cafe in the Colorado Mountains. It's always nice to walk into a restaurant that has a joke as business hours.

10. Rockaway Beach in Queens, NY. Took a swim in the Atlantic Ocean. Two down and Two to go.

11. The stacks of M&M's at M&M World, Times Square, NYC. The multitude of colors is staggering.

12. The intersection between West 4th Street and West 12th Street. NYC streets can be confusing.

13. Frying bacon at Club 184. To be used in the burger which will feature later.

14. Weird structures at the Corning Museum of Glass. AviItosis described them to be the Stairway to Heaven.

15. Empire State Building. Nothing more needs to be said.

16. The vertical of the Superman: Ride of Steel at Darien Lake Six Flags. One of the best roller coasters I've ever been on.

17. A cheeseburger at Nick Tahoe, Rochester, NY. True diner grub.

18. At the Andy Warhol museum in Pittsburgh, PA. It's too bad photography is banned at the real exhibits.

19. A shot of my laptop keyboard. My attempt at being artistic with a Point 'n' Shoot.

20. The Liverpool Football Club poster that hangs in my room. You'll Never Walk Alone.

21. The Christmas tree at Metrotech Center. Just outside school.

22. A lineup of desserts at Pasticceria Bruno, NYC. Still, the best desserts I've ever had.

23. Macaroni with cut-up hot dogs. Dinner staple during the Summer of 2010.

24. Random shot testing my camera. The corner of my room.

25. My Birthday Cake from 2011. Thanks to Don, Pushkar, Amith and Danny.

26. NYC streets by night. Driving back from Hoboken after helping Sid move.

27. Random street light in Chinatown, NYC.

28. Not exactly sure what this is a picture of. I think it's the Despicable Me trailer before a Laker game at The Forum.

29. All out of Sake at California Rollin', Rochester, NY.

30. Baseball on Kanishka's Wii at home. The excitement was crazy, while it lasted.

31. The second best burger ever eaten. This is what the bacon from picture 13 went into.

32. On the porch of 430 Euclid Avenue on a cold snowy night.

33. The Atomic Clock at Union Square, NYC. I used to wonder what all those numbers depicted. Now, I know.

34. Grand Central Station, NYC. Never taken a train from here, but eaten in the food court twice.

35. The best wallpaper ever. Springfield Punx. Everyone you can think of is in here.

36. Beer Pong at the Ramakrishna's in Pittsburgh, PA. That's the way my family rolls.

37. A Siamese Fighter Fish eating a smaller fish at a Pet store in NJ.

38. Just another Saturday afternoon at the Club. After shot-gunning with Sid, Phil, Elbert and Scarlett.

Atu

Random Notions of the Nonsensical - III

Do certain events happen as a consequence of something that has already happened ? Like the Domino effect. One thing happens that sets in motion a series of related events. Or are all events unrelated. Things happen by chance. It's interesting to think that the domino effect has a role to play. Maybe what happens after will be for the good. Or maybe it could be the worst thing a person can imagine will happen to them. On the other hand, if there is no such "real" thing as the domino effect, all events and happenings are unrelated, chance and coincidence takes the front row.

This is what got me thinking about this -

For sometime, maybe since the start of the new year, a certain meteorological event has occurred when another (what we like to call) unlikely event has also occurred. A person, let's call him/her Mac is believed to trigger the said meteorological event whenever he/she does something (what we like to call) unusual. Had the meteorological event happened once or on a couple of occasions, it is probably by chance or just some random coincidence. But what has been noticed by the aforementioned we that whenever Mac does this one particular thing, the meteorological event occurs like clockwork. It is really perplexing. We have been forced to believe that the connection between the two is something more that a mere coincidence.

Proponents of ancient Vedic spiritual and other mystical teachings insist on the view that there is absolutely no coincidence in the world. Maybe that's true. Maybe this person called Mac has an effect on the weather when he/she does something in particular. Maybe there are others out there who control far greater things rather than just the weather, when they do certain tasks. Maybe they are waiting for a particular time to reveal themselves. That would explain why Mac does something most of the time. Maybe we should be afraid.

Or maybe we should get a life.

Random Notions of the Nonsensical - II

Ever wondered why one(1) is the first number ? Wondered why B comes after A ? β before α ?

People answer that 1 is the first by showing me a finger (not the finger) and saying this is one. And two fingers is two ones so it's two. I get that. I know the difference. What I want to know is why 1 is the first number. Isn't it because someone assigned the word "one" to represent a single item. What if, that same someone had said or assigned two to mean one and vice versa. It all had to start somewhere right ?

It's the same case with alphabets and words too. Why do we call a table a table ? A chair a chair ? A watch a watch ? There are so many things that can be questioned in this world today. This I question have absolutely no sense and relevance.

Imagine if the alphabet went like this - W F Q S T X C D K L B A I R P L M E G Z J U N V Y O. And they decided that W G B L S were the vowels. Words would be spelled differently. Sound different. Even what I'm typing write now will not have any sense.

Also if the number system was named differently. If two was one and one was two. Thousand meant a hundred and vice versa. Everything we know would be different.

Is it possible that in some other dimension or planet, this actually exists. Why not ? Anything that is said would be weird sounding which gives us - an Alien language.

It's just interesting to question it and think about how different everything would be. At least to a few people. I guess. Or is it possible that I'm the only one.

Atu

A Little Bit of Something Else.

All characters and events in this story are figments of an imagination that is both vivid and daffy.



He walks into the subway car. He's listening to Jethro Tull's "Aqualung". He knew he had to stand all the way to his office. He was used to it. It has happened everyday for the past six months. He never usually notices the people around him. But, this day, today, something made him look up. Made him glance at the people around him. Notice the people who are sitting in the car. That's when he sees her.

Sitting in the subway car. Legs crossed. Reading the New York Times. She looks up. He starts to hear "The first time I ever saw your face" by Johnny Cash. She notices him looking at her. She does what every guy looking at a girl hopes for, she smiles at him.

All he can hear now is "She Loves You" by The Beatles. He knows that it's a bit much. Patting the back of his head, he starts to wonder what to do. Chances like this are probably 1 in a million. For him at least. And for someone who believes in karma and destiny, he thought that it fit perfectly. It had been a difficult eight-ten months. Getting fired. Being unemployed. Getting hired. Settling down at the new place. Things were looking up. This is just part of the world helping him become the top dog again. He wasn't going to miss out on an opportunity like this.

The first stop arrives. He looks to see if she gets down. No, she doesn't. She happens to do the same. It's like the first battle has been won. He starts to make his way over to her. She starts to fix her hair on seeing that he's coming over. He realizes that's a sign. She seems interested too. His day was getting better. He mistakenly pushes a lady against the door. He wants to apologize, he's a nice guy. But the next stop is coming fast. He needs to get across the car. The lady he pushed turns and is about to shout. But, she sees why he's moving fast. She smiles to herself and thinks, "Young Love."

People in the car notice him moving towards them and see her starting to get excited too. They make way, as much as they can, for him. He knows that this is it. This is God making everything work for him. For her too probably. She starts to get up. He has convinced himself that it's for him. She's going to make her way over too.

It remained him of scenes from the movies. Two people, falling or fallen in love, running towards each other. In a cornfield. In a train station. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture is the only thing he can hear. Everything else has fallen silent. They seem to be alone. The train seems to have stopped moving. She is next to him. They are face to face.

It was now. There wasn't a 'or never' part for him. This was it.

He can see only her. Her beautiful face. He starts to speak. No words come out. he stands with his mouth open. Seconds pass. To him, they seem like hours.

She starts to say something. All he hears is "I knew I loved you" by Savage Garden. He starts to remember that the video for the song was in a subway car too. He cannot believe that is what he's thinking off. She says something. He doesn't hear it. She says it again. He tries to get the song out of his head. He succeeds.

She says, " Excuse me, your blocking the door." He doesn't register what she said. He stands there with his mouth open. She puts her hand across his chest. He almost melts, but smiles. She looks into his eyes, smiles and pushes him aside.

As she gets out of the car, she shows him her left hand. He sees a ring on her finger. He sees her walk up to a guy in a suit. She puts her arms around the guy and gives the guy a hug.

The doors closed. He stands stunned. He still can't take his eyes off her. The train starts to pull away from the station. As it does, she turns, sees him, smiles at him before walking away with the guy.

He stands. Still stunned by the events that just occurred. He looks up and sees the crowd minding their own business. He smiles to himself and says, " Women."

Random Notions of the Nonsensical - I

Have you ever wondered how it would be had you been in a different time period ? I'm not talking about the prehistoric or mesozoic eras. You don't have to think so far behind. Just a couple of decades or centuries back. Though, coming to think of it now, living in the dinosaur era might be the coolest thing ever. Think of that old cartoon that used to air on the old Cartoon Network "Herculoids". Interesting huh.

Why I am talking about this is because I have thought about it. And like everything else I think about, there is no sanity in any of it. Imagine being there at great historical events like The Indian Independence Movement, the assassination of JFK, Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. Being there when the Easter Island heads appeared. Finally solving the mystery of "What Happened to the dinosaurs?". Being there at Stonehenge. Going back and asking The Mayans whether the world will really end. Figuring out whether the Knights Templar knew the secret of the Holy Grail. The list is endless. For me at least. Though I'd like to believe that many people will share the same thoughts.

This brings me to which part of time I really want to go to. I have always enjoyed the Classic Rock and Rock 'N' Roll more than the current stuff. I think it started when I first found my dad's 'A Hard Day's Night' audio cassette. That led me to the Eagles and it went on from there. Yes, there was also a phase where nothing could beat the Backstreet Boys. Ugh. But as I grew older and wiser (supposedly), the magic of the classics found me again. The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel , The Rolling Stones , Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix and the list goes on. Playlists of 50 best Rock songs, VH1's best ever rock songs. I was hooked. Even more now than before.

Now, the events mentioned earlier have something to compete with. But they can't even come close. If I could transport myself, all 23 years of age and wisdom (there I go again) , there's one place I want to be - The Woodstock Music & Art Fair

WOODSTOCK BABY !!!!!

Imagine being there. Listening to musical legends like Jimi Hendrix , Santana , Creedence Clearwater Revival , Canned Heat , Grateful Dead , Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and many many more. Imagine if Bob Dylan, Zeppelin and the Beatles hadn't declined the invitation.

AHHHHHHH! !! ! ! !

I am going crazy just thinking about it. I think had I been a teen or in my 20s back then, I might have joined the hippie movement in all it's glory. For sure. It's obvious when my favorite song is by The Beatles and is "I am a Walrus". Carefree. No care in the world for authority. Unkempt appearances. I think that works.

Yes. It does. ;D

To sign off,

I am the eggman
They are the eggmen
I am the walrus
Goo goo g' joob
G-goo goo g' joob
Goo goo g' goo
G-goo goo g' joob goo.

Atu

India Pakistan World Cup Semifinal.

On March 24th,a Thursday, it was known that India will be playing Pakistan in the semi finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. India, playing at home, had just beaten the current champions Australia, breaking their record of 3 consecutive world cup wins. Coincidentally, Pakistan was the team who snapped Australia's unbeaten streak in world cup matches. A record that dates back to 1999. India vs. Pakistan. It doesn't get bigger than this in the world of cricket. The Ashes comes close maybe, but an India-Pakistan match is far beyond anything else. And it being for a spot in the World Cup Final made it even bigger.

Indo-Pak cricket has always been a spectacle. With the political histories of the two countries, it is a big deal. It always is, always will be.

The excitement started probably form the second after India beat Australia. With Pakistan beating the West Indies the previous day, everyone knew what was in store in Mohali on the 30th of March. India and Pakistan matches, tests , one days and T20s always create an atmosphere of unbelievable intensity. Lately, matches between the two have been few and this just added even more spice. It was going to be memorable.

People started talking. Discussions with my roommates about who should play, who will win, who the favorites are, who the underdogs are. It was cricket fever like never before. Friends started posting links and videos on Facebook about the passion of these matches. Memorable moments, confrontations between players, tensions running high. It probably is the biggest match possible (other than if they met in the final).

India had a record of 4-0 against Pakistan in World cups. Pakistan had never lost to India in Mohali. One of these records was going to be broken. Memories of Javed Miandad vs. Kiran More in 1992, Venkatesh Prasad vs. Aamir Sohail in 1996, Sachin Tendulkar vs. Shoaib Akhtar in 2003 flood back to us like it was yesterday. It was setup like no other game had been setup.

Everyone at school was talking about it. Rumors flying around that the Graduate Indian Student Association was planning on telecasting the match on a big screen. For a cricket match that starts at 5 am. Meeting people at school just to talk about it. There wasn't much talk about tactics or predictions. Most talk was directed towards it being an India-Pakistan match. Everything else seemed irrelevant. And the rumor was true. GISA was going to telecast the match in the Gym on the 30th at 5 am. It was going to be incredible.

It was finally the 29th. GISA had all the preparations ready. Everyone was confirming whether or not the were going to make it at 5 am. Whether the streaming would be of good quality. Whether we were allowed to bring drums and empty plastic bottles to bang like any cricket match in India. A facebook event was created. Over 150 people said they were attending. Asking everyone anyone met whether they are coming or not. I left school at 6 in the evening. The plan was to sleep a little earlier and wake up by 4 am. I crashed unexpectedly at 7:30 and got up at 10:30. Err. Damn, was I gonna be able to make it through the night. There wasn't any food at home as yours truly was supposed to cook and didn't. A late night walk to the Chinese restaurant to buy food for whoever wanted to eat.

12:30 am on the 30th. Four and half hours to go. In the midst of deciding whether to sleep or not, Avinash, Vivek, Kanishka and I started a game of AOE. Coincidence was that we were playing against someone from Pakistan. For us, the battle had begun. If only my laptop wireless worked like it is supposed to, we would have won. As always, we played Counter Strike after. It seemed like any other night at home.

3 am. 2 hours to go. Madhan comes and tells us to check out ESPN.com. It has Sachin on it's homepage. The title reads - 1 man, 1 billion hopes. That says it all. Again, we start talking about the match. Watching India-Pakistan videos again. Wondering who made the video because it had more of Pakistan than India. Stupid. The intensity was reaching it's optimum.

4:30 am. A half hour to go. Standing in the Euclid Avenue station. A shuttle train from Ozone Park pulls in. A lot of people get out. We know it's a part of the Indian contingent from school.

5 am. It begins. India wins the toss and decides to bat. The setup for the match is nice. A large screen. People sitting all around. It's been ages since I've seen a match in this kind of atmosphere. Sehwag gets off to a blinder of a start. People are cheering, screaming. Then, he gets out. Silence all around. It was crazy again when Tendulkar was given out leg before wicket. He reviews it. A successful review. People start to curse the umpire. This is what it's all about. He gets stumped the next ball. It goes to the 3rd umpire again. He's not out. This was simply unbelievable. Then, the middle overs come. All the screaming and cheering mellows down. Random clapping and cheering for a four , a good shot. It starts to build up again once the last few overs come around. It doesn't matter that only Raina remains. Harbhajan Singh provides a few laughs. Especially with the dead ball call when Raina (at the non-strikers end) drops his bat. Eventually, India finish with 260. I was pretty confident as long as we bowled well.

Pakistan start to bat. Pushkar and I head upstairs to our lab to watch the match there. There is always something about watching a high tension game in solitude that appeals to me. Pakistan start like India did. I fall asleep, miss the first wicket. India seems to be bowling really well. Munaf Patel is bowling perfectly and even Ashish Nehra is bowling well. A second wicket falls. Crucial. The Pakistan batsmen are getting starts. The Indian bowlers are not letting them off the hook. Wickets start to fall at regular intervals. But Pakistan bats till number 8. And dangerous men in Razzaq and Afridi to come. Razzaq gets bowled by a beauty from Munaf. Afridi walks in. The equation is in India's favor. But, Afridi can change a game. Afridi gets out in the 42nd over. We had to go down to the gym. It was electric down there. Balaji leads the chanting. People are screaming everywhere. Misbah does his best to silence us but to no avail.

India dismiss Pakistan in the last over. Pandemonium everywhere. People are going crazy. India are in the World Cup final again. India beat Pakistan in the world cup again. It was a perfect script. A close game. India face Sri Lanka on saturday in the first ever all-Asian world cup final.

Today was brilliant. Something really memorable. The whole occasion. India-Pakistan. Semifinal. Watching it at school at 5 am. Cheering, screaming like everyone would have back home. and most importantly, India win. The final is going to be special too if we win. Though even a world cup win might not take away the intensity of this one.

Atu

This is just sad. I told myself in January that I am going to keep updating The Blog more frequently than I used too. That didn't seem to work at all. Has the reason been that I have had nothing to write about ? That I haven't had the time ? That I am just lazy ? ... It could be all three. Actually , not the first. A lot has happened since then. Small things that I probably decided wasn't important enough or maybe wasn't worth the Blog. Doesn't make much sense does it ?

Ideas, thoughts, happenings. Aren't or shouldn't these be enough to update this bi-weekly at least. Maybe I am losing the idea of the Blog. Maybe it shouldn't just have to be fairly serious, hard hitting stuff. The lighter side is also fun. It definitely is. Maybe I shouldn't be hard on myself for the content of the posts.

The easiest posts to write have been the recap of the year that has passed. Everything else took time and were things I just felt like sharing. Is it that nothing like that has happened ? Nope. I tweeted that the blog would be easier as Sports Blog. :D

Anyway , guess I'm here now. I am not going to make any promises this time. But will try to be more regular.

Things I seem to have forgotten.

Last week I was on the NY subway, returning home from school when I got thinking. I was reading Raymond Khoury's The Sign (Not that it has anything to do with the post), when I tried to remember the route to my friend Vipul's house in Chennai(HOME!). How and why this thought popped into my head, I don't know. It was just something random. Out of the blue. And the worst part of it was, I couldn't remember the way.

Over 4 years of college, I must have gone to Vipul's house at least a thousand times. Easily. It was my second most visited friend's house after Abhinay's probably. I know the route to Abhinay's. I should. It was 3 houses away from my own. I thought, fairly hard about how I used to get to Vipul's on my bike. ZILCH. No idea. Nelson Manickam road and then left ? Right ? I was lost. I knew the street and how the house looked, but how on earth did I get there ?

Something weirder and least expected also happened. I forgot our (my friends and I) usual order at Paramount(a restaurant near home). The usual order that we used to order atleast 3 times a week for a year and a half before I left. Parotta and ? ? Was it butter chicken or was it chicken tikka masala ? This probably hurt me than the other.

Is it that I have been away for so long that I'm forgetting things. Possibly things that I have took for granted that I would remember always. Or have I been so disconnected that they just slipped my mind. Ever since then I've been thinking about routes to places I used to frequent, places I used to frequent, etc. I just hope that when I finally go home for a visit, stuff like this doesn't happen and I won't feel that I missed much.

P.S - In the end, I did remember both and so much more

Atu

I have included this new thing below each post. You can click on a few buttons on how you felt about the post. If you don't mind, could you go back to previous posts and critique them. It'll be a real help. Thanks

The start of a new year.

It's 2011 ! 2010 has passed so quickly. I love it when that happens. It means the year was so eventful that it just went by. Was 2010 eventful for me ? Hell yes. So much happened. Made many new friends. Built so many relationships. Saw many places. Partied hard. Studied even harder. Grew up and started taking responsibilities.

I loved the year. It feels like I started at rock bottom and ended it on top of everything. Just writing that feels amazing. I am looking forward to 2011 with all it's glory. Heck, if the world's ending in 2012, let's all make 2011 worth it. Make the most of it.

Things I want to do this year:

These aren't resolutions. I feel labeling them as resolutions is just bad. Because everyone knows people hardly ever keep up resolutions. These are just things to be done. Whether I do it in January or December 31st doesn't really matter. They aren't in any particular order.

1. Read more books. I've started reading again since May. Read about anything and everything under the sun.

2. Keep my room clean. I might have my own place halfway through the year. Have got to start keeping stuff in their right places.

3. Reconnect with people I haven't spoken to or chatted with in a long time. Old friends stay with you forever.

4. Start working out. It's about time.

5. Eat healthy. Eat properly. No more caffeine diets.

6. End Grad School on a high. Nothing but the best will do.

7. Watch good movies. Not the dumb comedies that I've been watching lately.

8. Start being more responsible with money. After all, it doesn't grow on trees.

9. Stop spending so much time on my laptop. There are better things to be done.

10. Update The Blog more regularly.

That's good enough to start with. I hope I can keep up these things.

2011 is going to be amazing. I know it. It started out amazingly. It's going to be amazing.