Back ....

Spite got me nowhere and I fail miserably in fulfilling any dreams which stem from them. This ain’t no place for speaking your mind they say but hey … where do I go!!!

M back after a memorable ride last week … a bike ride to Konkan … having seen the beauty of nature while in US … I forgot that I am a native of this land which has equal natural beauty if not more. It may not have the beauty of fall colors or have the Grand Canyon but it’s got its own mountains n rivers n trees n beaches n ghats (mountain roads) n vales… and above all its people which make it a travelers delight.

Still penning down the thoughts that ran thru my mind whilst I rode … it will take awhile but I will put it up here. No one may care to read but I care to write ;)

As Petey would say … Stay Cool Y’all !

~KK

Delhi 6 & A Long Weekend!

I just saw Delhi 6 … Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has done a good job. It has a message like his last movie RDB… AB Jr. is very good and Sonam is sweet but the end of the movie screws up the whole thing … it did atleast for me. I mean first I thought that it would be a sad ending again …then there was heaven and near death experience and all that … I mean I was reminded of the part from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows where HP goes to heaven and meets and talks to Dumbeldore and then returns … and AB Sr. was nothing like Dumbleedore!!! Cmon ROM … you dint have to blatantly pick that up… But overall … its shown as a Delhi 6 ka movie but it is a movie about India … with its good things and bad as seen from the eyes of an ABCD.

Big goof ups – Abhishek Bachhan is an ABCD who speaks English with an American accent but his hindi doesn’t have any accent. WTH!!! Masakalli was picturized beautifully with American hip hop steps and all :) My friend fell head over heals for Sonam Kapoor (whom I saw for the first time as I dint have the courage for Sawariyaa) and she is sweet n simple n beautiful (am I overdoing it?) Allright she was OK. But she dint have too much of a role … TOI has given it 3* … I concur!

So the long weekend is here … and after a lot of uncertainties, I am going on that road trip. It was fun doing the planning, printing maps, checking the best routes, enquiring around for the best roads and most scenic ones. It reminded me of all the planning I had done for my trips while in the US – Yosemite, PCH, Niagara, Vegas, Grand Canyon and lot more. That was fun and people who were with me would surely know. It would be the farthest I would be going till date on the Konkan side, into the land of Kobras. :-)

My leg hurts … and I am scared of what is gonna happen when the salty Arabian sea touches the wound on my leg … but what the heck. I have to do this!!! My colleague from work is doing a solo Mumbai – Jaisalmer – Mumbai in 3 days. And he has left after work, driving the night on Ahmedabad highway. Drive safe dude. Some do it for work, some for the sheer pleasure and love.

One more first happened today … a rickshaw rear tire ran over my toes while I had stopped at the signal … it pained a bit but seems ok now :D I know … too many randomly insane things happening with me. What to do… I seem to attract trouble like there’s nobody else.

All right then … Will be off. Hope to have a good ride and come back to tell it all here … Exclusive! So keep reading ;-)

Adios.
~KK

Ps. Burger Chaap…. That’s what Sonam calls AB. Corny, n’est ce pas …………
Ps2. Wrote this last nite but cudnt post it due to net trouble so doin it now.

2/19/09

Another day gone by... and have I had a lot to eat or what ... yesterday mom bought stuff from home ... then managed to hv bfast too ... and we had a Pizza party today (Big Boss ka budday) .. then cake ... and as I came home in the evening I realized that I am not used to this anymore .. having 3 meals in a day... well make it 24 hours .. coz I skipped dinner .. I just couldnt eat anymore!!!

My leg hurts .. the bluddy corn is killing .. did some surgery yesterday nite .. but its there ... may be I should visit a doc now. I plan to go for a road trip this weekend ... with it being a long one ... dont know if my leg can take it but I so badly want to go!!!! lets see ... tomorrow I decide!

So till then ... hope to get my bike serviced :D

Hasta Luego!
~KK

Damn this recession

Came in this morning to news of how the recession is killing the big 3 auto companies of Detroit, Michigan, USA – GM, Ford, Chrysler … There might be a lot of job cuts – reports say 47000 only at GM and a lot of brands would be cut down or closed to justify the need for $15 Billion + requirement from the government. One of the brands which is going to take a hit is Pontiac which is part of the GM brand wagon. That is soooooo bad … love those cars … particularly the Pontiac G6 … that was the car that I gave my driving test in, for my license back in the US … shiny red and great handling. I cleared the test in my first attempt which was an achievement given the history of the number of people at my company, clearing the driving test on the first attempt. I will not give all the credit to the car coz the person behind the wheels also matters but then again … it was one amazing car. Check it out.



This is now going to boil over into India too. And with no social security unlike the US, its gonna be bad for people laid off here. I mean GM - with Chevrolet and Opel brands & Ford are present in India too with big investments ... Aaargh!

It’s sad to see the repercussions of bad times – things you liked doing, places you loved to visit, people you liked being with… at work – so many things have been affected. Sure life will bounce back and all the other blah blah blah are true but hey that doesn’t mean you don’t feel the pinch – and sometimes these pinches hurt bad!

Well I only hope I get to drive a Pontiac G6 sometime in the future … and a G8 and a Solstice and a Chrysler 300 and a Hummer and a Saturn Vue and a Saab … I won’t buy them all of course - Enterprise Zindabad ;-) (Translated as Long live Enterprise – which is a car rental co in the US and was our lifeline there – 1-800-Enterprise)

Have a great day folks...!
~KK

Blade Goner ...

2.18.2009

Wanted to have another round of surgery … did not get a new blade so thought of sterilizing the last one and re-use it. Boiled it for 10 mins and then let it cool down and then use it … guess that’s where I goofed up. When I picked it up later, it appeared to have some brown residue on its edge. I saw it just as I was about to put it to use… Didn’t do it then … Not sure how that formed … may be some kind of chemical reaction. Anyways, I will get a new surgical blade on the morrow (my sis is gonna kill me if she reads this – she had warned me against this same thing)
It is amazing how tedious a task it is to clean an 8 X 10 foot space … which is ofcourse my room. I tried to make it clean …swept it, mopped it… had a sore back at the end of it. :D

My mom’s coming tomorrow to see where her son is hiding. So I had to do it… it was a long pending to-do anyway … It is not an easy task believe me …

All right … here’s to a botched up attempt at surgery and a back breaker of a clean up job… will be off to sleep now… got a call early tomorrow morning :(( (damn my american pm)

Sleep tite folks … and those at work … take an afternoon nap … khi khi khi!!!

~KK

Tezaab ....

2/17/09
I am listening to “So Gaya Ye Jahan …” from Tezab. 1988 it was I think when it released. Nitin Mukesh’s voice – very different and soothing music I guess from Laxmikant Pyarelal. Brings back a lot of memories. It was the first song that I sang in a competition at Don Bosco summer camp in Nasik and won first prize there. Yes I actually used to sing well. My voice is no longer there… lost it over time. I still remember that day. I was so elated at getting that prize. It was just a certificate and 10 points for my group but an achievement for me nonetheless. Was a kid so that explains ...

No practice coupled with other stuff has snuffed out the decent voice I once had. I would love to go back and start back. My mom had put me into a Carnatic music class with MaPaMaPa maami (as I used to call her) but I left after a year or so. I know I should have continued :(

Well now I record my voice and it is so bad that I don’t dare record it again. I have actually sang and recorded songs – a whole 90 minute cassette (Irony is I don’t even have a cassette player now :D) but then it was an in thing till a few years back. And the cassette that I recorded – don’t have it too. Gave it to a friend so … that’s another claim to fame gone down the drain (wow that rhymes)

Allrite .. Sach me So Gaya Ye Jahan .. So Gaya Aasmaan (translated – the whole world is asleep… so are the skies) I should sleep too now.

2 posts in a day for me today. Will doze off to Pink Floyd - Run Like Hell & Is there anybody out there!

Bon Nuit Mes Amies!

~KK

Ps. try listening to "Is there anybody out there" with the lights off .. the starting part is creepy till the guitar starts ... :D

My Wish List

2/16/09

Everyone has a wish list. If You don’t then you should. I have one too. And the item that’s stands on the top of my wish list is A Washing Machine – Fully Automatic! Coz I always seem to be washing clothes. I mean they never seem to end. I don’t have so many clothes then why is it that I am washing clothes all the time??? Hehe I have no idea as to what the whole deal is. It would be great if I had one. I have other things on my list but as of now … I am just off a session. Tedious coz its all manual. Soak ‘em, brush ‘em, rinse ‘em and then rinse ‘em all over again. Then dry ‘em.

Come to think of it… it would be a great business enterprise to set up those pay and wash machines here in India. It would be a roaring business especially around colleges and places where a lot of bachelors live. Hmm … I should contact some venture capitalist with this.

On a more casual note, if someone were to gift me a washing machine then they would need to give me a new pad to stay coz my studio apartment … well not an apartment actually but studio “kholi” wouldn’t have enough space for one :D

So until I can get myself into a larger room or a real studio apartment, will have to continue this manual labor. I have other options but what the heck… this will keep me busy in my off office hours ;-)

~KK

Cupids Day ...

Its 14th Feb today. 2009

Wish You all A Happy Valentines Day.

News should be coming in tomorrow of a new business venture starting in the city of Mangalore tomorrow by the leader of a self proclaimed cultural police group ... He is starting a business selling Pink Chaddis (The link would give you all the info regarding this new venture.

Njoi and take care of all your loved ones :-)

~KK

Realizations ...

12th Feb, 2009

Saw Dev D! It had received 4(*) and 5 (*) in the various reviews – rave, all of them.
How much loss should a person incur to realize that he/she is wrong? Acceptance is difficult. Accept that what you are doing or what you have done is wrong. It could be anything. I once shouted badly at a lady driving a car for nearly running me over. She was wrong but my reaction was too. A friend pointed it out to me and I argued my side, argued like there was no one more right. But I realized I was wrong – albeit late. I couldn’t go back and undo anything. I probably learnt something from that realization.

Deep thoughts you would say. But people don’t get second chances many a times. That why I write these down so that some day if I forget it and shout at somebody or harm somebody, I can realize and say that I am sorry!

Well yeah Dev D did get this thought process going. It’s a well made movie. I liked it. I read in the mirror that anurag Kashyap – the director – was himself a drug addict, alcohol addict and in bad shapes. He has made this movie today and made it well. Guess he realized somewhere that he was wrong and made amends. He was not too late from the looks of it. Critics say that Abhay Deol is a great actor. He is good and he is also making some good movie choices. I mean his previous movies “Ek challis ki ..”,” Oye lucky ..”, “Manorama …” and “Dev D” - all have been unconventional and have worked well with the audiences. From the promos this seemed like a sleazy movie but it wasn’t. I eat my seemings (no such word, not on ctrl+alt+W but chalta hai). I mean it does deserve an A rating but its well made. It shows the dark side of Delhi life – the Delhi (under)Belly - only pun intended at Aamir’s next movie :-D

Surely not a 5* but I would give it 4! Am no Rajeev Masand or Khaled Mehmood but hey I have my opinions - I know, I know … who cares but I like to give it anyways ;-).
I didn’t blog last week - was pre-occupied and I also had a surgery. Operated on myself, did I. Cutting yourself up with a surgical blade can be scary. It was actually, especially given my shivering hands :D But it had to be done. Probably might need one this week too. Have a painful corn on my foot which is turning out to be truly abominable…

Couple of weeks back I got a comment from a friend that I write well. I thank you my dear friend for the compliment. Though I don’t know if I really do write well but Yes … I do like to write. It’s a different feeling altogether when you read it after a few years when life has changed (for better or for worse) and you see this note. Its like a you seeing your childhood photos and realizing that you looked so cute then - What happened now!! ? !!… khi khi khi ….

A lot of realizations here so let me label this entry with that.
The weather outside is chilly and people are falling ill so take care all.

~KK