Lost !!

I have lots of things to do at office. But am not able to prioritize at all. The thing which is important is not interesting and that which is interesting is not important. I am going back almost everyday without having done anything significant.
I need someone to sit me down and tell me what to do, like in school !! :-/

Silver's not bad :)

Today I came to know how many muscles exist in my body :-( They are all screaming out loud and making their presence felt. But I'm elated at the same time :D

Flasback to yesterday, 21st of March, to the events that got me to this state .....

The annual sports day of HP STSD, bangalore was held yesterday, at YMCA grounds. There were a number of track and field events and some fun games too, like .. uh err ehem .. (didnt try anything other than that crossing obstacles stuff :-p)

But, i DID try my hand, rather my legs, at 50m and 200 m sprint (for the ignorant, it means "A quick run" ) In both I successfully got through the heats (again for the ignorant, it means "A preliminary race in which the winner advances to a more important race" )
In the 200m finals I sucked big time !! Started a couple of seconds late, so was last. Tried to match up to others, but my stamina gave way, so I gave up !! But I jogged the last 50m or so and completed the race graciously (displaying true sportsmanship :-p )
Friends and teammates looked sorta disappointed. My section manager said " When I saw u were coming last, i stopped cheering " Hmph !! You can guess why he is a bad manager !!

Anyways, I did manage to shock ppl with my performance in 50m finals (that was an achievable distance for me :D ), in which I bagged the SILVER. In fact, my team mates noticed that I was far ahead of the others. And if i was a 40m race I would have come first :)

....... end of flashback.

This is my first medal in an individual sports event, and it makes me feel really good :D

"Fear of water"

This is a famiy disease. No one in my family knows how to swim. My father has always been terrified of water. And this has got conveniently passed on to us. In fact, this december, when we went to the shores of the Arabian sea in Gujrat, he stated with disgust "I hate the sea"!!

Years back, when we were 4 or 5 yrs old, mom took us to a swimming pool to learn swimming. Since I was younger, I was just left with a tube around me, bobbing around in water with other tiny tots my age. And the trainer turned to my sister to teach her. But she ended up running all around the pool in her underclothes, with the trainer chasing behind her. Finally he gave up and we never returned !! But here, I must acknowledge that though my dear sis never swam again, she did go on to become a university level athlete!! :D

The first ( and maybe the last ) time our family spent a considerable amount of time in water was in a water park, about 5 to 6 years back. Initially, my dad was being very protective and making sure that all of us were holding each other's hands while in the dreaded liquid. But then we realised that the water was not very deep and there would be only a 0.0000001 percent chance that one of us might drown :D So, we had great fun and forgot our fear for the moment.

This fear of water is not too uncommon, but is quite uncommon!! So I have decided to tackle it. As a beginning, I went for my first swimming lesson today. The first lesson my friend ( read trainer) gave me was " Don't hate water ". So I tried to do that. I must say, I didn't learn much, but I did enjoy myself :) I guess thats more important.

Cheers

One of the most romantic songs by the Mohammad Rafi

Door Rehekar Na Karo Baat, Kareeb Aa jao,
Yaad Rehejayegi Yeh Raat, Kareeb Aa jao,

Ik Mudat Se, Tamanna Thi, Tumeh Chuneki,
Aaj Bas Mein Nahin jazbaat, Kareeb Aa jao,

Sard Jhonkon Se, Bhadakte Hein, Badan Mein Shole,
Jaan Le Legi, Yeh Barasaat, Kareeb Aa jao,

Is Qadar Humse Jhijakne Ki Zuuroorat Kya Hai,
Zindagi Bhar Ka Hai, Ab Saath, Kareeb Aa Jao

Door Rehekar Na Karo Baat, Kareeb Aa jao,
Yaad Rehejayegi Yeh Raat, Kareeb Aa jao

Calvin n Hobbes !!

This is by far the cutest picture ever made by Bill Waterson in the strip "Calvin and Hobbes". And now I proudly display it in my room :)

I even love the context in which this picture appears in the strip. It is during Christmas when Calvin forgets to get a present for Hobbes. It brings an instant smile to C&H lovers as well as the others.

Focus on solutions

Difference between "Focus on problems" and "Focus on solutions".

This is really simple and interesting. Very often we get carried away
in problem solving. Keep it simple and move on.

When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out
that the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity. In order to solve this problem,
they hired Andersen Consulting (Accenture today). It took them one decade and 12
million dollars. They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside
down, under water, on practically any surface including crystal and in
a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.
...................
...........................
....................................
............................................

The Russians used a pencil.

Cheers
:)

Birthday Blast!!

Four words : Had a great day :)

My wide smile stretches a mile !! ( Linguistically only. Don't let you imagination run berserk)

To start with, yesterday night my dad wished me at 12 in the night, which is a rare occasion in itself. Got up around 7.45 and started helping out Mom, who conjured up an amazing meal for my party within a couple of grueling hours. I rushed off to get my birthday cake. When I returned home, helmet still on, bags clutched in both hands, my friends were already there !!
And then began a fiesta of fun and entertainment. And gifts !!

Padma gave me a cute glass painting of Calvin and Hobbes she made. Though she didn't sign it, it will remind me of her forever. Thanks Paddy :) I also got a Zodiac mug with most of my piscean traits mentioned.

Even I had surprises planned, which included a Chinese menu, a yummmy chocolate cake and a Treasure Hunt!! It was fun to make ppl run around for a treasure of chocolates which was finally distributed amongst all :D

The biggest surprise was yet to come. This was a CD called Tarane, which has a superb video about our college days AND some songs sung by my talented friends themselves.
They are songs with the murder of music in some places and excellence of melody in others. They are songs full of goof-ups, fun and lots of love . They are songs which I will treasure for life. :)

Later in the day, my parents arrived home with a beautiful gold chain and pendant which again was a big surprise. Because my mom doesn't believe in surprises and always tells me what my b'day gift is going to be !!

All in all : Had a great day :)