Delhi to Bangalore and Back

So for my birthday, I decided to disappear again (last year, I went for Vipassana). Why would you do something like that dude? I think I just wanted to hide. I cant handle all the sudden attention for the day. I mean I dont mind attention but then I cant tolerate how fast the attention disappears after the special day.

Anyways, so I went to Bangalore. Of all the places in the world, why would I choose Bangalore? Because I have this very special friend there. I trust her and her family and I know if I am with her, I will be left alone and I can do what I really wanted to do in these few days. Then I had grand plans of borrowing her car and driving to some hill station in Karnataka of Kerala. And I wanted to read, write, think, laze around, catch on sleep, do things that I like - walk, window shop, click random pics etc. I made copious amount of notes and I am hoping to jot them down (digitally) tomorrow.

I met up with a few friends that I hadnt met since ages. And a friend that I have been talking on the Internet for some months now. And a senior from MDI who I am enamored by. I am trying to coerce him into becoming my mentor. Second after VK.

BTW I loved Bangalore. The weather is very pleasant. Imagine, I was walking around Bangalore at 11 in the afternoon. There are ample roads and footpaths to walk around. Most of these are covered with trees. And there are surprisingly very less beggars. Those tales of racial slurs and attacks sounded distant as whatever few people I interacted with were warm and hospitable.

Most of my opinions tend to be colored anyways. I loved the time I spent at Bangalore. And I think I need to do this every three months.

Why is sgElectra a bad idea!

I rode sgElectra to work today. And it turned out to be a bad decision. Nah, not biking but biking given the circumstances. Bad roads, potholes, unruly traffic, never ending distance and the ten KG bag that I lug to work everyday.

My hands are sore, legs ache, back is stiff. My butt hurts so much that I cant even sit straight!

I am sure my butt is now shaped like the bike seat. Thanks god for mundane things like shower, mattresses, coke!

Prof. Garg hits a roadblock!

Prof. Garg. Sounds old. May be it does. But it sounds interesting for sure.

Ever since I can remember things, I have wanted to teach, share my gyaan. I have wanted to interact and learn from all the bright minds. And I want to spread the curiosity virus. And I have wanted to help people get out of the rat race.

I have taught in the past with IMS but I am not sure if I was adding value there. I was teaching public speaking skills to students at tier two cities around Delhi. But I did enjoy the teaching bit and feedback from students was encouraging.

Anyways, I have been applying to business schools since two weeks now and funnily, no one wants to hire me. Worse, they dont even acknowledge that I have written into them!. Except one - they replied and when they realized I was from the batch of 2006, they too backed out. The count stands at 7-0 right now. Lets see who gets lucky!

And until then, I am available for coaching/tutoring. Do let me know if you want me to ;P

Conversations at 11:30 PM

SG23Nov: Is money the solution to happiness?
SG22Sep: It may be. I dont have it, never had it. So dont know. And i think it might not be the only thing but it does take you close to happiness.
SG23Nov: How do you define happiness?
SG22Sep: Toughie. Happiness is when you look forward to things. You are excited. You are flying. When you are high. Without the dope!
SG23Nov: You know you are more fucked that I am
SG22Sep: I always did!
SG23Nov: A more apt reply wudve been 'how do you define fucked'
SG22Sep: Nah, i have stopped questioning things. I have now started trusting my judgement and answers
SG23Nov: Well to be honest I'm not too sure whether that's a good move or a bad move ... Only time will time I guess ... Anyways .. Goodnight bitch
SG22Sep: Who cares. Its one fucking life. If i dont trip here AND now, i am just twaddling n inching closer t oblivion. Lemme have my shot at greatness. Chal you tc too

Confused? Clear?

I want more hair on my head but I do not want any facial hair
I want to live at my home and yet I want to be alone
I want roads to be empty and still be able to make people jealous
I want to get settled and yet I don’t want to commit
I want more money than I can ever spend and yet more time to do things
I want followers and yet I want to be left alone
I want to live on a mountain and yet not far from the beach
I want to have more wants and cant really think of more
I am confused and yet I am so clear

The 5 Cs of Swimming

Swimming is a wonderful thing to do. I have been going for last three weeks and thoroughly enjoy the outing. Worst come worst, I get up every day at 6:30. I am trying level hard to get some discipline in life. Anyways, I dint start writing this to rave about it. Being an eternal cribber that I am, I had to talk about all the things that are bad about it.

For beginners, you start hating water. You need to take a shower before you get in the pool. You are surrounded by water when you are, well, in the water. You need to take a shower after you are out of water. And then when you reach home, you need to take yet another shower before leave for work. And if you are my kinds, who has had showers in the evening all his life, post work, then that’s yet another shower before you end the day. So there is water, water and still more water. I must be consuming enough water, on showers, to solve Yamuna’s maladies.

Then there are all the other swimmers. Most of them were struggling till about two days back and today they seem to be doing great. You, on the other hand, are still tottering and trying to stay afloat. You can’t hold your breadth for seven seconds under water and everyone else spend so much time under water that would put Houdini to shame. And not to mention all the generous exposure of cracks (butt cracks), cleavages, crotches, curves and curls (the 5 Cs). Not that these things make you uncomfortable, but they do make you jealous.

And then there is the agonizing length of the pool. You think you are a rockstar and you learn things fast and you tell yourself that you would swim the length by the fifth day. But when you actually get in water, the length seems small and yet unconquerable. You try hard, harder and hardest and yet you don’t get past the first ten feet.

I guess these three things top the list for me. Apart from these, I have other things to talk about as well. But then, they are stories that I shall share later.

Guess that’s it for now.

P.S.: I have not yet learnt the art of ending stories. Need to work on it.

P.P.S.: Sennheiser headphones. iTunes. Brilliance of Amit Trivedi on Sham from Aisha. Fingers flying on Acer keypad. Millions of thoughts running amok.

Restarting Bloggin

After a hiatus of xxx months (insert a number here later), I have restarted blogging. I am not talking about this blog. This was always on. Just that the readership was changed to invite only. Hopefully, some people do read this (stats say, no one reads this).

I am starting two new ones. (?), to talk about serious things. Business, money, poker, life, India, travel etc. And Armchair Activist, to talk about all frivolous things.

And this one, War of Words stays. Private. This is where I shall talk about things that make me sad, happy, excited etc. Basically personal stuff. Things that I dont want the world to know. Things that I want to only share with few friends.

Spread the word :)

How to loose 20000 in an hour

I think I have mastered the art of losing money. The latest gaffe is how to loose 20K in a hour. Its a two step process. Here it is ...

1. Bang someone's car and pay 5000 for the repair. Even when the other person hadnt asked for it.
   
2. Order a gaming console for a friend. Assuming that its 8000. And you actually end up paying 15000.

P.S.: Love the fact that I can pay this money without thinking too much.

5 in 2

So next up in my life is this thing that I call 5 in 2. The idea is simple enough to post it on the blog. And like every other idea, complex enough that I shall fail. No matter how hard I try. And this is the fun bit.

Coming to it, right now, at 28, I look 30, talk 15, think 15 and feel 35. The goal is, that in next 2 years, I need to be younger by 5 years. I need to look 25, talk 25, think 50 and feel 25.

This time, for a change I have put realistic goals. I know that two years is a long enough time to regain fitness, live my love for sports, master new crafts and get younger. And for a change (once again), I have an agenda. I am going to do it in phases. I am starting with swimming. Then I shall move onto bicycling. Followed by weight training. And finally combination of two, or even all three.

And just to reiterate the seriousness, I have already started learning swimming. So far I have been able to go 4 times a week. 30 mins per session. I dont know if I am going to burn calories but it sure tires me and gives me that kick (achievement wali) when I do those mini-goals that I set for myself. And more than anything else, since right now I am learning, the curve is steep and every day there is a new goal to challenge me. Like yesterday was the first time when I did half the breadth of the pool. Its not more than 20 feets but its an achievement for me. The lucky/sad part is that the pool closes by end of September. So I need to find an alternative after that. Welcome bicycling.

In October, it starts getting colder in the mornings. And what could be a better way than bicycling to feel the chill. As a kid, I use to love riding a bicycle. Last I rode, I think I was in my school! I have already started a hunt for the right bike. I plan to gift myself one on my birthday. Infact, day before, I saw this all terrain bike, made of aluminum frame, had three shock absorbers and two disk brakes (the salesman said so). Its worth a mini fortune. But then, like someone once said, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do ;P. And then someone else (or may be the same guy) said, boys dont grow older, just that their toys get fancier and more expensive.

And post that, the part of brain that is responsible for planning things is beginning to revolt. There are tons of health clubs around where I live. I shall figure out the one that fits my budget and go for it. I need to finish this, lest I leave it mid-way. The way I leave most things.

Anyways, in other news, I saw Inception. Understood some bits of it. Tried to revive a public blog at (?). Cajoled SG26Jul into working on BP. Going to Mumbai tomorrow In Mumbai today and hope to have a good time amidst all the chaos that I know I am going to be in. Stayed the night at VG's place. Talked, had Maggi, saw TV, read a book. Had an enlightenment last night on the plane (that I want to play Poker professionally. And I can).

Gotta go. But please please remind me of 5 in 2 next time you see me hogging at a McD's or Haldiram's.

P.S.: Wrote a long post after a while. Feels good to be back.

P.P.S.: Starting a new set of tags. Now that this blog is private, I can be lot more lucid with things.

Happy Birthday Vivek Gawri

Happy Birthday Gawri aka Vivek Gawri aka Neo aka Jokey.

I hate him from bottom of my heart. I hate him for everything he is. I dislike him for all the useless things he says. I really do.

Having said all that, if I have a best friend, its him. If I can count on someone, its him. If I would ever do something for, its him. When I was in Mumbai, Gawri and RamPyari were the only two outlets I had. I couldnt wait for the weekend to begin so that I may fuckoff to Vikhroli and take refuge in Rampyari's lap. Three of us made numerous trips to all parts of Maharastra and we loved to escape.

Thanks for being there :) Have a wonderful life ahead.

P.S.: He blogs here. Please ignore his photography skills ;P