I'm not done with my name

No,not yet. Welcome to round 2 of the name-bashing. In my other post, 'Whts in a nme?' (still hurts to type words like that!), among other things, I said "Yes,I know my name isn't all that bad". I write today,because I think otherwise.

It all started with a classmate making fun of my name. Strange as it may seem, I've never been made fun of,over my name. Nicknames,yes. Crazy reactions and pronunciations,yes. But no one ever told me "Funny name! Haha!" and went on to deform my already handicapped name.Not until now. I was angry. Why me? Why do I have such a lame name? This frustration eventually led to curiosity(God knows how). I wanted to know more about my name. So I've been named after a Roman Goddess. Which Goddess? Whats the story built around her? And what does an aging teenager do,when faced with questions like these? Google.
I looked up 'Roman Goddess Merin' ,on Google. The link to my previous post(where I've mentioned the whole Goddess thing) sat on top of the result screen. My heart sank. As in, no other site on the www spoke of Roman Goddesses known by the name Merin? More research!!! I typed in 'Origin of name Merin' but apart from learning arbit possibilities of the origin, I was slapped across the face,again,with the fact that 'Merin' is not-a-feminine name. And well, no Roman Goddesses. Now I had just one option left. I called out, "Maa!".

Me: Ma,I ran a google search on my name..
Mom: So? Have nothing better to do now that your internals are over?
Me: Listen! There's nothing about any Roman Goddess with my name!!
..
Mom: *grins*
..
Me: *stare* What?
Mom: Took you so long to figure this out?
...
Voice in my head : WTF?! Does she mean what I think she means?! No way man! This is outrageous! Say something! Anything!!!
..
Me: What? *more of the lame my-last-brain-cell-just-died staring*
Mom: Oh it isn't the name of any Roman Goddess. Your dad and I just liked it.
Me: You mean...?! What the hell does my name mean then?! (Oh a couple of 'em cells were alive!)
Mom: We just liked the name. We didn't know what to tell you,so we thought Roman Goddess sounded nice.
Me: You lied to me all my life?! (No,this is not the effect of watching saas-bahu shows. Trust me,you actually react this way,in situations like this.)
Mom: Ok,sorry. But for me, it'll always mean Roman Goddess,ok?
Me: Who in-the-f'ing-name-of-Lewis-Hamilton cares what you would like to think?! You lied?! However did you come up with this name then? Where'd you find it?!
Mom: The Pandit told us your name had to begin with m and we wanted a 5 letter name. And your dad's name starts with m and my name begins with n. So we just put this all in together.
Me: (After spending 15 seconds trying to digest that) So you just had m---n and you filled in random alphabets in the middle?!
Mom: Look I don't remember how we came up with it, but its no big deal. You're my Goddess,ok? Its just a name. (And walks off,making me feel highly immature).

Voice in my head: No,wait,Just a name?! Hello? Its my name. Its like the frikkin' passport number that your passport bears or the whatever code the processor-chip of your computer has! Only much more important!! Come back!

But that stayed in my head. I felt like I'd been robbed. (Don't you call me dramatic,you haven't spent 19 years being called 'merin'!). My name actually had no proper origin/meaning/gender. This was sad. The pathetic, jump-into-the-path-of-a-moving-cycle type sad. I sat in my room for a while,along with my different personalities,trying to cope with the truth.

It wasn't very long before I went back to Google. 'Merin' has to have a meaning! It has to exist somewhere! I'm a frikkin' Goddess!! And I found a page alright. A page that spoke of a Deity named Merin. And how I wish I'd never looked for it!
So there exists a Deity of the name 'Olori Merin',worshiped by the Yoruba-Speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa. Then again, its a HE. He's a God. But that's not the worst thing I was to find out. Here's exactly what that site had to say :

Olori-merin, possessor of four heads, is another god whose worship is nearly, if not quite, obsolete. He was the tutelary deity of towns, and was represented by a hillock, or, if no hillock existed within the precincts of the town, by an artificial mound.

Sacrifice was made to Olori-merin every three months, or four times a year, and always consisted of a new-born child not more than three or four days' old. The child's throat was cut by a priest, and the blood, caught in a calabash or earthen vessel, was placed on the summit of the mound, after which the flesh was sliced up into small pieces and buried in the mound. During this dreadful scene the mother had to be present. This sacrifice was called Ejodun (Eje-odun), "The season of blood."

Olori-merin had, as his name betokens, four heads, with which he watched the four points of the compass from the top of his mound, and it was believed that no war or pestilence could attack a town under his protection. He had the legs and feet of a goat. Sometimes, at -night, he appeared in the shape of a venomous serpent.
(If you think I'm SO messed up in the head that I would cook this up, here's the site. )

Now I have every right to scream, WHY ME?! Couldn't my parents have thought of some other set of alphabets to complete their ever-so-special m---n puzzle?! This flood of self-pity suddenly made way for enlightenment. The truth. Stark reality, if I'm allowed to make this sound fancy. Names are said to affect personalities...aren't they?

Now we know the root-cause of my spooky ideas! Next time I joke around saying "I need to see blood! or I'm going to slit his throat with a blunt knife,Joker style! or I'll frikkin' chop him into pieces,yank his intestines out and feed it to dogs!", you know whom to blame. Its NOT my fault. I was born normal; but over the years, my name worked on a couple of those personalities I shelter. And there was once a time when I thought a couple of disturbing Marilyn Manson songs that I liked made my brain think extreme,when frustrated.

When I reported my findings to my (permutation-combination loving) mother,she walked away,laughing-but I saw shock and a tinge of fear in those eyes. For those of you who haven't dismissed this as a ridiculous post by a jobless engineering student whose life revolves around her name(ahem...anybody?), you've no reason to worry. No,really. Nothing changes but for the one statement I would proudly announce when asked about the meaning or origin of my name. I'll probably spend the next one hour spoiling my soul with self-pity and then I should be back to my weird-er old ways. :)



Meanwhile, I prepared a wish-list(number1,draft1) for Christmas/New Years. I haven't asked for better hair/better genes et all, because they've featured on the list way too often(and have been ingored everytime). I've not asked for world peace and a solution to Global Warming because sane statements have always been a misfit in this blog. Here's what I'd like to ask for:

1. A Ferrari Fiorano 599. Yes, I frikkin' know that's too much to ask for,so how about flight and race tickets to ANY Formula1 race next season? (Preferably Imola or Belgium :) )

2. Hmmm,lets see.. more than 5 exam-less days per semester,in college? Wouldn't that be lovely!

3. A new brain. The last one I bought can't be used as it submitted itself to this disease they call 'rusting' and the one I'm using right now has to be discarded as repeated attempts at defrosting have failed. (This shows not only on the blog but also in my exam results.)

4. Santa/Mom-Dad can choose between a new vehicle, hormone-overpowering grey matter and make-me-a-good-programmer pills.

5.Like duh!, a new name. ( We're not past the one-hour mark yet.)




P.S. To certain members of the society who will find bright opportunities in this post :
Crude jokes about the new found connection this five lettered thing called name has,will not go down well with my system. This entire rant must be enough for you to understand that. If it isn't,I can always call upon snakes-at night. Ha!

The 2008 Formula1 season is over.We won't stop talking about it for long though,will we?

And so this gripping,overly-competitive,controversy-filled or in one word, brilliant season is done with. How many times did we go about discussing which driver would win,whether FIA would come out with more biased decisions, whether DC would finish the next race, whether Alonso would crash into Lewis sometime(damn the guy for not doing it!),whether Force India would score any points at all and oh,whether or not Kimi would retire at the end of this season! And could we ask for a better finale? I don't think so. For a review of the race (if you are looking for one ) visit http://www.grandprix.com/race/r803racereport.html . I'm not writing about the race simply because I can't. I can,in no way,explain what happened in the race and how emotions ran loose.The person who has written that article though, has done a great job and has made a mention of every driver/team(most of us forgot about 'the others',didn't we?).

So here's what I have to say about a select bunch of drivers,followed by a small discussion about the next season! :)

Massa : How obvious was it,that I would start with him? "He isn't that good","He makes too many mistakes","He's isn't champion-material"..what else have the critics said? Yes,that exact bunch of super-humans who,right now,are having a hard time getting their feet out of their mouths? He didn't just silence the world with his aggression and determination but also showed unbelievable courage,as he stood on the podium this weekend,in the most dignified manner. No,going into the last race,I had no hopes of seeing Massa win the championship this year. But the race had me believe that Massa would,miraculously,win it. But he didn't. Can you get closer to winning a championship? A corner and a straight. That was all Lewis needed to grab the trophy back. When we,mere audience, lost our minds(did anyone suffer a nervous break-down? I'd like to know.My mom almost called for a doctor.) and felt our hearts break and sink, whatever went through that man's head,as he stood saluting thousands of fans? After a steady season and a stunning drive(in changing weather conditions-in front of God knows how many fans-with all the pressure in the world), all I can say is, Massa has trully arrived! And my respect for him has only increased,multi-fold. Hope to see him fight back,and win,in the future.

Lewis : Yes,the first Afro-Caribbean(correct?), youngest fellow to win the championship; The richest Briton, who dates a woman who has a band with a name I despise; The guy who should be gifted the record for rubbing people the wrong way and also, crashing into stationary cars in the pit-lane(I'm certain not many people have achieved this feat) : well,Lewis did it this year! Daddy's boy held onto his pants and managed not to press arbit buttons on the steering wheel this time around. Ok,in all fairness to Hamilton, he is definitely a fantastic driver and you don't need to hear me say it. I hate to admit that his style reminds me of Schumi,but I can't help but compare. He is a great driver. But for me,the greatness stops at that. Congratulations to him and all his fans. Hope we get to see more good,clean racing from him next year.

Kimi :What, oh what do I write here?! Steve Slater said that it seemed like Kimi would fall asleep once a race began, wake up towards the end and then charge through the field! Hard to disagree with that,the way this man has been performing. For majority of the season,he either didn't finish or he'd 'wake up' towards the end. What was the problem? Car didn't suit his driving style? Lack of motivation? Just bad luck? Whatever the reason maybe,I sure as hell am glad he's staying in Formula1!! And it certainly is fun to read about drivers turning up to Ski-resorts under famous-fake names and boating events dressed in Gorilla suits! Hope this fun(read alcohol)-loving Finn gets his act right next year. Needless to say,he's a great driver and actually,I'm sure he will be back with a bang! :)

DC : The man of Formula1 retires this year,but sadly his last race wasn't exactly a send-off one would wish for. After being a part of the sport for 15 years,he leaves as one of the most successful non-champions(Going by what Steve said!). One of the most respected drivers around,David always knew the wittiest things to say and he'll surely be missed. Looking forward to those (non-driving)F1 activities he's got planned for himself. :)

Alonso : Yes,he no longer is the human I hate the most in this world. He is a fantastic driver and no one can deny that. (Not even the Merin of 2006.)What he achieved with the car he was given this year is remarkable and I sincerely hope he gets a car that a man of his skill desreves,for 09! And,for once,I don't mind hearing all that he's got to tell the world(since most of it is directed towards/against you-know-who). ;)

Fisi : Why him? Because he has been a blessing to Force India. I think the experience he carried along,while joining the team,helped them grow-immensely. And I definitely won't forget the several occasions where he beautifully defended his Force India against superior teams like Mclaren. Well,thumbs up for a great effort and good luck for the next season!(if he plans to stay,that is).

Vettel : Been saving the best for the last! I love Vettel. (The excess amount of love I'm showering on the fellow could be a result of his role in the championship battle though). I've said it before and I'm saying it again,Vettel has what it takes to shine in Formula1. He's young,he has the skill,the aggression and most of what it takes to be champion. He has lots to learn and lets hope he will,soon. He's been doing well in other series and this year, he even won a race, overtook Lewis (ha!) and what not. That's got me rooting for him. But I remember having similar opinions about Rosberg(who,sadly,didn't do very well this year),at the start of this season.Hope Vettel continues to drive well. Let this overtaking maneuver he pulled on Lewis not be a one-time wonder like the one Sato pulled on Alonso! (remember that? :D )


Looking ahead to season 09,there are, but a few transfers happening.
There are these bonds between drivers and teams now. Bonds that are growing to resemble this-
Michael : Ferrari
And the one that stands out prominently is Lewis : Mclaren.
And, I can probably add, Alonso : Renault , Rosberg : Williams.

Lewis and Mclaren certainly seem to work well together and I don't see him leaving the team-not for a very long time,surely. Heikki stays at Mclaren for another year. But as good as he was this year,he didn't remind me of the previous Finns who drove for Mclaren. Ferrari have Massa and Kimi booked for a couple of years now. Am I happy? I guess so. As much as I like both drivers,it would be nice to see a fresh face in the red suit. Someone like Vettel!! Talking of whom, his move to Red Bull,I think,isn't great. Wonder if they can provide him a car with which he can challenge for wins! Rosberg stays with Williams-who promise to improve next season,what with their immense research in the much-talked-about 'KERS' technology. Apart from Honda,Toro Rosso and Force India,teams have announced their line-up for the next season. Except of course, Renault. I'm not too sure about Nelsinho, but Alonso should probably stay put. No other team can possibly satisfy his ego and provide a car that's good enough. The team seem to be improving and they have performed well before,maybe they can help him win more races,and even fight for the championship next year!
Also,there's Bruno Senna(does he need any introduction?) who is supposed to test for Honda, India's Karun Chandhok who supposedly will test for Force India and Germany's Nico Hulkenberg(helped Germany win in A1,last season) who has been testing for Williams.And there are others,mostly from GP2 who have been linked to STR Ferrari and/or Honda. I'm hoping to see young blood racing around in F1,next season!

There are also the rule changes,that I haven't really read about,yet. The KERS, tyre(threading) width, conditions on aerodynamics-related modifications and so on. I also wonder if they'll bring around changes in the qualifying pattern. I hope they do. And how would it be if they awarded a point or two to the pole-setter? After all,the guy who bags the pole doesn't stay ahead after the first five corners,a lot of times.He might as well be given a point for the pole,is what I feel. Your opinion?

Now we have the long,gruelling wait. Four slow months,with no F1. I'm looking forward to reading about the FIA gala though,which happens in December. I'm more than eager to watch their video,which brings out the best moments of the season. IF you haven't already watched last season's video(which,by the way,is brilliant),here's the link. http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg33tkyvG5A .


I'm done, I guess, with all the talking I wanted to do. Looking forward to another-I'm sure-mindblowing season, this coming year! :)



P.S. Any 'fact' that I've mentioned wrong,please let me know.

The kind of post that gets deleted when my senses find me-1

*Arbit statements. Not for those who have brains that work-well.*

Right,so there are a lot of things that I don't understand these days and even the magical discussions with mum don't seem to help. Right from the everyday non-sense to Formula1. And, it looks like I can't think of anything better to do than put these 'questions' out here!
Starting with the not-so-normal everyday stuff :
1. Why do I put up posts when I have internals starting in a day and I have not touched ANY book? Especially when I have nothing specific to talk about?
2. I don't paint my face white or use black lip-stick,or use sticky substances to make my hair stand in different styles. I don't talk about pain and death all the time and I certainly don't believe in Satan.Then what explains my sudden love for Gothic Rock and deep,haunting voices?!
3. How do some people manage to take every joke made on them real well? And live with it even if they aren't appreciated enough for being sportive?
4. How and why did Chuck Norris become a part of my everyday conversation?!
5. Why are we,normal teenage kids in a normal engineering college,so obsessed with pairing people up? Especially when the two people have a lot in common..like their gender..?
6. WHY on Earth are a guy and a girl 'teased' only because they hang around together? (And that,while waiting for certain seniors to join them and brighten their day!)
7. How do PPTs of a ball that has lost a part of it make my class-mates roar with laughter? *wink*
8. When did I get the guts(or lets say,when did my last brain cell die?) to make fun of seniors,on their face?
9. Since when does my optimized vocabulary revolve around just one or two not-very-pleasant words

Moving on to a topic that I'm more eager to talk about :
1. Do I pay for cable tv, only to watch Lewis Hamilton's father,brother,mother,step-mother, and I hate to add, Massa's father?! And oh,watch Lewis hug his mom and step-mom? Why are those faces repeatedly shown on tv?! WHY?!
2. How jobless is Alonso to go around saying he's going to help Massa? Like he can do anything to actually help. If Massa achieves anything at all, we'll have other fans say he doesn't deserve it because he got help!
3. Not a day goes by,when I don't talk about how much I miss Schumi and how I wish I could see him on the racing circuit again. Doesn't look like I'll ever have this wish come true. But, just twice I mentioned(on this very blog),that I miss seeing Alonso on the podium. And voila! There he is,on the top step.Two races in a row. Why?! Whoever said 'Be careful what you wish for', must've said it out of some solid experience!
4. What will I have to face from Mclaren fans once Lewis wins the championship?! (Lord,give me strength!)
5. Do I openly admit that I too believe the FIA supports Ferrari quite a bit? (Agh,the embarrassment!)


There's more,really. Like Why I don't feel like studying,Why my friends and I visit depression oh-so-often,Why creeps pester nice people with high order e-mails,and what not. But what the heck,I'll stop.

Whts in a nme?

That's supposed to be 'Whats in a name?'. For the few who have just studied the first few chapters of 'Unix:Concepts and Applications' by the How-I-wish-I-could-marry-this-operating system author , this title can be misleading. I'm not going to talk about file names.This is about MY name. And the title has those weird looking words because I also want to make a small mention of what I think of the 'super-cool' SMS lingo.

First, my name. Merin. I've been told that it is the name of a Roman Goddess(yay me!) and it means 'merry' or 'happy'. Let me tell you how a usual introduction-session happens,in my life.
Someone: Hi,I'm someone.
Me: Hello, I'm Merin.
Someone: Sorry?
Me: M-E-R-I-N. Merin. Don't worry, no one gets my name right at the first attempt.

Now that gives me one of these responses :
1. No,I got it. Merin. Or,
2. Merin..? Oh....Unusual name...Are you Christian?
Me: No, I'm Coorgi. Just got a name that's very-Christian.

Then there are those set of questions that completely stump me ;
Not Christian?? Hehe,you're joking right? Or,
Oh! You're not Christian?? ......How come?

How come? I dunno,how come?! I've almost always had to answer weird questions about my name, how my parents came up with it, what it means, why I have such a name inspite of not being Christian. I lost count very long back,of the various transformations my name has undergone. Meril, Marlyn, Marium, Marin... and the one that wins,hands down-Mary. I've had many people pronounce my name in many different and ridiculous ways. There are people who even stopped trying to get it right! My German teacher had such a problem trying to get my name right,even after six classes,that he finally decided he was going to use my Coorgi name,Kaveri instead. And there's worse than just wrong pronunciations. I've had people read my name and go 'Whats that?!!'. I don't blame them.'Merin' wouldn't sound like a name to me either!

And oh,here's the bomb. I met a girl online,while looking for would-be classmates in my new college. When I finally meet her in college,she says this: "Oh my God!!! I thought you were a guy!!!!!" .I'm not sure which one of us was more shocked.When I finally decide to join the community for all the Merins in the world,on a social networking site,I learn that there are guys with my name! Is it embarrassing or simply sad when I get friend-requests from the guy-Merins? Especially when most of them have the same cool quotient as this : 'It gives warm feeling to find girl with same name. We can be best friends.' And I got one that said 'Hey! Guess what! We have the same name! And I'm guy! We can have great life ahead!'. Now,assuming the worst of what that could mean, imagine an invite that reads 'Merin weds Merin'. So wonderful,innit?

Yes,I know my name isn't all that bad. Some friends even find my name 'interesting'. It certainly is far from being the worst name.For example, I have a relative back in Coorg whose actual name is Pussy. No kiddin'!!! What were her parents thinking?! Were they even thinking? Well,what were my parents thinking anyway?
All this trauma, if I may call it that,made me drop a certain oath I'd taken long back. For The Periodic Table and me, it was love at first sight. I'd sworn to name my first kid Mendeleev-irrespective of the gender.(In case you didn't know,he designed the masterpiece I fell in love with).I guess, now I know better than to do that. I like a new name now,because it pretty much describes me and how I behave when I'm all hyper. Tipsy. What do you think of it?
;)



And yes, I have to make a mention of the issue that has been driving me crazy. The SMS lingo. Whats with compressing every other word till its unrecognizable,skipping innocent alphabets in every word and even replacing them with alternate alphabets when there is absolutely no need?! Yes, I too use 'u' for 'you' and 'ur' for your, when the number of characters in my message just exceeds the maximum limit for a single message. You know,to save the very important paise. But why do that even when its not necessary? Is it an attempt to sound 'kool'? Oh wait, its kewl, isn't it? ARGH! That's got to be the most mind-numbingly 'un-cool' term ever!

There's wid(with), ma(me/my), yo(you), lik(like), den(then), dat(that), iz(is), wuz(was) and what not! There's the bunch that don't even serve the purpose of saving money. Vish(wish), totali(totally), la8er(later) and so many others. I can go on and on,with this list. There's also the overuse of 'z'. Lolzzzzzzz , frenzzzzzzzzzz!! And get this! 'Wil u cum today?' or ' Im cummin now'. I mean, What the..?!

It is highly frustrating,to have to read messages like that. Cold-blooded murder of the language,that's what it is! I'm only requesting those I know, to not do this. Typing those few extra alphabets won't kill you or paralyze your thumb. I admit, I used to use the weird lingo when I first got my phone. I don't now. And trust me, my thumb works just fine.
Thank you! :)




P.S. I went riding on my vehicle today, for the first time after the accident. For someone who used to drive like Schumi on Rossi's bike, I was very nervous. But the moment the engine came to life,what I felt when I finally drove...pure bliss! :)

I'd not planned to 'write' today!

From 5.45pm. Yes,from 5.45 in the evening,I'd been trying to tune my damned television set,so I could watch the practice session of the first ever night-grand prix,being held in Singapore. Also,this was the first time a practice session was going to be aired. After nearly two hours and over seven frikkin' phone calls to the cable guy,I was blessed with the privilege of watching it. BUT ,I missed it for 45 minutes!!!!!

Our cable fellow can allot three sport-channels.He usually gifts me with ESPN,Star Sports and Ten Sports. But on important days like today,he takes them off! And he puts what?
Neo sports-cricket.
Ten sports-cricket.
Star cricket-do I frikkin' need to explain?!
Oh does it get worse? YES! Ten Sports was telecasting an OLD match from some ancient time!!!!!
Its times like this that make me dislike cricket. I don't really dislike the game,I only find this extremely unfair! And I definitely don't want an argument with cricket fans now.

Yes,this has happened before. No star sports on Formula1 weekends. Friends suggested Tata- Sky and the kind. We get CNN,NDTV,Times Now.VH1 and Mtv.HBO, Star Movies,et all.Even Nat Geo and Discovery.Dad has his TV9. We have no problems with the few Tamil channels that we watch now and then.(Dad loves Vadivelu,you see).So how do I ask my father for Tata-Sky? Should I tell him I want it so I can peacefully watch a sport that he SO does-not-like? The sport that takes away three hours of my 'study-time' on a Sunday?(I nearly choked typing that).I can't get Tata-Sky,thats for sure. :(

So I await the big day-this Sunday. Translating quite literally a very filmy Hindi dialogue, I've placed a rock over my heart and decided that I will miss the start of the Singapore Grand Prix, to attend a meet 'On the Rocks' of a certain park in the city.But when I get back home, if I do not find Star sports, I swear in the name of Lewis Hamilton, I will find the guy responsible for it..I will not sue him.No,I won't shoot him. I'll pepper spray him over and over again,I'll kick him where it hurts most and then slit his throat-with a knife,Joker style. Or if I'm really mad and decide to do something worse, I'll give him such a lecture that he wont ever forget in his sorry life and then he's going to make sure that I receive Star sports,for as long as he's alive-this,I swear to God. No, I don't think my cable guy is going to read this, but for his own well-being,I hope there's someone praying for him and hope he's working on the lecture I gave him today.

If the race keeps me happy enough to think of sentences to type,I will post soon. :)


P.S.
The Singapore track by the way,is fabulous!!! The view of the place is so good that I found it hard to keep my eyes on the track sometimes! And did you see how beautiful the cars looked? Oh and did you see Alonso's last lap?! Low on fuel or whatever, that was simply S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G!!!!! Hope to see him and my Ferrari dudes on the podium this weekend!!!

At RVCE and In Quiz Corp.

* This is the part of the blog that becomes a not-so-personal diary and is meant for a very small audience.(2-3 people?).If you think you can keep in touch with me irrespective of how silly i can get, ONLY then, go ahead and read. *

So its been just over a year,in the institution at the 8Th mile,Mysore road. Let me start with an honest opinion-however tough things are at RVCE,it really is one of the best colleges in Bangalore. Probably the best.
Now,well,its been fun I guess.The classes(when you're in Info science,yes),the fests, the people. The girls in my class are a perfect blend-the geeks,the ones that know how to have fun, the ones that can dress oh-so-well and most importantly-the ones that crack me up with their wit,all the time. A bunch of good friends in class,out of class,especially in the computer science department and the ones I get to chatter with on the bus-they make life easy.
Anyway,here's a couple of lessons I learned,this one year.

1. Crying to see or talk to your old friends is not going to help. Especially when colleges plot to make sure you wont have an off on the same day.
2. In spite of being in love with Mathematics,if you study for a Math exam two hours before it actually starts,by only glancing through your 'notes', you'll scrape through the exam-that,if you're lucky.
3. When you're pissed at someone/something,do not talk to ANYone. Especially if you're a talkative Gemini.
4. When a person talks to you or your friends for only five minutes in their entire life and then sends you a message like this -"I treat u as best frnd bcz u r first friend in engineering.If i talk with u,is it hurts?" , make sure you don't encourage the best-friendship.
5. When you desperately want to go to an OTR meet on a Sunday,and you have a dad who is 'very strict', don't fight with him on the previous Saturday.

Moving on,here, lets talk about the one thing in college that makes me happy about my existence. I've gone into more depressions in this last one year,than in my entire life .But Quiz Corp is a place that makes every functioning cell of my brain happy. Sadly, As much as I love quizzing, I suck at it. But to watch the smart ones go right at it and murder the questions or to see excellent questions leave the smart ones awe-struck,is simply amazing! I make my 'small',lazy attempts to improve,but quizzing sure requires dedication and hard work.Maybe someday, I'll at least reach up to a level of quizzing where I can say-'Damn,I missed quali by one point!!!' :)

Talking of Quiz Corp,it has to be the best group on this planet. I've met amazing people,who I certainly wont forget for a very long time. Probably the smartest,wittiest lot in college. There's the super-cool fourth years who seem to know literally everything under the sun!!! The kick-arse third years and of course a big bunch of nice batch mates and juniors. And the super-seniors,as they are called-All hail our Gods of quizzing!:)

I'd like to make a special mention of the two people who got me into Quiz Corp:
Arbit Rants : Major geek,but a very nice fellow,very very sportive(I haven't seen anyone else who takes gay/straight jokes so well!). Can really give you good advice,when you need it.Oh and he got me into QC and introduced me to Avial!! :

Somebody else : What can I say about this mind-blowing-ly talented lady? She's someone I truly admire, for her wit, her beautiful literary skills and her ability to turn into 'the' agony aunt when need arises. Another kick-arse third year who makes my stay at QC a lot more comfortable,than it would've been otherwise. :)

I would like to conclude with a BIG thumbs up (and thanks!) to the QC for the gazillion things its done for me, and, with a prayer that I will last for three years(only) in RVCE and somehow,make my parents proud.
:)

Anyone else see a new 'kid' on the podium? :)

I'm not very sure,what to write today. I have not made any draft this time(made one for the previous post!).I'm going to type in every 'meaningful' thought that my brain processes in the next fifteen minutes.

Monza 08 happened today. I speak of Monza itself as an event because this place personifies action,speed,drama,energy and most of all, passion. Just to be there at Monza,on a race weekend,must be mind-blowing. The crowd is so extremely passionate about the sport!(yes,like always I'm talking about Formula 1) If there is one place I could kill to be at,it would be Monza,on race day. At every Italian GP that has been held at Monza,when you get an aerial view of the track,all you can see is red! This is the home of the Tifosi,my adopted family. To see thousands of fans,all dressed in dazzling red,carrying flags with the prancing horse on them surround the parc-ferme area,as the podium celebrations go on is a wonderful feeling.Don't get the feel of it? These pictures may help.And they're just two,out of the millions. All this gets better,when you have the German and/or the Italian anthem playing in the background. And today, I got to witness all that I wished for-only,Schumi wasn't on the podium.

But,I did see three Schumachers today.
1. The real Schumi,all cute,sitting in the pit lane area with head phones on.
2. Someone who I don't like but can't dislike either. Lewis Hamilton killed the wet-track,driving around it sensationally well. He moved up from 15th on the grid to 2nd,getting past cars like they were mere road blocks. Yes,he had the best car but no one can deny that he is exceptionally good at driving in the wet. Just like good ol' Schumi.
3.No points for guessing. Sebastian Vettel. Inspite of making it clear to the world that he's not aiming to be the next Schumacher, The German media calls him 'Baby-Schumi'. (Heck,why would anyone not want to be called that?!).

I must clarify, I'm not someone who has blindly jumped onto the Vettel bandwagon after his record-setting-first-victory in Formula1. For me to like you,you only have to be German.When Vettel came around the international racing circuit, I instantly liked him.But it was not until The Race of Champions(December 2007),that I became a fan.Vettel and Schumi,together took the German team to victory,after superbly driven races. And this is what Schumi had to say about him : "Sebastian has shown he has the talent.He entered Formula 1 at the right time and at the right place I think. He has shown things with that car that no one has shown before. There is a bright future ahead of him. He has the potential to win the F1 championship one day." Now do I need any better reason to like the fellow?
I must admit,he was extremely lucky to sit at the pole for this race. The Rain Gods seemed to be determined to help him win. But, He did drive a perfect race. He has shown before,what he is capable of and today,with a healthier Toro Rosso and of course some luck,he showed that he can win races. And he's only 21 years old(and cute! With a good sense of humour et all ). I can definitely see him win a championship in the future,if he makes the right choices and gets into a good team. Oh,how I'd love to see him in Ferrari! As he stood on the podium today,the German anthem played-followed by the Italian anthem(After all,the team is called SCUDERIA Toro Rosso FERRARI ). Reminds you of someone else? Whether he likes it or not, after Alonso-Kimi-Lewis, I'd like to call him my next Schumi. I sincerely hope he lives up to the expectations of the million others,who feel just as I do.

Apart from Vettel and Lewis,many others were impressive today. Many drivers did a Lewis,cutting chicanes. But they all obeyed the rule this time,clearly. Alonso was brilliant and so was Massa.Its another thing that none of them improved much upon their qualifying positions. Kimi was disappointing,but he made up for it towards the end. He came in ninth,just one place short of the points scoring position. The drivers championship gets even more interesting, but what worries me is the frail five-point lead that Ferrari have over Mclaren.
Let us(Ferrari fans) hope for the best!

Oh and do I have to tell you that I'm excited about the next race? Singapore-the first ever night race. As I cannot find adjectives good enough to describe how amazing that race is going to be,I'm going to conclude right away.If you do not intend to watch this race,atleast a single lap around this track-at night-cars zooming around the streets at 300kmph,you live a SAD life,friend.
September 28th,Star Sports. Watch it! :)



P.S. Shocker to those who 'really' know me... I 'really' miss seeing Alonso on the podium!

Some Things Never Change.

Sunday, the 7th of September,2008. At one of the most beautiful tracks that my eyes have ever set sight on, the radio on a particular Renault was turned on. A man with a heavy Spanish accent said to his engineers that drops of rain had started to fall on certain parts of the track. A commentator,with an English accent that always hangs on the verge of annoying me,spoke of how exciting the race was going to be. I thought, 'Isn't it already?'.

A couple of laps further into the Belgian Grand Prix, Papa's boy Lewis Hamilton had closed in on Kimi Raikkonen. After a brilliant start, well-planned pit stops and superbly controlled drive of over 35 laps, Kimi seemed vulnerable. Just as Alonso had mentioned over the radio, parts of the track saw rain. With Lewis hunting him down, Kimi had everything to lose. He would have to control his drive so he wouldn't go skating across the track,for a date with the barriers and yet be fast enough to keep Lewis behind.(Now that wouldn't be difficult for Schumi,but as good as Kimi is,he isn't Schumi right? ) Finally Lewis made his move.He came alongside Kimi,but cut a chicane to take the lead.Apparently,he backed off to give the lead back to Kimi. I started to release the breath that I'd held in for the last five seconds,but froze!Both the drivers went from left to right,swinging across the track,just before the powerful Mclaren got ahead of Kimi. And it seemed to me,that Kimi's front wing 'touched' Hamilton's rear wheel.
*GASP!*

I stood up,looked away from the TV and turned to see the huge portrait of Lord Krishna that sat in the middle of our living room. I prayed,from the purest part of my heart.My eyes were moving towards the Ganapathy idol,when Steve Slater went bonkers in the commentary box! I turned back,to see Lewis lose control of his car.Kimi and Lewis exchanged the lead a couple of times and then the race turned into what looked like an action scene from a movie.Kimi seemed to have trained very hard to perform a 360 degree spin. I pulled on my hair till a couple of strands came off and curled around my fingers. I yelled, "Mom, You've got to see this!". She came running and after about 3 seconds,she said "Don't worry, Lewis will crash".You see, we think she's good luck for Kimi. I was chewing on the nail that I'd bitten off, when all the excitement and fear died. Kimi lost control,but this time there was no escape. He hit the barriers,hard : with only two laps to go.I fell into my chair,unable to believe what had just happened. On seeing Lewis take the chequered flag, I turned off the television set.

Mom was upset. Me? After replying to a couple of 'proud' Mclaren fans and changing my status on the networking sites that i frequent, I shut myself in my bathroom and tried to accept 'reality'. This race meant SO much to Kimi. His favorite track,he'd won here thrice over the last three years and he had worked so hard to silence the mindless critics who were out talking about how his career would never see another victory. As I sat on my bathroom floor( This because my father would certainly not appreciate me being upset for a 27 year old Finn) thinking of what Kimi was probably going through, I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I was crying. Crying for a man whose numerous engine failures and tyre ruptures,just a couple of years back(2002-2006 in Mclaren), would amuse me. Last I cried in my bathroom was on the day of the Japanese Grand Prix,2006,the penultimate race of the year,when Michael had a good chance of winning his eighth and would be final championship title.He was in the lead with 16 laps to go,when his engine blew. Alonso took the race and the title that year. I cannot explain in words, the agony I went through. I cursed Lady Luck and obviously, the man i hated the most back then,Fernando Alonso. I felt things had never been that unfair,ever! Now,even if I wasn't as upset as I was on that sickening evening, I let my tears run loose and cried my heart out.

I had assumed that after Michael left,I could sit back,relax and simply enjoy the sport. But no. I started to suffer of a headache induced by all the sobbing.After thinking about poor Kimi,I sat to think about myself. While watching the sport, my heart is always in my mouth, I have my own rituals of praying at regular intervals and so on. Once a race is over, I'm either so elated that I could burst a bunch of blood vessels, or , I go into depression. When Schumi was around, topping an exam..winning an event..maybe even winning a lottery wouldn't come close to the joy of seeing him jump on the top step of the podium. Yes, other sports do this to me too. Take for example, the ManU-Chelsea and Germany-Spain matches that took place a couple of months back.And of course, THE Wimbledon final where Roger played Rafa. As nervous as these matches have made me, they haven't brought me to a state of nervous breakdown,that any ordinary Formula1 race can,with utmost ease.I've lost count of the abuses that I've hurled, the strands of hair that I've lost, nails that I have chewed on and swallowed,perhaps, and all the mindless arguments I've had with my friends.

I had thought of this many times before,but today I made my decision.Lady Luck wasn't going to favour those who I supported. I was punishing myself,watching these races. I figured,I was simply too addicted to a sport that would one day result in me being carried out of my home in a stretcher. Yes, I'd decided that I wouldn't watch F1 again. I'd probably read the results in the papers, but no torturing myself again. No more F1. Period.
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Three hours later, I get an SMS that tells me, Lewis has been penalized and demoted to third, for cutting across the chicane and not handing the lead back to Kimi properly. Massa has been declared the race winner.
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So hey, who doesn't come across failures,right? Stuff like this happens all the time,don't you think? We should never give up. Not until we taste success! Now I look forward to seeing a place that I absolutely love. In about six days, its MONZA baby!!!

Ferrari uber Alles!!!!!

Don't tell me I didn't warn you.

This blog has been created only so I can release the many thoughts that rot in my head. Let me tell you, the worst articles I've read have been written by me. So if any of you, chance upon this blog and care/dare to read it,you might develop the following symptoms:

1)Bad spelling.
2)Worse grammar.
3)Even worse vocabulary.

If this were to happen to you, i suggest that you visit certain other blogs,the links to which you will find somewhere on this page. Your language/literary skill should be back to its normal self in 2 days(I'm being optimistic here).

Take care, Auf wiedersehen!

P.S. Yes,I like to flaunt the fact that I can speak some German.

Also, Thanks to a certain superb-senior who suggested names for this blog that i was tempted to use. My apologies to an eager classmate,for not using them.