I was watching a movie by the name "Shoot 'em Up" the other day. One heck of a movie, a complete time pass. Finally a competition for our own superstars (Rajni in South and then Mithun da in east, Sunny deol in North etc etc) and this time competition beats our very own SUPERSTAR's handsdown.
Laws of trigonometry
Laws of physics
The above laws of physics and trigonometry by Rajni and all of the Newtons laws were broken in the movie. Its a movie in which carrots kill. An action packed thriller which you will enjoy laughing.
Watch "Shoot 'eM UP" to enjoy these SUPERSTAR's being beaten in their area or expertise by miles.
NB: Carrots are injurious to health. Verdict: Awmus movie for time pass and a good laugh.
Disclaimer: This is not a movie promotion.
Go watch the movie for the blog to make sense, If you missed it get a DVD. Cheers
People are strange when you're a stranger Faces look ugly when you're alone Women seem wicked when you're unwanted Streets are uneven when you're down
When you're strange Faces come out of the rain When you're strange No one remembers your name When you're strange When you're strange When you're strange
People are strange when you're a stranger Faces look ugly when you're alone Women seem wicked when you're unwanted Streets are uneven when you're down
When you're strange Faces come out of the rain When you're strange No one remembers your name When you're strange When you're strange When you're strange
When you're strange Faces come out of the rain When you're strange No one remembers your name When you're strange When you're strange When you're strange
"Helmet saves" this is a statement that you can read on any road in India on hoardings. This is a true statement and a very valuable one for me as it is the one and only reason that I am still alive and writing this blog.
I and my friend planned a trip to the Konai water falls some 90km from Chennai on a bike. A trip that never reached the desired destination, a trip to remember forever, a trip that reaffirmed my belief and necessity of wearing a helmet. At the start of the trip I didn't have a helmet. But then some sense prevailed and we borrowed one from a friend and started off on the trip. After a pit stop around some 40-45km I took over the reign of riding the bike to the destination for the next 45-50 km. We were only around some 15KM from our destination when the world tumbled over and everything that was going right for us till then took a 180 degree turn.
The bike I was riding met with an accident. Another biker crossed the highway from a mud road giving me no time to react. I applied both the brakes as much as possible but that wasn’t enough and the bikes had a head on collision. The part after that is kind of vague. I remember trying to stand on my feet but I couldn’t feel my left leg and hand, I don’t remember how I reached to the other side of the bikes at some 8-10ft distance. I remember local folks running towards me and then I remember I that I have been lifted and was on two feet, but I couldn’t stand, I was feeling dizzy. I remember enquiring about my friend and people reassuring he was fine.I remember trying to feel my feet and walk a bit but the world spun around me and I guess I collapsed. I remember water being sprinkled on my face; I guess I fell unconscious for around 10-20 seconds. I gained back consciousness and lay on the ground trying to recoup my self. Finally drinking lot of water and resting on the bare ground relaxed me and I was finally able to get my self up on my feet with help from the localities and my friends. The helpful localities took me to a nearby village hospital were I was given the first aid and pain killers necessary to get me back to Chennai for further treatment.
Looking back and gathering information gotten from the villagers and my friends I find that at the moment of collision I was thrown off the bike. And from the injuries I sustained I must have fallen on my left side. The elbow took the impact and my head hit the asphalt road like a stone causing the dizziness and numbness. Considering the accident I was lucky to survive this thanks to the helmet. I had only a torn ligament in the left knee and 4 fractures in the left elbow. No contusion or clotting or any kind of injury to my head.
It was really the helmet that saved my life. It’s not a question of whether you or I are the safest drivers on the road. Accidents happen not just because of mine or your mistakes but it can happen because of the mistakes of others and us being the unlucky victims of the same. Right now many states have made helmet mandatory, but in many states helmets are yet to be made so, this is a sad truth. Even in the states where it is mandatory, it’s not regulated properly and most of the riders do not wear helmet. It’s a self discipline and self duty to make sure to wear helmet every time you go out on a bike that has to develop within.
LEVEL 1: It's 11:00 on a weeknight, you've had a few beers. You get up to leave because you have work the next day and one of your friends buys another round. One of your UNEMPLOYED friends. Here at level one you think to yourself, "Oh come on, this is silly, why as long as I get seven hours of sleep (snap fingers), I'm cool.".
LEVEL 2: It's midnight. You've had a few more beers. You've just spent 20 minutes arguing against artificial turf. You get up to leave again, but at level two, a little devil appears on your shoulder. And now you're thinking, "Hey! I'm out with my friends! What am I working for anyway? These are the good times! Besides, as long as I get five hours sleep (snaps fingers) I'm cool.".
LEVEL 3: One in the morning. You've abandoned beer for tequila. You've just spent 20 minutes arguing FOR artificial turf. And now you're thinking, "Our waitress is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen!" At level three, you love the world. On the way to the bathroom you buy a drink for the stranger at the end of the bar just because you like his face. You get drinking fantasies. (like,"Hey fellas, if we bought our own bar, we could live together forever. We could do it. Tommy, you could cook.") But at level three, that devil is a little bit bigger....and he's buying. And you're thinking "Oh, come on, come on now. As long as I get three hours sleep...and a complete change of blood (snaps fingers), I'm cool.".
LEVEL 4: Two in the morning. And the devil is bartending. For last call, you ordered a bottle of rum and a Coke. You ARE artificial turf! This time on your way to the bathroom, you punch the stranger at the end of the bar. Just because you don't like his face! And now you're thinking, "Our busboy is the best looking man I've ever seen." You and your friends decide to leave, right after you get thrown out, and one of you knows an ...after hours bar. And here, at level four, you actually think to yourself, "Well....as long as I'm only going to get a few hours sleep anyway, I may as well.... STAY UP ALL NIGHT!!!! Yeah! That'd be good for me. I don't mind going to that board meeting looking like Keith Richards. Yeah, I'll turn that around, make it work for me. And besides, as long as I get 31 hours sleep tomorrow ...................cool.
LEVEL 5: Five in the morning. after unsuccessfully trying to get your money back at the tattoo parlor, you and your friends wind up across the state line in a bar with guys who have been in prison as recently as...that morning. It's the kind of place where even the devil is going, "Uh, I gotta turn in. I gotta be in Hell- at nine. I've got that brunch with Hitler, I can't miss that." At this point, you're all drinking some kind of thick blue liquor, like something from a Klingon wedding. A waitress with fresh stitches comes over, and you think to yourself, "Someday I'm gonna marry that girl!!" One of your friends stands up and screams, "WE'RE DRIVIN' TO FLORIDA!!!!!"- and passes out. You crawl outside for air , and then you hit the worst part of level five- the sun. You weren't expecting that were you? You never do. You walk out of a bar in daylight, and you see people on their way to work, or jogging. And they look at you-and they know.
Today i completed 1 whole year in US. Yes a year, almost feels like an era by now. I landed in Philli (Philadelphia), and then flew to Kansas on July 1st. Its a huge nation, you wanna travel and see places here then better have a car. If you want to travel the next best option is only by air plane. This is not a country or place where you can travel just by deciding on the day, like most of us who are/were stuck in Chennai used to do, especially me. I used to decide on Friday night that lets go to Bangalore for couple of drinks and party with friends, jump into the unreserved compartment of the next available train and take off. In the first 5 months of my stay i went only to Phoenix, grand Canyon, flagstaff. Then it took me almost another 5 months to decide to go to NY and its been a roller coaster after that, I decided to travel around the country. Memorial day long weekend(May 26-29) i flew to NY, Niagara. Then after a fortnight i took off to Chicago and Indianapolis on the July 15-19. Watched McLaren sweep the US grand Prix with a 1, 2 podium finish by Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Now after a fort night i am flying off to meet my sister in Richmond( July 6-9). I have to say its been wonderful last couple of months. But alas i am on a countdown. I am leaving the great nation for good for now till my next trip here. I am leaving sometime in September. The good news is i have two months that i have to plan all the fun activities. No regrets on going back. Ghar ka khana, my school, college, other friends, Bangalore pubs, My hometown, cricket and soccer matches, and offcourse discovering India, i am all planned up what i want to do in India. But inspite of all these i will miss my friends in US and this country. Hopefully i will be able to come back sometime and finish off from where i have left.
Sleep like a baby thats what i did yesterday. Ever observed a baby sleep with no worries about job, releases, testing or coding. All they worried is when they went the pants. Jokes apart I Slept for over 12 hours without any worries or hassles. I was dead tired from my trip to Chicago and Indianapolis and driving around for 10 hrs. It was the best sleep that i have had in over a year and half. I feel now that i have missed it for long time and its time i do it more often and thats what i am going to do.
I have been a Pink Floyd fan for a long time. I cannot sing or i do not remeber the lyrics like others except for a line or two here and there. But off late i have been listening to them day in day out. So i decided that i should make a small compilation on the bands story. So i started researching them on net and compiled this.
One of the most popular and successful rock bands of all time, linking three different eras in history. The '60s Floyd, led by singer/songwriter Syd Barrett, was a pioneering psychedelic band from Cambridge, England. The '70s Floyd, led by bassist Roger Waters and guitarist David Gilmour, recorded the high-tech art-rock classics Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall. Since Waters split bitterly in the early '80s, Pink Floyd has carried on as an oldies act, occasionally releasing new albums that nobody listens to.
Origin The band originated in 1965 in Cambridge, England. Originally the band was formed by Roger Waters, Richard Wrights and Nick Mason. The band was originally named "Sigma 6". Not making any progress or success the band changed the name to "T-Sets". A few others joined the band on in 1965 and the band again re-branded itself as The "Abdads" and then again to "The Screaming abdads" and "The architectural abdads". Later the "Abdads" band split and it was again the "Sigma 6". Then Roger Syd Barret joined the band in 1966 and the band was christened "The PinkFloydSound" and later changed to "Pink Floyd".
Origin of the Name The name Pink Floyd was coined from the combination of the names of American blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
Original Members The band’s original members were
Syd Barrett - guitar, vocals Roger Waters - bass, guitar, vocals Bob Close - guitar Rick Wright - keyboards, wind instruments Nick Mason - drums
In the year 1966 Bob Close left the band. The band recorded their first single "Arnold Layne", song about a transvestite who steals women’s cloths. The first album released was the "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn". They were scheduled for the tour of U.S.A., but Syd got very sick from being blasted on LSD (better know as acid). His LSD addiction helped his imagination to write songs, but around the time of "A Saucerful Of Secrets", his drug habits were out of control. By the end of 1967, They got a replacement for Syd in David Gilmour, an old friend of Roger and Syd's. David was recruited to cover for Syd on stage. If Syd were to make a mistake, David would fill the gap, and fix it which didn't work out well. They tried as hard as they could to keep Syd in the band, but his acid addiction took control of him and he went crazy. The band part syd and he was institutionalized for drug abuse in 1974. In 1968, the band continued on without Syd. During the time that Floyd was making Obscured By Clouds, they had written over 45-minute of songs that they played live, This was called Eclipse. It was mainly focused on society and how it alienates, controls, and destroys daily life. They turned it into an album in 1973, called Dark Side Of The Moon. It is the second highest selling rock record in history. To follow up the success of Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd released "Wish You Were Here" which was dedicated to original lyricist and guitar player Syd Barret. During the recording of the album, Syd actually came to congratulate them on their success with Dark Side Of The Moon. At first they didn't recognize him because he had gained a lot of weight. After the success of Wish You Were Here, their new album Animals was release almost a year and half later. The album was based on the aristocratic and communist lifestyles in the world. Each type of person was loosely based on an animal. Dogs were the creepy rulers of industry, Pigs were the communist tyrants, Sheep were the common folk, always being brainlessly led by the Dogs and Pigs, and Pigs On The Wing was a love song that Roger wrote to his new wife, Carolyn, the niece of the Duke of York. In late 1978, a new project was released The Wall. November 30, 1979, The Wall is released in the UK, and the fans love it. December 5, 1979, The Wall is released in the US, and again, the fans love it. In 1982, Rick Wright left the band for good. Roger had plans to tour for the new album in November 1983, but because of tensions between each member, those plans were cancelled, and changed the name of the album to The Final Cut. In 1984, the band went their own seperate ways. In 1986, David Gilmour talked to Nick Mason about getting the band back together. This caused a major law suit. Roger Waters, sued David and Nick for the rights to the music, and the band name itself. Roger lost the case because Pink Floyd was never anything put into writing, but Roger was given the rights to perform Pink Floyd music at his concerts and was given ownership of The Wall and The Final Cut. In later 1986, Dave and Nick set made the new album, A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. Pink Floyd started recording in 1993 for their new album, The Division Bell. Richard Wright was finally back fully with the band. The band toured for 6 months. Pink Floyd released a live album and video on their Division Bell tour, both featured with live Dark Side Of The Moon. The band was successful once more.In 1996, Pink Floyd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Gilmour, Wright, and Mason performed Wish You Were Here with Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins. Floyd has done no concerts since then, but made a new live album in 2000. The band made this live album from many different recordings from The Wall Shows of 1980 and 1981 in London's Earls Court and Los Angeles, with Roger Waters. In Late 2001, Pink Floyd including Roger Waters and Syd Barrett, with producer James Guthrie, made a new compilation album called Echoes. Although Floyd never did well with Compilations or greatest hits albums, this album was remastered as one continuous song like Dark Side Of The Moon, and did well in the charts.
Chronologically
September 6, 1944:
Roger Waters of Pink Floyd is born.
January 27, 1945:
Nick Mason of Pink Floyd is born.
July 28, 1945:
Rick Wright of Pink Floyd is born.
January 6, 1946:
Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd is born.
March 6, 1946:
Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour is born.
February 27, 1967:
Pink Floyd record their first single, "Arnold Layne" at Sound Techniques Studio in London. It reaches #20 on the British singles chart.
April 5, 1967:
"Piper at the Gates of Dawn," the debut album by "Pink Floyd" and the only one to feature Syd Barrett as bandleader—is released.
May 23, 1967:
"See Emily Play," Pink Floyd"s enchanting second single, is recorded. It reaches #6 on the British charts.
January 7, 1968:
David Gilmour is asked to join Pink Floyd, briefly making them a five-piece band.
April 6, 1968:
Syd Barrett"s departure from Pink Floyd is announced via press release.
October 24, 1970:
Pink Floyd"s "Atom Heart Mother" tops the UK chart. It reaches #55 in America and sets the stage for the breakthrough album "Meddle, Obscured by Clouds" and, of course, "Dark Side of the Moon."
February 17, 1972:
Pink Floyd premieres a new piece of music entitled "Eclipse" at London"s Rainbow Theater. It will evolve into the album "Dark Side of the Moon."
March 13, 1973:
"Dark Side of the Moon," by Pink Floyd, is released. It will reach #1 on April 28, log a record-breaking 741 weeks on Billboard"s Top 200 album chart, and sell more than 15 million copies in the US alone.
April 28, 1973:
Pink Floyd"s "Dark Side of the Moon" hits #1 in the US during a record-breaking 741-week US chart stretch.
September 12, 1975:
"Wish You Were Here," Pink Floyd"s long-awaited follow-up to "Dark Side of the Moon," is released. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," a side-long epic about their troubled ex-leader Syd Barrett, is its centerpiece.
January 23, 1977:
Pink Floyd releases "Animals," a bleak concept album that appears to have drawn on author George Orwell"s "Animal Farm" for inspiration.
December 15, 1979:
Pink Floyd releases their double-album epic, "The Wall." It stays at #1 for 15 weeks and has to date been certified 23 times platinum (signifying one million copies) in the US, making it the third best-selling album of all time.
March 22, 1980:
"Another Brick in the Wall," by Pink Floyd, tops the singles charts for the first of four weeks. It is their second and final Top Forty single in the US.
December 12, 1985:
Roger Waters formally notify Columbia and EMI Records that he is no longer a member of Pink Floyd.
October 31, 1986:
Roger Waters files suit to formally dissolve Pink Floyd, a legal battle that will drag on for years without deterring David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright from recording as Pink Floyd.
September 19, 1987:
A reunited Pink Floyd, minus Roger Waters, releases "A Momentary Lapse of Reason," their first studio album since 1984"s "The Final Cut."
April 23, 1994:
Pink Floyd release "The Division Bell," the fourth #1 album of their career. The ensuing live album "Pulse," which appears a year later, will become the fifth.
January 16, 1996:
Pink Floyd is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the eleventh annual induction dinner.
April 18, 2000:
The Wall Live: 1980-81," culled from Pink Floyd"s London performances of their all-time favorite work, is released.
The question is for each and every professional who sits in a 3x3 ft cubicles staring at the monitor 24hrs and 7 days a week. If you haven’t then you have missed a stunning and eye opener movie. The plot is hilarious, the characters are hysterical, and it's just a fun movie. If you hate your job want to feel at least a little better about it, this film is for you.
The movie was released in 1999, Second year in college. Movie was about a bunch of software engineers who hate their jobs, a manager, and couple of consultants the Bob's. It’s about life in a cubicle. The movie made a big buzz with the Y2K changes going on and the reviews were too good, didn’t hesitate to watch it. But then in second year of college, the only thing that hit me or was funny to me, was how they manipulate the banking software to steal money, screws up and the money ending up in hands of the dumb guy Milton Waddams played by Stephen Root. In college movie didn’t make any sense, not more than a bunch of guys trying to steal some money.
Then I watched it after joining an IT company. I watched it in the first year at work. All the cribbing and IT crap still didn’t make any sense, because I was thrilled of the first job. But a year later it all started making sense when I watched it again. Like when
Peter Gibbon Played by Ron Livingston says “So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life.” Or like when the manager Bill Lumbergh played by Gary Cole says “Yeah, um.. If you would just go ahead and come down to work on Saturday that would be great. Oh, oh, and I almost forgot. Ahh, I'm also gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday, too...”
You can correlate or assimilate each and every incident, each and every dialogue in the movie on a day to day basis in office.Even when Peter is flirting with the coffee joint lady Joanna played by Jennifer Aniston, where he tries to explain what he does “Well see, they wrote all this bank software, and, uh, to save space, they used two digits for the date instead of four. So, like, 98 instead of 1998? Uh, so I go through these thousands of lines of code and, uh... it doesn't really matter.”.
“Eight, Bob. So that means that when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled; that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.” Where he explains how many people he has to report to and how many are there to point finger.
The person who doesn’t do any work at all gets promoted and the others get fired, this correlates to when Bob gives his assessment report about Peter “I'd like to move us right along to a Peter Gibbons. Now we had a chance to meet this young man, and boy that's just a straight shooter with upper management written all over him.”
Every day the thought comes to the mind to be like Peter to not go to work at all and go fishing, driving, drinking tequila, like the dialogue in the movie when one of the Bob’s (the consultants) says “Looks like you've been missing a lot of work lately.”And Peter replies “I wouldn't say I've been *missing* it, Bob”. This would be a dream answer for me to say to any manager without losing Job.
If you love Dilbert comics, Office jokes, if you hate your job, feel stressed out from work, then take a break watch this movie. It’s a must watch for all professionals who work in a cubicle, staring the monitor 24x7.
* Is it the driver who follows every rule on road? * Is it the driver who stops the moment the signal turns yellow? * Is it the driver who has never been in an accident?
Seriously, I don't think any of these makes anyone a good driver.
Let me start explaining. First of all there are three kinds of people. 1) The Driver. 2) Back/Side seat drivers. 3) People who do not drive.
Driver seat ones are the people behind wheels and Side/back seat ones are people behind you and the third one is the group of people who keep quiet. When traveling in a group there all three kinds of people present. I have a driving license but my friends do not allow me to drive here because I do not have much driving experience in US. So nowadays I fall into the second category. When I am not driving I give instructions. I would be looking at the road, glancing on to the side view mirrors (almost got my friend pissed off). I feel restless. This being because I feel that I am not in the seat that I supposed to be, May be this is because I am used to driving and not sitting on the sides. In Chennai, India I used to drive a Kawasaki Eliminator to office and I used to be the one taking people around, may be now I feel dependent on others to take me around.
Anyway that is my issue. Getting back to the topic, Do drivers end up having accidents, yes, they do. Accidents happen not only because of the driver, it can be because of any other cause. It may not be drivers fault, it may be the fault of someone else is the next lane or on the incoming lane or someone else. The driver of any vehicle is careful. He/she is always watchful especially when there are passengers in his vehicle. It’s a matter of life and the passengers trust their life in his hand, that’s always in any drivers mind. Also he is aware of the surrounding and people in other vehicles. But then, there are exceptions to this also.
According to me, the second category people are the most dangerous kind. It’s a big time distraction while you are driving. May be they are right, driver is doing bad, but then the comments, suggestions even though with good intentions, only worsens the situation. There will be a million suggestions and opinions, good and bad. I have had issues with this kind of situation while driving and I am sure everyone else also. I almost lost control of the vehicle once because of the person in the side seat screaming at me.
When you have friends beside you, who trusts you to take them around safely, it’s a blessing. I remember in Chennai, the day was my friend's friends DOB and we had bought a cake and went to the pub. We got drunk to the position of not driving back at all. My friend was out cold and we had to get back home. I was driving my bike and she was sitting behind with her hands wrapped around me. I was driving with one hand and the other holding her. She trusted me to take her home safe. I have had my share of accident also, only once and was not because of me.
It’s the trust on driver that keeps the drivers going. But then it’s all in people’s perception what defines a good driver and this is my perception.
New York City "The city that never sleeps". Whoever came up with this slogan had a very good and legitimate reason. I experienced this in person on my trip to the NYC on the Memorial Day weekend (25-28 May, 2007). The city overflows with energy and people. The more and more you see the essence of the city, more and more you feel and love the city. This is one instance where the Law of Diminishing Returnsfails. Life just never seems to stop there at any time of the day. People scrambling across the city, Lots of people, Visitor, people commuting to work, people holding placards reading "End is here" or "Why lie, I need a brew".
I and my friends Gocha & Pammu, Monty, Vibha and Lee, 6 of us met up in this city as tourists. We arrived on the 25th. P&G and Monty reached NYC in the morning flights and me and Lee joined them in the might. Here starts the travelogue of ours in New York. The trip was smooth, but not without incidence or fights or pulling each other.
Day 1 - 25th May 2007 P&G and Monty having reached the city in the morning around 10, had their on plans of places to go. They went to the Ground zero (WTC), BrooklynBridge and the Wall Street. Lee reached around 9 in the night and went for the movie "Pirates of Caribbean - End of world" with her friends. I reached NYC around 10:30 in the night. Landing in La Guardia was a sight in itself. Coming from the south west side the flight was flying low on top of the buildings, Hudson and the sea, the city was illuminated gold in color, lights from buildings, vehicles in the road. Next day we had to drive to Niagara from NYC and I had specific instructions on not to get drunk. But it’s New York. I reached the hotel where I was put off and had a beer, this was on top of the whiskey that I had in the plane. Later Monty joined me in the hotel and with him I had couple of rounds of beer. By this time it was day two around 12 in the night and we were supposed to pick up the rental van at 4:30AM. Since I was in no position to drive I called up Lee and asked her to tag along and drive. Here starts the day two.
Day 2 - 26th May 2007. The day started at 4:00AM in the morning. We were supposed to pick up the rental mini van at 4:30. Guess what, we were in deep slumber and managed to get ready by 4:15. We reached the rental around 4:40. The fun starts here, I had forgotten to recharge my credit card, so the credit card was out of question for payment. Lee didn't have a card and Monty only had debit card. I gave my debit card and I don't know what the rental guy was doing but he was having troubles with the card and they needed proof that I was going to return. Great as though I who hasn't driven more than 10-15hrs in US am going to run off with the stupid mini van. Anyway I gave him my flight details and there we finally had the van in our hand. By this time it was 5:15 and Gocha was screaming at us for being late. Finally Lee took hold of the car and offffffffff we go.
Driving in Manhattan was fun. It was as if the buildings and stuff were put in place and then they build the 6 lane roads with the space available. The gap between two parallel cars is like a feet. Swing and miss. Hold your breath and lane that’s the trick. Anyway the roads weren't that crowded in the early morning. First stop Vibha's place. Thanks to Monty's navigation skills and Lee's driving we completed the first pit stop safely. Then we were supposed to pick up P&G from some Julius street and we got lost in the maze of streets in NJ. Thanks to gocha's cousin and GPS we were finally found. We started of to Niagara finally at 7.
The drive was fun. Everything was flowing like water; Monty was in his usual pulling everyone. We were already 1hr behind schedule and only thing we didn't want was another snag in the journey. It finally hit us when we saw warning on side asking to tune to 1610 or 1640 for on road update. The news echoed in the van "Exit 230 closed due to an accident at 6:30. Follow detour". Great! But we hit the snag much before exit 230 around 10 miles before. Traffic was not moving. We decided to have a smoke outside, got out, I had lit the cigarette just then the traffic started moving. Threw out the cigarette and got into van, but turned out that it was a false alarm. Still stuck. Finally after an hour and 15 min we were moving. Niagara We reached the Niagara Falls around 4PM and decided to first check in the hotel we had booked and guess what the room was not available. Lesson learned never trust a desi in US, this was a desi hotel. Decided that we will look for hotel later and went to see Niagara Falls. Finally after all this, we reached Niagara Falls, but the fun doesn't stop here. We would have crossed around at least 100 toll booths on the way to Niagara, took the turn towards the falls and saw another toll booth, Goddamn!! Another one, just what we needed now. As we were sitting in the van waiting our turn, something didn't feel right; doubts grew in the mind whether it was the border to Canada. No one except P&G had passports with them and Monty was on extension, when the doubt flashed in our minds, we started looking for an exit. Saw a small opening and took it only to end up in the incoming traffic lane. Lucky for us that there was no traffic, took a hard right jumping a red light in the wrong direction and were back on track. While looking for a parking spot we saw the board saying "To Canadian border" at the turn we took before, parked the car and went for "Maid Of the Mist" ride.
Maid of the Mist We had warnings that the queue for Maid of the Mist ride would be very huge and will have to wait for more than 2 hrs to take the ride. So we were prepared, but it turned out that we didn't have to wait long and was on the boat within an hour. Boat started moving and went below the American side of the falls first. Falls was gigantic with crystal clear white water flowing down. The American falls is 170ft in height and 1060ft in width and around 150,000 gallons of water flows down every second. Spray of water crystals from the fall was rising even higher than the falls. Water was freezing and below the falls the boat was rocking like a cradle. Cold water was splashing all over us, but the view of the falls was so breath taking that everything else was insignificant and this was just the American falls. The boat started moving slowly towards the Canadian falls. Canadian falls also known as the Horse shoe falls is of 167ft in height and 2600ft in width and around 600,000 gallons of water fall of it every second. Boat was surfing on the waves generated by the falls. Force of wind generated by the falls was so huge and chill that the raincoats were flying off and making us numb. Cold silver spray was all over. But each and everyone was enjoying the falls, savoring it to the last moment and awestruck by the massiveness and beauty of it. Finally when we were out of it, felt that we didn't have enough of the falls.
The poem is an absolute truth and eye opener. I feel i have remained in the kind of people described in the 1st paragraph. My dreams have remained in me as dreams and most of them never a reality. So much of dreams.. so much of i want's.. to do's.. to have's.. to be's..
An exerpt of my dreams of i want list
To own a Maserati and a Ford Mustang 1967 Shelby GT500.
To own a cozy and nice motor boat with all house like aminities.
To travel all over the world, see and feel the different cultures and traditions.
To trek on Himalayas.
To be a mountaineer and conquer the highest peak.
To own a warm and cozy house at the back waters of kerala.
To own an apartment in Monaco, New York(Manhattan), Venice/Rome.
To build a colonial style home with the a huge hall and chandaliers hanging from the top, seperate garage for my Maserati, with tennis courts and swimming pool/Jaccuzzi, huge back yard with a vineyard...
To have very big basement with the home theatre and bose digital speakers with surround sound. Also a bar with all my favourite whiskies, vodka and bear loaded..
To do para gliding, bungee jumping, deep sea diving (need to learn swimming first :D)
To re-live my college days again.
To learn to play guitar.
To have my freinds that i love around and party with them.
To play the sports that i love.
To laugh and cry out loud.
To shout at the top of my voice.
To be part of something big, wonderful and good and make a difference.
To eat to my liking without putting on weight.
To run 5 miles a day.
To get a pilots licence.
To fly a fighter plane(sukhoi 30) and do the Cobra manoeuvre.
To do sky diving with a long free fall.
To lay down under the clear star lit sky with Pink floyd playing loud, smoking pot and sipping vodka with friends.
To do a business degree in Operations and Logistics, learn Mathematics, Physics, History, Economics to its core.
To cook well.
more.............
When I think of the things I did and the things in the to do list, I realize that the life is short and the time is running out. Too Little a time and too many things to do. Some are crazy, some not but then thats how i am half crazy...
In the shuffling madness Of the locomotive breath, Runs the all-time loser, Headlong to his death. He feels the piston scraping Steam breaking on his brow Old Charlie stole the handle and The train won't stop going No way to slow down.
He sees his children jumping off At the stations one by one. His woman and his best friend In bed and having fun. He's crawling down the corridor On his hands and knees Old Charlie stole the handle and The train won't stop going No way to slow down.
He hears the silence howling Catches angels as they fall. And the all-time winner Has got him by the balls. He picks up Gideon's Bible Open at page one God stole the handle and The train won't stop going No way to slow down.
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine I keep my eyes wide open all the time I keep the ends out for the tie that binds Because you're mine, I walk the line
I find it very, very easy to be true I find myself alone when each day is through Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you Because you're mine, I walk the line
As sure as night is dark and day is light I keep you on my mind both day and night And happiness I've known proves that it's right Because you're mine, I walk the line
You've got a way to keep me on your side You give me cause for love that I can't hide For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide Because you're mine, I walk the line
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine I keep my eyes wide open all the time I keep the ends out for the tie that binds Because you're mine, I walk the line
Laws of trigonometry
Laws of physics
